News On The Rocks

You've never had chocolate like this -- untainted by cheap sugar, like the rest. And when you hear how to pair it with wine, your life may change forever. An amazing tasting of four different chocolates with cocoa farmer Angus Thirlwell, CEO & Co-founder of Hotel Chocolat (Leave off the last "e." You'll hear why).  

The New York Times makes some readers (including Patty and Wayne) gush with geeky praise.  Others, like Donald Trump, view it with suspicion. This podcast peels back pages and pages of Times political coverage. Our guest is veteran editorial board editor Andrew Rosenthal, who just wrote "The New York Times Book of Politics - 167 Years of Covering the State of the Union."

We can't say songs are better from the 60s, 70s & 80s but we can prove they're more memorable. We take a musical dive into a remarkable study by NYU Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology Pascal Wallisch.

A serious question for the faithful to consider.  Are we complicit in church abuse if we attend mass without demanding accountability?  Survivor Kat Sullivan returns to our podcast with an action plan to take back our church.

Imagine a beautiful mind trapped in a frozen body. No way to express thoughts, fears, joys, or needs. On this edition of News on the Rocks, Patty Steele and Wayne Cabot talk to the CEO and a speech pathologist from Blythedale Children's Hospital about the miracle of assistive technology. They tell us how one mother finally found out.. her little girl's favorite color is blue. 

The war over which President Lincoln presided says a lot about human nature then -- and now. Armies on both sides raped the land and plundered the people. Is that behavior just in our past?  With Ohio State History Professor Dr. Joan Cashin (PhD from Harvard) author of War Stuff: The Struggle for Human and Environmental Resources in the American Civil War.

A hundred years ago, leading scientists at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia Universities all argued that evolutionary biology showed non-white races were lower on the evolutionary scale. Some were actually considered "missing links" between man and apes and were put on public display at the Bronx Zoo. John West at the Discovery Institute produced the Amazon Prime documentary "Human Zoos."  He faults the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History for having "cultural amnesia" about their racist past.

It's a trend in Silicon Valley and tech startups to solve problems and expand creativity by taking very small doses of LSD or mushrooms - without actually tripping. We explore the nascent scientific research and abundant anecdotal experiences with Vice science writer Shayla Love. 

Scott Wright (a.k.a. Shadow Steele - sadly no relation to Patty) tells Wayne Cabot and Patty Steele how he reinvented his life after decades of a very successful career in the radio and record business. He took his knowledge of wine to the next level.. and then the next. He imports French wine and is an award winning documentarian. Plus he shares his secrets for picking the perfect wine.

World traveler Valarie D'Elia has been to 105 countries and connects people to their ancestors. If you're doing "23 and Me" or "Ancestry DNA" you'll love meeting your family from way back.

Passing pain -- or something serious? Columbia University cardiologists Marc Eisenberg and Christopher Kelly tell us when to panic and when to chill.

Bad roads, bent wheels, blown tires. It's not your imagination, it's really getting worse. The new sporty tires and underfunded road departments are bad news for drivers but money in the pockets of repair shops. We get the inside story from a NJ wheel machinist and from Robert Sinclair, Jr. of AAA. 

We visit Montclair State University for an enlightening field trip on how communication students see the future of radio, podcasting, and storytelling.

Amos Campbell of New Jersey is a 23 year old who regrets the concussions he suffered but is grateful for the opportunities football gave him. But can these gladiator sports survive? This week on News On the Rocks, Patty Steele and Wayne Cabot talk to Amos Campbell .. a 23 year old former football star in high school and college who shares his story of his love of the game, what football did for his life, and ultimately, why he quit. Don't miss this beautifully told story of a life saved by something that he finally realized was taking a tremendous toll on his 21 year old body. 

The legendary singer-songwriter Graham Nash drops in to tell backstories of the classic songs of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

You know the faces and the voices and maybe the names. We celebrate character actors who earn The Carney Awards in honor of the legendary Art Carney of The Honeymooners.  Brian Rooney talks about his dad and Richard Kind (Scrubs, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City) explains how he made peace with being second fiddle.  Note- The Carney Awards are Saturday at 8p on PIX 11.

The creator of National Kindness Day explains how being nice actually gives us strength.  Patty shares her epiphany in Whole Foods. Wayne reveals why his mom didn't want him watching watch Mr. Rogers.

Patty Steele and Wayne Cabot talk to Mooch and the Mrs. -- Anthony and Deidre Scaramucci about Anthony's ten days in the Trump West Wing, how it crashed and burned just as their marriage hit critical mass, and exactly what he believes will happen in the 2020 presidential election. And coincidently, we polish off an entire bottle of Tito's vodka with the Mooch doing push ups at the same time. Not to be missed.

Dr. Oz joins us for a sip and sage advice on alcohol, CBD, CPR, anxiety and eating.

We pour a round of Revivalist botanical gin and make instant friends with Nashville recording artist/author Robert Hunter and his wife Becky. They stopped in NYC on a nationwide Relapse & Revival Tour to celebrate his album, book, and her faith & positivity in the face of adversity.