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Lisa Birnbach chats with journalist Casey Schwartz, who was offered her first Adderall during her first semester in college. The concentration! The ability to focus became the best thing in her life; more appealing than hanging with her friends. Eventually Casey had to tackle what had become an addiction. She decided to interview scientists in the field of attention and distraction. While writing her book, Attention: A Love Story, Casey's father, legendary American music radio host Jonathan Schwartz was quickly suspended and then fired from his longtime station for #MeToo infractions. All of this is in Casey's story. But of course, she still found time to come up with the five things that makes her life better!Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. Airgami Masks, 2. Spelling Bee twitter, 3. Personalized stationery, 4. Parting my hair wherever I feel like it, 5. Merrick Garland.Casey Schwartz’s 5 (6) Things: 1. TACOS, 2. Watching my one year old take his first steps, 3, My weighted blanket, 4. Prospect Park (the only place I ever go), 5. My husband's ability to make me laugh no matter what. 6. Bonus: Heidi Cruz's leaked text chain. 

Lisa Birnbach invites Norm Eisen to remind us why the nation may still survive despite the acquittal of Donald Trump after his second impeachment. Norm's background, intelligence, and optimism make him the perfect guest for this week. Also, did you know that Norm was a first-generation American who grew up in Los Angeles with a dad who owned a hamburger stand? His example is a successful American dream, and his life story has many great ironies and coincidences.Lisa Birnbach’s 5 things: 1. Her Uniqlo Heat-Tech pants, 2. The PupProtector™ Waterproof Throw Blanket, 3. The Brisket Sandwich at Orwasher’s Bakery, 4. A page on Facebook, called “I Grew Up in Old Manhattan” that indulges in some serious nostalgia, 5. The Covid Industrial Complex.Norm Eisen’s 5 Things: 1. His wife and daughter, 2.  7-11 robot barista, best $2.29 x-large latte in town. 3.  Rock Creek Park hiking paths, 4.    TheRealReal.com, 5.  KN 95 mask.

Chris Frantz has it all — a great story, a wife he adores, and membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Drummer and co-founder of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Frantz joins Lisa to discuss his new memoir. Travels with the Ramones, working and falling out with David Byrne, love, marijuana, and happiness with Tina Weymouth, and a recording studio in the Bahamas. Check out his book, REMAIN IN LOVE: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina.Chris Frantz's 5 Things: 1. My two beagles, Poppy and Kiki, 2. Tropical Islands, 3. Visiting Brittany in France, 4. Sailing, 5. Soul MusicLisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Representative Jamie Raskin, 2. a video that makes me smile, 3. Mom's 2nd Vaccine, 4. Meyer Lemons, 5. Shopping Local - SALT, Venice.

After watching Mary Trump speak out for months on tv, it was terrific to have a longer conversation with the author, a psychologist by training and the niece of the former president. Which is her favorite of his three wives (so far), why was the Trump homestead so toxic, and after all is said and done, is Donald intelligent? You won't want to miss this episode.Mary Trump's 5 Things that Make Her Life Better: 1. Her daughter Avary, 2. Art of all kinds, performing and fine, 3. The Sea, 4. Traveling, 5. All animals, especially her pets.Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Being a grown up, 2. Earl Grey Tea, 3. My new pillow in the shape and image of my grandson, 4. Soup, 5. My Twitter Idols @sulliview and @JoyceWhiteVance

If you think the oath of office of the president is sacred, wait until you hear the true meaning of "conservancy of the Union" as explained by Lisa's guest this week - former FBI special agent - and now MSNBC contributor, Frank Figliuzzi. If the FBI has been compromised, what happens to what Frank calls the 7 C's he lays out in his new book, The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence? Frank Figliuzzi's 5 (actually 7) things that make his life better: 1. Code, 2. Conservancy, 3. Clarity, 4. Consequences, 5. Compassion, 6. Credibility, 7. ConsistencyLisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Sharpened knives, 2. Bernie Memes, 3, Dr. Anthony Fauci, 4. Food52 videos, 5. Charms as mementos

This podcast was created as a hedge against the bad news and vitriol from every Twitter-filled day of our former (yes I can say it!) FORMER president - so this is a very good day. There will be no guest today, just my meditation about the inauguration of president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. It's a short episode, so this is a great opportunity to check out http://lisabirnbach.com/welcom and listen to some of the great conversations with past guests on this podcast.We've talked to so many writers, policy makers, and experts of all kinds. Everyone from Counter terrorist expert Malcolm Nance to novelist Meg Wolitzer. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and former Celebrity Apprentice staffer Noel Casler. Rabble rouser Molly Jong-Fast and comedian Jacqueline Novak. Actor Richard Kind and judicial editor Dahlia Lithwick. Fashion’s Tim Gunn and musician Peter Asher. Writer E. Jean Carroll and actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi and Chef Kwame Onwoache.In the meantime, here are the 5 Things that made made my life better this week:1) Inaugurating the 46th president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. 2) Sheila, TNP (The new puppy). 3) The Lambchop chew toy. 4) Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland. 5) Manners.

Comedian, Paul Ollinger takes Lisa Birnbach on a journey from Business School to Silicon Vally to Stand Up Comedy. What makes Mark Zuckerburg laugh you ask? Find out on this weeks podcast.Lisa’s 5 Things: 1. Impeachment 2.0., 2. My 90 year old progenitor got her first shot this past week, 3. Sheila the puppy, 4. App Drive & Listen, 5. Codenames the game. Paul Ollinger’s 5 Things: 1. Life Fitness Treadmill, 2. 5:00 a.m., 3. Brooklyn Brewery’s Special Effects Hoppy Amber, 4. King’s Hawaiian Buns, 5. Tom Petty and The HeartBreakers documentary Runnin’ Down a Dream.

In one of the most compelling and revealing interviews of this series, Lisa Birnbach hears from former "Celebrity Apprentice" staffer Noel Casler - NDA be damned - about the details inside Trump's inflated celebrity world. Noel confirms stories about sex, drugs, diapers, and Trump's bottomless ambitions for power. Wow ! Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things that make her life better: Sheila - the puppy, 2. Her new mattress, 3. Saying "I love you", 4. The Washington Press Corps., 5. A hot bath.Noel Casler's 5 Things that make his life better: 1. Sunshine, 2. Birds, 3. Guitars, 4. Books, 5. Neroli Oil

Lisa Birnbach unravels the secrets of Beethoven's love life with Patricia Morrisroe, author of The Woman in the Moonlight. Join us for this New Year's episode. Something to think about besides you know who.Lisa’s 5 Things: 1. Great customer service, 2. Satsuma oranges, 3. My new chair pillow, 4. My Aunt Yona, who turned 94 this past week, 4. Our youngest family member: Sheila Evelyn. She’s a 10 week old Cavapoo.Patricia Morrisroe’s 5 Things: 1.  Beethoven’s 9th Symphony– Ode to Joy, 2. Dinner with my husband in front of a crackling fire, 3. Bringing up Baby, with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, 4. Gossiping with my sister, 5. Shakespeare in the Park .

Merry Christmas 2020. In November, Lisa Birnbach was invited to interview the incomparable author Joyce Carol Oates for the Covid challenged 2020 Miami Book Fair. This was their conversation. Unfortunately, this was not originally scheduled to air on 5 Things with Lisa - so even though we learn about Joyce's new book "Night. Sleep Death. The Stars." we didn't get to learn about the 5 things that make life better for her - but we bet that #1 would probably be her cats. Fortunately, for us, Lisa does share the 5 things that made her life better this week. Give it a listen.Lisa's 5 Things: 1. Other peoples Podcasts - like "Smartless", & "Nice White Parents", 2. Chocolate covered almonds, 3. The joy of a new Puppy, 4. Dr. Anthony Fauchi, 5. Stella Artois Cider.

Just in time for the holidays! Join Lisa Birnbach as she discusses Open Studio: Do-it-yourself art projects by Contemporary Artists. The new book and home art project book by Sharon Coplan Hurowitz & Amanda Benchley.Sharon and Amanda's 5 Things: 1. The Met (Metropolitan Art Museum), 2. Central Park, 3. Sant Ambroeus 4. The Public (Theatre in NYC), 5. Friendships.Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. The Vaccine, 2. The Electoral College, 3. Dr. Jill Biden, 4. Clogs, 5. Creativity.

This week, Lisa Birnbach talks with psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee. She's the editor of the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, and she has a warning about the mental health of Donald Trump. With all her worries about the country, she also has the optimism to identify the five things that make her life better.Dr. Bandy Lee’s 5 Things: 1. Rembrandts, 2. Bach’s Chaconne, 3. Meditation, 3. Human thriving, 5. Learning to cook with my 8-year-old nieceLisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Noodles, 2. Elective officials who are not capitulating to Trump, 3. Lifetime-Kentucky Fried Chicken mini-moving trailer. 4. Chanukah, 5. Elizabeth W. Hand Sanitizer Spray

You heard it here folks. Our guest, Lawrence O'Donnell from MSNBC's "The Last Word" promises our host, Lisa Birnbach, that Trumpism will surely die. Listen to find out why! They also talk about the Five Things that made their lives better this week.Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. The United States Postal Service, 2. Reading glasses sprinkled around my apartment like bouquets of flowers, 3 My gift-giving skills, 4  HBO’s “The Undoing”, 5 Her measuring tape.Lawrence O’Donnell’s 5 Things: 1.  Invention of the Teleprompter, 2. The cordless phone charger in his car, 3. Rudy Giuliani’s hair dye, 4. Air Conditioning, 5. COVID-19 Facemasks.

Happy Thanksgiving 2020. While there are so many crazy things going on in November 2020, there are still MANY things to be thankful for. There will be no guest this week, just you and me, the thing I'm most grateful for at this moment - my listeners. Of course I still have the 5 things that made my life better this week.Lisa's 5 Things: 1. Rachel Maddow, 2. A cadre of good people in the Senate who get less attention than their colleagues, 3. Peking Duck, 4. Watching live conversations on her computer, 5. Zingerman’s pimento cheese spread. 

Chris Whipple, documentarian and author of Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency and The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future, joins Lisa Birnbach to talk about transitions - more specifically, White House presidential transitions. What could go wrong? Just in case they also talk about the 5 Things that make their lives better.Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. The Queen’s Gambit, 2. Christopher Krebs, 3. Getting a medical appointment, 4. Return of Shtisel on Netflix and watching The Crown, 5. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s Inauguration January 20.Chris Whipple’s 5 Things: 1. Family, 2. Friends, 3. First Responders, 4. The Deep State, 5. The Crown .

Lisa Birnbach is joined by legal journalist, Sr. Editor at Slate, and podcaster Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the squirrelly goings-on at the DOJ and the White House. (Hint, they are supposed to be separate). Also an insider's look at SCOTUS - - Clarence Thomas as you never imagined him!Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. Joe Biden, 2. Kamala Harris, 3. The weather! 4. Tuna fish salad sandwiches, 5. Poll watchers, vote counters, Secretaries of state, and state election workers. Dahlia Lithwick’s 5 Things: 1. Voters, 2. Arbie our new kitten (named after RBG natch), 3. Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper, 4. My parents, 5. "Team Tyranny".

Lisa and investigative reporter Barry Levine get down to the nitty gritty in their conversation about Barry's new book The Spider: Inside The Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. There are new facts, details and explosive correlations between Epstein, Maxwell, and many high-powered and well-known figures. It's a must listen episode! But all is not lost, there are still the 5 Things that made their lives better this week.Lisa Birnbach’s 5 Things: 1. My Family, 2. My Health, 3. My Old Friends, 4. My New Friends! 5. The Resistance.Barry Levine’s 5 Things: 1.Watching the animated Peanuts Charlie Brown Halloween and Christmas shows with my daughter, 2. Starting every single day, no matter where I am, with a visit to Starbucks for a Trenta black iced tea 3. Drinking dirty martinis at an old writers bar in Manhattan with former newspaper colleagues and telling war stories, 4. Going to the annual antiquarian book fair every spring at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, 5. Pulling out a reporter’s notepad and simply putting pencil to paper in this high-tech world.

A woman and her camera. Lisa talks with documentary filmmaker, Alexandra Pelosi, about her new film American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself. A look at America at a granular level in the midst of a presidential election and Covid-19.Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Voting, 2.  Mom’s published humor article, 3. Decluttering, 4. Merino Wool, 5. Fake Melanias.Alexandra Pelosi’s 5 Things: 1. YouTube series - Johnny Harris and his wife Iz Harris, 2. Justin Bieber - Lonely, 3. NYC’s Washington Square Park and the people that frequent it and help make NYC a better place, 4. Dashwood Books and other small businesses that make NYC NYC, 5. Cheap box cake.

Lisa Birnbach talks with investigative reporter Joe Conason about his mentor, Wayne Barrett and what it takes (and what you can lose) to be a great investigator. Joe has written the intro to the new book called "Without Compromise: Wayne Barrett, and The Brave Journalism that First Exposed Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the American Epidemic of Corruption" and you can tell from the conversation that Wayne was the real deal.The 5 Things that made Lisa Birnbach’s life better: 1. Madewell jeans, 2.  The Vow – the documentary series on HBO 3.  NY Times Spelling Bee Article 4.  Rex Chapman and twitter connections, 5.Nancy PelosiJoe Conason’s 5 Things: 1. Proraso shaving cream, 2. CBD oil/balm for sleep and pain, 3. Avatar: The Last Airbender with my daughter Eleanor, 4. Sailing on Sunfish and Quest with my son Edward, 5. Instant Pot Duo

Let's hear it for young people. At age 23, Will Haskell is the youngest State Senator in Connecticut. Join Lisa Birnbach as she tries to discover what it is that compels a young man, or woman to work in the political system today - then hear about the five things made Will's and Lisa's life better this week.Lisa Birnbach's 5 Things: 1. Shipt, 2. Green plant for the kitchen, 3. Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris 4. Boom Again trivia game, 5. Dr. FauciSenator Will Haskell’s 5 Things:  1. Socks that match, 2. His campaign interns, 3. Homemade hard cider, 4. His brand new ring light, 5. His car - Subaru Forester.