Bobby Flay taking a taste of radio

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is launching a talk radio show on which he will offer advice to men on everything from dating, dining, dressing and how to nail a tough job interview.

The star of numerous Food Network programs will host “Bobby Flay Radio” weekly on SIRIUS XM Radio starting Thursday. Flay is signed on for a five-week run, but says he is open to more if the two-hour show goes well.

While the call-in show will touch on everything from sports to current events, Flay says food still will be the focus.

“Food transcends so much now,” Flay said in a telephone interview. “It’s become so much part of lifestyle. How you eat, plate it, how you dress and how you live all have a lot to do with one another.”

Flay’s wife, actress Stephanie March, will join him on the show occasionally.

Joe the Plumber now war correspondent

Toledo, Ohio — Joe The Plumber is putting down his wrenches and picking up a reporter’s notebook.

The Ohio man who became a household name during the presidential campaign says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com.

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher says he’ll spend 10 days covering the fighting.

He tells WNWO-TV in Toledo that he wants to let Israel’s “‘Average Joes’ share their story.”

Wurzelbacher gained attention during the final weeks of the campaign when he asked Barack Obama about his tax plan.

He later joined Republican John McCain on the campaign trail. At one stop, he agreed with a McCain supporter who asked if he believed a vote for Obama was a vote for the death of Israel.

Pitt says he was faithful to Aniston

Los Angeles — Brad Pitt insists he didn’t cheat on Jennifer Aniston with Angelina Jolie.

In a story posted on W magazine’s Web site, the 45-year-old actor defends both women and says his relationship with Jolie didn’t begin until after he and Aniston split in 2005.

Jolie revealed last year that she and Pitt fell in love on the set of the 2005 film “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”

In November, Aniston called Jolie’s comments “really uncool.”

Pitt tells the magazine for its Jan. 20 issue that filming continued after he and Aniston split, and that his relationship with Jolie wasn’t “some kind of dastardly affair.”

“I’m very proud of the way it was handled,” he says. “It was respectful.”