It‘s Too Early with Gwen Filosa: Recent Episodes
gfilosa
It‘s Too Early with Gwen Filosa is a podcast recorded live weekdays at 8:15 a.m. EST on Island 106.9 FM in Key West. Journalist Filosa, who covers Key West for the Miami Herald, interviews writers, artists, scientists, activists, comedians and other movers and shakers from across the country along with Key West notables.
Chloe Gray, the dating expert behind Advice By Chloe, joined me on Feb. 11, 2022, to talk about how to make a successful dating profile, which apps work best and choosing those profile pictures.
advicebychloe.com
Meka Mo joined me on Feb. 7, 2022, to talk about standup comedy, Euphoria and the emotional wellness/comedy podcast she co-hosts, "We're Done Here."
mekamocomedy.com
Dorian Cannon, of Key West, who plays professional football for the Wyoming Mustangs, joined me on Jan. 24, 2022. We talked about training, coaches and his regimen of doing 100 pushups at a time.
Grace Miceli, an artist and author living in New York City, joined me in July 2021 to talk about her book How to Deal, a fight-or-flight manual for life.
gracemiceli.com
Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, a New York-based journalist, author and frequent Key West visitor joined me on Feb. 9, 2022.
We talked about writing in Key West, the new "Anonymous Sex" collection of erotic stories she helped compile, secret restaurant menus and her early days covering the police beat in Baltimore.
cheryllulientan.com
Maddy Smith, a comedian who co-hosts the podcast It's That Time of the Week, joined me on Jan. 24, 2022. She gave me advice on writing for comedy roasts.
maddysmithcomedy.com
Grady Hendrix, a journalist whose novels include Horrorstör, My Best Friend's Exorcism, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group, joined me on Jan. 28, 2022.
We talked about my allegiance to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, slasher film history and his quest to read all of Stephen King's works - in chronological order.
gradyhendrix.com
Scott Pridgen, executive director of AH Monroe, joined me on Jan. 5, 2022, to talk about the workforce housing planned for Bahama Village.
Katherine Blanford is an Atlanta-based comedian whose day job is being a nanny. She joined me on Jan. 11, 2022.
Lisa Damour, Ph.D, is a psychologist, bestselling author, monthly New York Times columnist and podcaster. She's written Untangled and Under Pressure, both about the struggles of teenage girls, including stress and anxiety. She joined me on Dec. 20, 2021.
Laura Ornella is a comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central and founded the comedy platform, Humor Darling. She joined me on Jan. 3, 2022.
Liz Young, executive director of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, joined me on Jan. 10, 2022.
Florida Keys-based artist Kristen Norman joined me Dec. 1, 2021, to talk about her upcoming gallery show at Effusion in Key West.
Paula Skaggs, a comedian and podcaster who is devoted to posting reviews of Lean Cuisine meals, joined me on Dec. 31, 2021.
Keah Brown is a disability rights activist, author, journalist and writer. She is also known as the creator of the hashtag #DisabledAndCute, which first went viral in February 2017 and caught the attention of such celebrities as Sophia Bush and Brie Larson.
She joined me on Dec. 22, 2021.
Evan Sung, a prominent food, lifestyle and travel photographer based in Brookly, N.Y. joined me on Dec. 24, 2021.
Sloan Steel, a writer who co-hosts the movie and pop culture podcast Mummy Dearest, joined me on Dec. 15, 2021. We talked about my upcoming 50th birthday and why I might have to go live in the woods.
Allegra Hyde, the author of Eleutheria, and the short story collection, Of This New World, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award through the Iowa Short Fiction Award Series, joined me on Dec. 17, 2021.
A recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, Hyde's writing has also been anthologized in Best American Travel Writing, Best Women’s Travel Writing, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Her stories and essays have appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Threepenny Review, and many other venues.
WLRN reporter Nancy Klingener joined me on Dec. 23, 2021, to talk about her recent stories, including one about the Key West community building a home for a 77-year-old woman who lost everything in a fire.
Jenny Gorelick, a comedian and actor based in New York, joined me on Dec. 21, 2021. We talked about how to celebrate birthdays, New Year's Eve and her dating advice podcast, Receipts, the Dating Podcast with Evidence.
The recording starts late but we're talking about birthdays.
jennygorelick.com
Detroit-based Chef Jon Kung is a TikTok star, whose videos inspire people to cook at home and is known for his clear-cut recipe instructions, joined me on Dec. 2, 2021.
@chefjonkung on TikTok
Maria Avgitidis, a professional matchmaker, @matchmakermaria on Instagram, joined me Dec. 9, 2021.
She founded Agape Match, and combines four generations of family matchmaking tradition with modern relationship psychology.
Whitney Goodman is the psychotherapist behind the popular Instagram account @sitwithwhit and owner of the Collaborative Counseling Center, a private therapy practice in Miami.
She joined me on Dec. 8, 2021.
Sloane Steel co-hosts the podcast Mummy Dearest, which dedicates each episode to a movie from the 90s, 2000s and today. It's become my go-to new podcast because Steel and Zach Mellen are hilarious and they also mix in social commentary.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mummy-dearest/id1560199274
https://open.spotify.com/show/6ITF57WXqu7CyGeMtbuB3P
Matt Friend, a comedian known for his spot-on celebrity impressions, joined me on Dec. 7, 2021. He does a wonderful Jennifer Coolidge.
Listen to "It's Too Early with Gwen Filosa," weekdays at 8:15 a.m. est on the livestream, Island1069.com
Stephen Kitsakos, an opera librettist, stage manager and art maker, joined me on Dec. 6, 2021, to talk about the musical theater titan Stephen Sondheim, who died Nov. 26. at age 91.
Kitsakos is a past board president of The Studios of Key West.
Orlando Bishop, whose one-man show Unstuck as F--k is set for its world premiere at The Studios of Key West on Dec. 9, 10 and 11, joined me on Nov. 30, 2021. He also has a podcast called Unstuck as F--k.
https://tskw.org/unstuck-as-fck-written-by-and-starring-orlando-bishop/
Michael Tuckman, director of programming for the Key West Film Festival, joined me on Nov. 17, 2021.
keywestff.com
Key West filmmaker and photographer Michael Marrero joined me on Nov. 18, 2021, to talk about the Key West Film Festival and his own work.
www.mikemarrero.com
Director and producer Douglas Tirola joined me on Nov. 19, 2021, to talk about his latest film, the documentary Bernstein's Wall, a portrait of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
The film made its world premier at New York's Tribeca Film Festival. In November 2021, it played at the Key West Film Festival.
Meg Cabot, the author famous for the Princess Diaries series, joined me on Oct. 18, 2021. She's written a ton of books and her latest is No Words.
megcabot.com
Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, a 2018 finalist for the Lambda Literary and CLMP Firecracker Awards, joined me on Sept. 21, 2021. They teach writing at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
www.anderlawlor.com
Dr. Rachel DuPaul, a licensed psychologist based in Minnesota, joined me on Sept. 22, 2021. We talked about how to cope with pandemic stress and quarter and mid-life crises.
www.betterbalancepsychology.com
Dan Weissmann, who created and hosts the podcast An Arm and a Leg, joined me on the show. The podcast explores how the spiraling cost of medical care shapes people's lives.
armandalegshow.com
Jennifer Potter, a jewelry designer who also made the Color Me Key West coloring book, joined me on Sept. 20, 2021. We talked about growing up in Key West, her "Keep going" campaign of hope, coloring outside of the lines, Kayne West and how she got started designing jewelry.
Rachel Silverstein, executive director of Miami Waterkeeper, joined me on Sept. 14, 2021.
www.miamiwaterkeeper.org
Amanda Velazquez, an immigration attorney based in Key West, joined me on Sept. 13, 2021.
Aaron Goldenberg, a writer and actor whose videos on Tik Tok have gone viral, joined me on Sept. 16, 2021. Follow him @aarongoldyboy
Attorney Jenna Leventoff of the nonprofit Public Knowledge joined me on Sept. 17, 2021. We talked access to affordable communication tools.
Jamie Brenner, whose latest novel is Blush, joined me on Sept. 10, 2021. We talked about how the works of Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz still hold up and why I have to visit Provincetown. Now.
Jennifer Collins, an internationally renowned hurricane expert who teaches at the University of South Florida, joined me on Sept. 7, 2021.
Kevin Assam, a writer in Key West who also books the guests for the show, joined me on Sept. 9, 2021, to talk about island nightlife, Womenfest, Fantasy Fest and the value of Tik Tok.
Cynthia Barnett, an environmental journalist whose latest book is The Sound of the Sea, joined me on Sept. 8, 2021, to talk about the history of sea shells, climate change and teaching the next generation of reporters at the University of Florida.
Kenny Gilbert, a celebrity chef, Top Chef contestant, restaurant owner and seller of spices, joined me on Sept. 6, 2021.
Anna Lvovsky, a professor of law at Harvard University who wrote Vice Patrol, a look at police, courts and urban gay life prior to the Stonewall Uprising, joined me on Aug. 30, 2021.
Matthew Kasson, a mycologist who teaches at West Virginia University, joined me on Aug. 31, 2021.
Chloe Gray, a clinical social worker and dating consultant, joined me on Sept. 2, 2021.
Jennifer Collins, an internationally renowned hurricane expert and professor at the University of South Florida, joined me on Sept. 7, 2021.
Chanel Ali, a New York-based comedian, writer and actress seen on MTV, Comedy Central, TruTv and Starz, and host of the podcast, Don't See This Movie, joined me on Aug. 24, 2021.
I'm the first person she's met who is from Indiana!
Quenton Tuckett, an assistant research scientist at the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory in Ruskin, Florida, joined me on Aug. 23, 2021.
Comedian Katherine Blanford, co-host of the podcast Cheaties, which is about cheating in relationships, joined me on Aug. 17, 2021.
Jennifer Jordan, an award-winning author and filmmaker, joined me on Aug. 18, 2021. Her works include the true crime book, The Babysitter, about a girl whose babysitter turned out to be a serial killer.
Rachel Ligon, a gallery owner and wedding photographer in Key West, joined me on Aug. 20, 2021. rr
Comedian Paula Poundstone joined me on Aug. 20, 2021, ahead of her show at the Key West Theater.
Robert A. Jensen, owner of the world’s largest disaster management company, Kenyon International Emergency Services, joined me on Aug. 16, 2021.
His book is Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me About Caring for the Living. GQ called Jensen, “the best at the worst job in the world.”
From Macmillan Publishers: Jensen "has spent most of his adult life responding to tragedy. From the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, and the Bali bombings, to the 2004 South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haitian Earthquake, and the Grenfell Tower Fire, Jensen has been at the practical level of international incidents, assisting with the recovery of bodies, identifying victims, and repatriating and returning their personal effects to the surviving family members."
Katie Crouch is the New York Times bestselling author of Girls in Trucks, Men and Dogs, and Abroad. Her latest novel is Embassy Wife. She has also written essays for The New York Times, Glamour, The Guardian, Slate, Salon and Tin House. She joined me on Aug. 9, 2021.
Keah Brown, a journalist, screenwriter and disability rights advocate, created the viral hashtag #disabledandcute in 2017. Her works include an essay collection called The Pretty One. She joined me on Aug. 10, 2021.
Ben Kirtman is a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. He joined me on Aug. 5, 2021 to talk about sea level rise and climate change.
Garrett Williams, a Chicago-based actor, comedian and director, joined me on Aug. 6, 2021.
Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize and the 2020 LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction.
The short stories focus on Black women, sex, and the Black church.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is being adapted for television by HBO Max with Tessa Thompson executive producing.
https://www.deeshaphilyaw.com/
Erin McKenna, the 2021 Bubbas Award winner for best thespian, joined me on Aug. 2, 2021.
My guest on July 28, 2021, was Dr. Victor Triay, a history professor at Middlesex Community College and an expert on Cuban history. His books include Fleeing Castro and The Mariel Boatlift: A Cuban-American Journey.
Adam Dalva, a writer and book critic whose graphic novel Olivia Twist came out in 2019, joined me on July 22, 2021.
Qmitch Jones joined me on June 2, 2021. We talked drag queen bingo, Pride and working for the airlines.
Mark Chrisler, creator, producer and host of The Constant, a science and history podcast, joined me on July 19, 2021.
Hilary Leichter, whose debut novel Temporary, is getting rave reviews from everywhere, joined me on July 16, 2021. We talk writing, temporary jobs and the value of cashmere.
Priscilla Oliveras, who writes contemporary romance novels, joined me July 15, 2021. Oliveras has used Key West as settings in her work. We talked about what romance means in the age of Tinder.
Christopher Castellani, whose latest novel is Leading Men that tells the story of Frank Merlo, a longtime partner of Tennessee Williams, joined me on July 14, 2021!
Kate Lebo, who wrote The Book of Difficult Fruit, joined me on July 12, 2021. We talked about pie, too.
Elisabeth Thomas, whose debut novel Catherine House is earning rave reviews, was my guest on July 13, 2021.
Comedian, writer and actress Chanel Ali joined me on June 21, 2021!
She has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV's Girl Code, and Food Network's Food Debate. Her debut album is Chanel No. 1.
Jen Spyra, a comedian, writer and performer who just published her debut short story collection, Big Time, joined me on July 2, 2021.
Key West Mermaid Festival founder Kristi Ann and fellow mermaids joined me on June 30, 2021. The festival is July 1 to 5.
Journalist and novelist Kelsey McKinney joined me on June 25, 2021. Her debut novel is God Spare the Girls.
Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of the Tampa-based Big Cat Rescue and the host of Cat Chat Show, became a household name after the Tiger King documentary came out on Netflix in 2020. She joined me on June 10, 2021.