Uncorking a Story

All I had to do was love them. That observation pretty much sums up Diane O’Connell’s perspective on how she was able to bond with so many kids who passed through the halls of Stamford/Trinity Catholic High School. In this interview you will hear about how walking into the main office as a parent, wearing nothing but a bathing suit and cover up (and apparently some pearls), led to Diane landing he...

Over the past few years, I’ve used the Uncorking a Story platform to highlight the work of authors, comedians, and entrepreneurs. I’ve become increasingly interested in uncorking the stories of people who are doing inspiring work in their local communities and that brings me to this current episode featuring Dawn Carpenter of The We Project, a non-profit organization that helps feed, clothe, and m...

Look up the definition of Renaissance man in the dictionary and I’m pretty sure you will find a picture of Aug Stone. He’s a singer/songwriter, author, and comic whose alter ego Young Southpaw has been described as a character who traffics in short, memorized bursts of pun-filled, pop-cultural streams of consciousness. I recently sat down with Aug to discuss his careers as a musician, author, and...

Sit tight and strap in because this inaugural episode of the Open Mike Podcast starts in Brooklyn, takes a trip to Paris Island, and involves hookers, practical jokes on a national scale, and an angry Russian woman who apparently doesn’t like horse racing in the Poconos. That’s because it features an in-depth conversation with comedian Frank Murgalo. Before being a comic, Frank was a Marine, a cop...

Nick Breen is a Connecticut Based comic who, on the surface, appears to be a passenger on the crazy train, but once you get to know him you realize he’s in complete control of the ride. He’s one of the most ambitious comics on the Connecticut circuit and perhaps one of the most insightful people I’ve ever met. Listen up as we talk about what drives him comedically and join us on a wild ride beginn...

David Bell is the USA Today-bestselling author of eight novels from Berkley/Penguin, including Layover, which will be released on July 2nd 2019. His work has been translated into numerous foreign languages, and in 2013, he won the prestigious Prix Polar International de Cognac for best crime novel by an international author.   Listen in as we discuss how David went from working gigs in restaurants...

From as far back as she can remember, Colleen Georges, Ph. D.  felt a calling to help others. It led her to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology and serve as a Therapeutic Assistant for teens in foster care experiencing emotional/behavioral issues.  Currently, she helps her clients achieve greater happiness in their personal and professional lives. She also runs optimism wellness groups, an...

Early in her career, Karen Mangia followed a very conventional formula for success—say yes to everything, deliver with excellence, and never let them see you sweat. It worked wonderfully for a while, until it didn’t. At the age of 33, Karen faced an undiagnosed illness—she didn't know what to call it, and neither did a team of five doctors. This forced Karen to reimagine what success means, and at...

Laura Vanderkam helps people spend more time on what matters, and less on what doesn’t. She is the bestselling author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast and Off The Clock, among others. Her 2016 TED talk, "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time," has been viewed more than 5 million times. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and other pu...

Look up the term Renaissance man in the dictionary, and I’m sure you will see a picture of Kevin A Knight. He started his own company and serves as an independent marketing research consultant to many leading global corporations. He’s also an avid runner and said goodbye to his running shoes as a way to reduce pain in his hip and back. Not only did the pain go away, but he gained wonderful insight...

Zaida Alfaro is the youngest of six children and was born into art. Her mother is a painter, composer, and musician who taught Zaida how to play the piano at the age of twelve.  She became a professional musician at eighteen and, having been burned by a bad recording contract, is now an independent recording artist and performer. As a lover of cozy mysteries, Zaida decided to take her musical expe...

Tony Pavia is a retired American history teacher and the former principal of Stamford High School, Trinity Catholic High School, and New Canaan High School. Matt Pavia, his son, teaches English and American studies at Darien High School in Connecticut. Together, they collaborated on a book telling the stories of Vietnam Veterans who were from the town of Stamford, Connecticut. After thousands of h...

Jane Green is the author of nineteen novels, including seventeen New York Times Bestsellers, one cookbook, and various short stories. She is published in over 25 languages and has over ten million books in print worldwide. Even though all of this is true, she still took an hour out of her day to speak with me! Her latest book, The Sunshine Sisters, was released this past May and is, as People Maga...

Bill McGarvey is the author of The Freshman Survival Guide, a resource for incoming college freshmen to help them navigate their first year away from home. He also has a regular column in America Magazine. Bill is also an accomplished musician, having written his first song when just eight years old. He’s currently releasing short films to accompany the tracks on his album Beautiful Mess. The film...

George is a career naval aviator whose thirty years of active duty service included four command tours and five years as a carrier strike group chief of staff. He began his writing career in 1978 with an article in the U.S. Navy’s professional magazine, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. In addition to his Rick Holden thrillers published by Braveship Books, he has written thirteen other books distr...

Andrew Peterson was born and raised in San Diego, California and graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Oklahoma. After mentioning to his wife that he was disappointed in much of what he was reading, Andrew accepted her challenge to write something better and started down the roller coaster ride of becoming a published author. Andrew followed First to Kill, his debut thrill...

Patricia Fuqua is the founder of Dating Diamonds, a service that empowers women to meet the right man the second time around and is the creator of the 1st Date to Soulmate Program. Since 2008, she’s helped over 500 women meet the right man by designing a personalized plan that she helps them implement. She’s polished the art of relationship in her 40-year marriage to her soulmate husband. Her clie...

Linwood Barclay is a former columnist for The Toronto Star and the author of several critically acclaimed novels including Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye, a #1 Sunday Times (UK) bestseller. He lives near Toronto with his wife. Listen up as Linwood and I talk about his early influences as a writer, how living in a trailer park and the loss of his father at sixteen has impacted his writin...

Christopher Ryan has always been a storyteller. Whether "ranking" on friends as a teen, covering street crime and dirty politics in The Bronx as an award-winning reporter, or teaching High School English, he serves the story above all else.   I recently chatted with Chris about his time as a journalist during New York City’s violent crack epidemic, his desire to become a police officer, and the de...

Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot would walk past his house. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself. Hunter’s novels can even be found on display at the International Cryptozoology Museum. His video podcast, Mo...

“They don’t hire girls into the FBI,” these were the words Tess Gerritsen heard from her guidance counselor after expressing an interest in the Federal Bureau of investigation. While that sentiment feels like a dark cloud that hovered over our culture during the time of Tess’ high school days, it’s one that has a silver lining considering she eventually went on to become an internationally acclaim...

Brian is a founding Partner of Anderson Porter Design and has developed a proven process of project delivery in the Cannabis Industry. To date, he has designed facilities for cultivation totaling over 150,000sf as well as 14 retail dispensaries. His path to this space, though, wasn’t what you might call linear. He grew up on a Christmas Tree farm in rural Connecticut, so I guess you could say that...

Psychologist Gay Hendricks is counselor, writer, and teacher in the field of personal growth, relationships, and body intelligence. He’s best known for his work in relationship enhancement and is the founder of The Hendricks Institute, where he and his wife Katie conduct workshops focusing on what they call conscious loving. Together, they have written close to 40 books, trained thousands of coach...

Dr. Warren Farrell is the author of the just-published The Boy Crisis (with co-author John Gray). It exposes the boy crisis worldwide, as well as the causes and solutions that can be implemented by parents, schools and policy makers.  Dr. Farrell has been chosen by the Financial Times as one of the world’s top 100 thought leaders. His books are published in over 50 countries, and in 19 languages....

Erin Boardman Wathen is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and a Food Addiction Counselor (INFACT). She’s a Certified Spinning® Instructor (STAR 3), Vinyasa Yoga instructor (200 Hour) and Classical Pilates instructor. She’s also the author of Why Can’t I Stick to my Diet, a book that uses an addiction based model to help readers understand why diets are so hard to stick to...