01. Afghanistan: This Preventable Disaster Is on Biden
02. Can Afghanistan Rebuild and Reconcile?
03. Bar Fights: New Podcast Takes on Sexual Abuse
04. September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story
05. Cuba: An American History
06. Will Your Boss Want You Vaxxed?
07. Calming Kids’ Back-to-School Fears
08. Do a Show on the NASA-Wildfire Connection
09. Secrets of the World’s Most Celebrated Brands Revealed
10. It’s Grill Time: Don’t Forget the Dogs!
11. Character Flaw or Rare Genetic Condition?
12. World-Famous Healer’s Secrets Already in Your Kitchen
13. Doc Reveals Why Babies Should Decide When to Be Born
14. How This Retired Hospice Nurse Knows There Is an Afterlife
15. Frontline Barbies Honor Real-Life Heroes
1. ==> Afghanistan: This Preventable Disaster Is on Biden
Historian Max Boot says the calamity in Afghanistan is the result of the past four administrations, but he puts the blame for the current disaster squarely on Joe Biden’s shoulders and says the situation will leave an indelible stain on his presidency. “Biden cannot claim ignorance of what was to come. He was amply warned by the U.S. intelligence community,” Boot says. “The only thing I did not anticipate — no one did — was how rapidly the unraveling would occur. Even last Monday, the U.S. military was warning that it would be 30 to 90 days before Kabul fell. Now, six days later, it has fallen, and Biden will spend the rest of his presidency grappling with the tragic consequences of this preventable disaster.” Max Boot is a historian, best-selling author, columnist, and foreign-policy analyst. He is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post. Contact him at communications@cfr.org
2. == > Can Afghanistan Rebuild and Reconcile?
Matthew Hoh is hopeful things will get better in Afghanistan. “With the Taliban taking power, primarily through deals with warlords in the government, we may now witness a significant reduction in the cycle of violence,” he says. “Perhaps with violence coming to an end, or even just declining, Afghanistan can have a chance to rebuild and reconcile.” He calls “concern” from politicians, pundits and media in the U.S. over the fate of the Afghans hollow and hypocritical. Hoh raises issues regarding the nature of deal-making between the Taliban and the U.S. government, issues surrounding the drug trade and how surveillance using Pegasus is being used in Afghanistan. Hoh resigned in protest from his State Department position in Afghanistan in 2009 over the escalation of the Afghan War by the Obama administration. He recently wrote the pieces “What critics of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan get wrong” for CNN and “A Cruel and Unjust Peace for Afghanistan” for Newsweek. Contact Matthew Hoh at matthew_hoh@riseup.net, @MatthewPHoh
3. ==> Bar Fights: New Podcast Takes on Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse attorney Sarah Klein’s new podcast “Bar Fights” tackles the truth about sexual abuse in candid conversations with survivors and high-profile change-makers. Klein is a former gymnast and the first identified victim of former Olympic women’s gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Her first guests include Olympian Jamie Dantsczher, New York Times best-selling author Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, U.S. Women’s National Team’s mental skills coach Dr. Colleen Hacker, and the first female analytics expert for NFL Media, Cynthia Frelund. Sarah Klein has become a leading voice on sexual abuse and other legal issues on television, radio, and in print media including ESPN, the “Today” show, “CBS This Morning,” “Dr. Oz,” NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. She also appears regularly as a legal analyst on Court TV. Contact Mara Quigley at mara@steveallenmedia.com
4. ==> September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story
Invite 9/11 terrorist attack expert and author Dean Rotbart to share the behind-the-scenes story of how the Wall Street Journal published a Pulitzer Prize-winning edition on 9/12, even though its newsroom was destroyed the day before. The Journal staff’s response on 9/11 offers lessons for any organization, business, or individual confronted with an unexpected, large, setback and can either rebound or quit. Rotbart can share amazing, never-told 9/11 stories, as well as explain what anyone can learn from the experiences of the journalists who experienced it firsthand. Rotbart is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated former reporter and columnist for the Wall Street Journal and the host of MondayMorningRadio.com, a weekly business podcast. His new book is “September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story.” Contact him at dean.rotbart@september-twelfth.com
5. ==> Cuba: An American History
What do you and listeners know about Cuba? NYU award-winning historian Ada Ferrer, Ph.D., will share the story of the island from the era of Columbus to the present day — linking the joint history of Cuba and the U.S. Ferrer — a Cuban-born, American-raised daughter of immigrants —uses the unusually complex relationship between the United States and Cuba to frame and reframe more than five centuries of the island’s history. Hear how Columbus came ashore in Cuba and wiped out most of the Indigenous population, establishing a slave-based economy of sugar, tobacco, and rum that would decimate the island for centuries. Learn about the decades of attempted revolts and revolutions, how the U.S. helped Cuba expel the Spanish (although Ferrer considers it a myth that the Americans won the island its independence from Spain), the island’s relationship with the United States, the rise of Fidel Castro, and how a distinct Cuban identity was forged over the centuries. Ada Ferrer is one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba, a history professor at NYU and the author of several books including her latest, “Cuba: An American History.” Contact Johanna Ramos-Boyer at (703) 646-5137; (703) 400-1099 (cell) or johanna@jrbcomm.com or Briana Caywood at (703) 646-5188
6. ==> Will Your Boss Want You Vaxxed?
The federal government, along with some of the nation’s largest corporations, have recently announced requirements that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that could cause a cascade of private company vaccine mandates, according to one workplace authority. “Certainly, companies nationwide will follow the lead of some of these major employers. Time will tell if it will increase vaccination rates among the holdouts,” says Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “Workers are pushing back on coming back into the office in person and many companies are having trouble finding workers, especially for in-person roles. Knowing their colleagues are vaccinated may give many significant peace of mind and bring some people back to the workforce,” he adds. According to a recent Challenger survey, 81% of companies are experiencing pushback from their teams to the return to in-person work and 85% report having trouble filling open positions. Nearly 24% cited COVID concerns specifically as a reason workers are leaving jobs. Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld at (314) 807-1568 (cell); colleenmadden@challengergray.com
7. ==> Calming Kids’ Back-to-School Fears
For more than a year, kids have been facing the pandemic, feeling lonely and separated from friends, worried about disease, and struggling with online learning or homeschooling. Now many children are almost as fearful about going back to school. You’ll want to speak with educator Barbara Daniels, author of the award-winning Timmy Teacup series, to help parents prepare their kids for the new school year. Ask her: What are the biggest challenges as we reopen schools, theaters, amusement parks, malls, and other places kids hang out? What steps can parents take if their child seems particularly reticent? Contact Barbara Daniels at (636) 220-5495; BDaniels@rtirguests.com
8. ==> Do a Show on the NASA-Wildfire Connection
What connection could NASA have to the wildfires that have increasingly plagued the drought-prone world? Find out from James Moseley, who will share how NASA research — which has already given the world memory foam, Tang and Dustbusters — has also had and will continue to have a major impact on firefighting. Using material found in high-temperature fire blankets designed to ease the re-entry of the Space Shuttles, Jim’s company, Sun FireDefense, has developed technology whose widespread use could save property and lives this wildfire season. Jim will discuss:
How can this new technology protect homes? Where might wildfires be most damaging in the U.S. and Canada? What about technologies that protect wildlife, the environment and communities in wildfire areas? Contact James Moseley at (818) 486-4662; jmoseley@rtirguests.com
9. ==> Secrets of the World’s Most Celebrated Brands Revealed
Would your listeners like to know how celebrities create world-class brands so they can do it too? Raj Girn, an internationally celebrated brand authority and the creator of “The 6-Step Guide That Celebrities Use to Guarantee World-Class Brand Presence,” is prepared to offer the same fantastic tips to your audience that she has passed on to executives at L’Oréal Paris, Estée Lauder, Johnnie Walker, Cîroc, Sheraton and Fairmont Hotels and people like Priyanka Chopra, Hannah Simone, Robin Sharma and Freida Pinto. Ask her: What are the four biggest myths that prevent brands from taking off? What are the six steps to creating a world-class brand that anyone can dial in, no matter what their size or budget? A media celebrity in Canada who has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and Globe and Mail, and on FOX and CBS, Raj is a regular contributor to Entrepreneuer.com, ThriveGlobal.com and Medium.com and an internationally best-selling author whose blog attracts 500,000 unique monthly visitors. She also publishes a weekly newsletter with over 100,000 subscribers and has a combined social media network of over 1 million. She runs The Open Chest Confidence Academy and a masterclass she created on celebrity brand secrets sold out immediately. Contact Raj Girn at (647) 490-3158; Rgirn@rtirguests.com
10. ==> It’s Grill Time: Don’t Forget the Dogs!
You can have hamburgers and chicken, corn-on-the-cob and potato salad, but Americans agree that for a cookout to be complete there’s gotta be some hot dogs on the grill! That is, according to a recent survey by the National Hot Dot and Sausage Council (NHDSC). The group says between now and Labor Day Americans will eat more than 7 billion hot dogs! Invite NHDSC Hot Dog Top Dog Eric Mittenthal to talk about regional hot dog styles, what Major League Baseball stadiums are serving this year, and even the proper hot dog eating etiquette! Who knew? And Mittenthal says while the pandemic might have canceled a lot of things last year, sales of hot dogs were up 20%. Established in 1994 by the American Meat Institute, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council serves as an information resource to consumers and media on questions related to quality, safety, nutrition and preparation of hot dogs and sausages. Contact Eric Mittenthal at (202) 587-4238; (404) 808-8396 (cell) or emittenthal@meatinstitute.org
11. ==> Character Flaw or Rare Genetic Condition?
Have a coworker who doesn’t do much? A brother-in-law who is unable to hold down a job? Know someone who is young yet is always tired and lacking motivation? All three of these individuals might appear to be lazy but it is possible that what they have instead is a rare genetic brain disorder that is often missed by physicians who lack awareness of it themselves. Educate your audience by interviewing Ann S. Woodbury, who has become an expert on myotonic dystrophy (Dystrophia Myotonica, DM), a disease that is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness. Ann’s husband and four children have DM and it was through her search to get answers for their care that she became expert enough to share her knowledge of the disease and its treatment as the head of Utah’s DM support group and write “Surviving Myotonic Dystrophy.” She has been on this mission since their diagnoses in 1998. Contact her at (801) 554-1258; annswoodbury@gmail.com
12. ==> World-Famous Healer’s Secrets Already in Your Kitchen
Clint G. Rogers, Ph.D., has health advice that will not only help your listeners lose weight and feel better, it’s also simple — and delicious! Invite him to share the secrets of the late Dr. Pankaj Naram, an internationally famous master healer with whom Dr. Clint trained. On your show he’ll discuss how to boost your immune system with things already in your home, instantly reduce anxiety and release stress, and reduce blood pressure to normal in minutes. Listeners will learn ways to ease arthritis and joint pain with food, improve memory and focus by pressing certain points on the body and achieve healthy and lasting weight loss. Clint G. Rogers, Ph.D., is a university researcher whose TEDx talk on Dr. Naram has been viewed by millions. Dr. Clint designed and taught with Dr. Naram a university certification course in Berlin, Germany, for doctors. He just released an audiobook of his best-selling “Ancient Secrets of a Master Healer: A Western Skeptic, An Eastern Master, and Life’s Greatest Secrets.” Contact him at (914) 215-4792; DrClint@MyAncientSecrets.com
13. ==> Doc Reveals Why Babies Should Decide When to Be Born
Due dates. Planned C-sections. Induced labor. Medicines to prevent premature birth. Nowadays it seems that most babies are scheduled to arrive, and not always for a medical reason. Sometimes births are timed for the convenience of the mother and her doctor. Many parents even plan their pregnancies so they’ll have a holiday baby, or so their child‘s birth won’t interrupt vacation time. But OB/GYN Alan Lindemann will reveal why the vast number of births should happen when the baby is truly ready. Ask Dr. Lindemann: Why were so many C-sections done? How are mothers and babies safer when nature takes its course? What are the only acceptable reasons to hurry or delay a birth? How has birthing changed? Dr. Alan Lindemann has delivered more than 6,000 babies. He is the author of “Modern Medicine When You’re Dying to Know.” Contact him at (828) 818-8242; ALindemann@rtirguests.com
14. ==> How This Retired Hospice Nurse Knows There is an Afterlife
As someone who has been with many patients as they faced the end of their lives, retired hospice nurse Jean Keegan Daly knows that some people wonder, worry, or feel afraid about an afterlife. The incidents she has witnessed coupled with her own profound near-death experience have led her to conclude that there truly is life after death, angels are real, and departed loved ones are still paying attention to our lives. Invite Jean on your program to hear some of her amazing stories including the one about 9-year-old Diane who, after her death, appeared to and spoke to Jean. Ask Jean: What lessons did her first hospice patient teach her? What encounters did she have with angels? Why does she believe that all of us have a soul and a purpose for what we are supposed to do in this life? Jean has written her memoir, “Reflections of a Seasoned Soul,” which reveals her journey to understanding life here and beyond. She has appeared on local television and taught at community colleges, organizations, and hospitals. Contact Jean Keegan Daly at (609) 912-3778; Jkeegandaly@rtirguests.com
15. ==> Frontline Barbies Honor Real-Life Heroes
Continuing its #ThankYouHeroes program, Mattel’s Barbie line of dolls is spotlighting six women who are real-life heroes of the pandemic and honoring each of them with a one-of-a-kind doll made in their likeness. Among the women being honored are two from the U.S.: Amy O’Sullivan, an emergency room nurse who treated the first COVID-19 patient in Brooklyn, and Audrey Sue Cruz, a frontline worker from Las Vegas, who worked with other Asian American physicians to fight anti-Asian hate during the pandemic. Mattel’s Lisa McKnight says, “To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back. Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.” The company will also donate $5 for each Barbie doctor, nurse or paramedic doll sold at participating Target locations during August to the First Responders Children’s Foundation (FRCF), benefiting the children of first responders. Contact Devin Tucker at Devin.Tucker@Mattel.com