James Ellroy: coffeeJames offers an alternative introduction for the show that makes for an interesting contrast, reveals a sexual dalliance between his father and Rita Hayworth, gives honest feedback about the film LA CONFIDENTIAL, discusses his writing process and why he thinks ‘closure is BS’.

Zibby Owens: Aperol Spritz (3 ounces Aperol, 3 ounces prosecco, 1 ounce club soda, garnish with orange slice)Zibby gives the origin story of her hit podcast MOMS DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ BOOKS, the mission of her publishing imprint that has already published more than a dozen books (several bestsellers!), the sneaky "writer's retreat" where she wrote much of her novel BLANK, her writing process, and her approach to new media for the book world.

Edoardo Ballerini: vodka martini, three olivesAward-winning audiobook narrator and actor Edoardo discusses how he went from studying Latin at the Vatican to joining an acting troupe then making his NYC acting debut on LAW & ORDER, identifies which areas of the arts are most immediately under threat from artificial intelligence, tells how the audiobook business has evolved since his first narration in 2007, and how the nuance of reading characters of a different age/race/gender has changed in recent years, explains the goals of the university course on audiobook narration that he teaches, reveals his favorite place in Italy, and tells why we should not go faster than 1x.

Richard Haass: dry martini (3 ounces gin, a few drops of dry vermouth, served up with 3 olives)Richard reveals for the first time a confidential memo regarding the war in Iraq that he hand-delivered to Secretary Powell, why he feels America is in a "uniquely dangerous" time in the world, the TV show that most accurately portrays the Situation Room, how he prepares himself for writing memos, books or briefing presidents, why his book THE WORLD: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION is an important read for all citizens.

Mike Rowe: Manhattan (2 1/2 ounces Knobel whiskey, 1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherry)Author (and host) of THE WAY I HEARD IT Mike talks about being fired three times from QVC and hired twice to host The Daily Show for Comedy Central, his thoughts on Jon Stewart and the origins of fake news, his struggles with a childhood stammer and how a music teacher helped him overcome, how podcasting has evolved in the last few years, his terrific book that combines shocking historical events with Mike’s unique perspective, the #1 dirtiest job, and some thoughts on the key ingredients for a good life.

Kashmir Hill: gin & tonicNew York Times technology reporter Kashmir Hills explains the incredible and horrifying implications of AI and facial recognition, the pair of eyeglasses developed by Meta that can instantly tell you EVERYTHING about a person just by glancing at them, what Oppenheimer and Heather Douglas meant by “technical sweetness”, how we might live in a new world of technology that allows people “no fresh starts”, and what she misses most from the 1980s that she would like to have back.

Dani Shapiro: Mezcal Negroni (1 ounce mezcal, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 ounce Campari, garnish with orange slice)Award-winning author Dani Shapiro discusses how the effort of her first books refined her future work and process so that in addition to focusing on the music of her writing she’s also focused on the meaning, explains that she had to slow down the rush of storytelling in her gripping memoir INHERITANCE because she was living the tale as she was writing it, tells of the happy ‘accidents’ of co-founding a writers’ conference in Positano, Italy and of launching her hit podcast FAMILY SECRETS, and how when writing a book that jumps time that it can be useful to work on the book for as long as the jumps.

Award-winning author and journalist Howard Blum discusses his coverage of the Idaho murders, different research methods, writing for Air Mail, comparing national intelligence agencies, and the book that inspired his career.

Brad Meltzer: tequilaBrad reveals what it takes to make him wear his underpants on the outside, the wildest forms of terror attack that he brainstormed with the CIA and FBI while a member of the Red Cell Unit, some hilarious insider stories of Barbara Bush, what’s underneath the White House, how he started his “I Am…” book series for kids, and how he first fell in love with the writing process.

Alex Aster: espresso martini (2 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce Kahlua, 1 ounce espresso, garnish with 3 coffee beans, serve up)Alex discusses the oral tradition of storytelling in her family and her Colombian heritage, her dogged efforts to land a literary agent when she was 12-years old, how she skipped her college graduation day to land an agent and a book deal, how she leverages TikTok and other platform to reach millions of readers, and gives an update on her work with Universal and the movie version of Lightlark.