Celebrating Differences

Send us Fan Mail During this midterm election cycle we will be talking with some of the candidates that will be on our ballots for the March Primary and the Election in November.  In this episode we managed to connect with Justin Early who is running for the US Congress in Texas District 31. As you can imaging during this primary season we were lucky to catch him in between campaign tasks. We met...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 109 | Andrew Gauld Andrew is a friend and neighbor and was born in central Scotland. He's married with children and works as a specialist in Dark Skies.  If you are not familiar with the term Dark Skies, it means to design lighting that keeps light pollution from ruining our views to the magnificence of the universe. It also helps wildlife navigate and bats find food....

Send us Fan Mail Episode 108 | Amy teaches Social Behavior Skills in a local elementary school. I think that many of us could have benefited from her teaching. She is requesting help in equipping two new classrooms if you would like to chip in.  Her Amazon wish list is at  shorturl.at/863Ev and she can be reached on Facebook at Amy Chahine-Villanueva Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Episode 107 | We talked with Matt Caldwell who flys the big jets, Boeing 787s for United. He goes to some interesting places and when he is home he works to give back to young people who are interested in aviation.  Equipment List: Audio     Rode Wireless Micro used as microphones into Rode Capture software on an iPhone 15. Software: Audio:      Audacity Credits:– Video and audio...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 106 | Joshua asked to interview me about bicycling for a school project. He is 13 years old and a seventh grader and I was duly impressed with his maturity and comfort working with and adult he had never met before.  I invited him to come talk about his life and he (after asking his parents for permission) jumped right in.  Equipment List: Audio     Rode Wireless Micro use...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 105 | Hello and welcome to Celebrating Differnces, a podcast where we interview interesting people who are making a difference in the world.  I had a chance to talk with Chris Martin about his work as a American History teacher at an Austin Middle School and especially his work as a E-Sport Entrepreneur. Its ok if you don't know what that is because I didn't eith...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 104 | Krista Laine, newly elected to Austin City Council for District Six, discusses her background and plans for the district. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1974, she represents a diverse, suburban area with challenges due to its split between Williamson and Travis Counties. Lane emphasizes improving city services, particularly 911 response times and multimodal transportatio...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 103 | Heidi rode across America by bike at age 35 and now she has written an amazing book about the experience and what she found on the way. We talked about the book, riding bikes and Heidi's love of slow traveling, a different way of seeing the world and the people she meets.  Heidi's experiences are special and her view of the world is worth listening to.  Sup...

Send us Fan Mail 102 | Charlie Gandy has been doing things to help people for a long time. Now in his sixties he has turned his hand to creating an epic adventure trail across Texas | xTexas. In this episode of Celebrating Differences we review Charlie's accomplishments and set up for a future podcast to talk about the how special this trail will be. Yes, and we do ask you to consider donatin...

Send us Fan Mail Louise is in town supporting her daughter who is having her second child. During this time she is giving back by "pet sitting" which also gives her a place to stay. An unusual educational background that includes mud huts and monkeys combined with a genuine enjoyment of people led Louise to her unusual occupation. Welcome Louise into your world.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail 100 | Jamie Gaskill lives in Fort Collins and is employed by the University of Colorado, But here reach is worldwide. She was the impetus behind the Bicycle Friendly Driver program that is reaching thousands of drivers and cyclists around the globe. She is also an instructor and a coach and a special mom. Enjoy this conversation with Jamie Gaskill.  Recorded with Ecamm Live softwa...

Send us Fan Mail 99 | Had a chance to talk with Steven Hardy-Braz about his life as an advocate/activist. He advocates for people with hearing issues, for bicyclists, and now that he has survived a potentially life ending car/bike crash he is advocating for people with mobility issues. Worth listening to... Equipment List: Video:      Main sequence: Zoom Q8n- 4k on Vanguard Veo tripod recording 4K...

Send us Fan Mail 98 | I recently had a chance to sit down with Kelly Evans to talk about his life and ask him about the differences that make his life work for him. He has had many adventures and some serious struggles but mostly maintains a good outlook. We all have a unique journey and Kelly's has covered a lot of ground. The system didn't always work for him but he has a story that is...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 97| Lance Kutnick has reoriented his career from prosecuting some egregious felons to helping people plan for their future. This is an interesting talk about what you can do now to help your family when you pass on.  Scion Law is dedicated to keeping you out of trouble with the legal system.  Credits:– Video and audio production by Preston “Ty” Tyree– Music via Ben Sound R...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 96 | Ani Colt had a chance to talk with a new friend and neighbor, Sally Acevedo. Sally was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico and brings a wonderfully varied life and work history to our neighborhood. She is working to create a life built around her social media expertise and can create media in both English and Spanish.  Her business can be found at https://sall...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 95 | Andrew left a door hanger on my front door and I knew I needed to talk to him. His hanger said “ The Gay Real Estate Agent ” I figured that anyone that put themself out in the world like that was certainly worth talking to about Celebrating Differences. Credits:– Video and audio production by Preston “Ty” Tyree– Music via Ben Sound Resources used during the production...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 94 | When Ani met Jane Biondi she felt a connection that has blossomed into an ongoing friendship. Jane is a practicing Psychotherapist in Austin, TX and is working to create her space after moving her from California.  Credits:– Video and audio production by Preston “Ty” Tyree– Music via Ben Sound Resources used during the production of this video:– My recording platform...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 93 | In this Episode we had a chance to talk with the new Managing Director of woom USA, the US arm of what I believe is the best children’s bike manufacturer in the world.  Full disclosure here, I am a part-time employee of woom, working with families to provide a powerful experience for children as they start a wonderful journey by bicycle. I was introduced to woom when...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 92 | Ani and I had a chance to catch up with a new neighbor, Greg Anderson. He is the person to go to when you need to understand housing and especially affordable housing in Austin. He is active in a lot of areas in Austin and also is a Lecturer at UT. Besides he is funny and articulate and a nice guy.  Credits:– Video and audio production by Preston “Ty” Tyree– Music via...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 91 | I haven't seen Richard in 10 or 15 years so it was good to catch up. I was somewhat troubled by his evident loss of faith in his world of bicyclist education and training. But we talked about hope at the end and he cited a number of things that make him hopeful...mostly people that he named.  Please subscribe and we'll let you know when we talk with someone...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 90 | We had a chance to talk with Jim Marshall author of the book Septemics: Hierarchies of Human Phenomena Analysis, Prediction & Management of Human Affairs. Jim makes a good case that this book presents a new way to discover more about yourself and to make changes that can make your life and the lives of the people around you better and easier. He also makes the poi...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 92 : Richard has had an interesting and unorthodox career. Almost all of it in service to the people around him, the people he loves. Now he is embarking on a new career venture that may be for himself but knowing Richard it will end up benefiting many of the rest of us, the people who know, respect and love him. Please subscribe and we'll let you know when we talk wi...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 91: We talked with Peggy, an individual that has done an amazing number of different things in 30 years and is working on doing more. Welding on Tanks and Pipelines to fixing guitars, to waiting on tables and some of that at the same time. It took Peggy almost 30 years to meet her father. This is a story you need to hear.  Please subscribe and we'll let you know when...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 90 | Rudy Rivera talks about his life growing up in Texas and his amazing food that is available at the Botegga_ATX in the Mueller Neighborhood in Austin.  Please subscribe and we'll let you know when we talk with someone else interesting.  Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and be sure to subscribe to the Podca...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 89 | Tracy and Peter have been doing the good work in bicycle and pedestrian safety for a long time. It is good that they can take the time to ride the long trips. This is their third really long trip. The first on was from West to East across the country and that one is the subject of Episode 55 of Celebrating Differences.  2026 is the 100 anniversary of the opening of Ro...