Why Am I Podcast

What do you do when you spend 40 hours on a pinball playfield and the very last coat undoes it all? If you're Ashley Ludwig, you go home, have a good cry on the shower floor, and show up the next day to fix it. In this episode, Greg talks with Ashley, a pinball restoration artist from Rochester, New York, about the Craigslist ad she ignored for almost a year, a decade of figuring things out al...

What happens when a kid raised by Nashville musicians, bounced between Tennessee, California, and Texas, finally figures out what he was made to do? Greg sits down with Monte Leach, a registered nurse, Navy honor graduate, dad, and self-described "dude" to everyone, to trace the winding road from Austin debauchery and a Christmas tree lot to the ICU in Houston's Med Center. Along the...

What if the Super Mario Bros. theme, a 45-second loop built on the most rudimentary hardware imaginable, turned out to be a great piece of music all on its own? Greg sits down with Charlie Rosen, a Broadway music director, arranger, and two-time Grammy winner who grew up surrounded by his parents' instruments and went on to lead the 8-bit Big Band, a jazz orchestra devoted to video game music....

What happens when a painting pulled from the trash turns into a beloved museum, and the person who agreed to keep the checkbook ends up running it for thirty years? Greg sits down with Louise Reilly Sacco, a lifelong Boston Irish kid, the permanent interim acting executive director of the Museum of Bad Art, and a Fenway Park usher for twenty years. Together they trace the story of Lucy in the Fiel...

What does it say about someone that they'd want their fantasy waiter to look progressively more shipwrecked as the meal goes on? In this Fantasy Restaurant warm-up, Lara Dale builds a wonderfully specific, slightly chaotic feast, honey mead in a Renfair stein, green chili pot stickers, a seafood linguine where every bite is a surprise, and green tea ice cream eaten one slow spoonful at a time....

Have you ever wondered who makes the sound of a footstep sound sad, or a pomegranate sound like something you'd rather not think about? Foley artist Laura Dale joins the Why Am I Podcast to talk about the invisible art of building a movie's sounds by hand, from a wet chamois cloth to a broken Colt .45 that has appeared in nearly every gun scene she's done. Along the way she shares how...

What can a fantasy meal tell you about a person's whole life story? In this warm-up round with Marissa, three ice cubes are non-negotiable, pasta fagioli is a straight line back to childhood, and strawberry shortcake shows up every single birthday without fail. It's a playful, surprisingly tender bite-sized appetizer before the full conversation on Why Am I. Don't forget to like, comme...

Did you know a dog can smell a diabetic emergency coming twenty minutes before your glucose monitor catches it? Terry Cadle has spent forty years training dogs, from field trial champions to diabetic alert and seizure alert dogs, and he joins Greg to unpack the surprisingly simple psychology behind it all. Along the way they get into fatherhood, small-town roots, life on the road delivering dogs a...

What does your dream meal say about where you come from? In this Fantasy Restaurant warm-up, Joe Iconis builds a menu that's part sophistication, part childhood memory, from a Manhattan on the rocks all the way to his grandma's West Virginia-Italian pasta with anchovies. Along the way there's talk of cheesy pop tarts, bottomless bread cornucopias, and the perfect ratio of cookies to fr...

What if your whole life could be mapped out in a single meal? In this Fantasy Restaurant warm-up, Martin builds a menu entirely out of memory - a dark and stormy from a Decatur bar, saline-injected wings from a long-gone college dive, a bacon-loaded salad from his family's Wisconsin cabin, and a milkshake that doubles as the backdrop for the day he quit a job. Along the way we get a mini tour...

What if a beer on a beachside stool in Maui, watching your own submarine anchored just offshore, became one of the best meals of your life? In this episode of the Fantasy Restaurant warm-up, Brady Drennan orders up a five-course meal that traces his path from a Navy submariner to a self-proclaimed rice-and-salmon purist, with stops in San Diego, Ireland, and a very sketchy roadside shrimp cooler i...

What does it take to feel at home on a stage, even when you can't quite let loose anywhere else? This episode, Greg sits down with actor, coach, and podcaster Marisa Mast to talk about growing up in a theater household, playing a psychopath in Evil Dead the Musical, and why she calls acting both heaven and home. Along the way they get into vulnerability, self-discovery through character work,...

Welcome to the warmup exercise for the Why Am I podcast called “the Fantasy Restaurant.” In here, my guests get to pick their favorite: drink, appetizer, main, sides, and dessert…anything goes. Jeff puts together what I would describe as comfort food. It sounds hearty, simple, and delicious. I hope you enjoy this meal with Jeff. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations t...

Ever wondered how a kid who was once afraid to connect found his voice on the stages of New York City? In this episode, Greg chats with Joe Iconis, renowned for weaving personal truths into his musicals. Discover how Joe's journey to becoming a celebrated writer and performer unfolded through sheer honesty and a love for the art form. Watch now: https://youtu.be/L--OhdifqWo @mrjoeiconis Don&#3...

Have you ever wondered what path leads someone to become a professional mattress reviewer? Meet Martin Carlson, a film fanatic who journeyed from a childhood love of Abbott and Costello to an unlikely career in sleep products. Join us as we dive into the world of niche expertise, the delicate dance of balancing passions with practicalities, and the creative process behind Martin's unique caree...

Welcome to the Fantasy Restaurant. What culinary adventure includes both pecan pie and gumbo secrets? Dive into this week's episode with Rusty Surrette-Alvarez as he dishes on the art of creating a meal that's uniquely Southern. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations that chase the story behind the person. Please show them some love on their socials here: h...

How does a daydreaming theater kid from Boca Raton, Florida end up making her mark on Broadway? In this episode, Greg sits down with Jennifer Ashley Tepper, a self-proclaimed theater nerd and accomplished historian, who has turned her childhood obsession into a Broadway career. Join us as we navigate through Jennifer’s journey, from theater camp memories to her work at 54 Below, and explore the pa...

Ever imagined a meal where Wheaties meet leftover cake and a filet mignon finds its place on the same table as a 16-scoop ice cream split? Welcome to the Fantasy Restaurant with Sean Petrie (@typewriterrodeo) in the Fantasy Restaurant. Listen in as Sean's creative choices and childhood flavors take us on a journey through taste and memory. This episode is a reminder of how our unique bites tel...

Ever wonder what it feels like to be a radio pirate in Memphis? Sasha Zaitsev shares his unique journey as the mastermind behind Radio Free Memphis, a pirate radio station disrupting the airwaves. Dive into his world of experimental music, designed to challenge and provoke, and uncover what it truly means to march to the beat of your own drum, or in Sasha's case, a noise of his own making. Don...

Ever wondered what your ultimate comfort meal would look like if you had no limits? Join me in Dee Parson's fantasy restaurant, where nostalgia and rebellion serve up a side of spicy popcorn chicken. From childhood influences like Grandma's canned Pepsi to the ultimate birthday cake handcrafted by a best friend's mother, Dee's choice of dishes reveals a lifelong journey of taste an...

What’s life really like when your workplace is a submarine, your family is 120 sailors, and your phone calls home are measured in words instead of minutes? Navy veteran Brady Drennan shares stories from 38 years of service, from fast attack submarines to aircraft carriers, nuclear power, deployment life, leadership, family, and the little pieces of home that keep people going. Don’t forget to like...

On this episode of Why Am I, Greg talks with scientist and podcaster Jeff Zurek about volcanoes, curiosity, public speaking, “type two fun,” and the strange paths that lead us into the work that lights us up. Jeff has a gift for making science feel less like homework and more like an adventure, especially when he gets into crystals in New Mexico that might help solve a 5,000-year-old volcanic myst...

On this episode of Why Am I, Greg sits down with Rusty, a Bryan-College Station news anchor who sees journalism less as being on TV and more as helping people feel seen. They talk about curiosity, trust, changing media, social media, Texas pride, and why the best stories usually come from everyday people. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations that chase the story behi...

Jerry Beck has spent a lifetime chasing, preserving, and celebrating the cartoons most people almost forgot. From underground film collecting to restoring classic animation and meeting the legends who made it, this conversation is about obsession, art, nostalgia, and why old cartoons still matter. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations that chase the story behind the p...

Liz puts together an interesting meal...I've never eaten fresh clams, but she makes it sound interesting enough to give it a go. One thing I like is that she remember to add atmosphere, which is often forgotten, but always makes a difference. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations that chase the story behind the person. Please show them some love on their socials h...