All That Matters

This month we have an astounding natural phenomenon in which there is both a super full moon that is also a blue moon. Rare and worthy of notice as to what it might say to us about our own possibilities for growth. Join Jan and dream a little..

The Unexpected meeting. Traveling the road less taken. Sometime going off the beaten path leads to discoveries that deepen our lives. Jan shares his teenage cross-country detour to West Virginia and the day he was transformed by a family of real McCoys.

Celebrating our 150th podcast, Jan shares the best advice he's received, and two poems that transform our understanding of all that matters.

We can never go back to before but we can celebrate the memory of someone who continues to teach us about authenticity and bravery. Marin Mazzie was such a magical singer/actress and gift to musical theatre who, in battling the challenge of ovarian cancer, taught us about the power of healing therapy and that amid life's ups and down, the world goes round .

Sometimes experiences shape every aspect of who we become and others never know it. Jan shares with you the relatively unknown hidden world of one of Hollywood's iconic actresses, her work with the Dutch Resistance, her connection to Anne Frank, the failed dream of being a ballerina, and ultimate triumph on screen that empowered others.

A young woman attempts suicide. An older woman who lived through the worst evil of humanity seeks to rescue her, sharing how she survived the darkest chapter and found her way back to life. And it's all true. This is Jan's family history as he shares a few pages from his Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Guild selected novel, ALL THAT MATTERS.

Helen Keller said one should never creep if they want to soar. She was speaking of living fully. Jan shares Albert Einstein's rules of how to get there along with the story of man Jan met who taught him the meaning of pride in what you choose to do in life.

Sometimes lives are all too brief and yet they continue to touch us in surprising and illuminating ways. Jan shares the story of a special young man whose short life brought infectious laughter and joy, one for whom an annual run in the Jerusalem hills is named, the Tani Run, bringing thousands together to be inspired by his example to lift one another as we reach for a deeper life.

Recently back in Vermont, Jan visited the restaurant his dad used to own and where, while working part-time in college, this astounding moment took place, captured in this reprise from this popular episode from Season 1: Jan shares the uplifting unimaginable moment when, as a young man, he received a startling phone call from the composer/maestro, a human interaction that illuminates the power of...

You ever feel at the end of your rope? Like you must tie a knot at the end of it to simply hold on? Jan celebrates two remarkable poets, Lucille Clifton and Ada Simon, who help us see both our own power in shaping ourselves and how we can join the spring trees who unfurl new leaves of hope as if to say to the world in front of them: " I'll take it all."

Have you ever spoken truth to power? We each would like to think we could, and some of us perhaps have. Jan shares a personal story about a remarkable prosecutor/Krav Maga hero/dear friend, a big time Hollywood producer, and the possibility of making a film with Tom Cruise. And how saying NO taught Jan, as it teaches all of us, a bit more about what we stand for.

Recently a school in Miami-Dade objected to the fierce and electrifying inauguration poem, The Hill We Climb by then 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, being available to children. They moved it into an older section of the library, away from the eyes of its younger students, claiming, the poem will "lead to confusion and indoctrination..." and was, therefore, a threat. Jan highlights the poem and the pow...

Sometimes forgiveness and music go hand in hand. Jan shares the true story of how his childhood Rabbi forbade music at one of the most important moments of his life, and how that man's grandson has, poetically become one of the gods of contemporary rock n'roll and a fitting tribute to his own grandfather's eventual expansive vision.

Sometimes if we go just a wee ways beyond our comfort zone , we find the real soul of our lives. Jan shares the true story of a stranger's challenge for him to truly see Scotland and the miracle of a panhandler on Skid Row. Here's to second impressions!

Our family stories are integral to who we are and who we can be! Jan shares the story of his grandfather, a country doctor, and the remarkable horse that saved his life so he could save others.

Jan shares an interaction with bestselling author Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People , who recently died. Kushner shows a new way to understand the Book of Job and how to more clearly see that unfairness doesn't have to destroy you but can deepen you and lead to good, if you allow it.

Jan revisits an ATM podcast from a year into our broadcast, the message reverberating with a tool of empowerment. With dialogue from the Academy-Award winning, Cher-starring movie Moonstruck he reminds us all the uplifting self-message that comes from reaching for clarity, knowing at who we are and what we really stand for.

Jan's mom, Roberta Goldstein, an award-winning poet, raised him to delight in words. He shares 3 poems from Dickinson, Wordsworth, and Oliver, that empower us with new ways to see light and life through the poetry of Spring.

Where do you want to go today? What if we shared the attitude of A.A. Milne's verse: If you were a bird, and lived on high, You'd lean on the wind when the wind came by, You'd say to the wind when it took you away: "That's where I wanted to go today!”  Jan shares the power of improvisation and meeting the child within you.

The question: Are we the person we hope our child or young people growing up will become? Jan introduces you to the words of a poet who captures the path to humanity and kindness that can elevate life.

Up in the air with a missing wheel. Life on the line. And a stranger steps in and helps rescue you. Jan shares the true story of Taylor Hash and Chris Yates and reveals how each of us both need guardian angels at moments in life, and, maybe more importantly, can be one!

There are moments in life where luck can drop out of the sky and change the way you look at things. If we're open. Jan shares the power of luck in his life and the path to seeing life not as a cup half-empty-but half-full, awaiting us to fill it.

What purpose makes you happy? What about it brings you joy? The power of cheering on ourselves and others, even facing impossible odds, is part of the magic of Sister Jean. Jan shares the story of a 103 year-old nun whose life reminds us to see the miracles in one another.

Speaking truth to power has to be one of the most difficult of ethical challenges, yet essential to who we are and hope to be. Jan shares his personal story when his livelihood was threatened for speaking out and those who've inspired him with their "culture of candor."

Everyday we perform rituals, large and small, that beg the question-why? Our lives may answer, as does the famous milkman from the hit musical, "it's a tradition!" Traditions of all kinds are they so important to us, in small and larger ways. Jan shares a bit of his own Tevye as he celebrates the rituals of our lives.