The Happiness Quotient

The 2019 expedition to solve the mystery of who climbed Everest first changed many lives, is now the subject of a new film called LOST ON EVEREST, is the cover article in the July issue of National Geographic Magazine and is the subject of a book by NY Times Best Selling author and professional climber Mark Synnott. The Third Pole will be released in the spring of 2021. One of the chapters of Synn...

This episode begins with the sounds of Barred owls calling in the New Hampshire night, as I muse about my sudden illness on Mount Everest in 2019. The wisdom of the owls is apt for Episode 10 as we recall the words of wise men from our past, including Albert Einstein, Halie Salassie and Bob Marley. On the question of racial discrimination, Haile Salassie in a speech said to those who will learn, t...

(THESE NOTES WILL BE UPDATED) Mickey Raphael was given his first harmonica by an uncle who said if you can play Oh, Suzanna I'll give you the harmonica. Mickey would go on to play a whole lot more than that, having been Willie Nelson's harmonica player for over 46 years. He's played with the likes of Townes Van Zandt , Chris Stapleton , Tom Morello , Paul Simon , Snoop Dogg , Engelb...

On June 8, 1924, two British mountaineers by the name of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were seen at an altitude of over 28,000 feet 'headed toward the top' of Mount Everest by team member Noel Odell. At the time it was the highest any person had ever climbed before. After a few minutes, clouds obscured Odell's view of them and they disappeared, never to be seen again.   29 years l...

When we encounter tragedy or a traumatic event in life, it often times opens up a portal through which we can gain a new perspective of life. We actually learn through the experience and can become more wise in the process. In today's episode I interview photographer, adventurer and wilderness educator Oscar Manguy. We caught up with him at his home in a remote location in Finland, talked to...

Ever look out the window at work or in school and wish you were out there doing something big, living out your dreams? That is what this episode is about. We meet a man who used to do that. Then decided that enough was enough. Adventurer and three time Guinness Book of World Record holder Mike Reid says you don’t have to be gifted or talented. You don’t need anything given to you. If you refuse to...

During this time, when the world seems to be going insane, we can lose our minds or keep our act together, or PROSPER! I don’t know about you, but when this stuff happens and we look at the super macro of it, click a few down on the pull down tabs of life, I like what is happening. Don’t get me wrong, I hate the devastation it’s having on life and millions of people and businesses in the world. Bu...

This one is about the heroes...well, two at least. Both of them would say PHOOEY, I'm no hero...  So, let's just say it’s about how people are getting by. Specifically, it's about the small business owners, faced with the gut wrenching decisions they have to make when faced with going out of business, laying off employees...survival. This Heroes of the Quarantine Culture on Baker St...

There is a romance to uncertain times. In the undulations and valleys that we experience in life we are given an opportunity to learn new ways to do things. Much like the relationship between a master and his student, experiences offer us an opportunity to see things from a different angle.  This episode isnt about making guitars, per se, but about making a dream come true….about finding a muse an...

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, PEOPLE:  Today on Baker Street with Thom Pollard I welcome the ever talented bluesman and Buddhist practitioner Reverend Freakchild. We'll talk about everything under the sun, as well as listen cuts off his new album called The Bodhisattva Blues. His insight and music will cover everything from the blues to drugs, to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Grateful Dead, to Bud...

If you think this episode is making a statement about my personal political preferences with this photo you're HIGHLY mistaken. Like me, if you're actually breathing, you know that the collective consciousness of the US political landscape is deeply divided. What's the old saying? War is not healthy for children and other living things? How does the current political divisiveness af...

In Episode 18 we got to meet Nathanael Smiley Tejeda, who gave up his Make-a-Wish grant to help his now former high school build a new weight room. That was back in August of 2019. This past December the weight room was finally unveiled. I called Smiley at his college in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he is starting his second semester of freshman year at Springfield College. Smiley talks about...

This is a special BONUS EPISODE of Baker Street: THE BUSHFIRES CURRENTLY RAVAGING AUSTRALIA ARE NOT ONLY OUT OF CONTROL IN ALMOST EVERY AUSTRALIAN STATE BUT THEY ARE COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED, AND OF A MAGNITUDE THATS NEVER BEEN EXPERIENCED. This tragic loss of life, property and infrastructure has been declared a national state of disaster.  In this Bonus Episode I interview Scott Salmon, owner of...

For anyone concerned about suicide, contact the National Crisis Line. 800-273-8255 (TALK) This is a crisis line for EVERYONE Veterans Press 1 - for expedited service, specifically for veterans  EPISODE 27: Today’s topic cuts close to the bone. If you’ve listened to Episode 23, called Don’t Tell a Lie, Your Life Depends on It, I talk about the suicide of my brother, my best friend, a beautiful, kin...

This episode is a n instant classic, exploring not only the beauty of Australia but the inner journey of discovery and enlightenment with my good friend and fan of this podcast, Rod McCurdy. This episode summarizes exactly why Baker Street with Thom Pollard exists in the first place. A recent sojourn to Australia unearthed a serendipitous encounter with Aboriginal musician George Dow, who masterfu...

There's a damn good reason that this is BY FAR my most downloaded and shared episode. We are in a divisive, tumultuous period, in the USA as well as worldwide. I decided to remove myself from the s*** slinging here on Facebook, have muted or unfollowed dozens of normally sane and rational friends since chasm began to widen.  If you're interested in doing a deep dive into the mind and sou...

Episode 24 - THIS IS PART TWO OF A TWO PART EPISODE. This powerful story that will surely leave an imprint upon you. We’ll be talking with Irene Butter, who survived the Holocaust with her family. For decades Irene didn’t breathe a word about it. She wrote a book called Shores Beyond Shores, from Holocaust to Hope, My True Story.  My friends John Bidwell and Kris Holloway (husband and wife) co-wro...

Episode 24 - THIS IS PART ONE OF A TWO PART EPISODE. THIS is a very powerful story that will surely leave an imprint upon you. We’ll be talking with Irene Butter, who survived the Holocaust with her family. For decades Irene didn’t breathe a word about it. She wrote a book called Shores Beyond Shores, from Holocaust to Hope, my true story….   My friends John Bidwell and wife Kris Holloway co-wrote...

When we act in accordance to the central spirit of our being we become off kilter, and millions upon millions live their entire lives….  In this world there is so much suffering to overcome, and we have much to keep attuned to. However, for every person who dies never having followed the central spirit of their being the world ends up a lesser place.    Buddha said that Life is Suffering. Yet, in...

The world is your oyster and all the world is a stage. In preparing for officiating the wedding of Trevor and Thaley I pulled inspiration from William Shakespeare and also from noted Dr. of Psychology Jordan Peterson to deliver what I hoped would be a memorable thing to share. If we accept challenges without malevolence or anger or self-pity we literally awaken dormant neurons in our brain that he...

As summer in the northern hemisphere winds to a close (and the southern hemisphere welcomes the end of winter), the fire pit becomes a central gathering spot on chilly evenings at homes everywhere. In this episode, Thom helps viewers Master the Fire Pit by showing how to start a fire pit using old tortilla chips leftover from the night before. This fun little how-to episode will get you started on...

When George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappeared on Mount Everest on June 8, 1924, the commercialization of the mountain was already under way. In the nearly 100 years, Everest has become an industry. With dozens of deaths on the mountain in the last five years, many feel that the mountain deserves a break. However, no matter how many die there, the dreamers will keep coming. In this captivating e...

In 2003 I was caught in an avalanche while climbing in the Alaska Range. I was certain that my life was going to end in that moment. Then, as if out of nowhere, a spirit appeared and saved my life. That incredible story is the focus of Episode 19. Music is found on the Free Music Archive and by Blue Dot Sessions, which can be found at https://sessions.blue/ For more information about my climbing a...

In Episode 18 of Baker Street with Thom Pollard we meet a positive and inspirational young man named Nathanael Smiley Tejeda, a high school graduate undergoing radiation for Hodgkin Lymphoma. At the time I met him he was practicing three times a day with a New Hampshire All-Star team in order to compete in the Shriner Hospitals 66th Annual Maple Sugar Bowl Game at Castleton University, VT on Augus...

Religions, by nature, divide and conquer. They succeed by keeping their followers in fear: fear of going to hell, fear of sin and so on. The truth is that a spiritually aware person doesn't need an 'ism'. These people come from a place of love and are not ruled by fear. Fear has power because people don't realize that the thoughts that we empower create our reality.   When peop...