The News Junkie: Interviews | iHeart (2024)

Daniel Sharkey is a hard-working 17 year-old who was busy mowing lawns for his summer business when he was struck by lightning. He joins us live from the hospital to tell his story. What does it feel like to get struck by lightning? How far did the strike make him fly up into the air? Did he gain any super powers? All your 'struck by lightning' questions are answered in this chat.

Joey Rosati answered a phone call while shopping at Costco and quickly got wrapped up in one of the most involved phone scams of all time. The best way to avoid being scammed for 10's of thousands of dollars is to learn from other people's mistakes. Joey is tech savvy and skeptical yet he was moments away from sending $10,000 to a man who claimed to the the Sheriff.

Delian Asparouhov calls himself the 'world's first space drugs and arms dealer' and we're here to find out why. We talk about lab grown meat, drugs in space, crazy new tech projects and a prank he pulled at MIT that ended in his arrest.

Andre Pitre is Jesus Christ, or at least sometimes he is. What is it like to be Jesus Christ at Holyland for Easter? Do people often confuse you for the real thing? How much does Jesus make to be crucified over and over and over? Today we answer all of these questions and more!

Flash Shelton is a man who hunts squatters. When the police can't do anything and politicians have their hands tied, Flash uses his mind and weapons to get squatters out of homes. Find out how he squats the squatters and what kind of weapons he brings along for the ride. Also, what drove Flash Shelton to start the Squatter Hunters in the first place?

Jonathan McDowell is an astrophysicist and astronomer for Harvard and we finally get to ask someone of his caliber all of the big space questions we've been saving up. Why are we headed back to the moon? What does failure mean? And is Shawn right about Space photos?

Netflix's Squid Game: The Challenge is a huge hit that has divided audiences. Were the players tortured and treated poorly? Is it wrong to put them through these games only for them to lose the money? Roger Van Sluis was one of the 456 contestants vying for $4.5 million and he's joining us to spill all the behind-the-scenes secrets from the set of Squid Game: The Challenge.

Erin Heard is a NSF Station Manager who is currently at McMurdo station in Antarctica. We talk about everything from daily life in Antartica, food, the jail situation and the type of research they are working on at McMurdo. One thing is for sure, the logistics it takes to run in entire city in the most remote location on the planet are absolutely fascinating.

The psychopath is back. Jane Doe joins us once more with updates on her situation. Has her husband found out she's a psychopath? Did mass murder suspect Bryan Kohberger respond to her letter? Wait until you hear what makes her laugh uncontrollably during the chat.

Five adventure-seeking people, including a billionaire and a son who was terrified to go but didn't want to upset his father, died on a sub tour to the Titanic wreckage. How did the rescue attempt go down? What's it like in one of these subs? Stephen Wood is a professor and chair of the Ocean Engineering Department at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne and a man with some answers.

Hollywood has grinded to a halt as another writers' strike starts to have an impact. We talk to a striking writer to see what it's like to writer for King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead, Just Shoot Me (and tons more) during the strike. Also, what is the life of a writer like in general? What's it like to work on these shows that so many people watch? Michael Jamin fills us in on everything.

Nearly 7 years ago, one of the worst mass shootings in the history of the United States of America was inflicted on Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. In those 7 years, millions has been donated to an organization called onePULSE but now questions are surfacing about where that money went and some wonder if the owner of Pulse Nightclub is chasing after a big payday.

An anonymous caller joins the show to explain how they fell in love with Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the man suspected of killing 4 University of Idaho students. Jane Doe says she's the most qualified lover to be with the murder suspect and explains her attraction to him.

MrBeast's video '1,000 Blind People See For The First Time' is a mega hit, racking up tens of millions of views and becoming the most popular video on YouTube. Jeff Levenson is the Jacksonville, Florida surgeon that helped pull the stunt off. What was it like working with MrBeast?

Jimmy Gadomski is an experienced underwater explorer and deep sea treasure hunter. While trying so solve one of history's mysteries he ended up finding a piece of the space shuttle Challenger. But will he give us one of his coins?

Dr. Kevin Debiparshad makes dreams come true. That is, if your dream is to be 3 to 6 inches taller. But how does it work? How much does it cost to be a tall person? And what question can Shawn ask him to make things very uncomfortable?

We go live to Black Rock City in the middle of the Desert in Nevada. Once per year this place fills up with 80,000 'Burners' who are there to celebrate Burning Man. We talk to our friend Johnny Diggz to see how it all works and how things have changed.

Martin Cooper invented the cell phone and change the entire world while doing so. He talks about the first ever phone call, promotional stunts, whether or not he's rich and so much more.