Dream Chasers and Eccentrics

Stacey Harper was a cocaine dealer in the 1980's in Los Angeles. He built the business into an small empire, but got arrested. In prison, he studied everything he could and bettered himself. When he got out, he stayed clean and started his own legitimate businesses. He is the author of "The Cocaine Chef: The Story of the Mix Master," and other books. He also coaches people in Financial Empowerment...

What happens when you catch thieves in the act, trying to steal your outboard motor? What do you do with the bodies? No, I haven't caught thieves in the act, or had to dispose of bodies, and I hope I never do, but I did write a short story about it.  To subscribe to my free newsletter and get a short story every month, go to https://paultrammell.substack.com/ To supprt the show, go to Patreon here

Brian Hite, Ph. D., is known as "The High-Stakes Performance Whisperer," blending over 30 years as a professional stuntman with advanced expertise in performance psychology. With a Ph. D. in Organizational Psychology and a Master's in Sport Psychology, Brian helps leaders, athletes, first responders, and creatives see through the illusions of stress and pressure to unlock clarity and achieve extra...

Alan Katz is a writer and producer of film and TV. Over the course of his career, he has written movies and TV shows like HBO's iconic Tales From The Crypt and Showtime's Outer Limits. He now produces four podcasts. Entertainment Weekly called the first season of his "The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast" the "Best Film Podcast of 2022." We talk about making film and TV shows, writing scripts, HBO,...

Brian Hathaway is a documentary filmmaker and a sailor, currently circumnavigating. He is also a recovering addict. We talk about sailing, the community of cruising sailors, rehab, being diagnosed bipolar, lithium, self-medicating, burning his house down while on meth, living with the social consequences of sobriety, lightning, solo sailing, and more. Links are on the shownotes page here . Support...

Dr. Mort Orman, M.D. is an internal medicine physician and a 40-year anger elimination and stress elimination expert. He has written 23 books on how to eliminate anger and stress without using drugs, relaxation exercises, or other traditional management techniques. He is the creator of the 10-session Angry No More anger elimination program, the Anger Internal Causes Framework, and The Ultimate Ang...

Heather O'Neill is a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. Her work includes  When We Lost Our Heads,  a #1 national bestseller and a finalist for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal,  The Lonely Hearts Hotel , which won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and CBC's Canada Reads, and  Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Girl Wh...

Miriam Schulman is the author of "Artpreneur," a book about making a living off our creativity. After witnessing 9/11, she left a lucrative hedge fund job to focus full-time on her art. Since then, her story and art have been featured in major publications including Forbes, The New York Times, What Women Create, Art of Man, Professional Artist magazine, and Art Journaling magazine. Her artwork has...

As a Manhattan book editor, strategic planner, and corporate marketing VP, Marcia Heath seemed to have it all figured out. But after a series of major setbacks, she headed to Aruba to reset and relax. There, she stumbled upon a story that would change everything: a tiny surf shop owned by two friends who were blazing an entirely different path to success. It was a moment that would transform her l...

Annie Korzen is the author of "The Book of Annie: Humor Heart and Chutzpah from an Accidental Influencer." She played Doris Klompus on Seinfeld, has written humorous essays for The NY Times, LA Times, and many more. Annie has performed her solo shows on three continents. She is a Moth Mainstage storyteller, and can be heard on www. TheMoth.org. Annie has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Tavis Sm...

Matt Drago is an actor living in Los Angeles, starring in the current motion picture "Somewhere in Montana." We talk about the fires in Los Angeles, becoming an actor, the importance of being a hustler to succeed in any art, backstory and preparing for a role, what goes on behind the scenes, screenplays, making Somewhere in Montana, calling up emotions, working with the crew, advice for aspiring a...

Scott Grace is a forty year veteran teacher of transformation. He is the author of four books, including his latest "Mindful Masculinity." He has been a stand up comedian and opened up for Robin Williams and Dana Carvey, and a singer-songwriter who produced nine CD's of original songs. He has shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, Dr. John Gray, Marianne Williamson, Bernie Siegel, Ram Dass, Louise H...

Peter Gooch is is an author, pain ter, and former art professor. He is the winner of the Bosque Publishing Prize for Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and online. He holds an MFA from Western Michigan University.  His short fiction has been published in  The New Guard ,  Bosque Publishing ,  Etched Onyx , and  Light and Dark Literary Magazine , among other...

Bert Terhart crossed the entire country of Canada from west to east in a canoe in one season, and he did it alone. He is one of only two people to have done this, and the only to have done it without a dog.  We talk about growing up in Canada, finding adventure as a child, his adventure crossing Canada in a canoe, the gear he used, finding thousand-year-old portages cut in the rock, the misery and...

Susan Hensley is a transformational coach, speaker, and author dedicated to helping people navigate life's transitions with joy, creativity, and resilience. She is the author of "Art for Your Sanity," a book to help people deal with uncertainty and tap into their innate wisdom and creativity. Susan's mission is to empower people to unlock their inner wisdom, creativity, and sense of play during ti...

Bob was a mob lawyer until he discovered the I Ching. He is now is a professor at Elon University, teaching Business Law and Meditation (two separate courses).  We talk about growing up selling hot dogs and cotton candy, becoming a lawyer in Miami in working for Janet Reno as a prosecutor; hitting the mob for $72 million; being recruited by the mafia; discovering the I Ching and Taoism; cultivatin...

Daniel Brown, aka @mullet_lord, is a former hard partier who nearly died from drug and alcohol abuse. He now lives and surfs in Australia, owns a coffee shop, and leads a healthy life, however, at 24 years old, he needed a drink to avoid seizure, and was also into marijuana and extasy. During a short coma, he had a near-death experience in which he spent, as he describes it, a lifetime in Heaven,...

In this episode, I read aloud a short story I wrote about one of my favorite places, Isla Escudo de Veraguas. If you like short stories, sign un for me free newsletter at paultrammell.substack.com , and get a story in your email at the begining of each month, as well as occasional poems, essays, and book reviews.

Sung J. Woo is the author of "Lines," a novel I recently read and loved. His short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, PEN/Guernica, Financial Times, and Vox. He has written five novels, Lines (2024), Deep Roots (2023), Skin Deep (2020), Love Love (2015), and Everything Asian (2009), which won the 2010 Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Literature Award. In 2022, his...

Erden is one of two people to have circumnavigated under human power, and Erden is the only to have done it solo, and he did it by rowing, cycling, kayaking, and hiking. He holds an amazing 18 Guiness World Records.  We talk about rowing across oceans, bicycling across continenets, hiking across Papua New Guinea, his route around the world, training, dealing with difficult situations, eating coffe...

Enzo Dal Verme is an Italian portrait photographer drawing on over three decades of experience in meditation. He approaches photography as a path of self-discovery and personal growth. His portraits have been published in Vanity Fair, l'Uomo Vogue, The Times, GQ, Madame Figarò, Elle, Glamour, Vogue Sport, Marie Claire and many other magazines. Enzo has been leading his acclaimed photography retrea...

Elijah Nisenboim is founder of Effiji Breathwork and has been helping people with suffering and trauma for 33 years. He is the author of 3 books including "The Trauma Code: Unlocking the Hidden Map to Your Life's True Purpose."  He has traveled to China more than 20 times, learning Sacred Taoist energy practice and Internal Martial Arts which he incorporates in his healing methods for trauma relea...

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is an author, creative-writing teacher, and host of my favorite podcast, " Writers on Writing ." She is also a lecturer at Chapman University's Dodge Film School, an adjunct professor of Advanced Creative Writing at Saddleback College Emeritus Institute, and instructor at   Gotham Writers Workshop (online). She also holds two private workshops.  Barbara was recognized with...

Brad Chandler is a successful entrepreneur who built a thriving real estate investment company, but is now dedicating his life to his true passion: helping others break free from their past, overcome limiting beliefs, and create the life and relationships they desire and deserve. Through mastering self-love and reprogramming the mind, Brad has transformed his own life, and he's here to share his p...

Jeff Patterson, from Portland, OR, USA, has over 36 years of experience, practicing and teaching the meditative and martial arts. As the founder of Northwest Fighting Arts/Portland Tai Chi Academy and The Yielding Warrior, he emphasizes the transformative power of meditative and martial arts practices, particularly the yielding concept. He has published two books and hundreds of instructional vide...