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Join me as I chat with Tracy Viola, double Taurus, author, speaker, mom, cat mom, recovered addict and author of the memoir Pretty Wrecked. Tracy Viola, M.Ed., is a professional speaker, podcast guest, and published author who tells the truth most people avoid. She is funny, direct, and unfiltered, with a gift for saying what others are thinking but won’t say out loud. Audiences don’t just listen, they lean in. After alcohol and drugs led to homelessness at nineteen, Tracy committed to recovery one day at a time. That decision – made over three decades ago – shaped her life, her relationships, and her career. Recovery taught her strength she never expected and perspective she wouldn’t trade. As the author of Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teen Addict and Her Road to Recovery, Tracy combines academic training in counseling psychology with long-term recovery to speak from lived experience, not theory. Her message is clear: change is possible, but there are no shortcuts, only choices. Tracy speaks to teenagers, parents, people in recovery, and anyone who knows something in their life needs to change. Her work centers on honesty, effort, and owning the decisions we make when no one is watching. She challenges audiences to stop avoiding discomfort and start doing the work – real change requires action, not intention. She lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her insanely smart and sexy husband, Mike, her two hilarious teenage daughters (although one is headed off to college in the Fall), and her rescue cat, Lucky. More information can be found at www.tracyviolaauthor.com or on Insta/FB @tracyviolaauthor (even though I’m terrible about posting)…

Join me as chat with Alexis Pleus about Truth Pharm, an organization that fights against the stigma of substance abuse. Alexis is a professional engineer, artist, writer and activist, and mother of 3 sons. In 2014, she lost her oldest son Jeff to an overdose and as a result of that experience, founded Truth Pharm 6 months later with a focus on raising awareness, reducing stigma, educating and advocating to reduce the harms caused by substance use. Truth Pharm has impacted legislation, the way our community views substance use and has gained national recognition. Alexis has testified at several New York State Legislative Hearings, served on state and national coalitions, testified for Congressional Hearings twice, has been keynote speaker for many events, spoke at multiple conferences, been included in National media coverage and is featured in several documentaries, articles and books. Alexis is the Co-chair of the New York State Harm Reduction Association. Alexis created the Trail of Truth in 2016, which is now a National event and movement providing memorialization and elevating the devastating loss families face to compel change.

Join me as I speak with Dana Bernstein about conflict, inner-critics, core values, getting along with co-workers and more! Dana Bernstein is a Conflict Resolution author, speaker, consultant and Principal of Dare to Live Brave. With 2,500+ coaching hours and 100+ clients, she specializes in de-escalation, negotiations, contracts, project management, and high stakes situations representing universities, government, banking and courts. She founded and manages a family-run animal hospital. Dana published 30 articles on contracts and negotiations (1995-2007). She produced 8 PMI webinars with “Mastering the Art of Human-ness in Project Management: Serving Others Through Powerful Communication,” garnering 52,500 views since March 2020. In 2025, Dana published “It’s the Thought That Counts: Mastering the Art of YOU vs. you,” an interactive book helping individuals resolve internal conflict to better navigate external challenges. Dana has a Master’s in Dispute Resolution from Montclair State and is a court-appointed volunteer mediator. She is an ICF NJ Board Member, Co-Director of Programs with a PCC Credential. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). An avid volunteer, Dana has been working with the Girl Scouts and the Girl Scout Service Unit Leadership Team for 15 years. She is a strong supporter of women advocating for informed health choices for those who have breast cancer. Dana helps people to use their voice in managing conflict. Dana offers a vast portfolio of business accomplishments with a proven track record of leadership and successful outcomes. https://danalynnbernstein.com/

Lawrence Harris is a youth empowerment speaker and author who helps teens and young adults build self-love, inner strength and improve their mental health. Through his speeches, online content and books, listeners find the courage to heal, dream bigger, and take ownership of their lives. His purpose is to help others to break free from limiting beliefs, heal from what tried to silence them, and step into the confidence of who they were always meant to be. https://www.lawrencecharris.com/shop/21c0200f-d16f-489e-822a-1e106e2986c0

Join me as I chat with coach Rachel Radway about highly sensitive people, neurodivergent folks, how to make survive in corporate America as with a unique brain and her award-winning book "Perceptive: Insights for Leaders who Feel More, Process Deeply, and Think Differently." Rachel Radway is a certified leadership & executive coach, mentor, speaker, and award-winning author with more than 25 years’ experience in corporate leadership roles at startups, national nonprofits, Fortune 100s and global enterprises. With compassion and a deep understanding of all the disconnects between the corporate world and brains that are wired a little differently, Rachel helps high-achieving, highly perceptive and neurodivergent clients lead with confidence, clarity and authenticity—and without burning out. Her book, Perceptive: Insights for leaders who feel more, process deeply, and think differently, recently won a Nonfiction Book Award Silver and a 2025 NYC Big Book Award.

Join me as I talk with the lovely, articulate animal loving Alida Miranda Wolff. We discuss bunnies, the University of Chicago, the problems with the law of attraction, trauma, mythology and her new book The Raven in the Storm. Books recommended by Alida in this episode: The Age of Magical Thinking by Amanda Montell Staying with the Trouble Making Kin in the Chthulucene by Donna J. Haraway Alida Miranda-Wolff is the Amazon-bestselling author of two nonfiction books with HarperCollins Leadership and the debut fantasy novel A Raven in the Storm, the first in the Gods of Tellus quartet. Her writing has appeared in Salon, Writer’s Digest, Books by Women, and Hippocampus. A diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging practitioner and worker’s rights activist, Alida also hosts Care Work, a podcast about what it means to offer care for a living. She received the University of Chicago’s Early Career Achievement Award in 2021 and holds a degree in creative writing from the same institution. She lives in Chicago with her husband, their threenager, and a literal animal menagerie.

Join me as I chat with Trenton Bennett, who is narrating my YA vampire fraternity book, Mind Sex! Trenton Bennett has narrated audiobooks in a wide range of genres, from inspirational to children's poetry, romance, thriller and many volumes of science fiction and military adventure for author Robert E. Williscroft. Highlights also include being the voice of Piglet in an all-star production of Winnie the Pooh and narrating the audiobook for actor Corbin Bernsen's 2010 novel and film "Rust". Currently he voices the adventures of Lucy and Davy in the "Don't Let Them..." series by L.K. Lawrence and coming soon will be the Goosebumps novel "The Haunted School", by R.L. Stine, and "Submarine-er", the autobiography of former Navy officer Jerry Pait. Trenton is also the co-host of the rock-talk podcast "Classic Rock Battles - the Limey and the Yank", a show with listeners in 112 countries. Trenton lives in the Tampa, Florida area, where he narrates from a home studio he designed with George "The Tech" Whittam. When not telling stories, he enjoys music, gaming and Shotokan Karate.

Samar Kargbo (he/him) is a speaker, podcast host, and author who helps nonprofit leaders and passionate professionals recover from burnout and reconnect with their purpose. Drawing on years of experience in leadership and personal development, he equips his clients with practical strategies to gain clarity, build confidence, and take ownership of their path forward. Through grounded conversations and transformative coaching, Samar’s work centers on one goal: helping people lead with intention and thrive—personally and professionally. Read more about him and hire him for coaching! https://samarthinks.com/

Join me as I talk with Tim Boyle, VP of THG Financial about why everyone should have life insurance. You might be thinking: I have life insurance through work, or I have money in the bank to cover my funeral or cremation if I get eaten by an alligator. And while that may be true, do you really want to think about gaining access to those funds after your family is mourning your premature demise from the unfortunate encounter with a polar bear? Probably not. Listen on to hear more. We talk about term life insurance and whole life insurance and alligators.

Join me as I speak to Mike Reed, founder of Single and Sober, a sober dating website where people can connect and love and companionship. Mike and I talk about getting sober, being sober curious, AA and therapy. Oh and there's more! Listen here! Visit Single and Sober here: https://singleandsober.com/ Follow Mike on Blue Sky: @singleandsober.bsky.social

Join me as I interview guitarist Alejandro Gomez about his new band: Dreams As Nightmares. Hailing from the city of sin, Las Vegas, Nevada, Dreams As Nightmares is a fresh voice in metal-core, influenced by genre-related bands like ERRA and Tesseract, while dipping into the melodic essence from artists like Dio and Alice in Chains. Their music blends technical finesse and raw emotion, offering a sound that’s both powerful and deeply relatable, crafting a sonic space where fans can feel seen and supported through the embrace of tough times and challenges. Their debut single "Into The Storm" (2025) sets the bar as the starting point of a journey where members and fans will be a towering force to be reckoned with by the world. Dreams As Nightmares was conceived in 2023 as the project of guitarist Alejandro Gomez, after having parted ways with his past projects Image Intent and Damaged Savage. Following the creation of the project, he joined forces with Rich Thomas from Auralight (AZ) and A Suffocating Lie (CA) and independent singer/songwriter Connor Hetzel, adding a powerful vocal duo, combining raw screaming with prominent cleans, and opening the doors to a wider audience. Subsequently, the addition of guitarist Thomas Velasquez of Tree Frog Express and The Noir Movement made the band a creative powerhouse, combining different musical backgrounds, leading to the refinement of the band's catalog. With the late addition of drummer Mike McGuinness, the band completed its lineup to begin their live music endeavor. https://www.dreamsasnightmares.com/

When some close to you dies by suicide, the grief can be feel unbearable. Noam Schneck PHD joins me to discuss his research on how the brain responds to the loss of a loved one who has taken their life. More about Noam: Dr. Schneck studies the way that people adapt to the suicide loss of a loved one. Specifically, his research aims to identify unconscious processes of coping with the loss that help people grow and adapt while also allowing them to remain engaged in current life demands. These unconscious processes are identified using a machine learning based approach to functional magnetic resonance brain imaging called neural decoding. The goal of this research is to ultimately develop a treatment technique that would entrain greater unconscious processing of the loss. IN THE NEWS: 1. Survive Together Study https://themighty.com/2018/08/survive-together-suicide-loss-survivor-study/(link is external and opens in a new window) 2. The Dana Foundation Blog https://danablog.org/tag/noam-schneck/(link is external and opens in a new window) 3. Suicide Survivor Study https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/study-could-help-people-dealing-with-suicide-loss/97-455104640(link is external and opens in a new window) 4. Bereaved People Unconsciously Suppress Thoughts of Lost Loved Ones https://www.newscientist.com/article/2189378-bereaved-people-unconsciously-suppress-thoughts-of-lost-loved-ones/(link is external and opens in a new window)

Tim Boyle began his career in the financial services profession as an insurance telemarketer for Allstate Financial at the age of 15. Working there throughout high school and college, Tim held various roles and was promoted to his first management position by age 19. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he opened a successful, independent insurance agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, before joining AAA at 23 where he created their Life Insurance Career Distribution Channel. Currently, Tim is the Vice president of Advisor Growth and Development for THG Financial where he is responsible for a team of 25 advisors throughout New England. Connect with Tim on Linked in - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-s-boyle-clu-fscp-7911301a5/

Composer John Jesensky and I talk about music, Inspector Gadget, Thomas Newman, piano, and more! Composer/conductor JOHN JESENSKY earned his B.M. in Music Composition from the Hartt School of Music under the tutelage of composer Stephen Gryc, as well as leading wind ensemble conductor Glen Adsit. John was awarded his M.M. in Film Composition from New York University, where he studied with renown film composers Ira Newborn and Sonny Kompanek. During his tenure at NYU, Jesensky’s score for Michael Daugherty’s short film, "Season’s Greetings," won the Skirball Film Scoring Competition.  Upon graduation, he was presented the Elmer Bernstein Award for Film Composition. His film scores have made appearances and won awards at events such as the Cannes Film Festival, L.A. Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, D.C. Film Festival and Phoenix Film Festival. He has collaborated with some of the film world’s finest composers including John Williams, and Danny Elfman. During his conducting tenure, he has directed premiere ensembles of North and South America, Europe, and Asia in performances of his original music, The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, Star Wars, The Godfather, Titanic, It’s a Wonderful Life, along with countless other works from both the film and classical worlds. Jesensky remains an active composer/conductor in New York. www.johnjesensky.com

Join me and my guest author Daniel Aegan as we discuss the downfall of the artist formerly known as Twitter and how to steal a pizza. Daniel is a dark humorist, writer and tarot reader. Find him at www.danielaegan.com