HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Leana Lovings and author Jake Adelstein are the latest guests on the "And Now We Drink" podcast, hosted by Matt Slayer.
The episode includes discussion about how Japan’s repeal of the statute of limitations for murder delayed the publication of his confession-filled “The Last Yakuza”; Lovings’ desire to visit a love hotel with a Hello Kitty room; Adelstein’s revelation that, in his youth, he found employment providing massages for Japanese ladies; and Slayer’s unique take on the severing of one’s pinky in the Yakuza, among other topics.
“Hours before this interview, I was standing in a bookstore listening to a friend of mine give a talk on the sequel to his award-winning book, ‘Tokyo Vice,’” Lovings said. “‘Tokyo Noir,’ he explained, continues the story that he lived in his forays with the culture of the Yakuza. Jake Adelstein, at the end of his book signing, greeted me with a handshake and a hug, and in no time at all we were in the den of Matt Slayer, zeroed in on our catch-ups, focused on the conclusions of our separate adventures since we’d last met. One year prior, I played a part in helping him find two missing persons by infiltrating an elite club in Tokyo, and that evening with Matt and Jake, I spent two and a half hours finding out the fates of the people he was searching for. To me that was the highlight of our discussion, but it never gets old speaking with Jake, and Matt carried the conversation between the three of us with measured skill and a good helping of drinks!”
Adelstein enthused about the appearance as well.
“I’ve done many things in life: been a masseur, an investigative reporter, a podcaster and, in 2017, I became a low-ranking Zen Buddhist priest," he said. "Of the 10 vows, the fifth one is not to drink so much that one becomes drunk, and I almost broke my sacred vow on this podcast. Thankfully Matt led me to temptation but didn’t make me drink — too much.”
The episode is available on AndNowWeDrink.
Follow Leana Lovings on X.com.
