Friends & Neighbors

In this rebroadcast of "Better Humans" Author Janeane Bernstein's KUCI-FM radio show, "Get The Funk Out," we share our experiences with mental health, and discuss the imperative of supportive relationships and meaningful community, the path toward wellness – and what it all looks like in the real world.

When the high school I graduated from asked me to speak with students and parents, I decided to go for broke. I addressed the artificiality of contemporary Western culture. And I bookended the speech with a radical piece of audience participation. What happened next may surprise you.

As I fly to Des Moines to screen my new film this week, I revisit my interview with singer/songwriter, music therapist, trauma counselor, and "Friends & Neighbors" helper, Kelli Rae Powell, two years later.

In this live episode recorded after the premiere of "Friends & Neighbors," Opera Delaware's Kerriann Otaño moderates Q&A with director Benjamin Wagner, plus "helpers" Alonna Berry, Logan Herring, Sarah McBride, Lauren Scott, and Matthew Tousignant. Together, the panel digs deeper into the root causes of and potential solutions to our current mental health epidemic. Watch Friends & Neighbors through May 31 at www.friendsandneighbors.mov.

She rehearsed with Pearl Jam, flew private with Korn, sparred with J Lo, and fled the out-of-control, nu-metal-fueled arson of Woodstock ‘99. We talk mic flags, mult boxes, and pd-150s; junkets, red carpets, and festivals; plus Chris, Kurt, and Tabitha. We dodge stereotypes in the studio with Raekwan, and rubber bullets at the RNC with Rage Against The Machine. Keep your hands on the wheel, and your eyes on the 605, this is Liane Su.

One-time VP & EP of MTV News, and The All-Time King of V.O., Jim Fraenkel, takes us from the driver’s seat of his Picasso Pizza delivery days and his stint at the legendary Geffen Record (where he was nearly cast in Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video), to his nearly two-decade run at MTV News. We’ll travel with Jim from interviewing 'NSYNC in Orlando, Florida, to covering Matthew Shepard’s murder in Laramie, Wyoming, and get lost in Harlem at 3am with a very-pregnant Sandra Bernhard. We’ll listen to R.E.M. rehearse, watch Kurt and Courtney cuddle, and feel all the feels at a private dinner with His Royal Badness.

Music and Fashion Writer and Editor turned Rupaul co-star, Merle Ginsberg, talks about sharing a scene with Laurie Anderson, Twyla Tharp, and Eric Bogosian, catching The Clash, Television, and Glenn Branca at Danceteria, Mudd Club, and The Ritz, and parlaying Downtown Avant-garde Art into Midtown Corporate Music Media Business at a then-nascent MTV.

Legendary MTV News Senior Writer, Rhonda Markowitz, takes us on a wild, star-studded, forgotten New York ride from Bayside, Queens (alongside her childhood friend, a certain Loser’s mom, Bibbe Hanson) to her first concert (yup, The Beatles at Shea Stadium) to her stints at A&M and Polygram Records, and, eventually, the MTV newsroom. We’ll hear about befriending INXS’ Michael Hutchence, Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett, and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe; and tag along at the Concert for Bangladesh, MUSE's “No Nukes” benefits, and Live AID. And Rhonda walks us step-by-step through her reportage of Kurt Cobain’s final days.

This week, onetime MTV News intern-turned-senior producer Darin Byrne takes us into the studio with Beyonce, on-tour with WuTang Clan, on-stage with Biohazard, backstage with Matchbox 20, and on-set at 1515 Broadway. He talks about sharing an office with Sway, the impact of digital video on the newsroom, and a certain 2002 quadruple-bill at CBGBs, Newsapalooza.

This week, an MTV News Legend behind iconic shows like The Week In Rock, The Big Picture and House of Style, prosocial coverage like Choose or Lose, and fundamentals like the news cube, on-air graphics, and one-sheet, former Senior Vice President of MTV News & Specials, Linda Corradina. From the Rock & Wrestling Connection with Cyndi Lauper and Captain Lou and shoots with Hall & Oates, R.E.M., The Replacements, and David Bowie, to the Moscow Music & Peace Festival to Kurt Loder’s audition, this is origin story stuff from a true original.

Buckle up, Dear Listener, as Writer, Producer, Director, Showrunner, and one-time MTV News Senior Writer Corey Moss regales us with tales of interviewing rock icons Green Day, The Pixies, and Weezer. He takes us to Neverland Ranch sans Michael Jackson, onto the set of the Dukes of Hazzard with Jessica Simpson, and in the studio with the former Mr. Britney Spears, Kevin Federline. And he tells us what it was like to be holding the mic for one of Kanye’s most well-documented rants.

Correspondent Kim Stolz takes us on her unexpected journey from studying foreign policy to becoming a contestant on America’s Top Model and, eventually, landing her gig at MTV News. She talks about spending a day on-camera with a very young Taylor Swift, making trouble with Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson at the height of their “Twilight” heyday, and sitting down with Rihanna, Obama, and her lifelong dream interview, Stevie Nicks.

In the '90s and early aughts, Matt Anderson parlayed an MTV News internship into a role as Supervising Producer, and eventually, Executive Producer of Series & Development. This week, Matt talks about producing Week in Rock & House of Style, meeting Madonna and Whitney, shopping with Cindy and Sheryl, and what it was like on set when Tabitha Soren famously went toe-to-toe with Mariah’s publicist.

As an MTV News Correspondent from 2001-2010, SuChin Pak interviewed everyone from Mariah Carey to Mary J. Blige, helmed daily news on TRL and ten to the hour, hosted Video Music and Movie Award Pre-Shows, and her docuseries, My Life (Translated). This week, SuChin shares her journey from a born-again Baptist household to anchoring the VMAs alongside Kurt and Sway, covering 9/11, and interviewing her hero, ​​Gwen Stefani. And she opens up about the challenges of live television, and witnessing some of the century's most significant stories.

Onetime Supervising Producer and West Coast Bureau Lead Shari Scorca remembers going on tour with 50 Cent; speeding through Yonkers with Jadakiss; and catching an impromptu, unplugged performance from Thom Yorke and David Crosby. She talks about covering the Michael Jackson trial with John Norris and floor producing the VMAs with Kurt Loder, plus backstage moments with Madonna, Bono, Dave Grohl, and more.

MTV News Assignment Editor, Nina Justman, recalls her early days at a fledgling MTV News; meeting her teenage dream, David Cassidy; escorting NSYNC to the Rockefeller Center tree lighting; partying with Elton John; dinner with George Michael; championing an underappreciated Dave Matthews; that time ODB swiped her all-access pass; plus red carpet moments Madonna and Britney, Mick Jagger, and more.

Before he launched The Daily Show, Chappelle’s Show and South Park, and before her oversaw MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central simultaneously, Doug Herzog was MTV’s first News Director. This week, the Broadcasting & Cable Hall Of Famer shares stories about almost turning down the offer from MTV co-founders, John Sykes and Bob Pittman; branding ten-to-the-hour-every-hour news briefs; hiring Kurt Loder; launching the Week in Rock; and generally transforming the fledgling network's news operation from VJ-hosted rip and reads to prime time, enterprise journalism. Along the way, Doug recalls bum-rushing Lionel Ritchie at Live Aid, office visits from the then-teenage Beastie Boys, and an unforgettable photo op with Bruce Springsteen.

Longtime MTV News Editorial Director Michael Shore shares stories about the days Kurt Cobain died and Courtney Love crashed Madonna’s VMA pre-show; Tabitha Soren’s Choose or Lose audition; office visits from Axl Rose and Jay-Zl; interviewing heroes Sun Ra, Fela Kuti, and Miles Davis; Live Aid, Woodstock; and much more.

These days, Elon Johnson leads development for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. But in 1999, Elon was one of a handful of MTV News Writers tasked with writing and producing daily news briefs and packages. This week, Elon breaks down day-to-day operations in the MTV Newsroom and recalls bumping into Busta Rhymes, getting tight with Christina Aguilera, championing Alicia Keys, and fanning out on Cyndi Lauper.

As Senior Hip-Hop Editor, Rob Markman led some of the cultures' most vital conversations, from MTV News' weekly RapFix Live show, to the most debated list in all of music, Hottest MCs. This week, Rob traces his journey from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to a Queens mailroom, all the way to MTV's Times Square Studios, and drops gems on Drake's beef, Kayne's TV,  Killer Mike's mad props, Pusha T's career advice, and much much more.