Eyewitness History

Randal Kleiser has been an internationally known film director since the release of his first feature, Grease.Kleiser's directorial portfolio boasts a range of works, such as The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The Blue Lagoon, Summer Lovers, Flight of the Navigator, White Fang, Honey I Blew up the Kid, Getting It Right, Lovewrecked, and It's My Party, among others. For decades, Randal Kleiser has engaged in an artistic pursuit beyond filmmaking—capturing his fellow directors through a technique known as blind contour drawing.In this method, he sketches his subjects without glancing at the paper, resulting in a unique artistic representation. Although challenges arose due to subjects' movements during sketching, Kleiser presents a compilation of successful attempts. Drawing Directors, featuring a foreword by Roger Corman, serves as a tribute by Kleiser to his admired directors. Esteemed names such as Steven Spielberg, John Singleton, Ron Howard, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Wise, and Billy Wilder grace the pages, with Kleiser delving into their professional journeys and sharing insightful anecdotes along with his personal views on their cinematic contributions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Annie Machon is a former intelligence officer for MI5, the UK Security Service, who resigned in the late 1990s to help blow the whistle on the spies’ incompetence and crimes. In 1996, she resigned from MI5 in order to help David Shayler reveal a series of alleged crimes committed by the agency. Afterward, they went on the run around Europe for a month, lived in hiding for a year and in exile for two, before returning voluntarily. Machon was never charged with a crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RIP Vince Speranza (1925 - 2023)Speranza was drafted into the United States Army on October 25, 1943, and officially entered the service on November 15, 1943. He was sent to Camp Upton in New York where he stayed until he was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia where he trained for the Infantry with the 87th Infantry Division. He volunteered for the Parachute Infantry and was sent back to Fort Benning for training. He was sent overseas with Company H, 3rd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from Camp Shanks on board the Queen Mary. His unit arrived in France and would later fight in the Battle of the Bulge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, August 4 marks the date that apartheid opponent Nelson Mandela was arrested by security police in South Africa. He was then tried and sentenced to five years in prison. The assault took place back on August 4 1962. In 1964, he was placed on trial for sabotage, high treason, and conspiracy to overthrow the government and was sentenced to life in prison. In remembrance of Mandela's arrest, I want to present two interviews that I did with two very interesting people that had to do with apartheid. One is with Bradley Steyn, and the other is with Greg Marinovich.Bradley Steyn enlisted in the South African Navy at 17. After being discharged, he found employment in the underground nightlife of Cape Town's Clubland, where he was recruited by the apartheid Security Branch in a 'brutal crackdown on activists'. Bradley, finding himself on the wrong path for his own redemption, joined the African National Congress' Department of Intelligence and Security, and spent two years spying on the White right-wing until a bounty was placed on his head. Greg Marinovich is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, filmmaker and co-author of The Bang Bang Club, a nonfiction book on South Africa’s transition to democracy that has been translated into six languages and made into a feature film.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J. Randy Taraborrelli is the author of 20 biographies, most of which have become New York Times bestsellers, including: Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot; After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present, which was adapted as a mini-series for Reelz; and Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill, which he is adapting for television.He is a respected journalist, a recognizable entertainment personality, and an in-demand guest on many television programs including Today, Good Morning America, The Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, and CNN Headline News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode I have the great pleasure of doing a two person interview with Javier Peña and Steve Murphy. These two DEA special agents were assigned as the lead investigators targeting Pablo Escobar and his Medellin Cartel. These true American heroes provide a firsthand lesson in history as they discuss with me the reference bringing down the world's first Narco terrorist, the challenges they face and oftentimes hostile and life threatening environments and also what they felt the day they discovered the polis we're having killed on that rooftop. We also discussed their book “Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobar”, the Netflix phenomenon, Narcos, which is based on their time in Colombia, and we discussed what they're doing now. It was such an honor and great pleasure speaking with both of them, and now I give you Javier Peña and Steve Murphy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Josh and podcast host Jeremy Stalnecker discuss the value of podcasting and the art of the interview!Jeremy Stalnecker hosts two podcasts, "March or Die" and "The Situation Report." Find link here for our previous interview on Jeremy's "March or Die" podcast: https://rb.gy/vgduqSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interviewed Chris Tarbell earlier this year. We discussed the infamous "Silk Road" investigation, which was also made into a movie, and what recruiting and training at the FBI was like!On July 26, 1908, the FBI was founded when U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte ordered newly hired federal investigators to report to Chief Examiner Stanley W. Finch. Originally known as the Bureau of Investigation, it was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Barsky is a former KGB spy who successfully infiltrated the United States for over 10 years. During this time, he spied for the Soviet Union. At long last, he was discovered by the FBI.This is his story.In this episode, we also discuss on of my former interviewees, Valerie Plame. See below for links to that episode:Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/5drc2Spotify: https://rb.gy/4gg80 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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