I Used to be Somebody

What do pink boots have to do with being a professional craft beer brewmaster? I guess you'll need to listen and find out in this episode. Teri Fahrendorf was headed on the fast track in high tech Silicon Valley in the '80's. But she quickly learned that the cubicle life wasn't for her and she created a second act as one of the first female brewmasters in the emerging craft beer industry. Her amaz...

It's summer bonus time in the Landau tiki bar! Yes, in one episode you get to listen to all the goofy "openers" of the podcast episodes--short funny phone conversations for another laugh.  At the end is a special treat -- Carl's first stand-up show, 12 minutes of comedy gold! • Website: https://pickleballmediahq.com • Sponsor: Pickleball for Dummies book: https://pickleballmediahq.com/book • Subsc...

Who starts a second act raising water buffalo and making cheese? That's what Audrey and her husband Craig Ramini did. In 2009, Craig went on Craigslist and bought 5 water buffalo. With no qualifications or experience, very little money and a big dream-- that's exactly what this couple did! They became one of the first mozzarella di bufala makers in the U.S.  Audrey's path is a love story to her la...

Have you ever reconnected with someone after 45 years? Carl does, when he had the opportunity to talk with his favorite professor, Dr. Bob Vogel from Miami University (Ohio). Bob has had a truly remarkable life teaching communications for 40+ years and then in post-retirement (and in his 70's), he followed his childhood dreams of becoming a professional musician and entertainer. He's now on a nati...

What a thrill this week for Carl to meet one of his childhood heroes, "Sudden" Sam McDowell, star of his beloved 1960's Cleveland Indians. Sam was a five time all-star pitcher who was deemed to be the next Sandy Koufax. He was a young superstar under great pressure, however. Sam tells us his career was fueled by alcohol and addiction. You don't need to be a sports fan to be inspired by Sam's amazi...

Carl has a great time interviewing a true character in the (Un)Retirement world -- Corky Logue. He's a serial entrepreneur who has owned 40+ companies and counting at age 74. A big success came at 47, when he went public with his chain of EZ Pawn stores, leaving the company a few years later with about $30 million in stock. Corky follows the beats to a different drum, needing only 3 hours a night...

Carl interviews his first "Political Hack" this month. He chats it up the one and only Mike Murphy who turns out to be one of our all-time funniest and entertaining guests. He had a big time as a Republican political consultant for some of the biggest names -- John McCain, Bob Dole, and even the Governator -- Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's hard to take sides when you listen to Mike, (despite your pol...

Warning: Carl turns into super-fanboy this week when he gets a chance to talk with Renel Brooks-Moon. She has broken barriers as a baseball announcer whose accomplishments are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even if you're not a huge baseball fan like Carl, you will be inspired by the incredible second act story of how a young woman of color breaks into the world of radio in the '80's, co-...

Carl is in "pickleball" heaven this week since he got to interview the very funny Greg Schwem. Not only is Greg a talented comedian but also happens to be a kick-ass pickleball player! Greg talks about the amazing third act (or is it fourth?) he created for himself, as the producer/director/writer/star of the TV show "A Comedian Crashes Your Pad".  Greg also shares some great advice for anyone loo...

Do you like surprises? Our host Carl Landau is surprised by Diana Landau aka wife/content wrangler/blogger when she interviews HIM for a change. Yes, for one special episode the mic gets turned around and Carl is on the hot seat answering questions about his life and weird journey from challenged student (before anyone knew that dyslexia was a thing) to successful entrepreneur and publisher to thi...

Do you remember the 2007-2009 financial meltdown? What a scary time in all our lives. But just imagine being at the center of it all, as CFO of Risk Management and Treasurer of Bank of America? This week's guest, Mark Linsz, knows well. In one of Carl's most interesting interviews, Mark also talks about the stress of it all. At one point, he (bravely) asked his wife, "How am I doing"? Her honest a...

Not the typical Princeton and Stanford MBA graduate, Ryan Frederick wanted to live in a senior community. His goal was and (still is) to understand how seniors live and find ways to make their environments better. Ryan was in his early 20's when he lived in an Atlanta senior housing development, fascinated about the concept of healthy aging and longevity. He is author of the new book, of "Right Pl...

Anyone who launches a new business called "Coco's Cocktail Caravan" must be interesting. This week's guest is Robin Pajaro, who has had one of the most adventurous journeys we've heard. At 20, she took a trip to Africa and ends up not coming home for 3 years. She then sailed the seas as a chef on private yachts. She also attended culinary school and spent 25 years in the hospitality industry. Year...

We had a true celebrity sighting this week on the show. Carl has a great time learning and laughing with Steven Petrow, the award-winning journalist, advice columnist, and book author. Steven is also well known for his appearances on NPR, TED talk fame and Washington Post and New York Times essays on all sorts of subjects, including aging, health and social civility. In this episode, he shares ins...

Mark Shaiken talks with Carl about what comes next after a big career as a successful attorney. The questions started in his 50's-- "Well, what else can I do?" The answers were not so easy for him then. "It's sort of a loaded question," says Mark. "The truth is there are lots of things we can do." Carl agreed that sometimes it's easy to get stuck in something when you're pretty good at it. Decades...

Who would imagine that they would land their dream job in their mid-fifties? That is exactly what happened when Scott Miller, who even as a boy wanted to fly, finally became a pilot for a major commercial airline. This is a really interesting episode where Scott and Carl talk about facing their fears head on. And Carl is thrilled when he finally gets to talk Tiki with Scott, who has his own "bambo...

Super interesting episode this week with Carl's guest, Dan Kennedy. This is a first-- a guest who lived in a monastery with no talking and contact with the outside world in his youth. That experience had an amazingly positive effect on Dan Kennedy's life and Second Act. He had a big time career as a biz publisher mentoring hundreds of business people along the way and now is teaching MBA students....

Carl is in seventh heaven having a chance to talk to the one and only Bob Franceschelli who had a big time career at Anheuser Busch and is now "a big muckety muck" in the world of Pickleball. They get to talk about the early days of the craft beer industry and the mindful planning required in developing a new passion in life. A whole potpourri of topics are covered, including their fondness of the...

Great interview this week with the hilarious and successful comedian, Paul Ollinger---who was one of the early Facebook hires way back in 2008 and now he's host of the very popular Crazy Money podcast.  But, it's way more than that. Paul's real passion has always been comedy. He shares his insights on forging on a new path when it's totally new and scary.  Go for the butterflies. Nervousness means...

Carl loves tapas, so he was all in for this week's conversation with Andy Robin, author of the new book, The Tapas Life. Apparently Carl is the first interviewer that really wanted to talk about grilled sardines--one of those little savory and delicious Spanish bites. It turns out that tapas are actually a metaphor for creating a new life plan for your second act of life, by exploring a wide varie...

Carl talks with Bob Tuschman, former Food Network Senior Vice President and General Manager. To say Bob "worked his way up to the top" is an understatement! He started from a lowly production assistant to Diana Ross's personal assistant, to a "Good Morning America" producer and then to a top position at the Food Network. Bob played a major role in the early TV success of Guy Fieri, Giada, Ina Gart...

This week Carl has a great conversation with the amazing Michael Clinton who had a big time career as an executive at two of the most iconic publishing houses in the world Hearst and Conde Nast. In his mid-forties he thought "he was the most boring person in the world" and started a portfolio of travel and adventures. Becoming a private pilot, writer, photographer, traveling to 124 countries, and...

The funniest and most entertaining part of our show is Carl's discussion each week with Mo Nard about how life relates to pickleball. The crazy thing is that people that don't know or care about Pickleball love this segment.  Here's 10 short super fun segments: We're here to confuse you Mo wants to bring recess back Are you feeling lucky Partner Up The life and times of Mo Nard Mo'see up to the li...

What a super fun and entertaining episode! Every week Carl asked each guest a weird ice- breaker question, "What was your worst job?" It's one of our listeners' favorite parts of each episode because right away, the guest relaxes and gets real. Plus the worst jobs are crazy! We put 25 of our "Worst Job" stories into this special bonus episode. It's a totally fun ride. • Episode Content: https://pi...

In Ireland the most important person is a seanchaí (story teller). Their stories keep the community together and thriving. Patrick Mulvaney is such a person. We were honored and a little nervous to serve Patrick a Mai Tai in the Landau Tiki bar this week. Why? Because he's an award-winning chef and owner of an incredible restaurant. Even though Patrick is very busy as a restaurateur he sees his ro...