Kristen Willeumier, PhD, neuroscientist and author of Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power

Kristen Willeumier, PhD is a neuroscientist and author of Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power. She joins Janeane to talk about her work, book and life as a neuroscientist.

WATCH | LISTEN

ABOUT THE BOOK


A neuroscientist’s groundbreaking, science-driven plan for revitalizing, nourishing and rejuvenating your most essential asset—your brain.

Your brain is the most essential organ in your body. The brain and spinal cord are intimately connected to every bodily system and organ, so when it is balanced everything in your body and mind will function more efficiently. It’s vitally important to take proactive steps now, or you risk losing everything, including your ability to think clearly, be creative, remember details, solve problems and retain your memory.

In Biohack Your Brain, leading neuroscientist Dr. Kristen Willeumier reveals how you can change your brain by making simple and easy modifications to your lifestyle. Combining clinical experience with revolutionary science, she details how biohacking your brain can boost your cognitive performance and so much more.

Dr. Willeumier’s essential guidebook shows you the most effective techniques to prevent memory loss and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease—and even how to overcome negative thoughts and stress. Through research and case studies, you’ll learn how to upgrade your nutritional choices along with the effective use of supplements, brain games, and physical activity to overcome cognitive damage, whether it’s from previous injuries, such as a concussion or a bad fall or from the effects of living in modern day times.

Dr. Willeumier shares her own story alongside those from the NFL players and other clients she has worked with to help you leverage the latest research to find personal solutions. Biohack Your Brain teaches you how to take better care of your brain, and also how to enhance your memory, lose excess weight, increase your energy and vitality in order to create the best health and life possible.

About Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D.

Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist with research expertise in neurobiology and neuroimaging. Dr. Willeumier holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Boston College, M.S. degrees in physiological science and neurobiology, and a Ph.D. degree in neurobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She conducted her graduate work in the laboratory of neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the laboratory of neurogenetics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was a postdoctoral scientist in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she continued her work in neurodegenerative disease, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease. In recognition of her work at UCLA and Cedars- Sinai, she was the recipient of an NIH fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health. She has presented her work at national and international scientific meetings including the Society for Neuroscience and the Gordon Research Conference in Honk Kong, China.

More recently, Dr. Willeumier served as the Director of Neuroimaging and Clinical Research for the Amen Clinics, where she led the efforts to utilize imaging technologies to better understand the neurobiological issues underlying psychiatric disorders. In this capacity, she oversaw many pioneering studies, including a clinical research trial investigating the long-term effects of repetitive subconcussive impacts in National Football League players. Subsequent work focused on therapeutic approaches to rehabilitate brain function in athletes with mild traumatic brain injury and the application of machine learning algorithms to neuroimaging data to improve the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders.


Dr. Willeumier is widely published and has co-authored over 70 scientific publications and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Nature Translational Psychiatry, The Journal of Neuroscience, and The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Areas of published research include traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, autism, biomarkers of suicide, obesity, gender differences in brain function, clinical outcomes, and brain rehabilitation.

Dr. Willeumier currently holds a position on the Scientific Advisory Board of Tate Technology, LLC, a Los Angeles-based sports safety and technology licensing company, and serves as a Scientific Advisor to the Addiction Medicine Institute in Newport Beach, CA, and the Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Wellness Clinic Center for Neuroscience in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr. Willeumier is a leading advocate for brain health and wellness and a frequent contributor to top media outlets. She has been featured on Radio MD with Your Brain Health with Dr. Kristen Willeumier and the Salem Radio Network with Here’s To Your Health. She has appeared on Good Morning America (GMA3), Good Day LA KTTV-TV FOX Los Angeles, Good Day NY WNYW-TV FOX New York, FOX 32 Chicago, KMIR-TV NBC Palm Springs, KING5-TV CBS Seattle, KDVR-TV FOX Denver, WATN-TV ABC Memphis, WSFA-TV NBC Montgomery, KSWQ-TV FOX San Diego, Signal Boost with Zerlina Maxwell, Salem Radio, Coast-to-Coast, The Michael Savage Show, and on-line/print magazines including Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Shape, Science Times, Yahoo News, PopSugar, Niki Swift, HelloGiggles,
Mind Body Green, Well+Good, Verywell Health and Psychology Today. She is the author of the new book Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Proficiency & Power, published by the William Morrow imprint of HarperCollins.

Author, screenwriter and feminist Jenny Lecoat shares her debut novel, THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, based on her family's experiences in German Occupation

 

LISTEN 

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

The Occupation of the Channel Islands has been a backdrop to my life ever since I can remember. Born only fifteen years after Jersey’s liberation to parents whose childhoods were spent under Nazi rule, I was always aware that two of my relatives had been sent to concentration camps for sheltering an escaped Russian slave worker. As a result, my great uncle became the only British survivor of Bergen-Belsen, and my great aunt died in the gas chambers of Ravensbrüch.


As the only part of the British Isles to fall to the Nazis in WWII, the island’s Occupation is a dark and complex period that even now divulges new secrets. When Hedy’s story finally came to public attention after seventy years, I knew that it encapsulated the oppression, terror, and defiance that characterized those years, and had the potential to highlight the little-known aspects of a frequently misunderstood history. I hope this fictionalized account of Hedy’s experiences provides some insight into a world that few are left to provide first-hand and brings understanding and inspiration to future generations.

Based on an incredible true story...

Debut author Jenny Lecoat’s family has been shadowed by the Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands since the Germans landed in 1940. Born shortly after Jersey’s liberation, Lecoat’s parents grew up under Nazi rule in the only British Isle to fall in WWII and had two relatives who were sent to concentration camps for sheltering refugees and resisting German rule.


One survived. The other did not.

Now, the screenwriter, feminist, and daughter of the resistance, Jenny Lecoat, has penned a fictionalized story of her family’s experiences in the complex yet little know period of German Occupation of Jersey in THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS (Graydon House Books; February 2, 2021; Trade Paperback Original; $17.99). Capturing the oppression, terror, and defiance that characterized those years, Hedy Bercu is a Jewish refugee who fled to the Channel Islands to escape the Nazis, only to find herself cornered when the Axis powers invade Jersey.

Her only chance for survival is to make herself invaluable to the Germans by working as a translator, hiding in plain sight with the help of her friends and community – and a sympathetic German officer. But as the war intensifies, rations dwindle, neighbors turn on neighbors, and Hedy's life is in greater danger every day. It will take a definitive, daring act to save her from certain deportation to the concentration camps.


New York Times bestselling author Kelly Rimmer calls THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS “an unforgettable tale of friendship, love, courage and survival.” A unique, first-hand look at a little known part of WWII history, Jenny Lecoat’s historical fiction debut is a timely story of rebellion and valor that readers won’t want to miss.


Jenny Lecoat was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, where her parents were raised under German Occupation and were involved in resistance activity. Lecoat moved to England at 18, where, after earning a drama degree, she spent a decade on the alternative comedy circuit as a feminist stand-up. She also wrote for newspapers and women's magazines (Cosmopolitan, Observer), worked as a TV and radio presenter, before focusing on screenwriting from sitcom to sketch shows. A love of history and factual stories and a return to her island roots brought about her feature film Another Mother's Son (2017). She is married to television writer Gary Lawson and now lives in East Sussex. THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS is her first novel

.



Praise for THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS:

“THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS is an unforgettable tale of friendship, love, courage and survival. I loved every word of this fantastically engrossing novel. Jenny Lecoat is an author to watch!!”

– Kelly Rimmer, NYT bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say


“A riveting story of survival against all odds, told by a masterful storyteller who also happens to be a fresh new voice in the genre. I absolutely loved The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat and recommend it highly, not just to fans of historical fiction, but to lovers of good books everywhere.”

– Karen Robards, NYT bestselling author of The Black Swan of Paris


“A captivating story of trust and betrayal, courage, survival and forbidden love.”

– Glynis Peters, author of The Secret Orphan

For the first time, Hollywood executive Samantha Hart is baring her soul in her memoir, “Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell” (Wild Bill Press)

WATCH | LISTEN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hollywood Exec Samantha Hart’s
Coming-of-Age Memoir, “Blind Pony”
Coming March 15, 2021


— A heart-wrenching childhood of abuse leads to a harrowing journey of self-discovery, globe-trotting, and tales from the Hollywood trenches —


LOS ANGELES, CA (January 18, 2021) – For the first time, Hollywood executive Samantha Hart is baring her soul in her memoir, “Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell” (Wild Bill Press), to reveal to the world a heart-wrenching childhood of abuse that she endured by her own grandfather, which led to her life as a runaway teen, and landed her in 1970s Los Angeles. This coming-of-age story is a page-turner that chronicles the author’s journey into her 20s, as she navigates various abusive relationships, toxic Hollywood characters, her personal relationship to her “Marlboro Man''-idealized father, “Wild Bill,” and ultimately, how she finds her North Star. The book is coming out on March 15, 2021, and can be pre-ordered on Amazon or samanthahart.net.


Hart says, “Almost no one in my life, including long-time friends and colleagues, knew about any of the trauma that I experienced as a young girl. I always managed to overcome adversity throughout my life, have a positive outlook and do really well for myself, so telling my story now—it’s going to surprise a lot of people. I hope that if there is just one girl out there who feels alone and scared about her situation, when she hears my story, she’ll realize that there’s always hope.”


Early reviews and reactions are hailing the book and its author with accolades including: “Unforgettable and raw, Hart’s deeply honest musings will ring true to those who want to understand what it’s like to walk through fire.” (Book Life/Publisher’s Weekly); “…a memoir about overcoming—about facing up to and learning from one’s past without being imprisoned by it.” (David Herman, IndieReader); “An extraordinary new voice…takes you on a trip back in time to when LA was over-the-top cool.” (Barbara Gorder, executive); “A powerful coming of age story about finding strength through rebellion, recovery, and forgiveness.” (Jill Watts, bestselling author/Professor of Graduate Studies at CSU); “Hart is a gifted storyteller....she became a backgammon hustler in Los Angeles, something readers likely won’t find in many memoirs.” (Kirkus Reviews); “Excellent writing…I recommend this book to simply everyone.” (Dog-eared Publishing).


Comparisons of Hart’s story have been made to New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Strayed’s popular storytelling and books like “Wild,” which Oprah’s Book Club selected.


Samantha grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania that was no childhood ideal, but rather a surreal, twisted nightmare. After years of enduring a life of abuse, at the age of 14, she ran away searching for her father, a character she only knew as “Wild Bill”—only to discover he's not the hero she dreamt he'd be.
Her instinctual knack for surviving independently as a young runaway takes the reader on an unbelievable journey into the mind of a vulnerable, resilient, and quick-witted teen-who finds herself in situations that range from mordantly funny to sometimes perilous adventures.


Arriving in Los Angeles at the peak of LA’s decadence, where money, drugs, and good times flowed, she floats through a strange new world of champagne-soaked parties, high-stakes backgammon tournaments, and a whirlwind of international escapades as she travels across Europe.


“Blind Pony” is a raucous recounting—a coming-of-age narrative of healing and hope, intersecting themes of recovery, redemption, and forgiveness. Hart’s defiance to play the victim, but rather define life on her terms, will inspire anyone who reads her words.


“Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell” is available for pre-order at samanthahart.net.

WATCH the book trailer


About Samantha Hart
Samantha Hart's career has spanned music, film, and advertising, earning her a reputation as an award-winning Creative Director. Early in her career, Hart worked with top artists at Geffen, including: Cher, Aerosmith, Nirvana and Guns 'N Roses, to name just a few. Segueing to the role as Creative Director in the film industry, her creative marketing campaigns brought prominence and Academy Awards to films such as “Fargo,” “Dead Man Walking,” and “Boys Don't Cry,” while earning cult status for independent features, “Four Weddings and A Funeral,” “Priscilla Queen of the Desert," and “Dazed and Confused,” which is enjoying a resurgence in popularity from the new book Alright, Alright, Alright. 

The book details Hart's campaign for the Richard Linklater film that has become synonymous with the indie due to its iconic stoned happy face and irreverent copy. With her partner, Samantha built a multi-million dollar company in the advertising industry, Foundation, with over forty employees and offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. Under her leadership, Foundation earned distinction as an early disrupter of the traditional production and post-production models, combining the two under one roof. Samantha currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, director James Lipetzky, and their teenage sons, Davis and Denham. Her daughter, Vignette, and her granddaughters, Andromeda and Ondine, reside in Massachusetts.



Website: https://www.samanthahart.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealsamhart
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanthahart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samantha.hart.39

Coming up soon! Christine Isley-Farmer talks about her first book in her new series, Finding My Yip

WATCH | LISTEN

Christine Isley-Farmer talks about her first book in her new series, Finding My Yip (March 2, 2021, Wandering in the Words Press). The power of stories and music’s healing qualities weave their way through the book, which also features a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as the narrator. Boomer and his new friend Chloe seek to develop confidence, make friends, and strengthen their bond, all while challenging their fears.


Christine speaks on a number of topics, including:

Her education and career revolving around music both as a performer and educator

The themes of friendship, trust, teamwork and determination in the book

Why she wanted to include a child with a stutter in her book

The second book in this series, which is a mystery

Her love for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog breed

What it was like to have a career as a professional singer


About the book: 

When Boomer is a puppy he is unable to yip like his mother and sisters. Boomer lives with Nana Weathers, a musician who possesses a magical ring that helps them communicate. Boomer quickly bonds with Nana’s nine-year-old granddaughter Chloe, who has a stutter. Chloe’s big wish is to sing beautifully like Nana. Chloe and Boomer make new friends at dog obedience school and grow their confidence together. By teaming up in the music room and gaining a little help from their friends, Chloe and Boomer try to find their voices in Boomer’s Tales: Book 1.

Janeane speaks with MEAGHAN B MURPHY Editor-in-Chief at Woman’s Day and Author of YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE: A Radically Simple Approach to Having Endless Energy and Filling Every Day with Yay

WATCH | LISTEN

A high-energy guide to living with presence, optimism, and joy--one yay at a time!


“If you want more energy and focus, read this book now. You’ll find simple, science-backed ways to feel better so you can achieve what matters most, while always staying true to who you are.”

--Marie Forleo, #1 NY Times bestseller Everything is Figureoutable



Ever wish you were one of those upbeat, positive people who embrace every day with a can-do mindset that motivates others and simply makes life more fun? Longtime magazine editor Meaghan B Murphy is one of those high-energy people--and she's here to share her secrets for finding more yay every day. Meaghan is the super successful supermom (recently promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Woman's Day) who does it all with a smile. And it’s not about doing the most or being the best – it’s about changing your perspective and making small changes that have big results.

Janeane speaks with

MEAGHAN B MURPHY

Editor-in-Chief at Woman’s Day and Author of

YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE:

A Radically Simple Approach to Having Endless Energy

and Filling Every Day with Yay

Video of Meaghan as a contributor on the TODAY Show:

How to host a movie night in your backyard



YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE is Meaghan's practical guide to bringing your best self to every moment, even when the pressures of daily life leave you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and wallowing in negative thoughts. Spanning health, work, family time, and more, this book reveals small changes in outlook and habits that yield big results, without ever sacrificing who you are.


Informed by the latest research in neuroscience, positive psychology, and inspiring examples of women and men who live fully charged every day, YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE goes beyond platitudes and shallow Insta-inspiration. This inspiring and empowering book provides a blueprint for feeling less stressed and genuinely making the most of your every day.



In an interview, Meaghan can offer advice including:

· Say YES to More Things You Love: Rather than just saying NO to things you don’t enjoy and freeing yourself from undue burdens or anxieties, fill your calendar with things that make you happy.

· Work/Life Balance – Forget it! Rather than worry about work/life balance, embrace integration and connect parts of your life with your job. Allow all of your different personas (career self, mom self, etc.) to co-exist and cooperate.

· Celebrate Everything: Meaghan is all about high-fiving ALL holidays because they’re excuses to have fun and remind yourself and your family how important fun really is. Taco Tuesday has become a Team Murphy National Holiday during the pandemic. In those early days of lockdown, it was all we had to look forward to! They now have t-shirts, string lights, 5 types of garland, taco plates and napkins, and a singing taco cat.

· Tap into Flower Power: Buy yourself the $1.99 carnations on your next grocery run and cut them short and tight in a mason jar and plop those bad boys on the kitchen table to spark joy. Meaghan even cites Harvard research that talks about the mood magic of putting flowers in the house.

· Dress Up to Feel Up: On her crappiest days during the pandemic, Meaghan would shower, beach wave her hair, and throw on some mascara – it’s what she calls “dopamine dressing!” She made all of her mom friends get out of their sweats!



www.meaghanbmurphy.com

Podcast: Off the Gram

Twitter: @meaghanbmurphy

Instagram: @meaghanbmurphy / @theyaylist



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meaghan B Murphy is a longtime magazine editor, writer, on-air lifestyle expert, podcaster, and certified trainer. Currently the content director at Woman's Day magazine, Murphy is a media veteran who previously served as executive editor of Good Housekeeping. She lives with her husband and their three children and fur baby in Westfield, New Jersey.

Janeane speaks with Mary Kiernan, CCE, AAC, MBA Associate Teaching Professor, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and Jennifer Tennican, Director & Producer of Hearts of Glass

Trailer

WATCH | LISTEN

Hearts of Glass follows the tumultuous first 15 months of operation of Vertical Harvest (VH), a multi-story, state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse that grows crops while providing meaningful, competitively-paid jobs for people with disabilities. The film weaves the story of VH’s launch with the personal journeys of several employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Innovation and inclusion create a fertile environment for people and plants to grow.

VH is a vertical farm on 1/10 of an acre at an elevation of 6,237 feet in Jackson, Wyoming, a mountain town with extreme seasonal fluctuations in weather, population, and demand for goods and services. The employees with disabilities, part of an underestimated, underemployed and vulnerable population, are a vital and visible part of this community-based business.

Hearts of Glass is an intimate portrait of social entrepreneurship at the intersection of disability rights and sustainable, local food production.

“A refreshing example of a social enterprise that leverages community buyin as a way to showcase and promote diverse talent.”
Elaine E. Katz, Senior VP
Kessler Foundation







JENNIFER TENNICAN

Director & Producer of Hearts of Glass

Jennifer began her documentary career in the late 1990s working on NOVA science programs for WGBH with independent producers in the Boston area. Since moving to Wyoming in 2002, she has focused on local stories. Her films explore identity, inclusion and community, and although they are rooted in Jackson Hole, they resonate far beyond the mountain west. Jennifer’s award-winning work, including Hearts of Glass, The Stagecoach Bar: An American Crossroads and Far Afield: A Conservation Love Story, has been featured in numerous film festivals and seen on PBS. Currently, Hearts of Glass is the centerpiece of an impact campaign to improve employment and inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys rock climbing with her husband.




Mary Kiernan, CCE, AAC, MBA
Associate Teaching Professor, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Teaching Professor Kiernan joined Falk College’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in 2007. Mary’s professional credentials include Certified Chef de Cuisine and Certified Culinary Educator, American Culinary Federation and Profession Chef II, Culinary Institute of America. Prior to full time teaching, she worked extensively in the industry including managing SU’s Carrier Dome executive suites catering.

She is passionate about sharing her culinary knowledge and skills with students from all majors across campus. Her interest in being a part of Hearts of Glass comes from her work within her career in the foodservice industry and working with Inclusive U students here on-campus. She believes that everyone is entitled to good food and that everyone can participate in the process of having good food.


http://www.heartsofglassfilm.com/

Film’s website: https://www.heartsofglassfilm.com/organize-a-virtual-event/

The Impact Campaign is focused on virtual events.

social media tags:

FB and IG: @HeartsOfGlassFilm

Twitter: @HeartsGlassFilm

Coming soon! WOMEN IN WHITE COATS by Olivia Campbell--a book about the little-known true story of three pioneering women who fought to become the first women doctors, revolutionizing healthcare forever!

THE TRUE STORY OF THREE PIONEERING VICTORIAN WOMEN WHO BROKE DOWN BARRIERS IN MEDICINE TO BECOME THE FIRST WOMEN DOCTORS

WOMEN IN WHITE COATS

How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine

by Olivia Campbell

A powerfully illuminating read, for fans of The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks and Hidden Figures.

With the passing of trailblazing women’s rights activist Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, many anxiously look to the future for the fate of women’s healthcare. Ginsburg unequivocally changed women’s healthcare rights, and continued to fight for them through her final days. Just as many of this generation’s women vow to pick up the torch for the “Notorious RBG,” Ginsburg too followed in the revolutionary footsteps of her predecessors. Medical journalist Olivia Campbell sheds a brilliant light on such champions with WOMEN IN WHITE COATS, the little-known true story of three pioneering Victorian women who fought to become the first women doctors, revolutionizing healthcare forever.


With gripping storytelling based on the extensive correspondence and access to archival documents, Campbell expertly unearths a number relatively unsung, yet groundbreaking moments in history:

THE HEROINE WOMEN DESPERATELY NEEDED. Campbell introduces us to Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who had no intention of studying medicine until her friend, Mary Donaldson, begged her to become a lady doctor. Mary was dying from uterine cancer that went undetected because, like so many Victorian women, she felt uncomfortable being examined by a male doctor.


OUTMANEUVERING THE PATRIARCHY. Medicine was newly regulated in the 1800s, requiring doctors to receive formal training to be allowed to practice. Even though women have worked as healers since ancient times, men in the Victorian age found the idea of a lady doctor to be ludicrous. So much so, that when New York Geneva's medical students were asked in 1847 if Elizabeth Blackwell could attend their lectures, they believed it to be a joke from a rival school and said yes. Their dismissive attitude allowed Elizabeth Blackwell the access to study and the opportunity to become the first woman ever to earn a medical degree.


A COMPLICATED FRIENDSHIP WITH FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. Campbell reveals details on how Blackwell’s dear friend, the world-famous Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale, played an instrumental and supportive role early in Backwell’s career. And how Nightingale’s firm belief that women should be content to be nurses eventually drove a wedge in the friendship.


WOMEN IN WHITE COATS follows Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell's exceptional journey into medicine, as she was joined by Dr. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake, each going to extraordinary lengths to earn a medical degree. Together, these women founded the first-ever women run hospitals and teaching colleges, providing resources and a path for other women pursuing medicine to follow.


About the Author

Olivia Campbell is a journalist and author specializing in medicine and women; her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, and New York Magazine/The Cut, among others. Her debut nonfiction book, Women in White Coats, is due out from HarperCollins/Park Row Books in March 2021.

About Park Row Books

Park Row Books was launched in 2017 and is dedicated to publishing a selective list of voice-driven and thought-provoking books across a variety of genres, from book club fiction and literary suspense to historical novels and narrative nonfiction. Park Row is an exciting and innovative destination for literary writers who want a boutique publishing experience with the support of a powerhouse commercial publisher.


Like the Manhattan street after which it is named, and which was once the home of New York’s many newspapers, Park Row takes immense pride in fostering free expression, inclusive ideas and diverse voices.

Janeane speaks with bestselling author Brad Meltzer about his new book, I am Frida Kahlo and A NEW DAY

LISTEN

ABOUT I AM FRIDA KAHLO


The famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is the 23rd hero in the New York Times bestselling picture book biography series from Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great–the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero’s childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos. This book features Frida Kahlo, the renowned Mexican painter and activist. After surviving a bus crash, she made her mark in art history for her unique way of looking at the world and integrating her own image and life into her paintings.

By BRAD MELTZER
Illustrated by CHRISTOPHER ELIOPOULOS

Part of 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brad Meltzer is the author of the New York Times bestselling Ordinary People Change the World series for children, as well as six New York Times bestselling thrillers for adults: The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, The Zero Game, and The Book of Fate. He is also the #1 bestselling author of the critically acclaimed comic books Identity Crisis and Justice League of America, and is the cocreator of the TV series Jack & Bobby. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School, he lives in Florida. To learn more, visit bradmeltzer.com.

Bestselling author Brad Meltzer talks about his latest book, A NEW DAY!

     photo credit: Michelle Watson, Catchlight Group

LISTEN

A rambunctious and big-hearted story about the power of gratitude and kindness from bestselling author Brad Meltzer and award-winning illustrator Dan Santat 

A NEW DAY by Brad Meltzer
and illustrated by Dan Santat

Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of Ordinary People Change the World, and Dan Santat, Caldecott Medal-winning creator of Beekle, have teamed together to present A NEW DAY (Dial Books for Young Readers; on sale 3/2/2021). This funny, big-hearted story, which marks a storybook debut for Brad Meltzer, is the perfect tool for teaching kids about the value of kindness. 

Sunday quit, just like that. She said she was tired of being a day. And so the other days of the week had no choice but to advertise: "WANTED: A NEW DAY. Must be relaxing, tranquil, and replenishing. Serious inquires only." Soon lots of hopefuls arrived with their suggestions, such as Funday, Bunday, Acrobaturday, SuperheroDay, and even MonstersWhoResembleJellyfishDay! 

Things quickly got out of hand, until one more candidate showed up: a little girl with a thank-you gift for Sunday. The girl suggested simply a nice day--a day to be kind. And her gratitude made a calendar's worth of difference to Sunday, who decided she didn't need to quit after all. 

"This is the only book I ever dreamed. I literally woke up, the idea fully formed. I know that sounds nuts. But it's true. And I think it came from a need –a need the entire country is seeing right now. With all the chaos in the world, we all can use...A New Day. Plus, we got the master, Dan Santat, to bring it to life." 

Filled with colorful, busy scenes with eye-catching details, the moral of A NEW DAY is easily relatable: when we appreciate each other a little bit more, all the days of the week can be brand-new days where everything is possible. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heroes for My Son, Heroes for My Daughter, a dozen suspense novels like The Escape Artist, and nonfiction books like The Lincoln Conspiracy. He is also the host of the History Channel television shows Brad Meltzer's Decoded and Brad Meltzer's Lost History (which he used to help find the missing 9/11 flag). 

He is the co-creator of the PBS Kids show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum –and of course, the inspiration for Brad. He lives in Florida with his wife and their three children. 

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR 

Dan Santat is the author/illustrator of more than one hundred titles, including the Caldecott Medal winner The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. He graduated with honors from the Art Center College of Design and is the creator of the Disney animated hit The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets.

A NEW DAY by Brad Melzer and illustrated by Dan SantatDial Books for Young Readers ▪ March 2, 2021 ▪ 9780525554240 ▪ Hardcover ▪ $17.99▪Ages 3-5

Janeane speaks with award winning writer, broadcaster, performer and comedian Alice Fraser - known for Alice Fraser: Savage (2020), Australia's Funniest Stand-Up Specials (2020) and Comedy Next Gen (2016).

WATCH | LISTEN

ABOUT ALICE FRASER


ALICE IS AN AWARD WINNING WRITER, BROADCASTER, PERFORMER AND COMEDIAN.

She's also an ex academic, ex-corporate Lawyer and (sort of) banjo player.

Alice does reliably silly, unpredictably meaningful, narratively unorthodox, gut-punch comedy.

The Trilogy podcast series commissioned by ABC Radio was voted Apple Editorials Team’s #1 Best Australian Podcast for 2018. Alice was awarded the 2016 AMP Tomorrow Fund grant for her podcast 'Tea With Alice' and has toured the world with her critically acclaimed solo shows The Resistance, and Savage. Both received four and five star reviews and packed out houses in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, New Zealand, London and the Edinburgh Fringe. She is touring her new show, Empire in 2017 through the Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

Alice writes jokes for The Project on Channel 10, as well as the satirical news radio show "A Rational Fear". She has appeared on BBC Radio 4, and Radio National as well as having co-hosted the cult radio show "Tracksuits" weekly on FBi radio in Sydney for many years. She also appeared on "Whovians" (episode 4) on ABC. She is a frequenter on "The Bugle" hosted by Andy Zaltzman and part of the 'Troll Play' ABC Radio podcast alongside Sami Shah and Cal Wilson. She writes a regular column for SBS Comedy and The Chaser Quarterly.

Alice's solo show The Resistance is available on iview, on 21 Jan on ABC 2's Comedy Next Gen, and as part of Virgin flights on-board entertainment.

---

HISTORY.

Studying Arts/Law at Sydney University, Alice began her life in comedy through the Improvised Comedy scene and the Arts and Law Faculty Revues across two universities and 5 years of writing, directing, producing and performing.

During her Masters in English Literature (Rhetoric) at Cambridge, she carried her love of sketch comedy writing and performing into the Cambridge Footlights.

She then went to New York for a stint as an intern in an NYC investment bank, started doing stand-up comedy in her spare time, and despite a brief career as a lawyer at Allens Linklaters, has been doing standup ever since.

She is now a full time comedian and writer, having performed sold out solo shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, Canberra Comedy Festival, Perth, Adelaide, New Zealand and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. She has performed all over the world, from Cambridge to New York, and from London to Damascus to universal critical acclaim.

Alice won the inaugural Homebake Comedy Competition, and was nominated for best newcomer at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2013. She was named as one of Chortle's Gigs of the year in 2015. She was an SCF FRESH act, and consistently gets quite nice five star Reviews for her solo shows.


Alice has given a TEDx Talk about vanity in the face of death, talked about being a young carer on The Project, debated the power of the media against Julian Assange at Splendour in the Grass and once did a gig in a Butcher's shop next to a rotating meat display. It was much more stressful than any of the other things.

---

PUNCHLINES TO A DEADLINE.

Alice regularly performs and is available for corporate events and charity fundraisers, clubs and theatres, doing standup, MC work and comedy debates.

Alice's breadth of experience from the hallowed halls of Cambridge in the Footlights to the sticky floors of New York's cut-throat comedy scene has left her with tough, flexible and impressive writing and performing skills.

Alice has made appearances on the Channel 9 Morning show, Channel 10's Let's do Coffee, and the SBS Story Hunters series. She made her feature length movie debut in Jim Minns' 'Never Hesitate'. Her cult podcast Tea With Alice comes out every week (more or less). She writes regularly for television, radio and on anything else anyone will let her.

Alice is a regular MC, Keynote Speaker and headliner around Australia and is open for bookings to perform wherever.

Feel free to contact Alice at any time HERE

Coming soon! Filmmakers, Arlet Guallpa and Marcial Pilataxi, talk about HBO’S COVID DIARIES NYC (DEBUTS MARCH 9). The Short Documentary Follows Five Young Filmmakers As They Navigate The Early Days Of The Pandemic. They are joined by DCTV's Johnny Ramos | Director of Youth Programs and Jesse Perez Antigua | Director of Community Youth Programs

COVID DIARIES NYC, debuting TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00-9:40 ET/PT),chronicles the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The deeply personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social upheaval.

The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max. The trailer is available now on YouTube.

WATCH | LISTEN

With original animation by Rosemary Colón-Martinez, COVID DIARIES NYC is comprised of five brave and at times heart wrenching first-person profiles that provide profound insight into these young people’s experiences as they process the impacts and meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic:

“The Only Way to Live in Manhattan” follows Marcial Pilataxi, who lives with and helps his grandmother at a building where she works as the superintendent. They wrestle with the increasing amounts of tenants’ garbage because of those sheltering at home. Marcial makes food deliveries and tries to maintain normalcy with his friends as the city he knows changes against the backdrop of the pandemic and a city torn apart by unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

“My COVID Breakdown” follows Aracelie Colón, who struggles with her mental health as her father continues to go to work at the post office every day while the threat of the virus looms.

“When My Dad Got COVID” follows Camille Dianand, who is concerned about her father, a subway mechanic for the MTA. After a coworker dies from the virus, her father contracts COVID-19 and the family faces life and death terror.

“No Escape From New York” follows Shane Fleming, whose parents lose their jobs, leaving the family worrying about mounting bills, growing debt and their need to move out of New York City. They decide to go on a road trip to escape their problems, but the issues his mother and father face follow them wherever they go.

“Frontline Family” follows Arlet Guallpa, who watches with her family as ambulance after ambulance arrives at their apartment building in Washington Heights to take away residents who die from the virus. Despite their fears, her parents, a bus driver and home care attendant, carry on with work and try to overcome their anxieties about their family’s exposure.

HBO Documentary Films’ COVID DIARIES NYC is a DCTV production, directed by Marcial Pilataxi, Aracelie Colón, Camille Dianand, Shane Fleming, Arlet Guallpa, and Rosemary Colón-Martinez; produced by Jon Alpert, Jesse Perez Antigua, Sade Falebita, Naomi Mizoguchi, and Johnny Ramos; executive produced by Carrie Penner, Perri Peltz, and Matthew O’Neill.

ABOUT DCTV

Founded in 1972, DCTV is the most honored independent nonprofit media center in the nation. DCTV Youth Media provides free filmmaking training, mentorship and professional development for NYC teens and young adults.