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R.D. Ravenwood is the author of The Magical Life: A Guide to Building a World That Restores You. He is a retired CIO and entrepreneur and brings a systems thinker's perspective to a deeply human question: Why can we walk ten miles through a theme park and feel completely alive, yet feel exhausted by an ordinary day at home or work? His answer is that we are not always lacking motivation or discipline. Sometimes, the world around us is simply taking more than it gives. Drawing inspiration from theme parks, immersive environments, fantasy worlds, hospitality, sensory design, ritual, and personal identity, The Magical Life explores how we can intentionally create homes, routines, and everyday experiences that restore us rather than drain us. We talk about growing up in Oregon, dealing with corporate burnout, finding answers at Disneyland, how theme parks engineer thriving sigals into the park that energize us as we walk through, making a restorative environment, why cellphones and apps are addictive, the overregulation of our lives, death and risk, fear, sailing, geocacheing, cultivating flow states, designing the life you want, figuring out what makes you happy, living simply, poetry, Star Wars, play and creativity, fast food, peak consumerism, the evil empire of private prisons, and more.

Austin Galante is an independent filmmaker, director, actor, and cinematographer. He's directed four feature films including the cult hit "Sanguine Teeth on a Driftless Road," an offbeat vampire road-trip comedy which picked up numerous festival awards including Best Comedy and Best Director. He's also an actor with roles across film and television. He has 34 film festival wins under his belt. Austin made his feature debut with "Suite Killing Machines," a super low-budget arthouse crime comedy that announced him as a director with a genuinely singular vision.  In 2025, Austin shot back-to-back features — his third and fourth films, "What Have We Won" and "What Have We Won: Deuces," both starring Robert LaSardo — with releases coming in 2026. As an actor, he's also delivered a standout turn as the antagonist in "All About a Check 3," and he's already locked starring roles in three more features shooting in 2026 and '27. In addition to his film career, Austin is a musician and spent years touring and producing music featuring artists like Cee-Lo Green, Snoop Dogg and KRS-One. We talk about getting into the film business, being a gigging musician, stories from the road, creativity, writing, making movies, juggling life and creative work, writing a screenplay, discipline and writing technique, daily routine while working on a creative project, cultivating creativity, poetry, living in Iowa, his films, vampires, editing films, acting, a superpower, artificial intelligence, and more. Links are on the podcast website

Robot Gardener is a science-fiction short story, read by Paul Trammell, the author.  I publish a new short story on paultrammell.substack.com on the first of every month, as well as occasional poetry, essays, and book reviews. Visit the link and subscribe for free to receive them in your mailbox.

Dr. Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, which she chaired from 1988-2003 and from which she officially retired in September 2017.  She is also Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been awarded honorary degrees from Transylvania University in Kentucky (2012) and from the City University of New York's Macaulay Honors College (2016). In 2023, she was awarded The Edinburgh Medal (for science and society). She is the author of "What to Eat Now, the indespensible guide to good food, how to find it, and whay it matters," and "Sugar Coated, unboxing the hidden forces shaping America's favorite breakfast food," and many other books. We talk about her education, reading, breakfast, cereal, her book "Sugar Coated," milk, the business of food, the obesidy epidemic, Reagan deregulation and its effect on the food industry, lobbying, food policy in government, the cyclospora outbreak, the American Dairy Association, osteoporosis, what to avoid, cannabis edibles, dogs that eat marijuana, artificial flavors and colors, Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs, ultra-processed food, reading the ingredient list, fish, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show through Patreon

Maya Rupert is a political strategist, social-justice leader, writer, and podcast host. In 2020, she was the campaign manager for Julián Castro's presidential campaign. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Blue State. Her latest book is "The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic." We talk about what a campaign manager does, January 6th and why Trump was not held accountable, how Trump has brought shame on the Republican party, sane-washing the absurd things Trump says, the rise of the modern right-wing movement, identity politics, what Democrats need to do, whether or not Trump is racist, the benefit of Tump's exposure of existing racism in America, using public education to defeat racism, the need for strong independent news media, the value of diversity, why learning about slavery and the civil rights movement is important, critical race theory, defining propaganda, her book and authenticity, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show through Patreon

Alexa is a sci-fi / thriller short story by Paul Trammell, narrated by the author. The idea was inspired by a comment made by Tina Erwin in an earlier episode. I was asking her why spirits frequented Ouija boards and tarot cards. The short answer was "tradition," but she went on to say that it's entirely possible that technology could offer them a new and more effective portal. Why not an Alexa, I thought, and the story was born.

Pete Goss is an explorer, adventurer, and sailor best known for his rescue of Raphael Dinelli in the 1996-1997 Vendee Globe race, for which he was awarded medals of honor from both the UK and France. He has also sailed across the Atlantic multiple times, led expeditions to the North Pole, kayaked around Tasmania, sailed the biggest catamaran ever built, and completed many other adventures. He wrote the book "Close to the Wind," and was written about in the book "Goodforsaken Sea." I interviewed Pete in 2019, and this was one of the first podcast interviews I ever did.  We talk about is yacht - A Garcia Exploration 45 - and decision to sail casually with his wife Tracy instead of going on another grand adventure, planing only 3 days in advance, what sparked his spirit of adventure as a child, the Vendee Globe, being in the Royal Marines, his first ocean race (2-handed transatlantic), why he wanted to race alone around the wolrd, racing a small catamaran across the Atlantic, the British Steel Challenge, designing a boat for the Vendee Globe, addressing risk, sailing down 40' waves in the Southern Ocean, the moon refleciting off the backs of dolphins, rescuing Raphael Dinelli, maydays, trying to find a liferaft in giant waves with minimal loacation information, nursing Raphael in the ten days it took to get him to shore, polyphasic sleep, dealing with the cold, sleeping in a storm, the danger just after a storm, foulweather gear, racing around Britian and Ireland, writing, advice for parents, and more.

Mark Astor is a lawyer who leads a legal team dedicated to helping families in crisis due to mental health disorders, substance use, and failed recovery efforts. They deal with navigating involuntary treatment laws like Florida's Baker Act and the Marchman Act, working closely with clinical teams and family systems, and helping families regain control when a loved one's condition threatens their safety, autonomy, or future. We talk about the criminal justice system and how they deal with mental health and addiction cases, Mark's career and how it evolved, learning the entrepreneur side of law, starting a law firm, the Baker Act and the Marchman Act, guardianship cases, getting married and building a business with his wife, hiring a team, mental health and addiction, Florida's draconian mental health system and how he helps families navigate it, treatment, recovery residences, marijuana and how it stands out as the most problematic drug among his clients, schizoaffective disorders triggered by marijuana, tha addictive nature of marijuana, the dangers of kratom, schizophrenia and other paranoid disorders, mistakes families make when a family memeber has an addiction problem, addiction issues in the legal system and what it does wrong, unintentionally terminating your rights in the Baker Act, interventions, how covid increased 911 calls for mental health issues, the lack of oversight and due process in Florida's mental health system, what parents should do when they first realize their child is using an addictive substance, alcohol, the Charlie Kirk case, and more.

In 1966, Robert Mitchell was drafted into the Vietnam War. He became a helicopter pilot and served until a crash sent him back to the USA, where he continued to serve as a flight instructor. After the war, he went to Europe and spent 12 years seeking spiritual knowledge in Germany and Crete. He finally returned to the USA free from the burdens of a wounded soul. He then became a teacher and taught mathematics, English, and history. He earned a PhD in The History of Consciousness. He has spent the last 35 years teaching, lecturing, and writing about education in America and is the author of five books:  Education and the Culture of Democracy, Journey to Crete, The Trials of the Initiate, Teacher – Seeking the Vocational Archetype, and Nurturing the Souls of our Children. We talk about getting drafted into Vietnam, training to be a helicopter pilot, the warrior spirit, search and destroy missions, free-fire zones, the betrayal of the warrior spirit, suicide among veterans, a helicopter accident, entering the mystical realm, Germany, the island of Crete, Mexico, taking peyote, joining the Cult of the Christ Family, getting over PTSD, Christian Nationalism, ICE, Jimmy Carter, archetypal virtues and teaching them in school, seeking the sanctity of the individual, the war in Iran, the Department of Education, homeschooling, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show through Patreon

John Bond is an author, publishing consultant, former editor, former librarian, and lover of books who has been immersed in books and the expression of ideas for over 35 years. His new novel is "To the End of Reckoning," high-concept speculative thriller that asks what happens when history stops being debatable. As a Publishing Consultant, John brings a deep understanding of getting started on writing and then publishing a book. He is also the author of a three book series, The Little Guides, which cover writing a book, but also authoring journal articles and giving poster presentations (by Bloomsbury Publishing). We talk about books, Stephen King, nightmares, Isaac Asimov, his book "To the End of Reckoning," the craft of writing, plotting, where ideas come from, taking inspiration everywhere we find it, screenplays, recording audiobooks, how the industries of writing and publishing are changing, libraries, poetry, Riverwinds Consulting, self-publishing, querying agents, differnt types of editors, what makes a book great, creating realities in books, speculative fiction, literary fiction, sleep, goodreads, and more.

Rand Timmerman is the author of "A Spiritual Passage," a book about hiking the Appalachian Trail with his brother, both in their seventies. He also a Vietnam Veteran with the Marines, a lawyer, and a recovering alcoholic. Through his work, he hopes to inspire people with physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties to achieve their dreams and goals and live a happy and fulfilled life.  We talk about Vietnam, Mormons, losing faith in God during the war, polio, why he signed up for Vietnam, becoming a JAG officer and developing a leagal career, how Vietnam changed his view of life and death, losing his wife to alcoholism, preparing for the Appalachian Trail, the Smokey Mountains, bear encounters, hiking the trail, leapfrogging with two cars, maps or no maps, grief, alcoholism and being on suicide watch, PTSD, falling out of a helicopter,  dealing with the PTSD, getting sober and AA, surviving a severe storm on a ridge in a tent, meeting a Samurai on the trail, naked people on the trail, helping others get sober, and more.

This is a remastered version of episode 4, from 2023, when the podcast was new. It's such a great interview that I remastered it and republished it. Sam Trammell is not only a great actor, but a fascinating person who had a dream, chased it to fruition, and made it happen. He is probably best known for his role as the shapeshifter Sam Merlotte in HBO's "True Blood," and has also been in "The Fault in our Stars," "Homeland," "The Gray House," "Big George Foreman," and many other movies, TV shows, and plays. He is currently in "Euphoria" as the character Ellis. We talk about childhood visions of being a physicist, getting into acting, Brown Summer Theater, Broadway and Off-Broadway jobs, acting classes, working hard, staying focused, luck, persistance, rejection, staying in and getting out of character, doing accents, moving to Los Angeles, avoiding temptations, drugs, food, professional decisions, job choices, auditions, offers, a typical day on a set, dangers, calling up emotions, alligators, advice for young aspiring actors, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show theough Patreon

Margaret Bryden is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, author, and founder of Sage Insight Therapy. She works with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction and life transitions. Margaret is the author of "How I Understand It: A Bad Poet's Guide to Mental Health & Resilience," where she introduces "bad poetry" as a powerful, accessible tool for emotional processing and insight. Through her work, she helps people start understanding themselves in a way that leads to real connection, clarity and resilience. We talk about using poetry in therapy, getting patients and clients to write poetry, writing bad poetry, how therapy and poetry help clients discover things about themselves, hope, boundaries and how this is defined, consequences, her book, what poetry is, she reads two of her poems from the book, birds, codependency, marriage, resiliance, self-awareness, communication, publishing, artificial intelligence and the value of writing poetry without it, mind hacks to increase productivity, television, nature, art, and more. links are on the podcast website support the show through Patreon

David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an award winning author, professor, and an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation. He received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He's professor of English and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University and also serves on the faculty of the Cedar Crest Pan-European MFA Program. He lives in New York and Colorado with his family. Hw is the author of Wisdom Corner, forthcoming in July, 2026 from Ecco/HarperCollins. He's also the author of the national bestseller Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was the winner of many awards, and was a New York Times Editors' Choice, an Indie Next pick, main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named a Best Book of the year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian, and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. We talk about his book Wisdom Corner, Native Americans, his book Winter Counts, the broken criminal justice system on Indian Reservations, Native American boarding schools, the word "Indian" and whether or not it is offensive, the Sicangu Lakota Nation, Native American history, bison, life of the Indians before Europeans came, the slaughter of the bison, passages from the book, religion, Buddhism, Lakota spirituality, treaties made and broken, the future of Native Americans, football, writing a best seller as a first novel, the role of fiction in bringing about social change, teaching creative writing, writing dialogue, books, short stories, favorite authors, movies, the Native American Literary renaisance, and more.