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Yearly Archives: 2017

Star-studded launch party for ‘The Improv’

More exciting things to share about The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club that Revolutionized Stand-Up, which was released on September 19th: photos from a star-studded launch party! 

The Improv is about the legendary comedy club of the same name opened by Budd Friedman, and features interviews with hosts of famous comedians (and Improv alumni) including Jay Leno, …

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‘The Improv’ featured on The Tonight Show

The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club that Revolutionized Stand-Up, released on September 19th, is about the legendary comedy club opened by Budd Friedman. From the microphone to the iconic brick wall, the Improv has been the launching pad for practically every major name in American comedy over the last five-plus decades.
  …

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Lunch with new BenBella author Steve Mariotti

I had the privilege of meeting one of BenBella’s newest authors, Steve Mariotti, for lunch recently. Steve is widely considered one of the leading experts on entrepreneurship education for low-income youth and is a prominent global advocate for both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship education. He is the founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a nonprofit foundation that provides entrepreneurship education to at-risk youth around the world. …

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Questioning the Certainty of ‘Making a Murderer’

The Netflix series Making a Murderer was a huge hit, with over 19 million viewers in the US in its first 35 days. The series presented a clear argument: Steven Avery—a man who had been falsely imprisoned for almost 20 years on a rape charge—was once again let down by the criminal justice system, …

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Raymond Davis discusses ‘The Contractor’ with the New York Times

 On June 27th, we were proud to release Raymond Davis’s highly anticipated book The Contractor. In it, he offers up a firsthand account of the series of events he found himself in which drew international attention and triggered a diplomatic crisis between the US and Pakistan.

Earlier this month, Raymond sat down with Mark Mazzetti from the New York Times for an interview about this exciting new book. …

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How to be happy despite the stress of an ever-present news cycle

The past few weeks alone have produced enough high-stakes news to keep one’s mind busy with worry at nearly all times. It seems that with every hour that goes by, another notification lights up our phone screens with a piece of shocking news— another act of terrorism in Europe, buzz about the Trump campaign’s alleged ties with Russia, …

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BenBella authors’ NYT op-ed: Video games aren’t addictive

Video games get a bad rap. Seen by some as the hobby of the aimless, stereotypically associated with lazy (or, depending on the source or recent current event, violence-proned or addicted) adolescents, the many benefits that video games have to offer are grossly underreported.

Hence the plight of BenBella authors Patrick Markey and Christopher Ferguson to set the record straight in their new book,  …

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“Making a Murderer” attorneys face off on Dr. Phil

There’s a good chance you are one of the millions of viewers riveted by Netflix’s original true crime series Making a Murderer, released in December 2015. If so, there’s also a good chance that you walked away from the show with the popular opinion that Steven Avery was wrongly convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach, …

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Pure Food Wins Gourmand Awards’ Cookbook of the Year

We’re delighted to share that Pure Food: A Chef’s Handbook for Eating Clean, with Healthy, Delicious Recipes was recently announced as the national winner of Cookbook of the Year by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards! Every year the Gourmand Awards honor the best food and wine books submitted by participants from over 205 countries. …

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BenBella author Deborah Shames on how to be out front, formidable, and feminine

Our nation’s current state of affairs has proven to be a critical time for women (and subsequently, for us all). From last month’s historical women’s marches to political leaders like Elizabeth Warren making headlines for standing up to the Trump administration, it has become increasingly clear just how key women are to bringing about a new wave of progressivism in our country. …

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