The James Finochio Show

Send us Fan Mail Jessica Morris grew up the youngest of four kids in a minister's home that looked perfect from the outside. Behind closed doors, her father was an abusive alcoholic, her mother was the family's chief enabler, and at a young age her father told her she was a mistake — that her parents only wanted three children. She carried that as her identity for decades. In this conver...

Send us Fan Mail What does it actually mean to be a man — not just grown, but a man? James sits down with Corwin Johnson, better known as CJ Moneyway — host of the CJ Moneyway Show and Planting Seeds with CJ, and author of "Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut" (2015) and the newly released "Faith Through Trials" (2025) — for a conversation that was never supposed to go where it w...

Send us Fan Mail Pennsylvania is $4.8 billion in the hole and the governor wants to use the rainy day fund to buy himself one more year before the bill comes due. District Representative Scott Barger from the 80th district in Blair County Pennsylvania sits down with James to break down exactly how the state got here, who's responsible, and why he thinks every Pennsylvanian is looking at a tax...

Send us Fan Mail Chet Denny and Michael Thomas of The PennSoulvanians join James for one of the most genuine conversations about music, identity, and staying true to yourself when everything around you says conform. They were doing it different back when different wasn't cool — writing original, soulful hip hop in an era that wanted gangster rap, building a seven piece live band nobody asked...

Send us Fan Mail Daryl Dittmer spent years fighting everything. Life, people, problems, himself. Then his sponsor said something that stopped him cold. When you stop fighting, the fighting stops. In this conversation Daryl gets into what real recovery looks like, why calling addiction a disease lets people off the hook, how to build the kind of internal strength that makes you stop caring about wh...

Send us Fan Mail George Ceballos grew up hustling — first weed, then coke, then heroin. What started as a way to be self-sufficient turned into addiction, incarceration, and years of cycling through state prisons, rehabs, and parole violations. Six prisons. Nearly a decade lost. Then a counselor at a rehab facility did something nobody had done before — he sat down, found the resources, and built...

Send us Fan Mail Hilary Momberger Powers was the voice of Sally Brown on Peanuts at just five years old. But early success became her prison—and rock bottom became her liberation. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Hilary shares how hitting her lowest point forced her to rebuild from scratch, and why she now helps others find their worth through spiritual awakening and radical authenticity. If...

Send us Fan Mail Who Told You What a Man Should Be? Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst spent 50 years working with boys and men. Her question: Who decided what a man should be in the first place? From preschool to adulthood, we're training boys to isolate, shut down, and never ask for what they need. In this conversation, we explore how culture shapes masculinity, what isolation actually costs men, and w...

Send us Fan Mail Chip Scholz is an executive coach, author, and woodturner who gets at the real stuff. We talk about his journey from sales to authorship, why he put a manuscript in a drawer for five years, and what Father's Day gift sparked his comeback story. But mostly, we talk about failure , curiosity , and becoming yourself . Chip's philosophy is simple: failure is something we do,...

Send us Fan Mail Most parents in Blair County, Pennsylvania have never heard of CareerLink — and that's exactly the problem Malissa Fry is trying to fix. Malissa is a Youth Career Facilitator at PA CareerLink Blair County, and in this conversation she walks us through everything they offer for young people ages 14 to 24. We're talking about a paid summer work program where kids can earn...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The James Finochio Show, James sits down with author, healer, and educator Heather Ann Ferri for a wide-ranging conversation about healing from the inside out. Heather shares her personal journey from childhood trauma and silence to becoming a wellness advocate, and breaks down two topics most people have never thought about together: generational trauma and tox...

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when you've tried everything — faith, service, love, religion — and you still feel empty? Gina Economopoulos spent decades finding out. What she discovered on the other side of the worst years of her life will stay with you. Gina has been a bartender, a Franciscan nun, a caregiver, a woman in love, and a recovering alcoholic — sometimes all at once. She watched...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio sits down with Safra Turner, founder of iHolistica, for a wide-ranging conversation on geopolitics, consciousness, and personal sovereignty. Safra shares how her background in international relations and global affairs shaped her perspective on current world events, and how that perspective evolved into a deeper exploration of s...

Send us Fan Mail The Truth About Cannabis Prohibition (They Don’t Want You to Know This) What if everything you’ve been told about cannabis… was built on lies? In this episode of Across The Table, James Finochio sits down with Danny and Veronica Rivera — owners of True Healing Concepts and founders of Altoona’s Canna-Toona Festival — to break down the real history of cannabis prohibition, the lega...

Send us Fan Mail EPISODE 27 — John David on Writing Thrillers, Media Narratives, and AI In this episode of Across The Table, James Finochio sits down with author John David to talk about his transition from public relations into novel writing, and the real-world inspiration behind his thriller The Bystander. John shares how a combination of personal experiences, conversations around gun rights, an...

Send us Fan Mail What if the root cause of chronic pain, poor posture, and recurring injuries isn’t where you feel it—but how your entire body is organized? In this episode of Across the Table , host James Finochio sits down with John Welch, owner of Freeborn Fitness , to break down the science and philosophy behind the Freeborn Neck Protocol —a system designed to restore the body through proper a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , host James Finochio sits down with Caleb McCoy , the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 79th District State Representative seat , which represents Altoona and parts of Blair County. Caleb shares his background as a nurse, veteran, and working-class candidate , and explains what motivated him to run for office. The conversation explores hi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , host James Finochio sits down with Andrea Verobish , the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania’s 79th District State Representative seat , which represents Altoona and parts of Blair County. Andrea discusses her background, her path into public service, and why she decided to run for the state legislature. The conversation explores her views o...

Send us Fan Mail EPISODE 23 — Fathers Aren’t Optional with Erik Vecere In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio speaks with Erik Vecere from the National Fatherhood Initiative about the importance of father involvement and the ongoing father absence crisis in America. Today, more than 18 million children are growing up without their father in the home . Erik breaks down the research be...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio sits down with certified hypnotherapist and instructor Teri Martell to explore the real mechanics of hypnosis—how it works, what it can help with, and why most people misunderstand it. Teri explains hypnosis as a relaxed state of mind and body , similar to daydreaming, where suggestions can bypass the critical mind and speak dir...

Send us Fan Mail JJ Colombo is 20 years old — and actively rebuilding downtown Altoona. In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio welcomes JJ back to discuss the continued restoration of the 1908 Cooper Building and what it takes to invest in your hometown at a young age. JJ shares the latest progress on the building’s renovation, from restoring original features to preparing the first...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 3 of our series with Kyle Trautmann of High Vibe Holonomics, the conversation shifts into something deceptively simple — and surprisingly powerful. Play. Kyle explains why playfulness isn’t just a personality trait or a mood… it’s a neurological advantage. A shortcut. A cheat code. When you enter a playful state, your nervous system relaxes, learning accelerates, and heali...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio sits down with Emily Harrison, founder of the Akashic Academy, for a grounded conversation about the Akashic Records — what they are, what they aren’t, and why they’ve been misunderstood for so long. Emily shares how her background in religion, acting, meditation, and energy work led her to the Akashic Records, and why access to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Across The Table , James Finochio sits down with Kyle Trautmann, founder of High Vibe Holonomics, for a wide-ranging conversation about why so many people feel overwhelmed, disconnected, and exhausted — and why we aren’t meant to live like this . Rather than focusing on surface-level fixes, Kyle explores how constant stimulation, information overload, and modern...

Send us Fan Mail EPISODE 17 — Flow State: The Missing Piece for Addiction & PTSD In this episode of Across The Table , host James Finochio sits down with Kyle Trautmann , founder of High Vibe Holonomics , for a wide-ranging conversation on addiction, trauma, and the nervous system’s search for regulation. Rather than approaching addiction and PTSD as isolated disorders, Kyle frames them as exp...