Type.Tune.Tint.

Tom Kranz

5.0 (5)
Books
Updated Monthly

What is your hidden talent? Tom Kranz explores how everyday people discover art, writing, music, or other creative pursuits. Maybe your work life, personal obstacles, or sheer denial have gotten in the way. It's never too late to give yourself permission to be creative. Listen to these stories of discovery by all kinds of people.

5d ago

My Immigrant Mom: A Daughter's American Story

Teresa Magistro shares the remarkable immigrant story of her mother, Antonetta Vincatorio Lombardi—a woman who crossed from poverty in Italy to build a life and raise a family in America. Their conversation explores Italian American history, family traditions, and the stories that can disappear if no one writes them down. At 81, Teresa published her first book, Antonetta: An Immigrant's Story, after years of telling her mother’s stories to her grandchildren. She reflects on the experiences that shaped Antonetta’s values: arriving in the United States without knowing English, discovering everyday comforts like running water, and insisting that her children value education, hard work, and independence. The episode also reveals Antonetta’s unexpected six-second moment of fame in a 1964 Rheingold beer commercial, her evolving views on women’s roles, and her open, faith-centered approach to death and remembrance. Key Topics[00:01:17] - Teresa’s path from teaching to writing her first book[00:09:11] - Why family stories need to be written down[00:15:16] - Antonetta’s childhood in Italy and journey to America[00:18:03] - Starting over without English—and appreciating life’s everyday comforts[00:23:40] - Immigration, education, hard work, and family values[00:27:00] - Antonetta’s changing views on women’s independence[00:29:21] - The story behind Antonetta’s Rheingold beer commercial appearance[00:37:04] - Family, faith, and Antonetta’s perspective on death[00:44:00] - Where to find Teresa’s book and what she may write next Relevant LinksFind Antoinette: An Immigrant Story on Amazon Casa Belvedere, the Italian Cultural Foundation The City College of New York Teresa’s conversation is a warm reminder that immigrant stories are also family histories—and that preserving them can help future generations understand the sacrifices, hopes, and values that shaped their lives. Antonetta’s story offers a personal glimpse into the contributions of Italian immigrants and the many ways a family’s legacy lives on.
Sep 10

Exiled to the Moon

The idea of cloning humans, still a scientific fantasy, makes for intriguing stories that lead us to examine ourselves. How would you feel if you woke up one day as a clone, then discovered your real self was a bad person? Or, you discover your real self is dead, and you’ve been cloned, but at a massive cost that you will never be able to repay? Author Jeffrey Ashkin’s adventures in cloning take a darker turn in his new novel, The Second World of Sendel, a follow-up to his first novel, The Second Life of Jonathan Sendel. In each story, the protagonist is a clone of a man who died. The clone discovers his creation comes with major strings attached. In the new book, Steven Sendel learns that becoming a clone cost a fortune he must now repay by being conscripted to a lunar mining colony. “He’s in debt, so he’s alive. But in debt,” says Jeff. “So, because of that, he wants to figure out who put him in the situation and also how to get out of it and reunite with his loved ones.” To repay the debt, Sendel must work on the Moon mining Helium-3. More and more debt piles up, into millions of dollars, a burden shared by fellow miners. He decides to try to return to Earth to discover who signed him up for this arrangement, and the adventure ensues. The author’s fascination with cloning grabs you from the start and propels you through the story. Here’s our conversation. WATCH THE VIDEO
Jul 24

Writing the Roots of Rock

It's possible, even probable, that no one has the depth of knowledge about rock 'n' roll history that Richie Unterberger has. His 40+ year career, starting as a DJ in college to writing 15 books, countless reviews and articles, has focused on the music of the 60s and 70s. This episode focuses on his new books about the Velvet Underground and The Who and looks back at how rock music has changed over the decades. As a DJ at the University of Pennsylvania’s FM station, WXPN, Richie Unterberger delved into the roots of rock and folk music. It became his passion. “I can play guitar and piano, but not very well,” he admits. “I realized pretty early on my main strength was going to be as a writer.” That’s an understatement, looking at his body of work–fifteen books, countless magazine articles, reviews, commentaries and lectures over a career spanning more than 40 years. Throw out the name of a musician or band from the 60s, 70s and beyond, and Richie’s encyclopedic mind will recall chapter and verse–The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds–are just some of the artists he’s written and lectured about. You can find it all at richieunterberger.com. His latest book, Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground, is an 800-page epic that covers every detail of the group’s members, including leader Lou Reed, the origins of their songs, the labels, the sound engineers, their association with Andy Warhol, and more. Even if you were never a fan, you might become one by immersing yourself in Richie’s book. “Because I’ve been a fan [of the Velvet Underground] since 1979, I already accumulated a lot of the basic research. I wasn’t starting from scratch. I was reading as much as I could about them. So, I dug through microfilm and collections of vintage magazines. I did a lot of things simultaneously. It’s not hard to find the four principal studio albums and the two live albums that came out, but there’s a lot of unreleased material that really illuminates the group.” Also released this spring is an e-book version of Won’t Get Fooled Again: The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia. Picking up after the success of the rock opera “Tommy”, this is the story of band leader Pete Townshend’s quest to create another rock opera, “Lifehouse”, and the complications that prevented it from ever being created, and then the success of “Quadrophenia,” which benefited from a much simpler concept. I was absolutely privileged to speak with Richie, who I consider one of the greatest rock historians of our time, in this edition of Type. Tune. Tint. Watch or listen now! WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION
Jun 27

Writing Through the Lens of Empathy

Lauren Reisner admits that her dad might not totally love her decision to give up being a lawyer to follow her dream to write. "My dad is supportive, but he is having a very hard time with me saying, I'm not a lawyer anymore," she says. Describing herself as "trauma-informed," Lauren brings empathy to those suffering from life's setbacks, allowing her to tread lightly as she gathers information to ghostwrite their personal stories. She credits her 20 years as a disability lawyer, representing people with disability claims through the Social Security administration, with her ability to translate their experiences into words. That experience carries over to her writing process. "I got my BA in Psychology, so a lot of my writing tends to skew towards psychology, either psych theory or neuropsych or cognitive psych, but in a very accessible way. I always use metaphors and things like that to make it easier to understand. But I think the psych background and the legal background have trained me to see things more analytically and objectively." Lauren's ghostwriting business has gotten a running start, and she is in the process of querying agents for interest in her first novel. She is happy to lend her storytelling chops to anyone looking for help telling a personal story. Lauren's website is laurenreisner.com, and her Substack is titled Molten Crystal. Here's our conversation on the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast.
Jun 13

From pandemic to pastels:

Broderick Bebout's career running call centers for an insurance company took an unwanted turn during the COVID pandemic when he was forced into the virtual world. Sitting alone in his basement, he decided he had to do something other than stare at a lit screen. He began drawing on Home Depot construction paper, refined his media to pastels on sandpaper, and today, six years later, has a thriving business called Shakerbrud, selling art, greeting cards, and other merchandise. And it all happened in his 50s.
Jun 2

Not Just Any Dog

A new movie about a robotic companion dog for a woman suffering from depression gives us a peek at the real robotic service dog, Jennie, who is about to make her debut in the wider world.
Apr 29

The Main Point Story: Legendary music venue reborn in new documentary

Philadelphia-area media veteran Brandon Brooks has produced a new documentary on The Main Point, a legendary music venue in Bryn Mawr, a suburb of Philly. A fan of the Main Point during its heyday in the 70s, Brandon looks at the history of the Main Point and some of the many musicians who passed through on their way to stardom.
Apr 23

The Healing Power of Music

Andrew Schulman attributes his recovery from a near-death experience to music. And in the years since it happened, he's committed himself to bringing music to intensive care units, musical medicine, as he calls it. The data from a study he participated in confirms the healing power of music. His book, Waking the Spirit, is now available as an audiobook with updates on the science of music as medicine, and some of the tunes that make it so.

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What is your hidden talent? Tom Kranz explores how everyday people discover art, writing, music, or other creative pursuits. Maybe your work life, personal obstacles, or sheer denial have gotten in the way. It's never too late to give yourself permission to be creative. Listen to these stories of discovery by all kinds of people.

Creator

Tom Kranz
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

116
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026. Tom Kranz
Show Website

Type.Tune.Tint.