Find Your Brightside

What happens when punk rock, Texas culture, old-school printmaking and a slightly twisted sense of humor all collide? On this episode of Find Your Brightside, J-Man sits down with Fort Worth artist and musician Jack Daw, the man behind Jackdaw Folk Art. Jack creates hand-carved linocut prints that mash together Texas icons, music, pop culture and plenty of humor - from Jesus blessing a Whataburger...

Some people chase the spotlight. Nicole Belford builds the stage. On this episode of Find Your Brightside, J-Man sits down with Nicole Belford of the Addison Performing Arts Center to talk about a career built around creating experiences that bring people together. Nicole has helped open and operate some of North Texas' most recognizable venues, including Bass Performance Hall, American Airlin...

For more than 25 years, Chad Davenport has lived by a simple idea: see a need, find a way to help. Chad is a U.S. Navy veteran, IT professional, and founder of Tonight We Ride, a Dallas nonprofit supporting people experiencing homelessness, veterans in need, and communities facing crisis. In this episode of Find Your Bright Side, J-Man sits down with Chad to talk about how a local toy drive grew i...

For more than a decade, Bill Patterson has been helping keep the history of the Texas Rangers alive. A fifth-generation Texan, Air Force veteran and founder of Legends of the Texas Rangers, Bill joins J-Man to trace the Rangers from their beginnings in 1823 through their evolution into one of Texas’ most recognizable law enforcement institutions. Bill shares the difference between reenacting and l...

What happens when personal tragedy becomes a reason to build something that can save others? On Episode 34 of Find Your Brightside, Jerry Joyner sits down with Lauren O’Connor, President of Amplified Minds, a Dallas-based nonprofit providing free professional mental health support to Texas residents 18 and older. Lauren’s story begins in the music world. After experiencing the devastating loss of...

Dallas artist Melissa Tucker grew up quite literally beneath her father's easel. Art wasn't simply something she learned - it was part of the Tucker family language. Read about Melissa here: https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts-culture/dallas-artist-melissa-tucker-11893626/In this episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry Joyner sits down with Melissa to talk about growing up alongside acclaim...

Norry Niven has spent more than 25 years telling stories behind the camera - from Super Bowl spots and award-winning television work to feature films and documentaries. But today, he's entering a new chapter focused on stories that can actually change lives. On this episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry "J-Man" Joyner sits down with filmmaker Norry Niven to talk about creativity, fa...

You can walk past a hundred people in a crowd and never know what they’ve been through. So this week, we took Find Your Brightside out of the studio and into the crowd at the historic Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, where fans were gathering to see Ryan Bingham. And J-Man started asking questions. What we found had very little to do with a concert. We met a father and daughter who fought through canc...

Actor, writer and producer Robb Hudspeth has built a career with more than 100 screen credits, including an appearance on The Chosen. But some of his most meaningful performances never appear on a screen. Robb works as a simulated patient, using his acting skills to help future doctors practice bedside manner, difficult diagnoses, mental health scenarios and life-changing conversations before they...

Aging is something every family will face, but too many people wait until a crisis begins to start asking questions. On this episode of Find Your BrightSide, Jerry Joyner sits down with Stacy Malcomson, President and CEO of The Senior Source in Dallas. Stacy shares how an early lesson from her grandmother, a Harvard MBA, a corporate career at Frito-Lay and years of nonprofit leadership prepared he...

Becky Gerro, Director of Development at River Legacy Nature Center, joins Jerry Joyner to share how a protected stretch of Trinity River wilderness became one of Arlington’s most important educational and environmental resources. For more than 30 years, River Legacy has helped children and adults experience the outdoors, develop curiosity and understand the natural world around them. Today, the pa...

On this episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry Joyner sits down with Karen Hughes, President and CEO of Vogel, to talk about the hidden reality of child and family homelessness in Dallas. When most people hear the word homeless, they picture an adult on the side of the road. Karen helps us see the part of the story that often goes unseen - infants, toddlers, preschool children, and families living...

In this episode of Find Your Brightside, J-Man sits down with Texas-born singer-songwriter and actress Julia Hatfield for a conversation about music, faith, resilience, and choosing to be the light while you still have the day in front of you. Julia shares how growing up on a farm outside Navasota shaped her creativity, how songwriting became a form of therapy, and how she began performing across...

There are moments in life when something inside you knows the truth before the world around you can explain it. For Jessica Johnston, that moment came after years of searching for answers. She had built a successful career, become a mother, and kept pushing forward while her body was telling her something was wrong. When the answers did not come easily, Jessica chose not to ignore what she was fee...

What happens when the worst day of someone's life becomes the reason another person gets a second chance? In this powerful episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry "J-Man" Joyner sits down with Kelli James, Director of Marketing & Communications for Southwest Transplant Alliance, to discuss the life-changing impact of organ donation and transplantation. Kelli shares incredible stor...

What happens when your career, identity, and future all seem uncertain at the same time? In this episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry Joyner sits down with Scott Powell, leadership coach at HKS and former Southwest Airlines leader, for a conversation about service, resilience, personal growth, and the power of investing in people. Scott shares stories from his journey growing up in Ohio, serving...

What happens when a rabbi, educator, author, and AI strategist sits down to discuss faith, purpose, technology, family, and the future of humanity? In this episode of Find Your Brightside, J-Man welcomes Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn, CEO of Mallacore, for a thoughtful conversation that explores far more than artificial intelligence. From growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household in Los Angeles to leading...

FIND YOUR BRIGHTSIDE is supported by Mallacore! If you or your business needs help with AI, reach out to Mallacore to get sorted - https://www.mallacore.com/jman. Today on Find Your Brightside, Jerry “J-Man” Joyner sits down with John Drake, President of the Baylor Scott & White Irving Foundation, for a powerful conversation about healthcare, philanthropy, leadership, family, and purpose. With...

Dallas musician, writer, artist, and curator Scott Tucker joins J-Man Joyner on Episode 20 of Find Your Brightside for a deep conversation about creativity, Deep Ellum culture, music, art, graduate school, and building a meaningful life through artistic expression. Known for his band Aztec Milk Temple and his longtime involvement in the Dallas creative scene, Scott shares stories about growing up...

What does it take to build a life around storytelling? In this episode of Find Your Brightside, Ken Arkwell shares an extraordinary journey that spans military service, global travel, corporate production, filmmaking, and the restoration of one of Texas’s most unique theaters. Ken began as a member of the U.S. Navy’s elite Combat Camera Group, where he traveled the world as a photographer and phot...

What happens when you finally stop worrying about age and start chasing what you were meant to do? In Episode 18 of Find Your Brightside, J-Man sits down with Dallas musician and songwriter Jon Berman, better known as Jon22, for a conversation about music, reinvention, creativity, and finding success later in life. From growing up in Oak Cliff and experiencing the Deep Ellum music scene firsthand...

On this episode of Find Your Brightside, Jerry “J-Man” Joyner sits down with South Oak Cliff High School’s three-time state championship head coach, Jason Todd, for a powerful conversation about leadership, discipline, and what it really takes to build a winning culture. From his Dallas roots to leading one of Texas’ most respected football programs, Coach Todd shares how pressure doesn’t build ch...

In this episode of Find Your Bright Side, Jerry sits down with Texas-based singer-songwriter Jackson Scribner for a conversation that goes beyond music and into the mindset behind it. Raised in the small town of Melissa, Texas, Jackson shares how growing up surrounded by open land, family, and early exposure to the music business shaped both his sound and his perspective. What started as teaching...

In Episode 15 of Find Your Brightside, Jerry “J-Man” Joyner sits down with award-winning filmmaker and storyteller Tammy Nguyen Lee for one of the most powerful conversations yet. From her beginnings as a Vietnamese refugee to becoming a voice for underrepresented stories in film, Tammy shares a deeply personal journey shaped by resilience, identity, and purpose. This episode explores Tammy’s earl...

In this episode of Find Your Brightside, we sit down with Shane Kiel, the creative force behind Decotron Art Shop in Dallas, Texas - a custom fabrication studio redefining the line between art, architecture, and innovation. From building signs as a teenager to crafting large-scale sculptures, architectural elements, and immersive lighting installations, Shane’s journey is anything but traditional....