Stories from the Center of the Universe

Kody Miller has lived the kind of challenging life most can't imagine. Kody was born to parents that struggled with heroin addictions, and became a mother and wife at the age of 16. She divorced at age 19, and went on to develop an addiction of her own. She ended up using for the next 14 years, which sadly resulted in the loss of custody of her son during his high school years. She has been clean...

Calvin Duncan has lived an awesome and blessed life. From humble beginnings in Linden, NJ to basketball stardom at Oak Hill Academy and Virginia Commonwealth University to becoming a youth minister and eventually the Pastor and founder of Faith and Family Church in Richmond, VA, Calvin has positively impacted a lot of people. Join us to hear his inspirational story, why he walked away from a secon...

This week we have my (Daniel's) dear sister Ariel Lantz on the show. A lover of travel & adventure, Ariel spent two years in Casablanca, Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar, then returned to the United States for a master's in Montessori Education. She now teaches middle school out in Seattle. In our conversation, Ariel shares her perspectives on Moroccan / Middle-Eastern culture, and how it compares t...

Aaron Albrecht is an activist, thinker, and accomplished Old Time Missouri Fiddler. This episode, Aaron gives us the lowdown on his love for the deep tradition of old time music, an appropriately named precursor to bluegrass, folk, and country that goes back centuries. Ever the activist, Aaron also tells us how he led a forum on drone warfare while in college that culminated with a Keynote speech...

This week we had on the accomplished restaurateur, Joe Carroll, the mind behind several Williamsburg Brooklyn mainstays, including BBQ joint Fette Sau, and the St Anselm Steakhouse. In this conversation (featuring guest host Katy De Koning), we hear from Joe on his pivot from a music career to the restaurant world, and on the creativity with which he approached restaurant concepts, which has resul...

This week we had Craig Grimes (who should probably be a stand up comedian) come on to reminisce with Paul on their 'Salt and Pepper' basketball games, share his experiences growing up as the 12th of 13 grandchildren, and explain how life can fit into Winnie the Pooh characters. We recorded our conversation with Craig before the death of George Floyd, so we had him come back on to give us his follo...

This week we have Chris Young on to talk about growing up in small town Mississippi, and the string of accolades he has since collected, including being the 3x winner of the 'Yes Mississippi' Award, the third-ranked high school football player in the state of Mississippi, and the highest ever rated athlete to sign with Vanderbilt, where he played with Jay Cutler, among others. The first part of th...

Mia Blansett is an ER Nurse who transferred to a hospital in Northern New Jersey to work 12 hour days on the COVID front lines. She's a self-described spitfire with plenty of opinions on the pandemic situation, and has great takes on what it's like on the ground. 

This is the story of the Middlebury Pranksters, an Ultimate frisbee team that left their home in Vermont's wintry north on a quest for the 2019 Division III National Title.  Giving us the rundown are the 2019 team captains: Alex Forde (The Eloquent), Asher Lantz (The Thinker), and Dylan Salzman (The Commander), who share the ins and outs of their journey, including injuries, rivalries, game-saving...

Our guest this week is LaToya Robinson, who came on to tell us about becoming a young mother, and how she rose to the occasion to provide the best life for her daughter. She also shares her experience as a black woman in corporate America and her insights on playing the "game" . On top of her job as a manager for a successful financial services company, Toya is also a top-ranked realtor in the cit...

This week we've got William Still on to talk on growing up in small town GA at the time of the Atlanta Child Murders, then later moving to DC and working various jobs on Capitol Hill (including as a researcher at NRSC and the press assistant to Phil Gramm's campaign). He also tells us about going to law school at night with 2 kids and a full time lobbying job, and his experience of being in DC for...

First Lieutenant Jack Stockhausen is not one for taking the easy road. At 25 years old, he bears the distinction of being a West Point alumnus and U.S. Army Ranger, with a deployment under his belt. Jack comes on to talk about his time at the Academy, and how, upon failing Ranger School in the final week, he decided to do what few others do - go back and start the grueling course all over again. W...

Alexandra Santiago Aguilar, a self-described "Salvado-Rican," grew up in Long Island, NY, and after decades of focusing on her career, found love in her 40s and decided to pursue motherhood. Alex shares her journey with IVF, and her plans to blog about her experience as a new mother for the sake of other women in her situation. We also hear from Alex on how her pursuit of an MBA played into her co...

Sarah Wall has a more diverse career than most Millennials out there. From Democratic campaigns to Republican campaigns; from political think tanks to the food service industry; from nonprofits to a global financial company. We catch Sarah mid-journey, and she shares some wisdom from her breadth of experience, including her thoughts on the non profit world vs the corporate world, what she wishes w...

Yannis Katsaros was born in Athens, Greece as the eldest of three. When he was five years old, his family moved to Cairo, Egypt, where he was raised through high school. In tenth grade, Yannis was evacuated from Cairo due to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and returned four months later, after the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. This episode, Yannis talks about his memories of the Arab Sp...

This episode, we are joined by newlyweds Katy and Niels de Koning. Katy, our senior podcast advisor, fills us in on her background, from losing her Miami home during Hurricane Andrew to chasing the dream of living in NYC. Niels, who was Virginia-born and Netherlands-raised, breaks down American misconceptions about the Netherlands and Dutch history, and reveals the truth about wooden shoes. Finall...

Dr. Kiarri Kershaw is a social epidemiologist whose research focuses on how social environments impact health, particularly cardiovascular health. This episode, we hear about Kiarri's motivations in becoming an epidemiologist, her perspective on the pandemic we find ourselves in, and her research on how race, segregation, and various social factors can influence cardiovascular health. Joining us t...

Tony Szymendera is the Varsity Baseball coach and Head of Upper School for St Christophers Boys School in Richmond. In our conversation, Tony shares his thoughts about St Christophers' ongoing journey of adapting to distance learning, and the challenges and opportunities it presents. He also talks about his path to becoming an educator and coach, and imparts some wisdom from his 25 years of coachi...

Ed Miller is the co-founder and President of Marijuana Justice , a new non-profit that advocates for equitable legalization and raises awareness of the history of cannabis criminalization. On top of his presidential duties, he has a day job as Director of Analytics at a fast-growing fintech startup. Ed is also a former high school math teacher and counselor for teens, couples, and groups, and is d...

Andrew Mauck is a soon-to-be father, former football player, and hunter. This episode, Andrew tells us about his football career and how it was cut short by concussions, and he breaks down some common misconceptions about hunting and hunters. We also hear the story of how he almost died during a job interview (he got the job).

Richie Crabbe is a musician, barbecue enthusiast, former home-brewer, and father of two. This episode, Richie tells us about his upbringing in small-town Virginia, his band Stagg Creek (catch them at Hanover Country Club), and his adventures custom-building a sheet metal barbecue grill big enough to feed 1000 people.

Brigadier General (Ret) Larry Gilman, father to Paul, is a US Army and Virginia Army National Guard combat veteran of the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Shield/Storm (Saudi Arabia/Iraq). He served with Regular Army engineer units and several national guard engineer units over his 35 year career (3 Active, 9 USAR and 23 VaARNG) with honor and distinction. As a civilian lawyer, he also served as a...

Jim Pecsok is a third year medical student and a happy-go-lucky lover of adventure. With this interview, Jim re-enters the spotlight for the first time since his dramatic 63rd place finish at US Tennis Nationals in 2014, after which he decided life in the public eye was 'just too much.' This episode, we hear from Jim about medical school, what being a doctor means to him, and how he turns ill-fate...

This episode, we (Daniel & Paul) discuss the purpose of Pod So 1 and the importance of storytelling, meaningful conversation, and being present in an increasingly distracted world.

Gene Burke is a retired Navy Captain and helicopter pilot with over 20 years of experience flying the MH-53, AKA the "Sea Dragon." This episode, we hear about his origins, his memorable encounters as a helicopter pilot, and his love of the Chicago Cubs. A proud father of three, Gene now happily occupies an empty nest with his wife Joan.