I’m excited to welcome Julie Snider, whose debut novel, Chapel Bay Secrets, follows Brenda Kato, a Japanese American librarian in a quiet coastal California town, where a threatened book ban and long-buried tensions force everything she thought was safe into question. With themes of censorship, identity, bigotry, LGBTQ+ belonging, grief, and community, Chapel Bay Secrets is both timely and deeply human.

Christopher Mannino believes that one of the most powerful tools in parenting isn’t a schedule, a screen limit, or a perfect plan—it’s play.

In his new book, Making It Up: A Revolutionary Way to Bond with Kids Through Play, Christopher draws on the principles of improv and theater to show parents how to step into their children’s imaginative worlds—no acting background required. With the simple idea of “yes, and…,” he offers practical, playful techniques that fit into busy lives and transform just ten minutes a day into deeper connection, more confidence, and a lot more joy.

What if retirement isn’t the finish line—but the beginning of something more intentional? In From Work to What’s Next, husband-and-wife financial advisors Sarah K. Charles and Jim Charles rethink retirement as a redesign, not an ending. Drawing on 60 years of combined experience—and Jim’s own search for purpose after leaving his career—they share practical tools and real stories to help turn “now what?” into what’s next.

The thriller genre has a new dynamic duo. In our latest episode, we sit down with Ryan Steck and Simon Gervais to discuss their debut collaboration, The Second Son.

They call it "The Vintage of Collaboration." Despite writing from a distance and having opposite backgrounds—Simon is an ex-RCMP officer, Ryan is a renowned critic—they’ve created a seamless narrative that feels like a high-proof, complex blend.

We dive into the shadows of 1970s Vietnam with author Nancy Cole Silverman and her electrifying new Kat Lawson Mystery, A Spy in Saigon. Kat’s “simple” assignment to write a travel piece and make a covert drop goes off the rails fast, thrusting her into a deadly web of secrets, double agents, and trafficked children who desperately need her help.

From the outside, Michelle Yang’s life might look like a familiar immigrant success story—but her new memoir, Phoenix Girl, reveals something far more powerful and complex. When her family left their tight-knit Chinese community in South Korea and arrived in America, the promise of freedom quickly tangled with a domineering father, a silenced mother, and the nonstop grind of running a Chinese takeout restaurant in Phoenix. By twelve, Michelle was already behind the counter, learning to juggle customers, cultures, expectations—and her own emerging sense of self.

In Phoenix Girl, Michelle traces her courageous journey from fear to freedom. She opens up about childhood instability, her path toward self-acceptance, and her honest, deeply human experience living with bipolar disorder. It’s a story of resilience, reclamation, and learning to rise from the fire instead of being consumed by it.

Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor is a neurologist with decades of experience, and now, she's turning her stethoscope inward in a powerful new memoir, Whispers of the Mind.

Through a series of deeply personal essays, Dr. Taylor takes us behind hospital doors and into the moments that defined her—from the crushing task of declaring a teenage boy brain dead, to the quiet redemption of caring for her estranged father in his final days. With compassion, candor, and a poet’s eye for detail, she invites us to consider the weight of every diagnosis, the grace in every goodbye, and the fragile beauty of the mind itself.

Ever feel like eating healthy means giving up the foods you grew up with? Dr. Marissa Toussaint says you don’t have to choose. Her new book Flambeau Kitchen blends Caribbean heritage with real, sustainable wellness—70+ recipes, practical tools, and guidance for conditions like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Today we talk with her about honoring culture, embracing mindful eating, and finding health without losing the flavors of home.