Get Michael Seth Starr's Bob Newhart biography, Bob Newhart: The Life and Laughter of an American Treasure: https://link.amazon/B0377giB9

Before The Bob Newhart Show became a sitcom classic, Bob Newhart had another show with the same name, and it lasted only one season. Biographer Michael Seth Starr explains why the 1961 variety series struggled despite winning a Peabody Award, and why sketches were an uncomfortable fit for the comedian whose one-sided phone calls had made him a star.

Starr joins Tim Blane to discuss Bob Newhart: The Life and Laughter of an American Treasure, drawing on his research and past interviews with Newhart. They trace the former accountant's sudden record-album success, his creative battles, his friendship with Don Rickles, his marriage to Ginny, the secret behind the Newhart finale, and his late-career Emmy for The Big Bang Theory.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Bob Newhart's forgotten first TV show

00:44 Michael Seth Starr on his Bob Newhart biography

05:12 Johnny Carson and the talk-show path

06:02 Why the 1961 Bob Newhart Show lasted one season

14:48 From accountant to comedy-album star

20:02 The comedy style Bob Newhart refused to change

28:18 Creative battles behind the quiet persona

31:16 Bob and Emily Hartley broke sitcom rules

36:10 Bob Newhart and Don Rickles' lifelong friendship

39:32 Ginny Newhart, marriage, and family

42:12 Catch-22, Elf, and a new generation of fans

45:12 How the Newhart finale stayed a secret

49:29 The Emmy wait and The Big Bang Theory

53:20 Bob Newhart's influence on comedy

56:18 Can great comedy come from an ordinary childhood?

Get Mark Shaw's newest book, Girl Around the World: https://link.amazon/B0ipu4OOY

Get the new book from Amelia Earhart's family, Oceans to Cross: https://link.amazon/B0fqXOKf0

What does Amelia Earhart’s own family believe happened to her? Her grandnephew Bram Kleppner lays out the explanation he considers most likely, why he doubts the odds of the island search, and the surprising reason his brother would rather the plane remain lost. Bram would welcome a discovery, but his family does not share one view of closure. He explains what evidence would actually settle the mystery.

Bestselling author Mark Shaw joins Bram and host Tim to examine Dorothy Kilgallen’s July 6, 1937 account of Earhart’s disappearance, the hazards of the final flight, and who could claim the plane if it is ever found. They also explore the two women’s remarkable lives through Girl Around the World and Oceans to Cross by Bram’s mother, Amy M. Kleppner. This interview was recorded while the expedition discussed was underway; the guests present interpretations, not a confirmed discovery of the aircraft.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Bram’s surprising Amelia Earhart connection

00:26 Introducing Mark Shaw and Bram Kleppner

01:50 Rediscovering Dorothy Kilgallen’s 1936 journal

04:00 Amelia Earhart’s advice to Dorothy Kilgallen

07:16 Becoming the Earhart family spokesperson

08:54 Why Amy Kleppner kept her family link private

15:34 The plane search and a family divided on closure

20:59 Who would own Amelia Earhart’s plane?

25:58 Nikumaroro, Howland Island and the fuel question

27:31 Dorothy Kilgallen’s July 1937 newspaper account

31:56 Amelia’s letters about taking risks

33:50 Amelia Earhart’s childhood and family history

43:54 Women’s rights and the lives behind the legends

54:25 Radio experiments and what would count as proof

59:18 The photograph on Oceans to Cross

Former FBI agent Geoff Kelly believes the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist was a Boston mob operation, with stolen Rembrandts intended as bargaining chips. After 22 years on the case, he explains the informants and leads behind that conclusion, the deaths of suspected robbers, and why identifying who he believes committed the crime has not brought the 13 stolen works home. The paintings remain missing, and the investigation is still open.

In this Facts Verse interview, Kelly joins Tim Blane to discuss his book, Thirteen Perfect Fugitives, and the long search for the missing art. He walks through the fake police officers' entry into the museum, his interpretation of the motion-sensor evidence and the guard's denial of involvement, a widow's account that led investigators to Bobby the Cook, and why immunity discussions and a $10 million reward did not produce a recovery. Kelly also explains how misinformation complicates the case and why he still hopes the paintings will be found.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why stolen paintings are perfect fugitives

00:34 Geoff Kelly and the Gardner Museum heist

02:33 Writing Thirteen Perfect Fugitives without an ending

04:24 Art theft and organized crime

06:26 The mob theory and a cold case racing time

11:02 Search warrants, false hopes, and missing paintings

14:08 From Comedy Central to the FBI

19:06 How the Gardner Museum robbery unfolded

22:19 The guard, the Manet, and the motion sensors

27:54 Rembrandts as mob bargaining chips

34:06 A widow's account leads to Bobby the Cook

38:54 Why Bobby the Cook wouldn't cooperate

47:03 Why the stolen art is still missing

51:45 FBI book review and heist misinformation

56:58 Investigative lessons, Tom Brady's jerseys, and life after the FBI