Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Barbara Mujica is a multi-award-winning, bestselling novelist, and a professor emerita at Georgetown University. She’s also a short-story writer, essayist, and critic. She’s been published in The New York Times, The Miami Herald, and The Washington Post. Barbara's stories have appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals.  She’s a two-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction. And her work has been optioned for the movies and adapted for the stage. Her latest novel, Miss del Río, which is a historical fiction about the great Mexican-American actress, Dolores Del Rio, has been optioned for a film by John Black Productions. It was a Target Book Club pick, an Apple Audio "Must Listen," a Library Journal "Best Book of the Year" selection, and The Washington Post named it "One of the five best recent historical novels." I’ve read Miss Del Rio, and can tell you it’s riveting storytelling about a real-life major movie star as she lives and works in an elite world few ever get to experience. Miss Del Rio is a fascinating glimpse into many of the true characters of Hollywood’s silent era as it transitioned to talkies and far beyond.Among Barbara’s published books are Frida, a best seller is based on the tumultuous relationship between the artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Sister Teresa, I Am Venus, The Deaths of Don Bernardo, and three short story collections: Imagining Iraq, Sanchez Across the Street, and Far from My Mother's Home. As a scholar, Barbara specializes in Early Modern Spanish literature and contemporary Latin American Culture. Barbara’s also been active in veterans' issues at Georgetown since 2010. Her book Collateral Damage: Women Write about War was inspired by a symposium she organized at Georgetown on women and war. And you may have seen or heard Barbara being interviewed on CBS-TV News, NPR, NBC Radio, The PBS TV News Hour, and CNN-LatinoIn case you’re wondering about the intermittent snoring throughout much of the show, it is Barbara’s dog, Frankie, who was taking a long snooze as we were recording. 

Mike Bodayle is a semi-retired insurance company executive. His favorite things in life are proudly displayed in the images on the four luggage tags found on his suitcase: the Yankees logo, a cassette mix tape, a slice of pizza, and the Starbucks logo. In the mid-1970s Mike wrote about music for his college newspaper. From 1995-2001, Mike published Beyond Belief, an Elvis Costello international fanzine. In 2016, he left printed media for two blogs: The Pizza Snob and Music City Mike. In 2025, Mike published A League of His Own, the family memoir he’d long dreamed of writing. I’ve read A League of His Own and can tell you it’s a highly detailed, personal accounting of his family, focused largely on his beloved father’s adventures with softball, baseball, and life. This led Mike to develop his seminar, How and Why to Write a Memoir, which has returned him to his love of public speaking.Mike’s first work of fiction, Music Leads to Murder, is soon to be published. It was inspired by his passion for rock music and his love of murder mysteries, New York City, and London.So, for all those reasons and many more, I’m delighted to welcome the writer and speaker, Mike Bodayle, to StoryBeat today. Mike, I’m so glad to have you join me on the show! 

Crystal Manich has directed over 90 productions of opera, plays, musical theatre, and circus across the USA, Argentina, Australia, and Europe. Her work has been acclaimed by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other major publications for her “lively” and “imaginative staging.” She wrote and directed her first opera libretto, Time to Act, written with composer Laura Kaminsky, which premiered at the Pittsburgh Opera in 2026. I saw Time to Act and found it to be well-written, hard-hitting, and compelling. She is also the writer-director for Triângulo: A Mixed Martial Arts Opera, which premieres in 2027.Crystal served as Artistic Director for Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal and previously on Quidam. She directed the opera The Copper Queen as a western-thriller feature film for Arizona Opera, garnering an award at the 2021 Toronto International Women's Film Festival.She was nominated for a 2021 Chicago EMMY for a multi-camera livestream of Daniel Catán’s Spanish-language opera La Hija de Rappaccini for Chicago Opera Theater at the Field Museum.Crystal holds a BFA in Drama-Directing and a Master’s in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University, a certificate in Business and Management of Entertainment from UCLA Extension, and a Professional Certificate in Screenwriting from UCLA.

Barry Greenfield is making his second appearance on StoryBeat. He’s a working musician and songwriter whose career spans from 1968 to the present. His 12 CDs have enjoyed global sales. Barry’s written three number-one songs and had twenty-plus songs covered by other artists. In 2025, his music was selected by HBO, BBC TV, and Australia Films for their original programming.Barry’s also an author. His first book, a memoir, My Journey to Blue Sky, was published in March 2025. He and I chatted about My Journey to Blue Sky during our first conversation. You can find that episode on storybeat.net, wherever you listen to podcasts, and on YouTube.Barry’s second book is a novel called All You Need Is Courage, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It tells the fictional tale of a young songwriter who meets and works with his heroes, The Beatles, during their heyday. The saga has more than a few parallels to Barry’s own history. If you enjoy stories about hardworking artists triumphing in the music business, I highly urge you to read All You Need Is Courage. You may find it to be truly inspirational.Barry’s also written music for a documentary he produced called My Day in Auschwitz.  A selection from the film, The Gate, was published in the Yad Vashem 2025 coffee table book, Lessons from the Shoah.Please stick around at the end of this episode because Barry has generously lent us his fantastic song, The Beautiful Band, which we’ll play for your listening pleasure.

Doug Thompson started his broadcast career at CHUM Radio Toronto in the mid 1960’s. Since then, he’s worked in New York, Los Angeles and London, England. He’s created programming for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Telemedia Network Radio in Canada as well as ABC Radio, NBC Radio, and the Unistar network in the U.S.Doug has written, produced and directed over 1000 hours of network and syndicated radio programming that’s been heard by millions around the world as well as creating several thousand radio commercials and promos. He’s worked with major celebrity hosts like John Candy, Ringo Starr, Grammy Award winning music producer David Foster and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Graham Nash.In television, he wrote and directed over 30 documentaries, including “Hi-Fi Salutes” and “Hitsville U.S. Eh!” about Motown with a Canadian perspective.Doug has won 154 awards for his work in both radio and TV. He’s taught broadcasting at Seneca College in Toronto for 10 years, and he’s currently the chair of the Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation.

My guest today, the actor David Reivers has had a career spanning 40 years in theatre, film, and TV.  He’s best known for various TV roles in shows like Charmed, Felicity, Drake and Josh, The Disney Channel’s Jump In, and recently in season one of The Pitt. Film roles include Malcolm X, After the Sunset, Circle, Poseidon, and most recently, The Accountant 2.You may have also seen David from his appearances in over 200 commercials.For the record, David played the voice of Lucky, in the movie called Lucky that I directed and co-produced. He suavely and coolly played an evil little dog that haunts the twisted mind of animation writer Millard Mudd, who was played by a favorite StoryBeat guest, and the movie’s co-producer, Michael Emanuel. Without David’s unique and spot-on voicing of Lucky, the movie wouldn’t have turned out as amazingly well.David is the father of four children, three incredibly wonderful daughters, and stage and screen star, Corbin Bleu.

Stephen Cole is returning to StoryBeat for the third time. He’s an award-winning musical theatre writer whose musicals have spanned the globe.Stephen’s first production was Dodsworth starring Hal Linden. His Off-Broadway musicals include After the Fair, The Road to Qatar and Inventing Mary Martin. He won the prestigious Kleban Award for The Night of the Hunter. And Saturday Night at Grossinger’s had successful runs in Dallas, LA, Florida, and Sonoma.Broadway legend Chita Rivera toured in Casper, which was reborn as Casper-The Friendly Musical. Merman's Apprentice, premiered at Birdland in New York and won the San Francisco Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Score. Stephen's latest musical, Goin’ Hollywood, had its world premiere at WaterTower Theatre in Texas.His published books include That Book About That Girl, I Could Have Sung All Night, and MARY & ETHEL…and Mikey Who? which we talked about during Stephen’s last appearance on this show.  His current theatrical memoir, Camelton, also doubles as his one-man show, which played to sold-out crowds in New York.I’ve read Camelton, and can tell you it’s a terrifically entertaining account of Stephen’s extraordinarily challenging time writing a musical celebration for the Emir of Qatar. His reminiscence captures all the crazy sturm und drang of creating a massive musical under commission in a foreign land.

Natalie Lander was inspired to become an actress by watching her dad, David L. Lander, who was best known for playing “Squiggy” on Laverne & Shirley. Natalie has built a résumé that includes a wide range of credits as both a performer and creator.On camera, Natalie has had recurring guest star roles on The Middle, Lopez, and Major Crimes. Other guest-starring credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Étoile, 13 Reasons Why, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Castle, Hannah Montana, and more.She voiced “Goldie” on Disney Jr.’s Goldie & Bear and “Stargirl” in DC’s Justice League franchise. She’s also voiced roles in prominent video games such as Saints Row, Final Fantasy, God of War, and Fire Emblem.If you were a fan of the MTV competition show Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods, you may remember Natalie, who placed fifth in her effort to play Elle Woods on Broadway. She later wrote a one-woman show about that experience, Legally Brunette: The Search for Myself, which has had both West Coast and East Coast premieres.Most recently, Natalie completed a run of her new show, Earth to Squiggy, at the Garry Marshall Theatre, in Burbank, California, which she co-wrote, and is set to the music of her father and Michael McKean, who played Lenny on Laverne & Shirley.For the record, I’ve known Natalie for a couple of decades from when she sang on a demo of a song I wrote and produced with the composer, Rachael Lawrence.

The prolific screenwriter, David Silverman, is back on StoryBeat for the second time. David has written for stars like Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Rosanne Barr, Drew Carey, Sarah Silverman, Pee Wee Herman, and others. David has co-created 5 TV series and written and produced on more than 30 different series, including hugely popular shows like Newhart, Roseanne, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Alice, Dilbert, and South Park.David co-created The Wild Thornberrys, which spawned two feature films: The Wild Thornberrys Movie and Rugrats Go Wild. Other feature films David has co-written include Stepping Out, Purple Haze, and The Flintstones Movie.As a Stanford-educated psychotherapist, David’s treated and coached aspiring writers, many of whom have gone on to sell their own feature films and TV shows.David and his wife Rogena, who is also a writer and editor, recently collaborated on their excellent book, How to Be a Rockstar Screenwriter, which contains some of the best advice I’ve read on the mindset that ambitious screen and TV writers need to succeed. Unlike most books on screenwriting, How to Be a Rockstar Screenwriter is filled with solid advice for those dealing with the challenging psychological issues facing writers who wish to work in Hollywood, as well as for those who are already successful screenwriters.  I urge anyone hoping to make it as a professional writer in Hollywood to check out this very wise book.For the record, David and I have known one another for many decades, connected by our mutual friend, the late, great Steve Sustarsic. David and Steve were a well-known, highly successful sit-com writing team. They wrote and produced hundreds of TV scripts together.

My guest today, Christine Pedi is known as the “Lady of 1000 Voices." She discovered her talent for multiple personalities through her long association with the legendary Off-Broadway revue, Forbidden Broadway, performing in companies all over the world, including New York, London, Japan, Singapore, and more. Among the dozens of personalities Christine is known to impersonate are: Liza Minelli, Rosie Perez, Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Julie Andrews, Katherine Hepburn and many, many others.She’s received a Drama Desk nomination, as well as an L.A. Ovation & NAACP Award for her work.On Broadway, Christine debuted in Little Me with Martin Short and Faith Prince, directed by a favorite StoryBeat guest, Rob Marshall. Other Broadway appearances include several peculiar offstage callers in Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio, starring Liev Schreiber, and a turn as Mama Morton in the long-running hit, Chicago.She brought her collection of divas to Off-Broadway’s Newsical the Musical, and starred in Spamilton: An American Parody, which she also co-produced.And many of you will know Christine from her long-running daily SiriusXM Radio show Broadway Breakfast on the On Broadway channel playing music of the stage & screen and interviewing Show Biz legends Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm. On Saturdays she and Seth Rudetsky co-host Dueling Divas.  And fans of Howard Stern can hear her provide the occasional celebrity voice on his SiriusXM morning show.Other Off-Broadway performances include: the title role in Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating Mating and Marriage, A Broadway Diva Christmas, Jerry’s Girls, and My Favorite Year.Christine’s performed her cabaret show, Great Dames, at many major New York venues, winning both the New York Bistro & Nitelife Awards. Her holiday show, There’s No Bizness Like Snow Bizness, has been an annual New York staple since 2008. She's even performed for President & Mrs. Clinton, playing a singing Hillary!On TV, you may recognize Christine on The Sopranos as Mrs. Bobby Baccala (4 scenes, 5 lines...dead). But she recently escaped the clutches of Dr. Death on NBC.Be sure to check out Christine’s popular, hilarious videos on YouTube, especially her “Shit Liza Says” videos. It’s brilliant, laugh-out-loud stuff.Last but not least, and closest to my heart, Christine can be found singing on the well-regarded 1994 double-CD Complete Work recording of Jekyll & Hyde, the Musical, featuring Anthony Warlow, Linda Eder and Carolee Carmello.

Ron Roman has written extensive travel, academic, and political articles for regional, national, and international publications. He studied both fiction and creative writing for his third graduate degree in Humanities from Wesleyan University. Ron has acted in numerous Korean TV dramas and motion pictures like Operation Chromite, portraying Admiral Forrest Sherman opposite Liam Neeson’s General Douglas MacArthur. In 2025 Ron published his alternate-history apocalyptic doomsday thriller novel, Of Ashes and Dust, which was a Finalist for the Chanticleer International Book Award in the Global Thrillers category.I’ve read Of Ashes and Dust and can tell you it’s a highly entertaining story that explores the anarchy of an apocalyptic future that includes revelations about UFOs and governmental conspiracies all set against a crumbling society. If you enjoy reading about the potential societal challenges a deteriorating world may face, I highly recommend Ron’s insight-filled book to you.Ron is also the recipient of The POET Magazine’s “Poet of the Month” award for his contributions.  Also, check out for his book A Poetic Rhapsody of the Soul, which is published by Windtree Press. As an Associate Professor of English, English as a Second Language, and Humanities, Ron taught at the University of Maryland Global Campus-Asia. Ron resides in South Korea with his wife where he works on US military installations assisting US military retirees and dependents.   

Leslie A. Rasmussen wrote TV comedies for folks like Gerald McRaney, Burt Reynolds, Roseanne Barr, Norm McDonald, and Drew Carey, while working on popular sit-coms such as Major Dad, Roseanne, ALF, The Wild Thornberrys, Sweet Valley High, Evening Shade, Norm, and The Good Life.After leaving the TV industry to raise her boys, Leslie obtained a master's degree in nutrition and ran her own business for ten years.She’s been published over twenty times in the Huffington Post and speaks on panels discussing female empowerment.Leslie’s debut novel, After Happily Ever After, has won over fifteen awards, and her second novel, The Stories We Cannot Tell, has won eleven awards.Her latest novel, When People Leave, was released in May 2025. I’ve read When People Leave and can tell you it’s a highly engaging, superbly crafted tale about death, grief, and the unraveling of a family mystery that involves three sisters going on the road together, all told with a light touch and great heart.

Paige N. Regan is a dark fantasy author known for her great ability to infuse humor into the macabre. With a focus on Young Adult and Adult novels, her captivating stories transport readers into worlds teeming with magic, myth, and murder. Her most recently published works include: Sin and Bones and Blood and Stone, which are the first two books of the Sin and Bones trilogy. Paige’s upcoming Gothic Fantasy novel, We Are Buried in the Garden, is set to be released in September 2026.I’ve read Sin and Bones and can tell you it’s an exciting dark fantasy story about a teenage girl dealing with all the difficulties involved in growing up while facing supernatural forces and influences that create unusual challenges for her to overcome.For the record, Paige and I met while she was a student at Point Park University, and I was one of her screenwriting professors.  Paige has the distinction of being the very first of my former students to appear as a guest on StoryBeat.  And I couldn’t be more proud or pleased. Truthfully, for me, this is a milestone moment.

Amy Meislin Pollack was a teacher for over four decades. From her own childhood, to the classroom, to being a parent of three and grandparent to seven, she’s perfectly positioned to write her coming-of-age book series based on a mischievous young girl, Jillian Kramer, who everyone calls Jelly Bean. After 60 years of occasionally working on her Jelly Bean books, Amy took advantage of the Covid pandemic to finish them.The series began with The Adventures of Jelly Bean, which first came to Amy when her fourth-grade teacher asked her to get up in front of the class and tell stories about Jelly Bean, which she would make up as she went along. Several years later she began writing down the Jelly Bean stories, and would work on them periodically in any free time she had during her teaching career and while raising her three children.The second in the series, The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean, was followed up by The Still Further Adventures of Jelly Bean, which I’ve read. It’s a charming take on the emotional challenges confronting Jelly Bean as she tries to navigate through the relentless turmoil of growing up.  She tries to work out relationships with her friends, her parents, her older brothers, and her uncle among others. Jelly Bean’s parents don’t want her best friend, who is of mixed race, to visit. Another friend is anorexic. One brother drops out of school. A grandparent dies. In other words, it’s about the struggles many young girls face as they grow up.Amy earned advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and NYU. For six years Amy was a professor of writing, and a teacher in the tutoring center at Montclair State University.

Amy Aniobi, is the Executive Producer of the hit HBO comedy "Insecure.” She also has various projects in development including at Amazon with Jill Soloway’s Topple Productions. Her past produced credits include NBC’s “Trial & Error,” HBO's "Silicon Valley," NBC's "The Michael J. Fox Show," "2 Dope Queens," and web series "Lisa and Amy Are Black," "The Slutty Years," and "Awkward Black Girl."The post Amy Aniobi, Writer-Producer – Episode #20 Encore appeared first on Storybeat with Steve Cuden.

David Newell is an actor known primarily for his portrayal of the beloved Mr. McFeely, the deliveryman on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Mr. McFeely’s most famous catchphrase is "Speedy Delivery!"The post David Newell, Actor-Mr. McFeely – Episode #24 Encore appeared first on Storybeat with Steve Cuden.