5 Things with Lisa Birnbach

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 140 - Joyce Vance - She's not just a lawyer, she also plays one on TV ! Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Meet Joyce White Vance, the MSNBC legal analyst, law professor, podcaster, and chicken raiser (among her many talents). You know her from tv where she uses her experience as a prosecutor to explain the consequences of the bad and very bad behavior we experienced for four years. An incredibly well-rounded person, the five things that make her life better are...

Joyce Vance’s 5 Things: 1. Swedish baked goods, 2. Chickens, 3. Zoom drinks with girlfriends, 4. My German Shep, Bella, 5. Family meals.

Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. My mother’s caregivers, 2. Skincare and skincare bonding #EveLom and Augustinus Bader, 3. Dr. Jill Biden, 4. The tuna salad at Gentile’s Fine Food on Madison Avenue, NYC, 5. Pajamas.

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Ep. 139 - Mark Harris – On the Extraordinary Lives of Mike Nichols Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Lisa Birnbach’s guest this week, Journalist Mark Harris, met the director Mike Nichols when he directed "Angels in America", the iconic play written by Harris' husband, Tony Kushner, for HBO. The Broadway and film director of "Barefoot in the Park," "The Graduate", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", "Carnal Knowledge", "Heartburn," "The Real Thing" and many others befriended the couple along the way, a friendship which endured until Nichols' death in 2014. The biography is exhaustive and filled with personal anecdotes and informative insights-- beyond Nichols and his body of work but also the life of the creative class from the 1950s through the present.

Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things that make her life better: 1. Our dog breeders, April and Sue, 2. Our dog trainer, Sam Schmidt, 3. Bulgarian Feta, 4. Dolly Parton, 5. The movie, “The Graduate”.

The 5 Things that make life better for Mark Harris: 1. The Library of America, 2. The Criterion Channel, 3. Sheet-pan cooking, 4. Headspace (meditation website), 5. My Blu-ray player.

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Ep. 138 - Casey Schwartz - Attention, Focus, and Adderall Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

Lisa Birnbach chats with journalist Casey Schwartz, who was offered her first Adderall during her first semester in college. The concentration! The ability to focus became the best thing in her life; more appealing than hanging with her friends. Eventually Casey had to tackle what had become an addiction. She decided to interview scientists in the field of attention and distraction. While writing her book, Attention: A Love Story, Casey's father, legendary American music radio host Jonathan Schwartz was quickly suspended and then fired from his longtime station for #MeToo infractions. All of this is in Casey's story. But of course, she still found time to come up with the five things that makes her life better!

Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. Airgami Masks, 2. Spelling Bee twitter, 3. Personalized stationery, 4. Parting my hair wherever I feel like it, 5. Merrick Garland.

Casey Schwartz’s 5 (6) Things: 1. TACOS, 2. Watching my one year old take his first steps, 3, My weighted blanket, 4. Prospect Park (the only place I ever go), 5. My husband's ability to make me laugh no matter what. 6. Bonus: Heidi Cruz's leaked text chain.

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Ep 137 - Norm Eisen - Impeachment Shmimpeachment Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

Lisa Birnbach invites Norm Eisen to remind us why the nation may still survive despite the acquittal of Donald Trump after his second impeachment. Norm's background, intelligence, and optimism make him the perfect guest for this week. Also, did you know that Norm was a first-generation American who grew up in Los Angeles with a dad who owned a hamburger stand? His example is a successful American dream, and his life story has many great ironies and coincidences.

Lisa Birnbach’s 5 things: 1. Her Uniqlo Heat-Tech pants, 2. The PupProtector™ Waterproof Throw Blanket, 3. The Brisket Sandwich at Orwasher’s Bakery, 4. A page on Facebook, called “I Grew Up in Old Manhattan” that indulges in some serious nostalgia, 5. The Covid Industrial Complex.

Norm Eisen’s 5 Things: 1. His wife and daughter, 2. 7-11 robot barista, best $2.29 x-large latte in town. 3. Rock Creek Park hiking paths, 4. TheRealReal.com, 5. KN 95 mask.

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Ep. 136 - Chris Frantz - Psycho Killer "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Feb 12, 2021

Show notes

Chris Frantz has it all — a great story, a wife he adores, and membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Drummer and co-founder of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Frantz joins Lisa to discuss his new memoir. Travels with the Ramones, working and falling out with David Byrne, love, marijuana, and happiness with Tina Weymouth, and a recording studio in the Bahamas. Check out his book, REMAIN IN LOVE: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina.

Chris Frantz's 5 Things: 1. My two beagles, Poppy and Kiki, 2. Tropical Islands, 3. Visiting Brittany in France, 4. Sailing, 5. Soul Music

Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Representative Jamie Raskin, 2. a video that makes me smile, 3. Mom's 2nd Vaccine, 4. Meyer Lemons, 5. Shopping Local - SALT, Venice.

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Ep. 135 - Mary Trump - Uncle Donald Trump: Not human like the rest of us. Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

After watching Mary Trump speak out for months on tv, it was terrific to have a longer conversation with the author, a psychologist by training and the niece of the former president. Which is her favorite of his three wives (so far), why was the Trump homestead so toxic, and after all is said and done, is Donald intelligent? You won't want to miss this episode.

Mary Trump's 5 Things that Make Her Life Better: 1. Her daughter Avary, 2. Art of all kinds, performing and fine, 3. The Sea, 4. Traveling, 5. All animals, especially her pets.

Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Being a grown up, 2. Earl Grey Tea, 3. My new pillow in the shape and image of my grandson, 4. Soup, 5. My Twitter Idols @sulliview and @JoyceWhiteVance

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Ep. 134 - Frank Figliuzzi - The Secret Code of the FBI Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

If you think the oath of office of the president is sacred, wait until you hear the true meaning of "conservancy of the Union" as explained by Lisa's guest this week - former FBI special agent - and now MSNBC contributor, Frank Figliuzzi. If the FBI has been compromised, what happens to what Frank calls the 7 C's he lays out in his new book, The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence?

Frank Figliuzzi's 5 (actually 7) things that make his life better: 1. Code, 2. Conservancy, 3. Clarity, 4. Consequences, 5. Compassion, 6. Credibility, 7. Consistency

Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Sharpened knives, 2. Bernie Memes, 3, Dr. Anthony Fauci, 4. Food52 videos, 5. Charms as mementos

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Ep. 133 - Lisa Birnbach - It's a very good day! Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

This podcast was created as a hedge against the bad news and vitriol from every Twitter-filled day of our former (yes I can say it!) FORMER president - so this is a very good day. There will be no guest today, just my meditation about the inauguration of president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. It's a short episode, so this is a great opportunity to check out http://lisabirnbach.com/welcom and listen to some of the great conversations with past guests on this podcast.

We've talked to so many writers, policy makers, and experts of all kinds. Everyone from Counter terrorist expert Malcolm Nance to novelist Meg Wolitzer. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and former Celebrity Apprentice staffer Noel Casler. Rabble rouser Molly Jong-Fast and comedian Jacqueline Novak. Actor Richard Kind and judicial editor Dahlia Lithwick. Fashion’s Tim Gunn and musician Peter Asher. Writer E. Jean Carroll and actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi and Chef Kwame Onwoache.

In the meantime, here are the 5 Things that made made my life better this week:

1) Inaugurating the 46th president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. 2) Sheila, TNP (The new puppy). 3) The Lambchop chew toy. 4) Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland. 5) Manners.

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Ep. 132 - Paul Ollinger - From Start-up to Stand-up Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

Comedian, Paul Ollinger takes Lisa Birnbach on a journey from Business School to Silicon Vally to Stand Up Comedy. What makes Mark Zuckerburg laugh you ask? Find out on this weeks podcast.

Lisa’s 5 Things: 1. Impeachment 2.0., 2. My 90 year old progenitor got her first shot this past week, 3. Sheila the puppy, 4. App Drive & Listen, 5. Codenames the game.

Paul Ollinger’s 5 Things: 1. Life Fitness Treadmill, 2. 5:00 a.m., 3. Brooklyn Brewery’s Special Effects Hoppy Amber, 4. King’s Hawaiian Buns, 5. Tom Petty and The HeartBreakers documentary Runnin’ Down a Dream.

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Ep. 131 - Noel Casler - Sex, Diapers and Donald Trump Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

In one of the most compelling and revealing interviews of this series, Lisa Birnbach hears from former "Celebrity Apprentice" staffer Noel Casler - NDA be damned - about the details inside Trump's inflated celebrity world. Noel confirms stories about sex, drugs, diapers, and Trump's bottomless ambitions for power. Wow !

Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things that make her life better: Sheila - the puppy, 2. Her new mattress, 3. Saying "I love you", 4. The Washington Press Corps., 5. A hot bath.

Noel Casler's 5 Things that make his life better: 1. Sunshine, 2. Birds, 3. Guitars, 4. Books, 5. Neroli Oil

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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