Not in a Huff with Jackson Huff

This week we take a wild ride through the plain clothed world of the Mennonite church when author Patty Bear tells about her bumpy childhood. From her fathers excommunication from the church, to his stalking of the family, and the Supreme Court case that came out of it all Patty opens up and shares her thoughts during this time. We also learn about how she went from plain to plane and went on to b...

What started as a Bahama's beach vacation with her family in the summer of 2018 quickly turned into a disaster that my guest this week Stefanie Schaffer will forever remember. On the way to Exuma Island to visit the social media famous "swimming pigs" the boat she and her family were traveling on exploded. The result being her mother broke both her legs and wrists, another travel losing a leg, Ste...

This week we learn the harrowing story of a young couple in love who were torn apart by the horrors of the Holocaust. In 1940's Lithuania two young Jewish people after suffering the hardships of oppression by Soviet occupation, followed by Nazi occupation, were then separated and sent to two different concentration camps...but not before they made a vow to each other. This vow said that if they su...

This week we dive back into an area near and dear to my heart in board games. I had the pleasure of speaking to the founder of University Games, Bob Moog. What started out as an idea between two friends has now 35 years later turned into one of the biggest gaming companies around. From previous million game sellers (Blues Clues), to huge party games (Smartass, Stupid Deaths, WTF), to new games (Ro...

This week we hear the festinating story of an undercover narcotics agent at the height of the drug trade in Miami in the 1980's. The time was crazy and so was his story as he ultimately turned and was arrested for smuggling those very drugs he was supposed to be getting off the street. This week we go inside that dramatic story with his daughter, Lynn Walker, who dealt with a doting dad who one da...

This week we take a deep dive into the the role of the criminal justice system in some of today's biggest issues with Arizona State University professor, Dr. Hank Fradella. We talk about how the US prison system is one of the biggest providers of mental health services and why that is a major problem. Dr. Fradella tells us what can potentially be done to fix the issues and gives some examples from...

What is hammer throw?! This week we learn about that sport and more with track and field collegiate athlete, Morgan Wrublik. She shares her journey from the sport in high school to competing in an entirely different way once in college at Illinois State. We also talk about just how diverse of a discpline track and field is where there are people on the same team that are long distance runners, peo...

Defying Limits is the theme of this weeks conversation with Ginger Ragaishis. We talk about how she achieved her goals of becoming Miss Vermont's Teen this past year and the two year journey it took to take the crown. We also talk about invisible disabilities and how she did not let a learning disability keep her down. We have an important chat on accommodations for those with disabilities and how...

Jonestown, Branch Davidians, Moonies, The Source Family. We have heard of some of the biggest cults of all time. This week we examine the rise of "micro-cults". Rather than have hundreds of followers that make waves in society following one leader there is a growing prevalence on cults with 10-20 members following a guru, be it a family member or someone who has just latched on to a family. That i...

This week I had the distinctive pleasure of speaking with Amanda Knox. We speak about her 2007 arrest and wrongful conviction in Perugia, Italy for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher and the media frenzy that happened because of it all. While she sat in a prison cell in Italy for more than 4 years the world was captivated by Dateline and 20/20 specials speaking of the heinous murder and t...

Stalking. Reality Show Casting. Bikinis. We somehow cover it all this week when I speak with Jaimie Beebee about her "Strictly Stalking" podcast that each week speaks with a victim of stalking about their experiences and how to shape the laws to protect those who are stalked much better. She also speak about her day job, a 15 year career as a casting director. If that was not enough to keep her bu...

This weeks guest has been dubbed "the queen of butterfly swimming" by the international swimming community where at 20 years old she is taking the sport by storm. We talk about her amazing career in swimming from a start where she did not like swimming to being an decorated Olympic athlete holding multiple American records. She tells us more about her sport both with Team USA and for her Stanford...

Going Viral! I have talked with people in the past who have done just that, but for funny/silly reasons. What is it like going viral for all the wrong reasons? What would you do if your worst mistake is suddenly out there for everyone to see and jeer about? This week I speak with Skyler Fluss about having that experience when in April 2022 she was stopped for a routine traffic stop and then made s...

Becca Barnet, leader of Sisal Creative, is MAKING IT! Be it on the NBC competitive reality show of the same name or in her daily work creating amazing things. We speak about her time in taxidermy school, what makes good taxidermy, and why she will not mount your deer. We also talk about "Making It" on NBC and what it was like working with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. This was a fun, creative con...

This week we hear the story of Lindsey Rogers-Seitz. The story starts with a tragic day in July 2014 when her 15 month old son Ben was mistakenly left in a hot car while her husband went to work for the day. We talk about how a singular moment of his brain going into autopilot and going about his day ended with the death of their son. This story is about much more than this terrible event, but abo...

This week we talk with a Canadian National Team gymnast who took a unique path to the top of her sport. From following her YOUNGER sister into the sport to competing both nationally and collegiately, Emma Spence, is blazing a path most others do not follow. It is one you will hear works well for her though and her story is an amazing one. Whether you want to hear more about the life of a gymnast,...

From OJ Simpson to John F. Kennedy my guest this week has worked on some of America's biggest cases in his 60+ year career in forensic science. I was honored to speak with Dr. Henry Lee about his cases, what forensic science is, and some of his most memorable times in the field. He has consulted on the above cases and a few others that shocked the national like JonBenet Ramsey, Michael Peterson, C...

What does it take to be a college athlete? This week we learn from Sam Cary a lot of hard work! She shares with us her entire soccer career thus far from her youth soccer, being recruited early in her high school career, to being the captain of the University of Iowa’s soccer team. She talks candidly about the struggles she faced in the sport both internally and externally. We also talk about the...

What does it mean to go the extra mile? This week I speak with Shawn Anderson a person who has made it his life's mission to do just that and help inspire others to do so as well. We talk about the times he has literally went the extra mile with TWO bike trips across the United States and walking across SEVEN countries. We then talk about his organization that inspires others to go the extra mile...

This week we magically appear back on the virtual stage with up and coming magician Gabriella Lester. She tells us about her life as a traveling magician, growing up on sage and feeling most like herself when performing, and her turn on The CW's hit show "Penn and Teller Fool Us". This is a fun one with a magician who billed herself "The Diva of Deception" and then instantly regretted creating suc...

From creepy crawly to cuddly creatures? This week we learn from Dakota of Inspire Exotics that the bad reputation of our spider and reptile friends might be unwarranted. In this one Dakota walks us through her love of the less loved creature both for their species and also those in the species that she rescues from bad situations. She tells us some really amazing facts of spiders, snakes, and liza...

What does it take to design a toy? Well probably not much, but designing a good one that parents scream, claw, and fight for during the holiday's takes some creativity and a bit of good luck. This week I speak with Matt Nuccio who through his lifelong involvement in the toy industry and his company Design Edge has helped design some of the biggest toys of our time (see: Tickle Me Elmo). We talk th...

I have spoken with swimmers before, but none quite like Leonie Beck. This German swimmer takes us into the oceans and lakes of a sport called open water swimming where the lanes are undefined and the fight to get around each buoy is a fight between the 40 competitors in the water. She tells us why she went into this particular type of swimming, her experiences in the last two Olympic Games, compet...

This week we jump on stage with Broadway star Morgan Higgins as she takes us through her illustrious yet still burgeoning career. We talk the early days of not wanting to go to auditions, to starring in a Nickelodeon movie, to a short lived singing competition called Rising Star. She did a lot as a young performer, but was only getting started. More recently she was a back-up singer for John Melle...

This week we travel from renaissance fair's to cruise ships to theater's across the country with contortionist/entertainer Leah Orleans. She tells us about growing in a performing family and her start in contortion at 9 years old. We also talk about her time in circus school and what it is like touring the country performing this back bending, whip lashing, arrow shooting with her feet routine. Sh...