Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Steve Cuden
  • 5.0 (24)
  • TV & Film
  • Updated Weekly

A Podcast for the Creative Mind

  1. Sep 8

    P.K. Edgewater, Doctor and Author-Episode #415

    P. K. Edgewater, a military veteran and doctor of 40 years, is the debut author of the novel Passages: A Voyage From War To Peace, which offers a timely and deeply human perspective on recovery after conflict. The book focuses not just on war itself, but on mental health challenges that follow, like trauma, grief, moral injury, and the difficult work of healing. I’ve read Passages and can tell you it’s a wonderfully well-written exploration of how lives intertwine in unexpected ways, changing our perspectives on life and how we live it, even through deep trauma. P.K.’s vividly drawn tale seems as much like a memoir as it does a fictional story. P.K. retired in 2020 after a four-decade medical career that included working as an internist and rheumatologist, founding and managing an arthritis and rheumatology research center, and consulting on clinical trials in China and Russia. He was named a Top Doctor by Phoenix Magazine annually from 2005-2019. He served as a clinical volunteer in numerous countries, including Vietnam, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, and Nicaragua, as well as in Guadalupe and Phoenix. P.K. published his doctoral dissertation on short-term medical volunteering overseas. P.K. served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War but did not see combat. Subsequently, he's treated many military veterans during his long medical practice. He’s also taught medicine all over the world. And he’s published dozens of articles in numerous medical publications.  For the past three years, he’s been a clinical volunteer with the Lincoln County Medical Reserve Corps in Oregon. He now tends to overnight guests in a winter shelter for those who are experiencing homelessness.

  2. Sep 1

    John Vorhaus, Comedy Writer and Novelist, Session 3-Episode #414

    John Vorhaus is making his third appearance on StoryBeat.  John is best known for his classic comedy-writing book, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. At last count, he’s taught and trained writers in 40 countries on six continents, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and more than two dozen works of non-fiction. John’s latest books are The Book of Practice: How to do Better What You Want to do Well and The Comedy Writer’s Companion. I’ve read all three of these books and can highly recommend them to anyone who is thinking about writing comedy or in the middle of doing so.  We’ll chat more today about The Comedy Writers Companion, which I find to be highly helpful when working on funny stories and scripts.

  3. Aug 25

    Marsha Scarbrough, Author, Assistant Director-Episode #413

    Marsha Scarbrough worked in Hollywood as an Assistant Director on major motion pictures and primetime television for almost 20 years. As a graduate of the prestigious Directors Guild of America’s Assistant Directors Training Program, she supported many directors, including Clint Eastwood, Leonard Nimoy, Blake Edwards, Colin Higgins, and Carl Reiner. And she worked directly with stars like: Pierce Brosnan, Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, Gena Rowlands, Gene Wilder, Farah Fawcett, Mary Tyler Moore, John Travolta, and more. Marsha is also the author of two award-winning memoirs about her spiritual adventures, Medicine Dance and Honey in the River, both available at Amazon.com. As a journalist, she’s had over 100 articles published in national magazines. Marsha was a contributing editor of Written By: The Magazine of the Writers Guild of America, west, and the Spain correspondent for International Living magazine. Marsha’s third memoir, 20 Years in Hollywood: Tales to Tell, is being published in installments on substack.com. To read her tales about working with celebrities, please subscribe to her substack blog, Adventures of a Roaming Crone. I’ve read Marsha’s book, Inside Breaking Bad, and as that is one of my favorite TV shows ever, I found her perspective on that production and of the amazing people she worked with, to be fascinating, entertaining, revealing, and educational.

  4. Aug 18

    Christa Parravani, Author-Episode #412

    This episode includes discussions of mental health issues, substance abuse, and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. Christa Parravani is the author of the bestselling books, Her: A Memoir, and Loved and Wanted: A Memoir of Choice, Children, and Womanhood. Loved and Wanted is acclaimed for its take on curtailed maternal health care as it pertains to children, and its condemnation of the personal, financial, and emotional repercussions of curtailed access for women. Loved and Wanted was a New York Times Editor's Choice, and one of Dwight Garner's favorite books of the year.  Christa’s bestselling book, Her: A Memoir shares her journey through grief after the death of her identical twin sister, Cara. Her was an NPR critics pick. Vanity Fair called Her, "astonishing." Bookforum said, “Her invites obsessional reader behavior because Parravani has the ability to make life, even at its worst, feel magic-tinged and vital and lived all the way down to the bone.” I’ve read Her and can tell you it’s a most beautifully written and unnerving memoir. I was deeply moved by Christa’s telling of her experiences in confronting Cara’s challenged life and untimely death.  Christa also happens to be married to one of my favorite StoryBeat guests, the extraordinary writer of Jarhead and other books, Tony Swofford.

  5. Aug 11

    Gabby Gruen, Writer, Producer-Episode #411

    Gabby Gruen is appearing on StoryBeat for the second time.  He has been a writer and producer of ads and commercials for several top tier ad agencies and their high-profile clients.  As a screenwriter, he’s sold work to Fox 2000 Films, and wrote movie scripts on assignment for a number of independent production companies. More recently, Gabby has been publishing novels. We chatted about his excellent first book, The Uniform, a Holocaust thriller, during his first time on this show. I found The Uniform to be an intense page-turner with real heart and wit. Gabby’s next book, The Ride of a Lifetime, a Crime Novel, is set on the frozen streets of Detroit. I’ve read The Ride of a Lifetime and can tell you it’s a gritty trip through the criminal underbelly of Detroit. If you like urban noir thrillers, I’m certain you’ll enjoy The Ride of a Lifetime.

  6. Aug 4

    Tricia Gardella, Author-Episode #410

    Tricia Gardella, who is known as National Park Gramma, is the award-winning author of scores of children’s books, including a 10-book Mouse Travelers Series, which explores and promotes a love of national parks and monuments. I’ve read Mouse Visits Everglades National Park and can tell you it’s a charming story, wonderfully illustrated, about Tricia’s hero, Mouse, exploring the Everglades during a most engaging journey through the park so that young audiences can get a sense of the beauty of the endangered species that live there. Tricia’s had her writings published in Highlights Magazine, been interviewed on Sacramento TV shows, and was featured in her local newspaper.  She’s a Lifetime Member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, as well as an active member of Women In Publishing, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and The Alliance of Independent Authors.  Tricia’s not only a celebrated author, she’s also the matriarch of a large family, and an entrepreneur who has run a half-dozen businesses, including an ice cream parlor, crafting, and ranching.  After raising her family, Tricia earned her B.A. in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the tender age of 75.

  7. Jul 28

    Barbara Mujica, Author-Episode #409

    Barbara Mujica is a multi-award-winning, bestselling novelist, and a professor emerita at Georgetown University. She’s also a short-story writer, essayist, and critic. She’s been published in The New York Times, The Miami Herald, and The Washington Post. Barbara's stories have appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals.  She’s a two-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction. And her work has been optioned for the movies and adapted for the stage.  Her latest novel, Miss del Río, which is a historical fiction about the great Mexican-American actress, Dolores Del Rio, has been optioned for a film by John Black Productions. It was a Target Book Club pick, an Apple Audio "Must Listen," a Library Journal "Best Book of the Year" selection, and The Washington Post named it "One of the five best recent historical novels."  I’ve read Miss Del Rio, and can tell you it’s riveting storytelling about a real-life major movie star as she lives and works in an elite world few ever get to experience. Miss Del Rio is a fascinating glimpse into many of the true characters of Hollywood’s silent era as it transitioned to talkies and far beyond. Among Barbara’s published books are Frida, a best seller is based on the tumultuous relationship between the artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Sister Teresa, I Am Venus, The Deaths of Don Bernardo, and three short story collections: Imagining Iraq, Sanchez Across the Street, and Far from My Mother's Home.  As a scholar, Barbara specializes in Early Modern Spanish literature and contemporary Latin American Culture.  Barbara’s also been active in veterans' issues at Georgetown since 2010. Her book Collateral Damage: Women Write about War was inspired by a symposium she organized at Georgetown on women and war.  And you may have seen or heard Barbara being interviewed on CBS-TV News, NPR, NBC Radio, The PBS TV News Hour, and CNN-Latino In case you’re wondering about the intermittent snoring throughout much of the show, it is Barbara’s dog, Frankie, who was taking a long snooze as we were recording.

  8. Jul 21

    Mike Bodayle, Writer-Episode #408

    Mike Bodayle is a semi-retired insurance company executive. His favorite things in life are proudly displayed in the images on the four luggage tags found on his suitcase: the Yankees logo, a cassette mix tape, a slice of pizza, and the Starbucks logo.  In the mid-1970s Mike wrote about music for his college newspaper. From 1995-2001, Mike published Beyond Belief, an Elvis Costello international fanzine. In 2016, he left printed media for two blogs: The Pizza Snob and Music City Mike.  In 2025, Mike published A League of His Own, the family memoir he’d long dreamed of writing. I’ve read A League of His Own and can tell you it’s a highly detailed, personal accounting of his family, focused largely on his beloved father’s adventures with softball, baseball, and life. This led Mike to develop his seminar, How and Why to Write a Memoir, which has returned him to his love of public speaking. Mike’s first work of fiction, Music Leads to Murder, is soon to be published. It was inspired by his passion for rock music and his love of murder mysteries, New York City, and London. So, for all those reasons and many more, I’m delighted to welcome the writer and speaker, Mike Bodayle, to StoryBeat today. Mike, I’m so glad to have you join me on the show!

See All (431)

5
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

A Podcast for the Creative Mind

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Cuden
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    431
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Steve Cuden
  • Show Website
    Storybeat with Steve Cuden