Dr. Lawrence Santora is a distiguished cardiologist who has been on the cutting edge of research and authored books.

But when his wife was diagnosed with cancer and physically dessimated by chemo he became desperate to help her.

With her condition continuing to deteriorate they sought out the healing power of Lourdes.

Dr. Santora recounts the bizarre manner in which his prayers turned to action and describes what happened when the two of them arrived in this legendary place of "miracles" called Lourdes.

Jimmy Dore whose book YOUR COUNTRY JUST ISN'T THAT INTO YOU has vaulted him to the ranks of a bestseller stops by with his wife Stef Zamorano

Guests: Funny People Jimmy Dore and Stef Zamorano (Jimmy's wife)

We just wind up Jimmy and turn him loose.

Among the things discussed: 

Heather, fresh off a TMZ posting from Lance Bass’ bachelor party…

How Jimmy and Stef’s love story unfolded.

The movie experience…ruined

Stories of working on a cruise ship

Jimmy, outraged and outspoken, goes off on the U.S. torture report.

The group talks about the pending legislation to allow bankers to sell mortgage derivatives again.

Jimmy survives a death scare.

Steven Colbert at White House Correspondents’ Dinne

Heather joins Mark as Jimmy rants

A breakthrough and wildly successful food company, Hampton Creek, finds itself in the crosshairs of a lawsuit launched by Unilever (makers of Hellman's) over use of the word MAYO.

Mark and Heather speak with the CEO of Hampton Creek, the makers of JUST MAYO.

Just back from Thailand our guest, Jessica Davis, takes us through the grass roots humane efforts of Lek Chailert (known as The Elephant Whisperer) and her organization,  Elephant Nature Park

The park exists as a shelter to elephants that have been brutalized by the tourism and logging industries and end up orphaned, blind and disabled.

While these elephants have endured inconceivable torture and horror, Lek gives them the opposite, an environment at Elephant Nature Park where they can find the best of life.

Jessica offers a look at this magical world of the elephants in the park.

If, after listening, you have an interest in learning more about volunteering here's a link:http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/enp/en/17-elephant-nature-park-weekly-volunteer

Heather Ankeny joins Mark for this showv

John Schuck has covered decades as an actor in classic films and television as well as the Broadway stage.

In this episode:  Fun stories about his time in theater, stage and film with some juicy morsels involving Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Robert Altman and others.

John is big fun for us and with the King of TV, Paul Goebel in the mix the classic TV and Star Trek discussions take on even greater fun and Paul provokes a debate about how to say the word "robot".

It may be a life in "the middle" but Kevin Pollak details a pretty cool life so far...

Comedian, actor, director, writer and producer Kevin Pollak has moved through show business with great success.

His book HOW I SLEPT MY WAY TO THE MIDDLE is full of great stories of a life in the business.

Mark pumps him for some of those, and Kevin also discusses his latest documentary film project.

Josh Weinstein, an accomplished comic himself (Mystery Science 3000, etc) joins with Heather Ankeny

He also was the original host of AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS during that same period.   All of that vaulted him to enormous visibility.

All this time Bob has been a master of a stand-up act that is shocking to many given his wholesome image but is consistently in demand.  It's terrific.

Bob was the voice of the future Ted Mosby on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

His new book DIRTY DADDY which you can buy here through our Amazon link is a great read and takes the reader through his life that is filled with bitter loss but also amazing life gifts.  It's filled with stories of meeting some of the shining lights of a show business career that's spanned decades

We talk to him about all of it.

Heather Ankeny joins with The King of TV, Paul Goebel.

According to people who keep up with such things, Walter O’Brian is likely the 4th smartest man in the world.

Is it lonely at the "genius top"?  We ask him.

Walter visits THE EDGE and tells of hacking into Pentagon computers when he was  only 13 and then moving up to hacking into one of the world’s top banks when he was 16.

Of course, by the time he was that age Walter was amassing quite a reputation already and building a business plan for hackers who could make a difference or at least make a buck.

Part of putting a sort of A-Team of genius techies together has led him to clients who range from celebrities to our own U.S. government.  And now it’s led to the CBS series SCORPION (his hacker name).  Walter talks about that television series  that's based on his life.

His mathematically weighted but technologically accelerated view of the world has led him to pursue human immortality for the entire planet (or at least everyone who can afford it) in the form of the 2045 project.   This is arguably the most provocative part of our conversation

How to survive the Zombie Apocalypse??

In the wildly popular show DOOMSDAY PREPPERS the idea is that people are preparing to survive an apocalyptic scenario.

California just sustained a sizable earthquake and, in truth, most disasters are less than apocalyptic.  How do you prepare for those...?

The answers are in Scott Hunt's latest book:

The Practical Preppers Complete Guide to Disaster Preparedness

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Preppers-Complete-Disaster-Preparedness/dp/1250055644/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409358713&sr=1-1&keywords=practical+preppers

Everything from general supplies to bug out bags, to water and food is covered in this book and he reviews plans with the crew.

Here's a link to the LIFESTRAW he recommends for water to get you started 

http://www.amazon.com/LifeStraw-LSPHF017-Personal-Water-Filter/dp/B006QF3TW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1409358938&sr=1-1&keywords=lifestraw

The group also checks in on Fred Stoller who has come through the "Seinfeld/Kramer lawsuit" complete with a lawyer who is on the phone with him.

Josh Weinstein and Heather Ankeny join Mark Thompson

A CONVERSATION WITH CENK UYGUR OF THE YOUNG TURKS, THE MOST WATCHED ONLINE NEWS NETWORK IN THE WORLD.

 The TYT NETWORK just passed 2 billion views on YOUTUBE and has 3 million subscribers.

 It's founder, Cenk Uygur, discusses building this success and how he has now turned his attention to leading the biggest people's revolt in memory, WOLFPACK, designed to get money out of politics.

This is a JUMBO EPISODE that runs much longer than others but Cenk gets into a lot of interesting stuff that you will eat up.

Also along for the ride is Emmy award winning comedy writer, David Feldman and regular co-host Heather Ankeny.

In a coast to coast network television event the United Armwrestling League has just concluded their championships.

It seemed like a good time to sit in with United Armwrestling League founder Robert Drenk who joins Mark and Heather along with the greatest armwrestler in the world, John Brzenk.

Brzenk made an appearance in the Stallone movie Over the Top about the world of competitive arm wrestling but his real fame has come in real life on the worldwide competitive arm-wrestling circuit.

We knew nothing about this sport and how serious it was before we began but Robert and John filled it all in with great detail.

Molly Bloom shares the story of what was the most famous underground poker game in the country...until it got busted by the feds.

A-Rod, Leo Dicaprio, Ben Affleck, Toby McGuire and a bunch of super rich, billionaire's boys club types all played in "Mollys game" as it came to be called .

She took the game from Hollywood white hot success to even greater success in NYC where Wall St. money blew the game into the stratosphere financially and made Molly a target of the mob and ultimately the feds.

 Josh Weinstein (@JElvisWeinstein) and Heather Ankeny (@HeatherAnkeny) join Mark (@markthompsontv)

Jay updates Mad Men as it winds down (over the next year) and shares his love of other TV.(He and his father almost entered Amazing Race)

Heather is back from a Disneyland birthday during which she gets stuck on a ride and Jay is fresh off a family trip to Disneyland as well that has practically left him with post traumatic stress.  

Everyone in the group trades tales from the "Magic Kingdom" after that.

Paul Goebel, dubbed The King of TV for his vast TV knowlege not only talks TV but about raising kids as a single dad of two teenage girls.

Fun conversation with people we really enjoy.

James Wilks won season 9 of Ultimate Fighter.  

He's an MMA expert, a certified handgun sharpshooter, a knife fighting champion and a NAVY SEAL instructor.

He takes the crew through his life as a kid in England and talks about what inspired him to get into the brutal fight game.

After suffering repeated injuries and during his rehab James studied his training regimen and top research on nutrition.  He talks about the fact that he realized that a plant based diet would actually help in his strengthening and healing process more than his animal based diet.

After he converted to a vegan diet he tells us about a sudden and miraculous change in his body, training and life.

Heather Ankeny and J. Elvis Weinstein join Mark Thompson

On the 20th anniversary of the OJ Simpson murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, Josh Mankiewicz previews his 2 hour Dateline NBC special looking back at the murders.

Mankiewicz reviews the evidence that prosecutors kept out of the case and why.

Jimmy Dore and Heather Ankeny chime in with Mark Thompson.

Annaleigh Ashford is already a veteran of the theather, even at her young age, having played the lead role, Glinda, in Wicked on Broadway and was in the original cast of the Broadway musical Legally Blonde.

Annaleigh then moved on to another Broadway hit.  She was in the original cast of Kinky Boots and got a Tony Award nomination for her work.

The television series Masters of Sex came calling for Annaleigh and despite her love of the stage she finds herself in TV on a hit show.

Annaleigh discusses what it's like to be in big time theater.  

Mark adores the theater and people in it and asks her about cutting up onstage and what it's like working with Cyndi Lauper who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots.

The crew also discuss Masters of Sex and oddly cover the discovery of penicillin. ( u have to hear it to understand)

Emmy winning comedy writer David Feldman and Edge co-host Heather Ankeny join Mark.

Our guests: Arden Myrin and Michael Shure.  

Arden is a tsunami of energy, talent and fun.

She talks about being a regular panelist on Chelsea Handler's show and even going to a party at Chelsea's home.  (Mark tries to pump her for info/gossip).

Arden also talks about a party at Marilyn Manson's home (again Mark pumps for info/gossip)

Heather drops the bomb that her prisoner boyfriend has now proposed marriage!  She slowly reveals details and we force plans for an intimate "meet and greet" reception.

Heather also prompts Michael Shure, the keen political mind for TYT networks and Al Jazeera, to weigh in on the 9-11 gift shop controversy.

Of course Michael can talk about anything and is a great friend of the show, funny and intelligent.  But Mark Thompson lovingly never let's him forget he's working for a network owned by a country that supports Islamic terrorism.

Great hour of topical fun, serious discussion at times, personal dish and awesome energy.

After being the youngest co-founder of Greenpeace, Captain Paul Watson started Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a hands on way to protect the world's oceans.

The captain takes us through the world of the conservation movement, reviews some of his experiences and why he became disallusioned with some of the work being done.  

Watson shares the dirty secrets of some of the huge bigger charities-turned-eco-corporations.

He talks about sinking half the Danish fleet and Mark asks him why he recently had to stay at sea for 15 months to avoid extradition and how that has ultimately played out.

Finally, Captain Paul talks about his latest project to remove some of the plastic that ends up in the ocean and it's a project with a new partner, Pharrell Williams.

Emmy winning comedy writer David Feldman joins (after arriving late--we left his arrival conversation in the show).

Heather Ankeny joins Mark as always.

One note: because this is our first Skype interview we apologize for the occasional Skype alerts/sounds.  Although we tried to minimize them, some still got through.  In future this will not be an issue!

Randy Wolf is a well rounded, fun, highly intelligent and funny guy.

Of course we make him talk about baseball because none of us have played it before and we want to know what it's like!

Randy walks us through the paces getting into the major leagues and even takes us through a new contractual controversy.

Long time friend of the show Jimmy Dore told us last year how he avoided repeated attempts at molestation at the hands of Father Daniel "Happy Hands" Holihan but other kids weren't so lucky.

In this episode Jimmy revisits that experience and brings us up to speed on how investigators caught up to "Happy Hands" recently and what the priest claimed about his interactions.

Also, some Vatican stories (Heather was dressed inappropriately for her visit there), Oscar Pistorius trial, teachers having sex with their students and more.  

It's a lively roundtable discussion.

Josh Weinstein and Heather Ankeny join Mark Thompson.

Part of our podcast family, Josh Weinstein, has just finished a wild episode with a cancer diagnosis.

In this mini-episode Josh walks us through what happened and how he's returned to his healthy life as a smart ass. 

Tim Conway Jr. has carved out magic every night from 7p-10p on L.A.'s KFI radio.

KFI is the most listened to talk radio station in the country and while some of the station can be big on politics and confrontation at times, Tim has blended his comedic timing, with often lighter subjectmatter to create a die-hard fan base that has made him #1.

 Mark Thompson, Heather Ankeny and Josh Weinstein join in to pump Tim for tales of Hollywood, fatherhood and life at the racetrack.

Billy Ray is a writer and director of films that include The Hunger Games, Shattered Glass, Breach, and this past year, Billy wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay for Captain Phillips.

Billy talks about how the scripts/ideas/movies came to life from The Hunger Games to Captain Phillips and talks about the studio system and what goes into the movies of today and yesterday.

The conversation swings from concepts in screenwriting to what the "Oscar Luncheon" dynamics are all about.

Toward the end of the conversation Mark asks him about the controversy kicked up by the movie Captain Phillips that led to a lawsuit from a few of his crew members.

Billy is a great guest with such enthusiasm for films, stories and what he does that we never wanted him to leave.

Heather is at the Super Bowl so (as a Broncos fan) she's spared having to dissect the game.

Ben Mankiewicz and Michael Shure come by for some quick thoughts with Mark on everything from the Super Bowl game, wagering, NFL officiating and the Hall of Fame.

Note: this episode may be best enjoyed by football fans but everyone's welcome!

Actor/comedian Kenny Campbell tells stories from his life as an actor...Fred Stoller is being sued and it's no joke and Heather has to rethink her Super Bowl plan.

Dave Higgins is funny, creative guy who has worked across a range of television, film and stage.

Mark of course "makes him feel at home" by eventually asking how much money he makes off individual projects.

His newest comedy project is Celebrity Ghost Hunters which is a very funny "Curb Your Enthusiasm" meets "Ghostbusters".

They talk everything from the new Pope to the state of TV and film.

Mark Thompson and Heather Ankeny host