One Song, One Story | Where Music Meets Memory

What if the song that shaped your life kept revealing new meanings... for more than 35 years? For the first time in  One Song One Story , the host becomes the guest. After spending two seasons asking remarkable people to share the one song that changed their life, the microphone is turned on me. Hosted by  Jim Farfaglia , this is the story behind the song that quietly shaped my childhood, carried...

🎧 Episode Description What if the thing standing between you and the life you want isn't a lack of talent... but the belief that you need permission to pursue it? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I'm joined by  Sumi X  — artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, and creative force — for a conversation about identity, self-belief, and finding the courage to trust your own voice. Sumi's...

What if the song that changed your life wasn’t one you chose… but one that found you at exactly the right moment? In this episode of One Song One Story , I’m joined by Vince Markowsky , for a conversation that moves through identity, resilience, and the unexpected ways music can become a mirror for who we are becoming. Every episode begins with one simple premise: my guest brings one song that hol...

Some songs do not need lyrics to say everything. In this episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with Jason Olivea, a holistic coach and creator of Inner Compass, to explore a track that became the soundtrack to one of the biggest transitions of his life. We met at an ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica, one of those places that changes how you see yourself, the world, and what you thought was possi...

What happens when a song doesn’t just comfort you… but changes the direction of your life? In this episode of One Song One Story , I’m joined by Tara Wiskow , an intuitive healer whose relationship with music is deeply embodied, emotional, and transformative. Tara brings “No Hard Feelings” by The Avett Brothers , a song that found them in the days after losing their baby sister. At first, it made...

Some songs don’t just remind you of a moment. They help you survive it. In this episode of  One Song One Story , I sit down with  Dr Jonathan Locust  to explore how  Through the Wire  by Kanye West became a soundtrack for resilience, healing, and personal transformation. Jonathan shares how this song stayed with him through a serious health crisis, major life transitions, and a profound period of...

Some songs don’t just move you. They remind you who you are. In this episode of One Song One Story, I reconnect with Weronka Sacha, a breathwork facilitator, musician, and guide whose work is rooted in presence, ceremony, and deep listening. We talk about breathwork, music, and the strange magic of meeting someone in an intense container, forming a lifelong connection, and knowing very little abou...

What happens when a song gives you permission to live truthfully? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I’m joined by  Gazit Chaya Nkosi , a healer and nervous system practitioner whose life journey has taken them through religion, identity, heartbreak, and profound spiritual transformation. Every episode begins with a simple premise. My guest brings one song that holds deep meaning for them. T...

This episode is about love, identity, and how music can pull you into a story much bigger than your own. In this episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with Josh Nutting, whose life changed when he fell in love with a Ukrainian woman and, through her, discovered a song that has become a symbol of resilience for an entire nation.🎶 Song choice: “Oy U Luzi Chervona Kalyna”A Ukrainian folk song su...

What does it mean to live with dignity, devotion, and deep reverence for life? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I’m joined by  Blagomira Kostova , speaking to us from the Sacred Valley in Peru, where nature, ritual, and presence are woven into everyday life.  Blagomira is a plant medicine facilitator, preparation and integration coach, and mindfulness guide. In our conversation, we explore...

What if one small step could change the entire direction of your life? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I’m joined by  Deb Van Schaack , calling in from Bisbee, Arizona, for a conversation about courage, kindness, and trusting the path as it unfolds. Deb shares the song that became a quiet companion during her 2,000 mile walk across the Appalachian Trail. A journey that began with a single...

What happens when a song feels less like music… and more like a spiritual experience? In this episode of One Song One Story, I’m joined by Dr Gareth Palmer: therapist, musician, artist, and someone who has played a quiet but meaningful role in my own creative journey. Together we explore creativity, discipline, therapy, and the strange way a single song can carry deeper meaning across decades. Gar...

What if one song could become your anchor in the darkest hours? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I’m joined by  Colleen Grimshaw  for a powerful conversation about fear, resilience, and the kind of strength you discover when life gives you no choice but to find it.  Colleen shares how  Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia  became her soundtrack during the early days of a breast cancer diagnosi...

In this episode of  One Song One Story , I’m joined by my friend  Hannah Bergin  – a dancer, creative, and someone whose relationship with music lives deeply in the body. We talk about movement as memory, music as something you feel rather than think, and what it’s like growing up in a house where everyone seems to be accidentally singing the same song in different rooms. Hannah shares the track t...

Most of us have an old version of ourselves we secretly miss. Not because life was perfect back then. But because we were lighter. Less aware. Less shaped by everything that came after. In this episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with Nora, a Nashville based songwriter, to talk about nostalgia, growth, and the emotional chaos of becoming yourself. Her song choice is:🎶 Dangerous Levels of In...

In this radiant and heart-opening episode of  One Song, One Story , Shub sits down with his friend and creative inspiration  Marc-John Brown  — a coach, medicine man, activist, and father — to explore the power of rhythm, voice, and the universal language of music. Marc-John brings the timeless  “Chan Chan” by Buena Vista Social Club , a song that changed the course of his life. What begins as a n...

In this deeply personal and beautifully nostalgic episode, Shub from  North of Normal  sits down with music lover and self-confessed audio nerd  Alex Baker  — a man with over 2,000 records, a dream of running a “listening bar,” and a lifelong connection to sound. Alex shares the story behind his song choice:  “Have You Heard” by Pat Metheny Group  — the tune that first made him cry at ten years ol...

What does the  perfect song  sound like? In this episode of  One Song One Story , I sit down with Ivan Costa, a man whose life soundtrack spans gospel, grime, kizomba, dancehall and R&B. And then he brings the song. Drake’s  Controlla . What follows is not a breakdown of production or lyrics, but a memory unlocked in real time. Summer 2016. A house party about to be shut down by the police. On...

In this raw and unexpected episode of  One Song, One Story , Shub sits down with  Dan Cleland — author, serial entrepreneur, and founder of the world-renowned ayahuasca retreat  Soltara Healing Centre  — to explore the surprising connection between heavy metal, resilience, and spiritual growth. Dan brings a fierce and fitting song to the table:  “Rooster” by Alice in Chains  — a grunge-era anthem...

What if one song could hold an entire people’s hope, grief, identity, and resilience? In this powerful and deeply personal episode of  One Song One Story , I sit down with  Zeina El Khaldi  — movement artist, coach, and someone whose relationship to music runs through her bones — to explore the iconic Arabic masterpiece  “Zahrat Al-Maidan” by Fayruz . This isn’t just a song. It’s a  portal  — into...

What if one song could help you survive being a teenager in a world that had no language for who you were becoming? In this deeply personal and moving episode of One Song One Story , I sit down with author and storyteller Jim Farfaglia to explore the song that changed everything for him. A song that arrived at exactly the right moment in 1969, when Jim was a 14 year old boy trying to make sense of...

In this bonus episode of One Song One Story, Shub sits down with author and storyteller Jim Farfaglia, the man behind a beautiful project that shares its name with this podcast. Jim has spent years collecting more than 350 musical memories from people across the world, all built around one simple idea. One song. One story. This conversation goes deep into Jim’s creative journey, his lifelong conne...

🎧  What happens when a song becomes the soundtrack to your life? In this heartfelt conversation, Simon and Shub dive deep into the music that shaped them — from the first tracks that cracked open their hearts to the songs that still move them today. They explore how sound becomes memory, how melody becomes meaning, and why some songs stay with us forever. At the centre of it all is  “Nothing’s Go...

In this deeply reflective episode of  One Song, One Story , Shub sits down with breathwork teacher, Reiki practitioner and creative soul  Rebecca Baker  to explore the song that’s followed her across decades — Groove Armada’s  At the River . Rebecca shares how this timeless track became her “siren song,” calling her home from city life back to the wide-open skies and sea of Devon. Together they di...

In this episode, Shubeeh sits down with  Todd Michael Roberts  — co-founder of  Intertwining Medicines  in Peru, artist, and plant medicine facilitator — to explore how one song can shape a lifetime. Todd’s choice?  “Suspicious Minds”  by  Elvis Presley  — the first song that ever made him  feel . From spinning 45s on a Fisher Price record player to leading ayahuasca ceremonies in the Sacred Valle...