Episode for July 11, 2023
887 John Fugelsang and State Senator Zach Wahls
10 mins He’s been murdered on CSI, interviewed 2 Beatles on separate continents in the same week, and famously once got Mitt Romney’s advisor to call Governor Romney an ‘etch a sketch’ on CNN. Actor, comedian & broadcaster John Fugelsang hosts ‘Tell Me Everything” weekdays on SiriusXM Insight #121.
He recently performed in ‘The Bill of Rights Concert” alongside Lewis Black & Dick Gregory which aired on AXS. He’s also appeared at Montreal’s ‘Just for Laughs’ Festival, HBO’s U.S Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, hosted America’s Funniest Home Videos for ABC and Bill Maher called him ‘one of my favorite comedians’.
Film/TV credits include ‘Price Check’ opposite Parker Posey, “Becker,” “Providence,” “Coyote Ugly,” the religious standup performance film “The Coexist Comedy Tour” (which won Best Documentary at the NYC Vision Fest film festival). He appears in the upcoming features “The Girl On The Train,” “Maggie Black,” and he plays two roles in the romantic comedy ‘The Whole Truth’ starring Elisabeth Rohm and Eric Roberts.
He’s interviewed Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Yoko Ono, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Alan Rickman, Joey Ramone, Carlos Santana, James Taylor, Bo Diddley, Stevie Nicks, Robbie Robertson, Ravi Shankar, Beyonce Knowles, Olivia Harrison, Garth Brooks, William Hurt, Helen Hunt, Ashanti, John Fogerty, William Shatner, Sen. Trent Lott, Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ed Asner, Nile Rogers, Michael Moore, JK Simmons, Valerie Plame, Ethan Hawke, Brian Dennehy, Mavis Staples, Joel Grey, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Lily Tomlin, Dave Matthews, Terrence McNally, Stanley Tucci, Michael Shannon, Noel Gallagher, Jeff Daniels, Rita Moreno, & Carl Reiner. His interview with George Harrison included JF persuading George to play several songs on acoustic guitar. This proved to be George’s final televised appearance and was broadcast as “The Last Performance.”
His new film “Dream On,” a road trip in search of the American Dream, was named “Best Documentary” at the NY Independent Film Festival. Directed by 2 time Oscar nominee Roger Weisberg, the film examines the current state of the American Dream while retracing the journey Alexis de Tocqueville made while writing ‘Democracy in America.’ The film features 200 interviews in 55 cities in 17 states, including Mike Huckabee, Barney Frank & Paul Krugman and premieres on PBS Election Day Eve.
46 mins
Senator Zach Wahls is a sixth-generation Iowan, a longtime resident of the senate district with deep community roots, an Eagle Scout, and an active member of the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Coralville.
Wahls is Vice President of Community Investment and Development at GreenState Credit Union, Iowa’s largest financial cooperative.
His testimony before the Iowa House Judiciary Committee about growing up with lesbian parents was YouTube’s most-watched political video of 2011. He has spoken at over 300 events all over Iowa and across America, including a primetime speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention supporting President Barack Obama’s re-election.
He is the author of the nationally bestselling memoir My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family. Wahls co-founded and served as Executive Director of Scouts for Equality, which successfully led the national campaign to end LGBTQ discrimination in the Boy Scouts of America.
Wahls received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and his master’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Zach lives with his wife Dr. Chloe Angyal, who is a journalist and author, and their dog Zelda, in Coralville.
Check out this episode!