Uncorking a Story

This week I sat in on the first of hopefully many episodes of Comedy Roads, an online show featuring interviews with established stand up comedians reflecting on their path to success. It's hosted by the one and only Bob DiBuono. A-Lister Eddie Brill told a story about performing in front of 12 people that I'll never forget and it inspired me to reflect on the importance of always giving 100% when...

Today we are going to switch gears a bit as I'd like to share with you the first chapter of my latest book The Ruin of Souls. Now look, I'm not a professional voiceover artist nor am I an audio engineer, so keep both in mind as you listen in. If you like what you hear and want to listen to more, let me know by emailing michael.carlon@uncorkingastory.com. if there's enough interest, I'll release th...

This is the second part of my interview with my twin brother, Jim Carlon. In it, we discuss his decision to join the Jag Corps at almost 40 years of age and why that marked such a turning point in his life. Buckle in and grab the Kleenex.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have easily interviewed a few thousand people in my career as a moderator and interviewer. I can honestly say that Interviewing my twin brother about his book, Conversation with a Desperate Man, was one of the toughest interviews I’ve ever had to conduct. It isn’t easy hearing someone you love describe the pain they’ve faced in their lives and the darkness that enveloped them. But his story isn’...

All the news about the surge in GameStop’s share price got me to thinking just how much money is made when institutional investors bet on companies to lose. To me there’s an amorality there and I just don’t like it. I’d rather bet on someone to win. And that got me to thinking about the importance of betting on yourself. Over the years, I’ve interviewed many people who bet on themselves and won bi...

I had a conversation with an old friend and prospective client last week about a challenge her business is facing—attracting men to use their service. They have a new spokesperson they’ve tapped to help with that effort, but they have no idea what he should be saying to raise interest from guys. So, in the spirit of partnership and wanting to land some new business, I held some Curiosity Conversat...

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow and moved to the United States at eighteen. She is the author of three previous novels, Forty Rooms, The Line and The Dream Life of Sukhanov. Her debut, The Dream Life of Sukhanov, won the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, earned her a place on Granta's once-a-decade Best Young American Novelists list, and was one of The New York Times' Notable Book...

When I was a kid, we used to take these road trips from Connecticut to Florida to visit my grandparents. I know that may sound like a huge waste of time when you can just fly there in a little over two hours, but the fact is we remember more about the adventures we had on those car trips than we do about the actual vacations themselves. We truly enjoyed the journey. At some point in time, and I ca...

I heard Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt yesterday and it got me thinking about how important it is to reinvent oneself periodically.  We live on a planet that does not stay still. It spins on its axis causing day and night. It circles around a star, moving through time and space, and as it does, seasons change. And that’s not all; fashions change, art changes, culture changes, all bec...

I was introduced to the work of Viktor Frankl as an undergraduate student studying psychology. His book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is divided into two parts; the first is a memoir of his experiences living in a concentration camp during World War II and the second details his theory of Logotherapy, which involves identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about and then immersively imagining t...

While running this morning, I heard the actor Mandy Patinkin being interviewed by Marc Maron on his WTF Podcast. In the conversation, he divulges that one of the ways he prays is by saying, “Help me help you in any way I can, in any way imaginable.” This reminded me of a conversation I had with author Kevin Knight almost two years ago who talked about how running is a spiritual form of exercise fo...

I can’t think of a year wrought with more challenges than 2020. I certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for being resentful over the missed milestones including graduations, proms, or for having to delay major life events including weddings or even big trips that were planned. Here’s the thing, though, resentment is poisonous. Listen in as I reflect on my own struggles with resentment and how I’ve addre...

Last night I got a text from my cousin Danny who told me that he was watching It’s a Wonderful Life and that sparked a memory of a piece that I had published in my local paper, The Stamford Advocate, eight years ago which was entitled The Gift of Encouragement.  Listen in as I reflect on how important encouragement is and how we all can do a better job encouraging others. If you do listen in, you...

Last week I spoke with a Bostonian named Mary who took a trip to Jamaica during Covid where she was dubbed The White Oprah. Mary lives with Multiple Sclerosis and my conversation with her reminded me about a few things. Life is about weighing risk and reward. Mary has MS and is considered a higher risk for Covid, but she also decided that the benefits of taking this trip outweighed the risks in he...

Recently, I caught up with my former boss and mentor Shelley Zalis who is probably the most positive person I’ve ever met in my life. In our conversation, she reminded me how important it is to go after what you want, to always get the deal (however the getting the deal is defined), and why complacency is kryptonite for success. My conversation with her reminded me of some self-limiting beliefs I...

This week, while doing some interviews for a travel client, I met a young man named Matthew reminded me that there is joy in service.  My conversation with him got me to thinking about how my mother, the church lady of Stamford, CT, would “volunteer” me and my brother Jimmy for various things and how rumors of our “willingness” reached the ears of a certain French teacher at Stamford/Trinity Catho...

Last week I reconnected with an old college friend, Kevin Savage, who recently wrote a post on his blog that got me to thinking about the things that are really important in life. It also reminded me of some conversations I had with three strangers who reminded me how important it is to see the silver linings in any challenging situation. Hitting curveballs was something I wasn’t very good at and...

When I was a kid, sometimes TV shows would have the very special episode, which would deal with a difficult or controversial subject. Do you remember these? Topics dealt with things such as AIDS, teen pregnancy, or drug use. Memorable ones include The Bicycle Man on Different Strokes (The Maytag man was a naughty boy) and A, My Name is Alex, on Family Ties when Alex has to confront his emotions af...

Nick Braccia is a Cannes Lions- and Clio-winning writer, director, and producer. In 2018, he co-created and co-executive produced the horror podcast Video Palace for AMC Network's streaming service Shudder. While working at the marketing agency Campfire, he helped to develop immersive, narrative experiences for TV shows like Outcast, Sense8, Watchmen, The Man in the High Castle, Westworld, and The...

Otto Penzler is regarded as the world's foremost authority on crime, mystery and suspense fiction. He founded The Mysterious Press in 1975, which he later sold to Warner Books (1989). He reacquired the imprint in 2010 and it now publishes original books as an imprint at Grove/Atlantic, and both original works and classic crime fiction through MysteriousPress.com (www.mysteriouspress.com), in partn...

There is no doubt that the combination of Covid and what is going on in cities throughout the country has created more than the usual amount of stress in most of us.  Add to that politics – not matter what side of the aisle you are on – and you have a recipe for overwhelming stress. With us today to discuss invisible disabilities – and a way to help you and yours deal with stress – is the Executiv...

It’s not every day that I get to talk to someone as interesting and, dare I say, enlightened as author Dustin Lawson. I’m excited to announce that today was one of those days! Throughout high school and college, Dustin worked as a lion and tiger trainer at a big cat reservation in Ohio and dreamt of becoming the next Jungle Jack Hannah. Fun fact, one of the animals he cared for wound up at Carole...

Matt Haig is a British author for children and adults. His memoir Reasons to Stay Alive was a number one bestseller, staying in the British top ten for 46 weeks. His children's book, A Boy Called Christmas, was a runaway hit in his own country and has been translated in over 25 languages. His latest novel, The Midnight Library, will be released in the United States on September 29, 2020. I recentl...

Dan Hill is the author of eight books including Famous Faces Decoded: A Guidebook for Reading Others; Two Cheers for Democracy: How Emotions Drive Leadership Style; and First Blush: People's Intuitive Reactions to Famous Art.  His specialty is analyzing the power of emotions to shape outcomes and personalities. Dan pioneered the use of facial coding in business and has done research for over 50% o...

Pat Oates is a comedian, author, podcaster and comedy advice writer. He has been performing stand-up comedy for over 12 years and has appeared on TLC's Extreme Cheapskates, E's Talk Soup, and The Anthony Cumia Show with Dave Landau. In this interview, Pat discusses how he got into comedy, why he turned an advice column into a book for other comics to learn from, and his other passion—professional...