The Adrenaline Zone

On today’s episode of The Adrenaline Zone , Sandy and Sandra welcome Captain Amy Bauernschmidt, the first woman to ever serve as the Executive Officer and then as the Commanding Officer of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Amy starts the conversation by taking us all the way back to her beginnings and telling us about her journey of becoming a naval aviator. During the time she spent at the Naval Acad...

On today’s episode of The Adrenaline Zone , Sandy and Sandra interview two-time World Champion skier and lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Chris Davenport. Widely recognized as one of the top skiers in the world, he is the first person to ski all fifty-four of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in less than one year. Chris starts the conversation by talking about his earlier skiing experiences. As he recount...

On today’s episode of The Adrenaline Zone , Sandy and Sandra welcome Dr. Jess Cramp, a marine biologist and shark researcher. Jess is also the founder of Shark Pacific, which is a non-profit organization for studying and protecting sharks. Jess kicks off the episode by telling us about her exciting journey from quitting a high-paying job to beginning an adventure of her lifetime –sharks’ preservat...

On this week’s episode of The Adrenaline Zone, Sandy and Sandra are joined by former army doctor and infectious disease physician Matt Hepburn, who led the COVID-19 vaccine development effort with Operation Warp Speed. Matt opens their conversation by sharing how his parents instilled in him a sense of service to others and his country that led him to a career in military medicine, taking him from...

Sandy and Sandra’s guest this episode is Phil Reilly, a former CIA paramilitary officer who was the first American on the ground in Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Phil starts by explaining a little about the history and organization of the CIA and how the paramilitary fits into it. He also talks about the tough vetting process to get into the CIA and how recruits are analyzed to dete...

Sandra and Sandy are excited to welcome Andy Weir, renowned author of Project Hail Mary and, more famously, The Martian , to the podcast .  Before he became a self-published, best-selling author, Weir spent two decades working as a software engineer, and it wasn’t until he was laid off that he actually got to pursue writing as more than just a hobby. And so The Martian was born. After creating wee...

Jon Scheyer, former professional player and newly anointed head coach at Duke, joins the conversation with Sandra and Sandy today. He provides us with a sneak peak into the world of collegiate basketball, Coach K’s diligent and personal prep work, and his vision for the storied Duke basketball program. As long as he can remember, Scheyer has been competitive; maybe too much so, if you ask his moth...

For her day job, Sarah Arnosky Ko is vice-president of Greater St. Louis Incorporated, where she helps bring the business community together in the Gateway City. But in her spare time, she’s known as Bricktator, a star player for the St. Louis-based Arch Rival Roller Derby team. Today, she joins Sandy and Sandra to give us all the lowdown on how roller derby works, what drew her to it, and why the...

On today’s episode of The Adrenaline Zone, Sandra and Sandy are joined by Kate Dargan Marquis, who has made a career out of the complex and dangerous business of wildland firefighting. Kate kicks things off by discussing the structure of roles in the wildland firefighting world, the situations they respond to, and the training involved, including constant heat conditioning. She then steps back in...

On this episode of Adrenaline Zone , “Sandy” and Sandra welcome big wave surfer, Jamie Mitchell to the podcast to talk about his late start in surfing, the risk in big-wave surfing, and climate change. He opens up the episode by recalling his childhood growing up in Coffs Harbour in Australia and how he has been a fish out of water since he could remember - reading the ocean and its currents is al...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Dr. Ralph Harvey of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program, and Dr. Fraser Goff, Volcanology and Geothermal Systems Expert.   Between them, Dr. Harvey and Dr. Fraser have seen some of the most dangerous places on the planet, albeit in very different ways. While Dr. Harvey spends weeks on end...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Diana Trujillo, JPL Flight Director for the Mars Perseverance Rover.   Diana was born in Colombia and her journey to becoming the flight director for the Perseverance mission involved quite a bit of her own perseverance. She started school while still speaking very little English, but her intelligence...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Victor Vescovo, Undersea Explorer, Investor, and Former Naval Officer.    Victor has tackled risk in just about every form, putting his life on the line in the military, and risking huge financial losses as a private equity investor. His latest endeavor, and the one he’s most excited about, is hi...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Alejandro Villanueva, Professional Football Player and former Army Ranger.   Many young men dream of the opportunity to play in the NFL, and spend their whole lives training to become a professional athlete. For Alejandro, a career in football was an unexpected means to achieving a very different...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by gang member “Blanco”, one of the leaders of an innovative project to reduce inner city gun violence in Wilmington, NC.   Blanco grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, in a neighborhood that didn’t offer much in the way of economic opportunity. Like many of his peers, Blanco saw gang initiation as...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Tim McGraw, prolific actor and country music star, to talk about some of the emotional risks associated with being a performing artist.   Early in his life, Tim had visions of pursuing professional sports, and even joining the military. His love for music eventually won out, however, and he dropp...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Sarah Thomas, an NFL official who became the first woman to officiate in a Super Bowl. She shares her story of breaking the gender barrier in a male-dominated industry, and the many risks that entailed.   Like many officials, Sarah was herself an athlete. She began playing softball and basketball...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Captain Brian C. Kesselring, Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the Blue Angels.   Brian has been passionate about flying since he was six years old, flipping through aviation magazines in his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota. He started cultivating that passion early, working night jobs to p...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus welcome Josef Newgarden, IndyCar driver and two-time IndyCar Series Champion. They discuss some of the ways Josef’s training has helped him develop better instincts in high-risk situations.   Josef began racing competitively at the relatively young age of 13. His dad would take him on trips to Indianapolis to...

On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone , hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus speak with Brad Snyder, former EOD Officer and US Paralympian, about responding to the consequences that sometimes accompany risk.   Brad is certainly no stranger to risk. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 2006, he became an EOD Officer in Afghanistan, often responsible for defusing notoriously danger...

Most people spend their lives avoiding risk. A select few attack it.   They dive head first into the zone where physical, intellectual, reputational, and financial risks fuel their actions, test their resolve, and fulfill their dreams.   Every week The Adrenaline Zone podcast explores the action-packed lives of people who seek out challenges most wouldn’t consider.   Buckle up and hold on as we in...