The Journey with Mark Astor

What would you do if you lost your law license for three years after becoming the victim of a financial crime? Blanca Perper faced this exact nightmare scenario, spending nearly a million dollars to prove her innocence and fight for her professional life. Instead of letting this devastating blow destroy her, she transformed those dark years into something extraordinary. As the daughter of the late...

How does someone go from selling drugs on the streets of Charlestown to becoming the person families call when everything falls apart? Jimmy Kane's transformation story will challenge everything you think you know about addiction, recovery, and second chances. Of the eleven men in his 1979 wedding party, only two are still alive-the rest lost to addiction and violence in a neighborhood where...

What would you do if your child looked perfectly healthy but was secretly hiding bags of vomit around the house? Dr. Laura Ellick, a licensed psychologist specializing in eating disorders and addiction, reveals the shocking reality that families face when mental health issues hide behind baggy clothes and false reassurances. She shares why the average recovery time for eating disorders is seven ye...

What if everything you thought you knew about psychosis was wrong? Kayla Fenty, a licensed clinical social worker and addiction specialist, breaks down the dangerous misconceptions surrounding mental health terms that get thrown around in crime stories and casual conversation. When someone acts impulsively or irrationally, they're often labeled as "psychotic" - but Kayla explains wh...

What happens when an attorney realizes the system he's working within is actually making people sicker? Michael Mackniak was watching the same individuals cycle through psychiatric units twice a month, trapped in a revolving door that seemed designed to fail them. His brutal honesty about the ethical dilemma facing every advocate-'Are we helping this person or are we just prolonging thei...

What happens when lawyers start relying on AI to do their thinking for them? Austin Bonderer has spent 25 years protecting intellectual property and has seen firsthand how artificial intelligence is changing the legal landscape in ways that should concern us all. As a patent attorney who's listed on over 390 issued US patents and worked inside the US Patent and Trademark Office, Austin brings...

What happens when someone you love disappears into addiction while you're still living in the same house? Becky Ogden thought she could save her marriage by loving her husband harder, giving him more understanding, and believing that connection was the cure for addiction. For over two decades, she watched the man she married slowly transform into someone she didn't recognize, finding hid...

What's the difference between being humble and being humiliated in recovery? Dr. Robert Sanchez, a certified intervention professional with 18 years of sobriety and over 31 years in behavioral healthcare, reveals the daily reality of maintaining long-term recovery that most people never see. After more than 20 treatment episodes across three decades, Robert discovered the profound truth that...

What would it be like to remember every single day of your life for the past 60 years? Frank Healy, one of only 20 people in the world with hyperthymesia, doesn't just remember every date since he was six years old-he remembers the weather, the day of the week, what he wore, and most importantly, how he felt. This rare neurological gift has shaped his entire career as a licensed professional...

What happens when you score 139 on the LSAT three times and everyone tells you law school isn't for you? Kristen Goss proves that hard work beats talent every single time. As the founder of KWG Family Law and Mediation Services, Kristen's journey from struggling test-taker to successful attorney challenges everything we think we know about academic achievement and professional success. H...

What would you do if gunfire erupted around you and your family was running for safety? Todd Blyleven faced that exact moment at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, and his split-second decision changed everything. Instead of running with his wife and family to safety, Todd kissed his wife goodbye and ran back into the chaos - not once, but dozens of times over eight grueling hours. His ac...

Not all trauma looks the way people expect it to and that misunderstanding may be holding more people back than they realize. What if the experiences you’ve brushed off as “not that bad” are actually shaping your behavior, relationships, and mental health in ways you’ve never considered? In this episode, Mark Astor sits down with Renee Calhoun to unpack the difference between “Big T” and “Little T...

There are moments in life that change everything and for Jeffrey Johnston, those moments came in ways no parent or partner should ever have to face. What happens when you lose not only your son, but years later, your wife to addiction as well? And how do you keep going when grief, guilt, and addiction begin pulling you under too? In this deeply raw and unfiltered conversation, Mark Astor sits down...

What happens when the life you worked so hard to build is the very thing that starts breaking you? In this deeply honest conversation, Wayne Basist shares how the relentless pressure of practicing law, combined with years of underlying anxiety, quietly pushed him toward a breaking point he didn’t fully see coming. But it wasn’t just burnout it was a devastating car accident that changed everything...

What happens when the identity that made you successful is the same one that nearly destroys you? In this raw and deeply personal conversation, Chris Nilan opens up about the life behind the fights both on the ice and far beyond it. From growing up in a tough Boston neighborhood to becoming one of hockey’s most feared enforcers, his story isn’t just about toughness… it’s about what that toughness...

What if everything we’ve been taught about mental health especially in movies and media is completely wrong? In this episode, Danielle Blum shares how her journey as an author evolved into something much deeper: a mission to challenge the harmful narratives surrounding trauma and dissociative identity. Through the creation of her psychological thriller Fragments of Affection , Danielle conducted o...

Why do people stay in abusive relationships even when the danger is clear from the outside? In this powerful conversation, Mark sits down with licensed clinical social worker Maggie Mccane to explore the complex psychological dynamics behind trauma, domestic violence, and healing. Drawing from years of experience working with survivors, offenders, and individuals navigating deep emotional wounds,...

What does it really mean to lead with service in a world that often rewards self-promotion? In this episode, Mark Astor sits down with Steven Ramona to explore how genuine relationship-building, consistent value, and a servant-first mindset can open doors most people spend years trying to force open. Steven shares how serving others has shaped his approach to business, podcasting, and networking,...

In this powerful episode of The Journey with Mark Astor , Mark sits down with former prosecutor and civil litigator JoDee Neil to unpack one of the most misunderstood realities of workplace sexual harassment: retaliation. While many conversations focus on the misconduct itself, JoDee explains why retaliation after someone speaks up is often where the deepest damage occurs. Drawing on over two deca...

A family home became a crime scene. What followed wasn’t just grief it was a reckoning. In this deeply personal conversation, Kacia Warren shares how losing her sister to a devastating combination of prescription medication and fentanyl forced her to confront the generational patterns of trauma and addiction that had shaped her family for decades. What began as unimaginable loss became the catalys...

What happens when addiction isn’t something you stumbled into but something you were raised around? Joshua Pair grew up in a world where methamphetamine wasn’t hidden it was normalized. What began as exposure eventually became experimentation, then dependence, and ultimately a spiral that cost him his scholarship, stability, and relationships. But what makes Joshua’s story different isn’t just the...

What if the very moment that threatened to derail your dreams… became the reason you built something bigger? At just 9 years old, Olivia Atkin was diagnosed with epilepsy a life-altering experience that forced her to trade Junior Olympic swim lanes for a new kind of purpose. In this powerful conversation, Olivia shares how one unexpected health crisis became the defining moment that shaped her min...

What if the key to multiplying your business valuation wasn’t just hustle but a trademark? In this episode of The Journey , attorney Mark G. Astor sits down with brand protection strategist and IP litigator L.A. Perkins to explore the legal strategies that transformed one client’s business and helped her sell for 900% more than the original offer. From cease and desist letters to courtroom wins, L...