THNX: A Feelgood Podcast

Pepper Massey, originally from Rhode Island, has lived all over the US and in Canada. After graduating with a Journalism major from Los Angeles Pierce College, she worked at a law firm, served as a director of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, was executive director of Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame, directed the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, served as director for the Rapid City Ar...

Ziggy Gruber, originally from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York, owns and operates the #1 delicatessen in the United States, Kenny & Ziggy's, in Houston, Texas. A third generation deli man, he began working in his family's restaurants at age 8. After his grandfather's death when Ziggy was 15, he moved to London and attended Cordon Bleu; following his graduation, he worked at London's firs...

Ziggy Gruber, originally from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York, owns and operates the #1 delicatessen in the United States, Kenny & Ziggy's, in Houston, Texas. A third generation deli man, he began working in his family's restaurants at age 8. After his grandfather's death when Ziggy was 15, he moved to London and attended Cordon Bleu; following his graduation, he worked at London's firs...

Hezekiah "Heck" Watkins, born in Wisconsin and raised in Mississippi, is the youngest Freedom Rider and has been a civil rights activist since the early 1960s. After being arrested at age 13, he began organizing boycotts and registering Black voters in Mississippi; he was arrested over 100 times during those years, ordinarily with unnecessary force. In 2019, he published Pushing Forward: The Story...

Hezekiah "Heck" Watkins, born in Wisconsin and raised in Mississippi, is the youngest Freedom Rider and has been a civil rights activist since the early 1960s. After being arrested at age 13, he began organizing boycotts and registering Black voters in Mississippi; he was arrested over 100 times during those years, ordinarily with unnecessary force. In 2019, he published Pushing Forward: The Story...

Jeri Yenne, a Wisconsin native, was a licensed attorney for 38 years and served the people of Brazoria County, Texas for 32 years. She has been a City Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, and, most recently, District Attorney, a position she held for 22 years until her retirement. Jeri and her husband Bill, who is the former City Manager for Lake Jackson, Texas, are retired and live in Brazoria...

Matt Busch manages Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, a position that even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed envy over. Originally from Long Island, he graduated from the University of Albany SUNY, where he majored in Sociology, then worked handling merchandise for God Street Wine. He went on to work with Gov't Mule, Common Rotation, Bob Weir and Ratdog, Further, The Dead, Phil Lesh, and Wolf Bros....

Lee Miller is one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- living bootmakers. Originally from Vermont, he has been wearing cowboy boots his whole life. He graduated from Oklahoma State University, where he learned how to make cowboy boots, in 1972. After working for various bootmakers, he was invited to work with Charlie Dunn, another legendary bootmaker, at his store Texas Traditions in 1977. Un...

Lee Miller is one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- living bootmakers. Originally from Vermont, he has been wearing cowboy boots his whole life. He graduated from Oklahoma State University, where he learned how to make cowboy boots, in 1972. After working for various bootmakers, he was invited to work with Charlie Dunn, another legendary bootmaker, at his store Texas Traditions in 1977. Un...

Michael Beck, who grew up for 11 years in Germany, has been a teacher for over 20 years. After graduating from Arkansas State University in 1982 and Columbia College in 1990, he worked in the music industry as a booking agent for predominantly classic blues musicians for many years. Michael later earned 2 Master's Degrees, one in 2002 in Education and one in 2008 in Special Education. He taught So...

Vivienne Schiffer, a novelist and filmmaker, grew up in Rohwer, Arkansas. She attended All Saints Episcopal School in Vicksburg, Mississippi; Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas; and law school at Tulane in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has been a big firm attorney, worked as in-house counsel, wrote the novel Camp Nine, and directed and produced the documentary film Relocation Arkansas - Aftermath o...

Kristin Guiney is the Executive Director of Angela House, a non-profit organization that provides trauma-informed rehabilitative services to formerly incarcerated women. Prior, she graduated from Emory University, earned her JD at the University of Houston Law Center, was an Assistant District Attorney, and served as District Judge of the 179th and 232nd district courts. Kristin lives in Houston w...

Jessica Brown, a professor of sociology, is from Madison, Wisconsin. She studied Government, Psychology, and Women's Studies at Cornell, then went on to earn her PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. She researches topics such as immigration, transnational sociology, gender, and race and ethnicity, and her articles have been published uncountable times. Jessica now liv...

Jay Blakesberg is a commercial music photographer and filmmaker who has been keeping a record of the alternative and rock and roll music scenes since the 1970s. His work has been featured in hundreds of magazines including Time, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair; he has shot magazine covers, record covers and art, music videos, and live performance videos. In addition, he has documented the Grateful...

Bryan Kelly, a native Texan, is an Intensive Care Unit nurse. After college, he went to Chiropractic School, along with his brother Scott, in 2003. Wanting something different after graduation, Bryan entered nursing school, graduated, and has been practicing since 2008. The majority of his work is in Critical Care in the ICU. Bryan now lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife Andrea and their two...

Kayla Slater, RDN, is a nutritionist and run coach who helps athletes gain their full potential at Plant-Based Performance Nutrition and Run Coaching. She studied English at Westminster College, English and Health & Fitness at SUNY College at Oneonta, and, later, Nutrition and Dietetics. She can also be heard on The Plant Based Performance Podcast. A New York native, Kayla currently lives in Palm...

George Gruel is a renowned photographer who lived the rock and roll lifestyle to the hilt for many years. He was roommates with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, toured with The New Riders of The Purple Sage and The Eagles, and, during his most colorful times, worked as the aide de camp to Warren Zevon for 5 years, a journey chronicled in the book Lawyers, Guns & Photos. His photos have been featured...

Mark Stone, a St. Louis, Missouri native, studied Speech Communications and Radio/TV/Film at the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he graduated in 1981. He has since worked in Broadcast Operations and Engineering at CNN, ABC, CBS, EchoStar, and MLB.com (BAMTech), and even earned an Emmy in 2020. Mark now works at NBC Sports in Connecticut, and one constant thread throughout his life has be...

Janet Flood is a baker who started Yellow Bird Cakery in Houston, Texas. Janet, a native Houstonian, studied psychology at the University of Texas. After battling alcoholism, she discovered her extraordinary baking skills, even making "good luck cakes" for the Houston Astros that superstitiously guarantee a home run, if not an all-out victory. Janet and her husband Charles live in Houston with the...

David Gans is a musician, songwriter, music journalist, and author of five published books, four of them relating to the Grateful Dead. He hosts the Grateful Dead Hour and Tales from the Golden Road on radio. He has released numerous recordings, toured extensively, and has played with countless musicians. David is married to fellow artist Rita Hurault.

Jesse McClure III is a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the third African American judge on the court in Texas history. Prior, he presided over the 339th Criminal District Court in Harris County, Texas. He graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his law degree from the University of Texas. He has practiced with a private firm, served as...

Paul J. Matthews, also known as Captain, is the founder of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum. The museum is the first of its kind in the United States and is one of the top draws for tourists in Houston, Texas. Mr. Matthews served in the United States Army, including time in Vietnam during the war, and, upon his return home, went to work as a pharmaceutical representative and continued to rise...

Mike Fields, a graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, presided over County Court at Law 14 in Harris County, Texas for twenty years. Prior to taking the bench, he worked for the Harris County District Attorney and the Texas Attorney General before starting his own law practice. Presently, he presides as a visiting judge and serves on several boards; Judge Fields has a long history of community invo...

Ashley Cain Land is the County Attorney of Chambers County, Texas, approximately 50 miles east of Houston, Texas. She graduated from South Texas College of Law in 2016 and is a fifth-generation attorney, as well as one of the youngest County Attorneys in the state.  Ashley lives in Mont Belvieu, Texas with her husband and their two sons.

Ken Stewart became a certified diver in 1990 at the age of 46. A park archeologist peaked his interest about a sunken slave ship, and, in 2003, he helped form Divers With A Purpose, a partnership between the National Association of Black Scuba Divers and the National Parks Service.  Ken has been active in conservation, training young divers and training divers of all ages to function as marine arc...