American Tributaries

Tamer Kassis lives in Nassau County, New York.  He owns and manages, with his mother Fera, a neighborhood delicatessen and café, Bonafide, in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn.  The deli was started by his father Kameel twenty-five years ago. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how their business persevered through the pandemic *the difference between a bodega and a deli *their most popu...

Laura Sibony lives in Portland, Oregon and is pursuing her doctorate in nursing anesthesia at Oregon Health & Science University. She has been a U.S. Army reservist for the last seven years, since graduating from the University of Vermont. Our discussion covers, among other things: *her path to becoming commissioned as an officer in the Army *deployments to Madagascar and Niger *technology, so...

Connor Rickett is based in Phoenix, Arizona but, with the remote character of his employment, travels extensively around the United States (especially in the West). In those travels, he studies and photographs wildlife and their surroundings and, perhaps more importantly, has gained optimistic insight into Americans and human beings in general.  This podcast is the result of a chance meeting betwe...

Gabriella Timmis lives in New York, New York and is Director of Social Media for Braver Angels , one of the country’s leading organizations seeking to rebuild bridges across the political spectrum. She grew up outside Detroit, Michigan, graduated from Michigan State University and worked at NBC News. Our discussion covers, among other things: *her path from news media to bridging media via the 202...

Mike Myers lives in West Lafayette, Indiana and is a lifelong Hoosier.  He is currently a high school social studies teacher and previously worked in middle schools as a teacher and administrator. Mike and host Michael Whidden were connected by Dustin McKinney, the guest from podcast episode 51 . Our discussion covers, among other things: *the reasons he enjoys teaching *how history may not repeat...

Claire Bishop lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area and is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of American Public Square, a nonpartisan not-for-profit seeking to change the tone and quality of public discourse in our country. Our discussion covers, among other things: *Kansas City’s many attractions, including its arts and culinary scenes *the difference between Kansas City, in th...

Maryellen Feerhery Hank lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been an attorney for almost twenty-five years, with a specialty in patent law.  She and host Michael Whidden know each other from when they were classmates at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1990s. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how a trip to Russia in 1992 impacted her perspective on the Un...

Matt Smith lives in southern New Jersey, where he retired as a Commander after 22 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard .  While continuing work with the USCG as a civilian he has also been pursuing flight training and recently earned his Private Pilot certificate to fly under Visual Flight Rules.  Matt and host Michael Whidden know each other from when they attended high school together on Lon...

Zedora Teton Enos is an elder of the Eastern Shoshone people and lives on the Wind River Indian Reservation in west-central Wyoming.  She is currently Director of the Eastern Shoshone Cultural Center , which champions Shoshone culture, language revitalization and preservation of traditions. She is the great-granddaughter of the legendary Chief Washakie , who lived across almost the entire 19th cen...

Jessica Lauren Walton lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC and recently completed a memoir about her years overseas when she sought admission to the highest echelons of the Israeli intelligence community. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how a Mormon friend sparked her curiosity about her Judaic roots *the Torah and secular knowledge as dual sources of wisdom which are not mut...

Jeremy Parzen lives in Houston TX with his wife and two children. His life started in Chicago, but he grew up in La Jolla CA. He then attended UCLA and worked in New York City before moving to H-Town approximately fifteen years ago.  With a PhD in Italian literature, Jeremy has spent significant time in Italy and is a widely-respected expert in Italian wine, but his appearance on the podcast is no...

John Ceriello lives in Brooklyn NY and is the Captain of the FDNY ’s Rescue Company 1 – which is the department’s “rolling tool” kit, equipped with equipment necessary for “technical rescue” that might require getting through walls, lifting things and extractions – in Manhattan. He grew up on Long Island, where his father owned a service station, and became a FDNY firefighter in February 1988. Our...

Mary Slone lives in Doty Creek, Kentucky, in the eastern portion of the state, and is a veteran educator at Floyd Central High School who loves and lives the power of storytelling.  In 2021, Mary received a “ High School Teacher Achievement Award ” from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the power of story exchange and the program of Narrative4 *how a slice o...

Seth David Radwell lives in New York and Los Angeles and wrote the earnest, insightful and wonderfully thought-provoking “ American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation ”. Before working on the book, Seth had an extensive, successful corporate career in publishing, skincare, cosmetics, technology and consulting. Our discussion covers, among other things: *his mo...

Tim Steckler lives in Brooklyn, New York and is an is an educator, theater artist, and researcher who uses theater and storytelling to promote civic engagement and bridge cultural divides. Tim has facilitated theater workshops in Jordan, Palestine, Germany and the United States. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the relationship between politics and theater *Kentucky and Massachusetts co...

Dustin McKinney lives outside Indianapolis, Indiana and is the community pastor at Calvary Chapel in the town of Danville . Prior to his work in the ministry, he was an educator and school principal. Our discussion covers, among other things: *his responsibilities and routine as a community pastor *the importance of engagement, conversation and humility *history and the Bible *Take Your Tractor to...

Cody Shaklee lives in Longmont, Colorado, a few miles northeast of Boulder.  He’s a rare Colorodan who was not only born in the state but whose family has been there for multiple generations. Cody moved to New York City for film school and ended up working in restaurants for about a decade before moving back in 2014. He now owns a chain of laundromats in the Boulder area. Our discussion covers, am...

Savana Maxon lives in Meridian, Idaho, near Boise in the southeast part of the state, and is the head of operations for Lucro , a boutique consulting firm for the financial services industry.  We were connected by a mutual friend, Nic Adams who appeared on Episode 25 of the podcast. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how technology has impacted Idaho *Idaho’s important role in refugee ass...

Pam Jones Manocchio lives in Wilmington, DE, and is the executive director of the city’s Grand Opera House , where she has worked since 2006 and which offers a wide range of musical performances, comedy acts and Broadway shows. Pam and host Michael Whidden were classmates at Smithtown High School East on Long Island, NY. Our discussion covers, among other things; *the urban yet small town feel of...

Podcast host Michael Whidden marks the one year anniversary of the show (the first episodes were uploaded on March 8, 2022) by expressing gratitude to guests, listeners and viewers...and especially his family. He shares what gives him hope: the power of conversation, especially in giving someone the respect of listening.

Kepler Knott lives in Raleigh, NC, where he has founded an organization, Community Corps, to promote a bottoms-up approach to universal service through localized summer citizenship boot camps.  Host Michael Whidden and Kepler are each members of the organization Braver Angels, the country’s largest organization building bridges across the political divide. Our discussion covers, among other things...

Sergeant Major Rickey Jackson lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and is currently the 32nd commandant of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson. He grew up in North Philadelphia until his high school Junior ROTC Program inspired him to enlist in 1995. Since then, he has served in locations across the world, including Texas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Kansas, South Korea, Iraq...

RaGina Scott Saunders lives on James Island outside of Charleston, SC, where she owns and operates Destiny Community Cafe , which makes food available to her local community on a pay-what-you-can basis through two food trucks, and a catering service. The cuisine she offers is Gullah Geechee, reflecting the heritage of her enslaved ancestors and their West African origins. RaGina has been recognize...

Michael Gordon grew up and currently lives in Milwaukee, WI, where he practices orthopedic surgery and sports medicine and has been team orthopedic physician for Marquette University since 2005. He was also a team orthopedic physician for the Milwaukee Bucks, from 2005 to 2015. Along with being a proud booster of the Badger State, Michael is a proud stockholder of the publicly-owned Green Bay Pack...

Michael Drewry lives in southeast Virginia, between Norfolk and Richmond and across the river from historic Jamestown. His local roots go back to the 1600s. Michael describes himself as a farmer with a law degree and divides time between operating his family’s property Drewry Farms (which includes lodging at the historic Palmyra Inn ) and advising local governments on land use. He’s even pursued l...