Caller ID

This week on Caller ID, I’m joined by my wife, writer Sarah Wells, on the day her new book Say One Million Times, Wow! Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America’s Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms)   releases. But this isn’t just a conversation about a book—it’s about calling. We talk about what it looks like to build a creative life in the middle of real responsibilities, how identity gets...

Firefighter. Cornell grad. Serial entrepreneur. Real estate investor. Risk-taker. Keith Saffles has lived several lives in one — and each chapter has required bold decisions, deep resilience, and a willingness to start over. In this episode of Caller ID , we dive into Keith’s journey through public service, entrepreneurship, and real estate, exploring what drives someone to repeatedly step into un...

Kris Mowry joins me on the show today, and we talk about the influence of growing up in rural Ohio, succeeding without a college degree, sales, faith, quitting drinking. It's a jam packed 40 minutes of wisdom, with a few laughs mixed in too.  Support the show Thanks for listening to Caller ID . You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick...

What happens when God interrupts your comfortable plan? Former high school teammate and lifelong friend Art McMahon joins Caller ID to share his journey from teaching and coaching at CVCA to becoming a missionary educator in Haiti. Art and his wife Miquette survived the 2010 earthquake — a moment that tested their faith, resolve, and courage. Now serving as Director of Beulah Beach Christian Camp,...

Imagine being pulled out of 5th grade because your parents didn't have a dollar to help send you to school. One dollar. This kind of thing can break you, or it can make you into the person you're called to be. On this week's episode of Caller ID, I talk with Miquette McMahon about her calling to help provide education for her native country of Haiti. We talk about the earthquake and...

Dr. Rob Pool wears many hats, Vice President of Student Affairs and Auxiliary Services at Ashland University, faith-driven leader, mentor, husband, and lifelong drummer. But in this episode of Caller ID , we strip away titles, roles, and résumés to get to the real question: Who are you when the labels are gone? Rob and I go way back — from playing in bands together to walking through leadership, f...

Jim Pfander is the General Manager of the Akron RubberDucks and the 2025 Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year, but his journey to the GM’s chair came with real tradeoffs, sacrifices, and moments of letting go. In this episode of Caller ID , Jim and I reconnect as Ohio University classmates and broadcast program peers to talk honestly about what it takes to build a sustainable career in prof...

What does Kobe Bryant have to do with Shakespeare? More than you might think. In this episode of Caller ID , I sit down with Mark Rankin, a Renaissance literature and English professor whose approach to calling, identity, and excellence is shaped as much by the Mamba Mentality as it is by Milton. We talk about following your passion, but how much work that takes. We also tackle the hard work requi...

In this episode of Caller ID, we sit down with Dr. Jacob Sands, one of the world’s leading oncologists and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. But before all of that, there was a moment when he walked away. Dr. Sands shares how dropping out of Ohio University and traveling to Costa Rica on a whim, seeking clarity, learning from a shaman, and sitting with uncertainty, became a turning point th...

In the Pilot episode, Brandon Davis Wells sets the scene for the podcast. Who we may hear from, why this podcast can be a place for learning about ourselves, our identity, and how our careers and jobs play a role in all of the above! Tune in as we get rolling to figure out how we can each continue to live into our gifts and skills as we help each other become the best versions of ourselves regardl...