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Send us feedback! We have a compulsion… getting more stuff. Now we pay for stuff, and we don’t even care what’s in the box. I’ve got a better idea! Plus, an update on my new dog, Lucy!      Links  George Carlin on Stuff Wisdom Panel Doggie DNA Testing Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley Submit Your Story Idea!   This Episode Sponsored by: Squarespace (SAVE 10% on your first website subscription...

Send us feedback! When losing a loved one, whether a pet or person, there’s no such thing a closure.     I recently lost my dog, Nub, to cancer. It came quick and wasn’t expected. I’m sharing my thoughts on that experience and working through that grief and loss. But there’s hope and Nub’s example reminded me how to cope with it.      Links  20 Keys to Heal After the Loss of a Pet, Mar. 10, 2018 -...

Send us feedback! I’m talking with a former Catholic nun, my aunt, Reneta Webb, about her own story and the source of faith in a messy world. Organized religions are empty corporate entities. For most of my life I’ve not had any faith in them. My aunt, a former nun, and I talk about that. We also talk about her journey, going into the convent at 13, then leaving the sisterhood after 29 years. And...

Send us feedback! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about where we live, and I’ll bet you’re wondering about this place too. I’ve always been patriotic, which is why I’ve been doing a lot of wondering about our country over, well, the last couple decades, and specifically the last few years. I just don’t know about us anymore… is it time to turn over the keys? And, oh yeah, where the hell has humo...

Send us feedback! Sensei Miwako Sakabayashi helps young minds blossom by teaching the abacus. In1992, an immigrant comes to America from Japan. She could read and write, but not really speak the language. So, what happens next? In 2000 she launches a Japanese Abacus school of course. Today Sensei Miwako Sakabayashi has made a huge impact in the lives of hundreds of students… it just adds up.   Lin...

Send us feedback! Detective Jim Sherlock chases down a 40-plus-year-old cold case  In January 2021 the book, Murder in Canaryville was released. It’s the story of the murder of teenager John Hughes in the spring of 1976. The murder was covered up by Chicago Police, politicians, and judges. I’m talking with Detective Jim Sherlock who’s investigated the cold case for years, about how it happened and...

Send us feedback! A reformed attorney prosecutes a crusade for better coffee and finding forever homes for dogs   Claudia McMullen was burned out… on New York, on being a lawyer, on burnt coffee and on dogs not being able to find forever homes. So what’s a girl to do? She moved to Utah and started Hugo Coffee. Now she’s making great coffee and helping to support dog and animal rescue charities. Li...

Send us feedback! Digital media and social networks are programming us exactly how we want to be programmed... You know that person who goes on about crazy conspiracies and fake news? They probably think you’re as crazy as you think they are. And worse, it leads us to cancel each other out, regardless of the bonds we might have. How does it happen? The truth is, we’re all allowing digital media an...

Send us feedback! It’s at the root of almost everything we count on... There’s a word that most Americans consider dirtier than all others. We’re either on one side of it or another. And even those who are on its side are terrified to drop it. As usual, the word has a whole lot more nuance to it. And nuance isn’t what Americans want these days. Let’s explore, shall we?  Links  A Libertarian Walks...

Send us feedback! There’s plenty of ugliness to find in a team’s name if you look hard enough and want to see it. This week I’m sharing my own thoughts on the sports team renaming controversy, starting with the Redskins. To my reading of history, there are plenty of team names, that when you dig into them, are out of bounds when it comes to political correctness. So there’s that and my ideas on ne...

Send us feedback! Dr. Katherine Ramsland Unpacks Serial Killer Dennis Rader By all accounts, Dennis Rader was an ordinary guy in the neighborhood. He could be the person living across the street from any of us. Yet over a 30 year span he left a trail of murder victims, where he used his trademark of binding, torturing and killing them by strangulation. Dr. Katherine Ramsland talks about how his mi...

Send us feedback! You can’t just leave your emotions at the door of the scene First responders bear a heavy toll. Not just physically, but emotionally. They see and experience things the rest of us can’t even imagine. Especially Crime Scene Investigators. They witness, first hand, the horrors and havoc that people can inflict on one another. Frank Gyondla served as a CSI for decades and he’s shari...

Send us feedback! Spirits that Will Make Any Season Brighter Making the season bright… there’s a lot of things that will do the trick. But there’s nothing quite like brandies, liquers and whiskies. Especially if they come from a magical stone barn. Sebastian and Erika Degens of Stone Barn Brandyworks are sharing the magic behind the other-worldly spirits they produce, and I’m sampling a few along...

Send us feedback! Giving the gift of service to the homeless… For most of us, the holidays mean home. For more than a half million homeless Americans, it’s a gift they only wish for. Fortunately, people like Kim Marshall of Project Homeless Connect have dedicated their lives to making sure they have a place to call home and a friend who is there to help. Here’s her story…. Links  Project Homeless...

Send us feedback! The Long and Winding road of George Azcárate George Azcárate has lived many lives. Firefighter, nurse, traveling performer, teacher, Doctoral candidate in Romance Languages. While on a break from studies he was visiting his girlfriend in New York, the city went into lockdown. He came to another crossroad in his life. He chose the harder path and walked into the COVID storm. I’m t...

Send us feedback! A Student’s Perspective on Remote Learning We’ve talked with a teacher (Ep. 20) and a learning specialist (Ep. 29)… Now we’re going to where the rubber meets the road for remote learning. I’m talking with 8th grade student, Quinn C. about her thoughts on that and more. She’s a bright young lady and her outlook will give you hope for the future! Links  Ep. 20 – The Lessons of a Pa...

Send us feedback! On Alchemy and Respecting the Grain... When your dad and grandfather build you a still, there’s really only one path to follow. Alan Bishop grew up in a family of moonshiners and made that his vocation. The Master Alchemist of Spirits of French Lick is talking about what the distillery has in the works, pouring out a couple fingers of wisdom on spirits, and sharing some colorful...

Send us feedback! Pulling Back the Curtain at the Funeral Home...  Nobody wants to think about dealing with a mortician. But when you need one, you want one with a human touch. Not someone that’s more like Lerch from the Addams Family, or a used car salesman. Ron & Deborah Threadgill bring an uncommon personal touch and a unique approach to the services they render. We’re talking with them abo...

Send us feedback! WildCat Ridge Sanctuary Comes to the Rescue The Netflix documentary Tiger King presented us a cast of unsavory characters who were big cat exploiters. The animals that were kept at Joe’s “zoo” were mistreated, sickly and suffered from deformities from inbreeding. The folks at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary, and others, stepped in to rescue them and provide a safe, healthy life for them....

Send us feedback! Tomorrow is election day when we all go out and exercise our right to vote. But we didn’t always have that right. And since the very beginning of America, voter suppression has been an issue. I watched a new documentary on Netflix – Whose Vote Counts, Explained. It’s fantastic. The first episode lays out the evolution of voting rights and suppression, and I’m distilling it for yo...

Send us feedback! Who doesn’t like a little spooky this time of year? I’m talking with Lindsey Charlick and Amanda Mednansky, hosts of the new podcast, True Creeps about ghosts and the history of Halloween. We’ll get into the details on hauntings and our own experiences, then jump into the harrowing holiday and hear about the origins of Halloween and its ghastly traditions. Links  True Creeps Podc...

Send us feedback! Having survived the Holocaust and escaped the yoke of Communism, Les and Eva Aigner's history provides insights and perspective on what we’re witnessing today and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Their son Rob Aigner, host of the podcast Clear Choices, shares his parent’s history and discusses how it shaped him, and enabled him to see resilience in others w...

Send us feedback! Remote learning requires a parent-child partnership. As we muddle through this pandemic, parents are faced with the issue of keeping kids engaged in their schoolwork. What was once an entertainment device, is now a tool for learning. So how to keep your child engaged in a remote learning environment? Get physical. Nicole Drieske, Executive Director of the International Children’s...

Send us feedback! Picture yourself waiting to board a plane. Then, suddenly, you’re being escorted to a cell, informed that you’re wanted by Interpol. That’s exactly what happened to Marek Zmysłowski, a high-tech entrepreneur who was on his way back to Nigeria, where his business was. Marek found himself in the crosshairs of a nasty guy who was an investor in his company. This week, we’ll hear his...

Send us feedback! The cavepeople had it right. Volumetrics, Keto, Paleo, Flexitarian, Raw Food, Intermittent Fasting… there are more fad diets than you can shake a stick at. And every time we turn around somebody is pushing a new “miracle” way to shed pounds. But it’s almost inevitable that after doing one of these diets, we gain back all the pounds, and more often than not, even more. So how do w...