Humor | Book Spectrum

S2 E17 – Phil Granchi’s Dystopian Comedy Thriller, Mart of Darkness

There aren’t too many Comedy Dystopian Thrillers out there, so naturally we had to put its author, Phil Granchi, on Book Spectrum.

In Mart of Darkness, the debut author takes readers (and your audience) to an American which has turned into a weird materialistic dystopia where Ted — a screenwriter with no marketable skills with little screenwriting talent and a long list of temp jobs — who finds himself somehow assigned to take down the CEO of Allmart, who is bent on taking over the world. Ted and his new team face off with Zombie shoppers, Purple Psycho People, Converts and Black Light Specials in this satirical homage to Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now.

History Humor Non-Fiction

S2 E12 – 100 of the Worst Ideas in History with Mike Smith

There were some pretty bad ideas throughout history, and not just picking the wrong color for a room or something line that. Writer and Producer Mike Smith has compiled a list of 100 huge ones in his new audiobook, The 100 Worst Ideas in History.

Mike – with a lot of humor and several guest voices – tells these stories in the audiobook and will discuss them with you and your audience, hoping we are not doomed to repeat humanity’s historically boneheaded moves including:

How a confused chauffeur helped start World War I
Who turned down the greatest product placement opportunity in cinema history
How a baseball game helped hasten the death of discoa
A toad that nearly ate Australia
The most dangerous children’s game ever invented
The tasty new snack food that’s likely to give you diarrhea
What was President William McKinley thinking by opting to not wear a bullet proof vest on the day he was assassinated?

Enjoy our conversation with Mike Smith.

Fiction Humor politics satire

S01-E11 – "King of Satire" Preston Coleman: The Lost Gospel of Donald

This week on Book Spectrum: During a time of political vitriol and comedians who are trying to pass themselves off as political pundits, what happened to the good old American tradition of light-heartedly making fun of our political leaders on both sides? Every president has mannerisms and idiosyncrasies which are ripe for some jocular ribbing, so let’s all lighten up a bit.
Enter Satirist Dr. Preston Coleman, who has lampooned pols from all over the spectrum, who joins Book Spectrum to talk about his new book: The Lost Gospel of Donald. A couple of decades ago, he targeted the Clintons with his humorist glasses in the book Those Arkansaw Bumpkins.
In The Lost Gospel of Donald, Dr. Coleman takes us back to Biblical times as we meet the Roman Empire’s Donald of Gaul, a casino magnate who witnesses Jesus’ miracles and constantly tries to sign the Son of God as a magic act at his venue. Coleman brilliantly plays around with the public persona that made pre-President Trump an enjoyably bombastic business celebrity to create a book which will entertain both Trump supporters and detractors.
Dr. Coleman talks with host Chris Cordani about the book, the Donald of Gaul character, how poking some fun at leaders on both sides of the fence can be politically therapeutical and how many in our nation might need to develop a sense of humor.

Pick up The Lost Gospel of Donald on Amazon: https://amzn.to/30WwBOw
Pick up Those Arkansaw Bumpkins on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hGuHHK
Preston’s website: https://prestoncoleman.com/

Humor Lifestyle Relationships

S01-E10 – Kate Wiswell's Full Frontal Nerdity; release your inner nerd

Author Kate Wiswell tells us how important it is to embrace your inner nerd in her new book, Full Frontal Nerdity.
Wiswell is a Nerd-of-all-Trades: Educated at Harvard and an alumnus of the Second City. Kate tells her story through complex mathematics, comedy and her adventures in navigating social situations. Kate’s life story and the way she tells it can encourage all of us to proudly display our inner geekiness. #FullFrontalNerdity
Kate’s website: https://ffnerdityblog.wordpress.com/
Buy the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MtXUah