This Show is All About You

JDK observes this year’s MLK Day by taking listeners through MLK’s famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Written in 1963 in the midst of the battle against segregation, the letter still resonates today in several ways, and JDK highlights its call for all of us to embrace - and not fight against - the discomfort we often feel around the personal, social, and political issues we face today. See Priv...

Episode 53: “Fearing Fear Itself” JDK kicks off the second year of the show by looking back on the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, providing insights from history and psychology on what we can each do in response to what he calls the “Social Depression” affecting America today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

Episode 52: JDK commemorates one year of the show by visiting with his producer, Stacy Heller, about the twists and turns the show has taken since its debut. From its origins to its new directions, take a listen back at how the shows journey matches his own personal journey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

Episode 51: “We Don’t Need No Stinking Resolutions” JDK welcomes in his producer and friend, Stacy Heller, to talk about their dislike of New Year’s resolutions and what they think works far better than those in improving our lives and well being. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Episode 50: “The Sannyasi Santa” JDK explores the historical roots of Santa Claus, talks about why he believes Santa is Real, and explores how acts of giving can be the most connective - and transformative - acts to change our lives for the better. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Episode 49: “A History Nerd’s Q and A Episode” JDK opens up his mailbag to answer questions he received from listeners about last week’s episode on the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. In the process, he debunks some conspiracy theories and provides some ideas on how history can - and should - inform our present as well. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr...

Episode 48: “The Week After Infamy” JDK dives into his grandmother’s World War II scrapbook as a portal to talk about the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Take a listen to hear what’s in the scrapbook and how we can relate today to an event that happened “so long ago.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy...

Episode 47: “Time, Treasures, and Talents” On the eve of “Giving Tuesday,” JDK explores the value of giving money, time, and talents to one of the (literally) millions of different nonprofits that operate in the U.S. and elsewhere. JDK provides resources and guiding questions to help us decide how we can best help in the area(s) of interest to us, along with challenges to take a good personal look...

Episode 46: “Thanksgiving Hits and Mythses” JDK separates history from myth in the Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated in both the U.S. and Canada, and poses a challenge for us all in how we commemorate and celebrate all we have to be thankful for; must we base it all on flawed notions of “tradition”? Or would we be better served by just being thankful? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priva...

Episode 45: “Put 346 Names On Your Wall” JDK does a sharp turn this week to present a kind of “open letter” and offer an opportunity to the giant Boeing company, who recently admitted responsibility for two crashes of its 737 MAX jets due to the failure of an onboard system that its pilots didn’t even know existed. It’s a show about the crossroads where accountability, a focus on people first, and...

Episode 44: “In the Common Purpose” JDK focuses this week on the roots and practices of Veterans Day, encouraging us to treat it as a day of personal connection with those veterans we know. Join him for a journey down memory lane to meet the two vets he knew best - his maternal grandparents, both of whom served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...

Episode 43: “Here Come the Holidays” With Halloween in the rear view mirror, JDK invite us all to start reframing the now-arrived holiday season through new lenses, ones that focus on connecting with ourselves, others, and with areas where we hope to grow. In the process, we can also put aside many of the emotional difficulties the holidays can stir up. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

Episode 42: “Dune and Gloom” JDK embraces the coming of Halloween week by discussing the allure - and reasons for it - of dystopian fiction stories. Combining his thoughts on the recent film release of “Dune” with his knowledge of the history of dystopian works by George Orwell and others, JDK asks some important questions about the power of Fear in our lives. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

Episode 41: “We Are All Full of Shatner” JDK reflects on actor William Shatner’s recent voyage into space, with particular focus on Shatner’s words after returning to Earth. Using those words to point out the importance of our own external and internal journeys that change our lives, JDK also presents a challenge to commercial space companies to go even further - and faster - in their efforts to g...

Episode 40: “The Dog Ate My Happiness Project” JDK reflects on what would’ve once been a disastrously difficult week, but wasn’t this time for reasons having to do with self care and focusing on finding meaning in life rather than pursuing “happiness.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Episode 39: “Before We Wait Til’ Next Year” JDK puts on his baseball thinking cap to talk about the dangers of expectations in our lives; his favorite team - the Seattle Mariners- again missed the playoffs, but take a listen to find out why that’s not really what matters most in the story of their season. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art1...

Episode 38: “Big Bird Could Save the World” JDK focuses on the lessons about cooperation we can apply today from two legendary Americans - the aviation legend Edgar Gorell, and Big Bird. Yes…THAT Big Bird. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Episode 37: “Greetings From the Flight Deck” JDK again calls in from the road - this time from Portland, OR - where he’s on an adventure with Airway Science for Kids, a nonprofit that helps historically underserved kids find career pathways in aerospace. But the ASK story is about people first, and aerospace second, as JDK found out to his delight. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy a...

Episode 36: “Remembering 2,977” JDK provides some thoughts and historical perspectives about how we remember and commemorate the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. As the years continue to pass, how can we continue to - or start to - live better lives in honor of those we lost that day? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

Episode 35: “Networking is Life, Part II” Jenni Butz returns for more discussion about networking, with a focus this week on the challenges individuals and businesses face in becoming good networkers, and how the changing global economy is producing important conversations about equity and inclusion in business and in networking. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva...

Episode 34: “Networking is Life” JDK welcomes special guest Jenni Butz - a networking expert with Business Networking International - for a discussion about howand successful networking and relationship building in business and in life is so vital. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Episode 33: “Everyone Just Calm the Down” JDK takes a deep breath after a very full and challenging week. And, thanks to a short conversation with a fellow author, he remembered and reconnected with the importance of historical perspective and staying calm. With that in mind, he discusses the centrality of Calm in our daily lives and in overcoming the challenges we face - even global ones. See Pri...

Episode 32: “Let’s See How This Goes” JDK detours from his regular programming to address the sudden collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban, discuss where he thinks our focus should be, and to tell a story from the 1975 collapse of South Vietnam that might be helpful to hear and remember. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-...

Episode 31: “A Blow Up in Montana” JDK recounts the tough true story - and the lessons learned from it - of the 1949 Mann Gulch wildfire and the young, brave “smokejumpers” who parachuted in to fight it. Behind it all is a larger question - how do we find or make meaning out of tragedy or failure? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pr...

Episode 30: “We’ve All Earned Our Wings” JDK announces a new sponsor for the show - Airway Science for Kids - and outlines a few adjustments he’s making to the show. He then tells the illustrative story of Galina, a woman whose story you’ve likely never heard before, but one you will likely never forget. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19...