01. Jan. 6 Hearings: The History of Congressional Investigations
02. 50th Anniversary of Watergate Break-In
03. Trailer Park Residents Take on Venture Capitalists … and Win!
04. Fun Music Trivia Show: ‘Parking Lot Payday’
05. Sober Skippers Wanted: Summer Water Safety Tips
06. How to Cool Your Temper This Summer
07. What History Can Tell Us about Ending Polarization
08. Is Affirmative Action Reverse Discrimination?
09. Whatever Happened to ‘the Public Good’?
10. How to Do What Others Say Can’t Be Done
11. Entrepreneurs, Can You Hear Your Inner Voice?
12. It’s Wedding Season: 5 Tips for a Lifelong Love Story
13. Could You Forgive a Cheating Spouse?
14. How Parents Drive Kids to Cults, Drugs, and Gangs
15. Summer Wine Destinations: Plan Your Next Trip
1. ==> Jan. 6 Hearings: The History of Congressional Investigations
This week, public hearings by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection continue as lawmakers attempt to answer the question of whether former President Donald Trump and his political allies broke the law in seeking to overturn the 2020 election results. Jennifer Selin says the hearings are a part of a long history of congressional investigation. She says the first congressional inquiry was held in the House in 1792 and the Senate conducted its first official investigation in 1818 with several noteworthy investigations since then from the Teapot Dome scandal to Watergate. While the hearings deal with unprecedented events in American history, Selen says the very investigation of these events has strong precedent. “Congress has long exercised its power to investigate some of the greatest problems facing the nation. In that way, the upcoming hearings fit squarTely into the mainstream of American government oversight.” Jennifer Selin is co-director of the Washington office for the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University. Contact her at (614) 266-1860; jennifer.selin@wayne.edu
2. ==> 50th Anniversary of Watergate Break-In
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. Invite Jefferson Morley, author of “Scorpions’ Dance: The President, the Spymaster and Watergate,” to discuss the relationship between President Richard Nixon and then-CIA Director Richard Helms and why documents that have since been partly released suggest a reexamination of overlooked portions of Nixon’s tapes. He says, “We can now say with confidence what the CIA denied: that Howard Hunt was a CIA asset at the same time he was a Watergate burglar.” In “The (Redacted) Truth About the CIA’s (Redacted) Role in Watergate,” his recent piece for the Daily Beast, Morley writes: “A redacted FBI memo from May 1973 conceals details about Hunt’s role in breaking into the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense Department analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to ‘The New York Times.’ The memo was addressed to Acting FBI Director Mark Felt who was serving as a confidential source, known as Deep Throat, for ‘Washington Post’ reporter Bob Woodward.” Contact Jefferson Morley at morleyj@gmail.com; @jeffersonmorley
3. ==> Trailer Park Residents Take on Venture Capitalists … and Win!
Journalist Joseph Bullington writes about a recent case of trailer park homeowners in Durango, Colorado, taking on the venture capitalists who own the land they live on. Invite him on your show to hear the story of 30-year-old Alejandra Chavez, who along with other residents, formed a cooperative, elected representatives, and voted to try and buy the park themselves. “The $5.46 million asking price was daunting, but residents knew the cost of failure,” writes Bullington, who says most residents of trailer parks own their homes but not the land beneath them. Invite him on your show to talk about what he calls this new, outdoorsy form of gentrification thanks to an inrush of tourists, remote workers and investors who have driven land and housing prices out of control in Durango and across the West. Bullington is the rural editor for “In These Times.” Contact him at joseph@inthesetimes.com
4. ==> Fun Music Trivia Show: ‘Parking Lot Payday’
AXS TV hits the concert scene this summer to put music fans to the ultimate test in the all-new trivia series “Parking Lot Payday.” The show puts a fun and unique spin on the traditional game show experience as host Zach Selwyn visits concert parking lots and asks attendees to prove how much they really know about the iconic acts they’re about to see. From Coldplay to Metallica and The Rolling Stones, select fans have the opportunity to answer up to ten multiple-choice questions worth cash prizes up to $2,500. The show premieres July 12 on AXS TV. Zach Selwyn has appeared on “Around the Horn” (ESPN), “Attack of the Show!” and “America’s Secret Slang,” among other TV shows. Contact Johanna Ramos-Boyer at (703) 646-5137 (office); (703) 400-1099 (cell) or johanna@jrbcomm.com
5. ==> Sober Skippers Wanted: Summer Water Safety Tips
Millions of boaters and paddlers are expected to head out on the water this summer, including more than 830,000 first-time buyers who purchased boats during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in crowds coupled with the number of inexperienced new boaters has some folks worried. “We’re anticipating a major wave of inexperienced boaters on the water and we need everyone – our experienced boaters and our newcomers alike – to plan accordingly and be well prepared,” says Water Sports Foundation Executive Director Jim Emmons. He’ll share ten tips to maximize boating fun and safety this summer, from wearing life vests to designating a sober skipper and keeping on top of changing weather. The Water Sports Foundation (WSF) is the non-profit educational arm of the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA). Contact Joel Staley at (407) 242-9994; 338619@email4pr.com
6. ==> How to Cool Your Temper This Summer
This summer tempers are running hot around the country as the nation awaits several big rulings from the Supreme Court, the findings of the Jan. 6 Committee and whether or not there will be any movement to end the mass shootings that have been cropping up like dandelions. Yet even people who aren’t getting hot about changes to society may still be finding themselves in a lather about post-pandemic life, high gas prices and summer traffic. Invite happiness expert Trish Ahjel Roberts to share ways to put the chill back in your life. The author of “12 Steps to Mind-Blowing Happiness,” has created a 5-hour online course that provides tools and resources to make the summer season relaxing, fun and freeing just as it is supposed to be. After a terrifying car accident in 2018, Roberts founded Mind-Blowing Happiness LLC in 2019 and left her career as a financial advisor to become a self-actualization coach and happiness expert working primarily with Black women like herself. Contact her at (917) 887-3689; hello@trishahjelroberts.com
7. ==> What History Can Tell Us about Ending Polarization
Americans are so deeply divided today that one might wonder if anything could possibly bring us together. But author and theologian Sheryl White, D. Min., says that history can offer us some comfort, particularly Civil War history. Dr. White says we need to stop choosing sides on every issue, bridging issues instead. It’s not an all-or-nothing siding with pro-lifers or pro-abortionists, pro-gun or anti-gun, Democrat or Republican, conservatives or progressives. Dr. White can offer steps we can take to bridge that divide including ways we can strip away labels and stereotypes and make friends with people who represent different religions, races and positions on issues. Dr. White is a YouTube channel creator and the author of historical fiction based on the life of abolitionist and suffragist Laura Smith Haviland. Contact Dr. White at (620) 672-1596; sdw1001@gmail.com
8. ==> Is Affirmative Action Reverse Discrimination?
Affirmative action came out of the civil rights movement as a means to address inequalities experienced by minorities. It became law through an executive order made by John F. Kennedy in 1961. With two upcoming cases challenging it before the Supreme Court, now is a good time to discuss affirmative action’s past and future with author Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans (pronounced Kray-gull-mans). Ask her: Is affirmative action reverse discrimination? How effective has it been? Was it always controversial? Does it benefit everyone or just a few? Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans, a Fulbright Scholar, was one of the first Black women in the Foreign Service. A child of educators, she grew up in public housing in the Jim Crow South where Blacks were told they lived in a separate, but equal society. She is the author of “Flowers for Brother Mudd: One Woman’s Path from Jim Crow to Career Diplomat.” Contact Judith at (571) 568-8667; jmuddkrijgelmans@rtirguests.com
9. ==> Whatever Happened to ‘the Public Good’?
Today’s highly polarized society makes it hard for people from opposing sides to agree on anything, let alone work together, even if the goal is for the common good. It’s possible, though not easy, as Bee Bloeser personally witnessed in the middle of the Cold War when despite their vast differences, leaders across the globe joined forces to rid the world of smallpox. Bee and her family became involved in the global campaign when the CDC dispatched her husband to West Africa in 1969. Invite her to share what it was like to be an American woman in Africa at that time and the unexpected challenges she and her family faced, including brushes with a brutal dictator’s regime and living in an isolated region suffering a humanitarian crisis the rest of the world knew nothing about. An award-winning author and engaging public speaker, Bee Bloeser has been featured on NPR’s “Journeys of Discovery” and NPR KCBX Radio’s show, “Issues and Ideas.” Her book is, “Vaccines and Bayonets: Fighting Smallpox in Africa amid Tribalism, Terror and the Cold War.” Contact her at (520) 214-5971; bbloeser@rtirguests.com
10. ==> Brains, Games, and Foes: How to Do What Others Say Can’t Be Done
Most people believe it takes willpower, smarts and motivation to accomplish great things, but do you know the actual secret ingredient that world-class leaders, entrepreneurs and creatives rely on to create their exceptional outcomes? Invite Steven Feinberg, Ph.D., on your show to discuss the power of patterns and how an awareness of what he calls the game of patterns can up-level your personal, professional and business life. Dr. Feinberg will show your audience how to recognize hidden patterns in their daily interactions and decisions so they can accomplish life goals they never dreamed possible. Ask him: What is Shutdown Syndrome? Why do you say that persistence is a problem? What do you mean by “first adapter”? What is the Meta-Game? With 40 years of experience as an executive coach for leaders and entrepreneurs in companies like Google, Visa, Apple, and more, Dr. Feinberg has unlocked the secrets to achieving what people say can’t be done. For his new book, “Do What Others Say Can’t Be Done … Play The Meta-Game,” he interviewed over 50 world-class leaders and entrepreneurs. Contact Dr. Steven Feinberg at (650) 374-4540; sfeinberg@rtirguests.com
11. ==> Entrepreneurs, Can You Hear Your Inner Voice?
Fatima Bustos-Choy believes we all have an inner voice that guides us to our true north, but that many entrepreneurs can’t hear the voice. She says, “Believing that answers come from the outside, we’ve learned to not trust ourselves and our answers from within. The inner voice has become fainter and fainter, almost negligible. We have become deaf to our own inner voice.” To research her new book, “More Than Money: Five Paths to Abundance and Success for Inner-Centered Entrepreneurs,” Bustos-Choy interviewed 30 entrepreneurs to understand their minds and hearts, their joys and sorrows, wins and losses, and whether an inner voice spoke to them. She’ll share what she discovered, including the five ways the inner voice comes through. Fatima Bustos-Choy, Ph.D., is president of R&F Holistic Services and Gaia Flow Consulting. She has more than 30 years of frontline and senior leadership positions in the financial services, aerospace and nonprofit industries. Contact her at (818) 209-3775; fbustoschoy@gmail.com
12. ==> It’s Wedding Season: 5 Tips for a Lifelong Love Story
It is the peak time of year for couples to exhaust themselves, and often their bank accounts, by investing in the “perfect” wedding day. But Karen Skerrett, Ph.D., says couples rarely invest the same level of time or resources to growing the marriage after they tie the knot. The psychologist and author of “Growing Married: Creating Stories for a Lifetime of Love,” says, “Unfortunately couples spend lots to marry, plan lots to retire and check out during the long in-between.” Skerrett pulls together cutting-edge thinking and research to offer practical strategies for newlyweds to have enduring marriages. She’ll share five pieces of advice to help couples flourish in every stage of their lives. Karen Skerrett, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and registered nurse. She is the co-author of “Positive Couple Therapy,” co-editor of “Couple Resilience,” and author of “Tell Me Again How I Know You?” Contact her at (630) 292-4108 (cell); (708) 579-5911 (office); karen.skerrett@gmail.com
13. ==> Could You Forgive a Cheating Spouse?
Infidelity is the leading cause of divorce. But author Valentina Tjan claims it doesn’t have to be the end of a marriage. “If your spouse does not possess the deal-breaker traits such as addiction to sex, drugs, alcohol or assault, and they are prepared to immediately stop the affair, then you should stay as the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know,” she says. “Do not leave any stones unturned before you abandon your spouse just because you caught them with their hand in the cookie jar.” She is the author of “The Best Is Yet to Come: Real-Life Journey to Riches to Inspire You to Wisdom and Wealth,” and has first-hand experience with marital infidelity. Contact Valentina at (647) 493-1694; vphoey@rtirguests.com
14. ==> How Parents Drive Kids to Cults, Drugs, and Gangs
No parent consciously decides to raise children who will get involved in gangs, cults, or drug use. Yet the families of children who take these paths share common traits that can be identified and, more importantly, used to prevent kids from sustaining injury, a criminal record and more. Interview Pat Tamakloe, Ph.D., author of the upcoming book “Finding Your O: Four Stages to Self-Discovery from Adolescence to Adulthood” to find out more. Pat Tamakloe was born in New York City, raised in West Africa, Southern Africa, and England and became independent of his parents at age 20. An expert on the existing gaps between adolescence and adulthood, he spent 23 years in military service rising from enlisted to a commissioned officer in the U.S. before switching to his passion, helping young adults reach their potential. Ask him: What are the indicators that a child will become involved in drugs, cults, or gangs? What are the four O’s in your book title? What are some of the mental health challenges some adolescents have that prevent them from finding productive occupations? Contact Dr. Pat Tamakloe at (757) 210-7903; ptamakloe@rtirguests.com
15. ==> Summer Wine Destinations: Plan Your Next Trip
Looking to take a summer trip that combines the pleasures of wine and travel? Helping audiences make the most of their wine adventures is expert guide Jim Laughren, CWE, with suggestions from how to enjoy local wineries to where in the world we can find the “wildest” wine vacations of all. Whether you’re looking for fabulous food, incredible scenery, or amazing hospitality, all to enjoy with some gorgeous wines, Jim can steer you in the right direction. Ask him: Why should people visit Mendoza, Argentina, the Republic of Georgia and the Napa Valley? Where can you not only tour 1,500 acres of grapes but also buy a piece of the vineyard AND return for the harvest to make your own wine? The author of two short eBooks, “The 15-Minute Guide to Red Wine” and “The 15-Minute Guide to White Wine,” Jim has appeared on radio and TV around the country and is also the award-winning author of “50 Ways to Love Wine More” and “A Beer Drinker’s Guide to Knowing and Enjoying Fine Wine.” Contact Jim Laughren at (954) 317-9623; JLaughren@rtirguests.com