The Northern Nerd

Planning a trip can be overwhelming. Whether you're traveling solo or with a group; it can be stressful at times. Rhonda Martin is a traveler herself, but also is a travel planner through her business, Wild Atlas Travels . She's helped Claire and I plan for two trips now (Oregon trip & Norway/Denmark trip) and is very well versed in all sorts of travel. Today on the show she shares some travel...

On this latest episode, I was lucky enough to sit down with author, Jeff Nania. Jeff is an award winning writer of the Northern Lakes Mystery Series . I recently read the first book in the series, Figure Eight , and couldn't put it down while on a flight. We shared some coffee and conversation at his table overlooking Spider Lake. We discussed his writings, Northern Waters Environmental School , t...

The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, WI is quickly approaching and I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with The Green Bay Guy about it! In this episode, we talked about what the draft means for the city of Green Bay, what our first round prediction is, what direction we see the Packers going in 2025, the gosh darn wave, and everything else Packers football. Enjoy and be sure to check out The Green...

I had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Phillip Lindsay onto the show to talk about life as a teacher, social media and his famous middle school slang videos, appearing on the TODAY Show, starting his stand up comedy career and everything in between. He's doing great things with his platform and I can't wait to see what he does next. Enjoy the episode! Instagram: @mr_phlindsay_sped Tik Tok: @mr_lindsa...

Lambeau Field is one of the most historic fields in all of sports. Many people travel from all over the world just to experience it. Brad Heinkel is one of the lucky people that gets to give tours of it! Brad grew up in Hayward, WI and worked in sales in the television industry for a number of years before becoming a member of the Packers Tour Guide Team. In this episode, Brad discusses growing up...

Dick Gillis will be turning 95 years old in January of 2025. Needless to say, he's seen some things in his time. He's been a long time Hayward resident and was even on the basketball team when they were officially nicknamed the "Hurricanes." I had a wonderful time sitting down with him to talk about his childhood, Hayward history and everything in between. Enjoy!

It's been over a year since we got the After Hours crew together, so we decided to give you about an hour and a half episode to give you some ear candy. We catch you up on our life happenings, talk about how social media has changed (hence our episode title), gave you our recommendations (47:45) and also added some "Midwest Hot Takes". Enjoy the latest episode because who knows when we will get to...

Many people talk about doing big things one day, but with Kyle Parker, he put his paddle in the water and achieved his goal. What was his goal? Setting the fastest known time while solo canoeing the Wisconsin River. He is now the current record holder because of his efforts. It was great to have him on the show to hear about his training process, what it was like when he was finally going for the...

It's hard to believe that my daughter is already a one-year-old. Throughout this time, I've changed so much as a husband, dad and man. In this episode, I reflect upon everything from finding out my wife was pregnant to my daughter's first birthday. I also answer some of your questions! (26:16) Whether you're going to be a dad or are already a dad, my hope is that you enjoy the show and that you're...

On this week's episode, Carl Azuz ( The World From A to Z ) joins us to discuss his news show! His show is geared towards teachers and students in the middle school and high school range. We talked about the importance of students being informed as well as the significance of having civil discussion. He gave great insight into his show as well and may have committed himself to covering the America...

GOING FOR GOLD: Kenny Bednarek In this episode, I was joined by two-time Olympian, Kenny Bednarek, to talk about the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as share about his connections to Wisconsin. He's from Rice Lake, WI and is very motivated to get gold medals this year. I had a wonderful time talking with him about how the Paris Olympics will be different from the Tokyo Olympics, why he's a "quiet warr...

I know I talk a lot about the Birkie this time of year, but I promise that it's for a good reason. The Birkie makes it feel like our small towns in the northwoods are playing host to the Olympics. This year looked different obviously due to the lack of snow, but thanks to innovative minds and the hard work of many people involved from bus drivers to volunteers to The Nimrods that organize the Gian...

Everybody knows that this year's Birkie is going to look different, but let's not have that stop us from making it a wonderful week here in the northwoods of Wisconsin. On today's episode, I share one of my favorite Birkie memories as well as give a few reminders when it comes to the Birkie week chais. Enjoy!

It's never been easier to stay inside. With thousands of movies at your fingertips and video games easily downloadable; one can fall into the trap of leaving their hunting and fishing gear in a bin in the attic. The Sawyer County Outdoor Projects & Education (SCOPE) wants to help get kids outside. Since starting in 2008, SCOPE's goal has been to keep kids outside and active. I think it's somet...

Yes, this is the life of a new dad with a podcast. You get late night thoughts on the Packers season once the baby is in bed and your wife and mother-in-law are watching The Golden Bachelor wedding. I'm excited about this young Packers team and hope you enjoy listening to my thoughts on what kind of season they've had, especially Jordan Love. Enjoy and Go Pack Go!

2023 was a heck of a year for this nerd! I know it's been a minute since I recorded an episode, but having a child will do that. Thank you for your patience as you awaited a new episode to drop. This episode is dedicated to reviewing 2023 and forecasting what is to come in 2024! My family made the cover of USA TODAY, I hit over 15k followers on Facebook as well as 10k followers on Instagram. I als...

Packers training camp officially started today (July 26th) and that's all the more reason to get excited for the upcoming season. Today's episode is dedicated to sharing my thoughts on the strengths of this Packers team, address what my concerns are and share my final record that I think the Packers will have this season. Enjoy the show and Go Pack Go!

I recently had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing students of various ages out at the Forest Lodge Library in Cable, WI. Students discussed how their summers were going, what books they've been reading, what they enjoy about the library and MANY other topics. It was a great way to spend a Thursday afternoon and I think you'll enjoy listening to what these kids had to say. Thanks for your su...

Mary Mack is a comedian that grew up right here in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Mary co-stars as Jesse in the Hulu cartoon Solar Opposites by the creators of Rick and Morty. She’s appeared in Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, HBO’s Andy Kaufman Awards, San Francisco’s Sketchfest, and the Dry Bar comedy series. Mack’s television credits include Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, TBS’ Conan, Adult...

Travel has never been easier than it is today. With planes, trains and automobiles we can get to where we want to go fairly quickly. The summer is always a great time to take a vacation, but how do you make the most of yours? These vacation days are important to make the most of and today's episode is dedicated to helping you make the most of your trip. We will talk about food (obviously) time man...

Year four of teaching is officially in the books and now that I've had a little bit of time to process it, I want to share with you some of my favorite memories. This episode includes various quotes from the classroom, my thoughts on teaching summer school thus far, some of my favorite things about being a teacher and I end the show with some advice to first year teachers. Enjoy the show!

The Hayward Foundation for Educational Enrichment (HFEE) is having their annual Lee Bonicatto Memorial Golf Fundraiser outing on May 19th. With that being said, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with HFEE members, Amy Sportel and Salle Beckwith, to discuss what HFEE is and what it is that they do. Since its inception back in 1994, HFEE has been a vital resource for teachers and the Haywar...

The end of the school year is always an interesting time of year as a teacher. You're finishing up your curriculum, wrapping up assessments, and have to pack up your classroom. In today's episode, I share my thoughts on my favorite end of the school year activities as well as share quotes from back when I was a student teacher. No matter the grade level, you never know what's going to come out of...

Wow, we made it to episode 100! When this podcast started back in 2018, I wasn't sure what to expect, but through this podcast I've been able to bottle up some of my favorite conversations with people. It's truly crazy to think that it's been five years since I first hit "record." This episode takes a look back at how the podcast began, discusses some of my favorite moments, and even gives a littl...

We've made it to our 99th episode! With that being said, we had to name this episode after the greatest hockey player of all time. Did we talk hockey at all in this episode? Absolutely not, but that's okay. We had the chance to discuss this long winter, why it's important to take vacations during the winter, gave our thoughts on Rodgers, gave a triple-double show recommendation, and went on other...