The Purpose Tree

A talk with John Wheaton, an emergency manager for the Nez Perce community in Idaho. We talked about his job protecting people and preparing for different situations. The Nez Perce Reservation is in north-central Idaho and is about 770,000 acres. The tribe's traditional territory was much larger, spanning 17 million acres in what is now Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. To learn more about t...

A talk with author Frances O'Roark Dowell is this week's special episode of The Purpose Tree. Frances O'Roark Dowell  is an American author of middle grade fiction and beyond.  Her books have received numerous awards, including an Edgar and the Boston Globe Horn Book Award. See more about Frances here: https://francesdowell.com/ Find her books her: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXNUMS

A talk with writer Rita Signorelli Pappas. Labyrinth was Rita's last poetry collection published by SHB in 2019. Her first collection Satyr's Wife also happened to be Serving House Books very first full-length poetry collection. Rita is widely published in some of the biggest journals. Her new collection will be out in 2025! https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-Rita-Signorelli-Pappas/dp/1947175157 htt...

Special Veteran's Day edition: A talk with Susan O'Neill about her book Don't Mean Nothing and her experience as an operating room nurse in Vietnam. https://servinghousebooks.com/susan-o'neill/ Her home site is: http://susanoneill.us/

A talk with New Jersey poet, Italian American Maria Mazziotti Gillan.

A talk with author Susan Tekulve about her inspirations and growing catalogue of diverse books, including her collection of stories Savage Pilgrims; her novel In the Garden of Stone, her collection of essays Second Shift; and beyond! Her forthcoming collection of poetry Bodies of Light will be out December 2 by Serving House Books. https://servinghousebooks.com/susan-tekulve

A talk with the legendary writer, editor, and co-founder of Serving House Books, Walter Cummins. We traced the beginnings of his writing career and the origins of Serving House Books, and went through his memories of the great writers he's worked with through the years. He is the author of seven collections of short fiction, four essay collections, numerous other anthologies, and has had well...

A fun talk with North Carolina filmmaker Rodney Wilds. Wilds is a graduate of the Wake Forest MFA Documentary Film program. We talked about his inspiration, a love for film, and how his newest project evolved. "We Are, Because We Were" is a 2024 short documentary film featuring the Winston-Salem African American Archive and its mission to preserve the history of the Black community in Winston-Sale...

A special election edition and talk with writer Tommy Jenkins about his book Drawing the Vote. This important book traces the history of voting in the United States in graphic novel form. For more about Tommy: https://tommyjenkinswriter.wordpress.com/ To register to vote anywhere in the U.S. please visit: https://vote.gov/

A talk with Penguin Pretzel founders Nick and Suzy Agostino about their wildly successful family business, and all the "twisted" ups and downs it took to get there. Penguin Pretzels is now the premier pretzel maker in the American southeast with innovative one of a kind designs. The company has retail locations in Florida, and they distribute nationwide wholesale to restaurants, cafes, markets, di...

A talk with author Daun Daemon about her work, cats, and newest collection of poetry A Prayer for Forgiving My Parents.   Daun Daemon is the author of  A Prayer for Forgiving My Parents  (Kelsay Books, 2023), a memoir in poems. Her short stories and poems have been widely published in print and online journals. More about her work can be read at  https://daundaemon.com/ .

A talk with author and historian Greg Renoff about his life and his works Van Halen Rising and Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music Learn more about Greg and his amazing books: http://vanhalenrising.com

A talk with the lead guitarist of the band WINGS OF STEEL Parker Halub. This new band is on fire with a live album coming out soon, a third studio album coming out next year, and a couple of tours. Check out their music here: https://wingsofsteelband.com Follow the band on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wingsofsteelband

Part II: My discussion with the lead singer of the band WINGS OF STEEL Leo Unnermark. We dig into the self-tiled EP, the first full-length album titled Gates of Twilight, cover songs, and the band's future plans! To learn more about the band and buy their CDs and Vinyl albums visit: https://wingsofsteelband.com

A talk with singer Leo Unnermark of the band Wings of Steel. Part I: about his evolution as a singer, the origins of the band, and just a fun discussion of rock music. Check them out: https://wingsofsteelband.com

A talk with fisherman, advocate, and mentor Brian Chou. Mentioned non profit organizations:  Soul River, Inc. https://soulriverinc.org/about/ Love Is King https://www.loveisking.org/home/ Recommended high end heirloom quality fly fishing rods: https://www.cfbflyrods.com/

Why people are still suffering from covid and the real reason why some people are still wearing masks in the grocery store... ER provider Brooke Arias joins me for a part II, this time to talk about the darkest days of Covid in the ER, the long lasting effects, and the brighter side of the changes that came out of the pandemic. 

A talk with Tanya J. Peterson, an author, counselor, and mental health educator, about her catalogue of 15 award-winning books. Tanya is the author of five novels and ten nonfiction mental health/self help books. Learn more about Tanya here: https://www.tanyajpeterson.com/about-tanya Buy her books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008O742JG

A talk with the founder of AI Connex, Dan Sinawat. Read more about his organization here: https://aiconnex.ai

A talk with author JD Sanderson about his work. J.D. Sanderson's new novella, After the Syzygy, is now available on kindle, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited! A lifelong fan of science fiction, J.D. began publishing books in 2018. These include the two-part science fiction time travel series A Footstep Echo and The Clock's Knell, and the short story collection Around the Dark Dial. J.D.'...

A talk with legendary American poet Al Maginnes about his writing past and present, his career in public service, and the purpose of poetry.

A talk with Diana Senechal about her life, her first book Republic of Noise: The Loss of Solitude in Schools and Culture , and trends in the world of teaching and learning. Dr. Senecahl is an American teacher, author, and translator. She wrote two books of nonfiction, as well as numerous published poems, stories, essays, and translations. In 2011, Senechal was awarded the Hiett Prize in Humanities...

A talk with Piotr Stepien about his journey overcoming Hashimoto's (thyroid) disease using a plant-based diet and exercise plan. Piotr lost over 30 pounds in a year, got off his pills, and started running marathons all while he was over the age of 40. He worked closely with nutritionist Alicja Wypasek to achieve his results. Read more about his health journey here: https://shireenkassam.medium...

A talk with writer and scholar Mayookh Barua about nonfiction, fiction, the journey through an American MFA and PhD program as an immigrant.

A talk with Physician Associate Brooke Arias about work in the ER, compassion for patients, a love for the job, and all the challenges.