American Tributaries

Martin Johnson has lived in New York City since arriving in 1978 to study at Columbia University.  He is currently a freelance journalist who has had his work published in The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Vogue, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Jazz Times and other publications. He has also been a longtime cheesemonger and is currently Shop Manager at 67 Gourmet, a new cheese and charcuterie outlet on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.  Martin and host Michael Whidden go back as friends more than ten years, spending most of that time teaching classes together about cheese and wine at the 92nd Street Y.

We cover, among other things:
*Martin’s path from Chicago’s South Side to New York City and into journalism
*a great story about him and musician Jennifer Hudson
*the homogenization of content because of PR-driven, corporate-controlled press engagements
*the story behind “Rie, get your gun!” 
*the American artisanal cheese scene 
*the story of local craft brewing in New York City

Martin finds hope in their determination to have an interesting, well-integrated life, even if it means the road to success is no longer about climbing a mountain but scaling the side of a building without any equipment.

Nic Adams lives in Virginia and works on Capitol Hill as a Professional Staff Member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence, where he has been since February 2021.  Before then, he served as an advisor on national security for Representative Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa and Senator John Cornyn of Texas.  Nic and host Michael Whidden connected over the respective prior military service and their mutual concerns for the promotion of civil engagement.

The discussion includes, among other things:
*the difference between a professional staff member and a personal staff member in Congress 
*his career path, initiated by 9/11, from Idaho to the U.S. Army to Afghanistan to Capitol Hill
*when slower government action can be a benefit
*understanding the idea of America
*jumping out of an airplane as a U.S. Army Paratrooper
*the most important trait for those serving in special operations

Nic finds a lot of different sources of hope including the bipartisan activity he sees on Capitol Hill and grassroots efforts to promote civil conversation.

Wilk Wilkinson lives in central Minnesota and started a podcast in reaction to the increasing incivility of our nation’s civic discourse, “Derate The Hate”, which has over 120 compelling episodes (as of August 2022).

Wilk and host Michael Whidden are each members of Braver Angels, a group building bridges across the political spectrum; but they had never spoken before this episode.  While Wilk and Michael live in vastly different settings and certainly have different viewpoints, their conversation is notable because they each initially seek to learn about each other and, then, they delve into an extensive exchange about very important subjects where they have broad agreement and mutual interest.

After the introductory conversation, we cover, among other things:
* the origin of Wilk’s podcast
* the importance of constructive, respectful civic discourse
* media and politicians and their incentivization to promote discord
* self-driving trucks and how freedom ameliorates the unforgiving nature of progress
* the lakes, farms, bitter cold and demographics of Minnesota

Wilk finds hope in the numerous organizations which are trying to improve the nation’s future, like Braver Angels, the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) and Beyond Barriers USA.

And one of Wilk’s comments is a great source of hope and guidance as we see more and more people slowly come back to civility: “We don’t all have to agree, but we do all have to be civil to each other and be respectful of each other...and try to seek out the humanity in each other even though we disagree.”

Shantana Simmon lives in the central Michigan town of Eaton Rapids, where she and her husband run a 30-acre family farm, Tilted Barn, when they’re not working on their other full-time jobs.  Shantana and host Michael Whidden met through a program sponsored by Braver Angels, 1:1 Conversations, which allows members to have talks with people who live in communities different than their own.

Shantana talks about, among other things:
*the challenges of farming
*their reasons for getting into farming
*her insights from a politically mixed marriage
*choosing livestock over cash crops
*why you’ll need a very big freezer if you want to order from them

Shantana finds hope in noticing that people on social media seem to be increasingly finding joy and gratitude in everyday beauty like full moons.

Kara Van de Kieft is a doctor of radiology who lives in San Antonio, TX, and recently retired from the U.S. Air Force after 21 years of service.  Host Michael Whidden connected with Kara through her husband Mike, who grew up with Michael.

Kara talks about, among other things:
*how to become a physician in the military
*her deployment to Qatar
*comparing civilian life and military life as a physician
*what it means to be a radiologist
*demystifying the Texas monolith
*the many similarities between Texas and New York

Kara finds hope in the open-mindedness and accomplishment of her children, who give her assurance that the cycle of life will continue unabated.

John Dennis is a singer/songwriter of folk music, who lives in Nashville, TN, and grew up in rural southern Illinois outside St. Louis. He has published three albums (“Mortal Flames” in 2020; “Second Wind” in 2017; and “Eternity’s Tree” in 2014) and is currently working on his fourth.  John and host Michael Whidden connected over his beautiful and aching yet hopeful ballad “Bird O’ Freedom” which he wrote in 2020 for a song-writing contest and to help find his place in the contentious climate of that year.

John talks about, among other things:
*how his love of music started with the Beatles and had its epiphany with Bob Dylan
*the background to “Bird O’ Freedom”
*religiosity, humility and being teachable
*the difference between folk music and country music and the new genre “Americana”
*life in Nashville

John finds hope in those who find success in their lives against all the odds against them, embodied by his partner of five years. He also finds hope for our current societal state in the broader human story, noting that we have faced challenges in the past and we are farther along than we often realize. We were touched that he found this podcast a sign of hope...a sign that rationality and compassion and humility are prevailing in small ways...and mention it here because it says far more about each guest, like John, who has been willing to candidly share their stories and thoughts on the show.

Thomas Byrd has been the civilian public affairs officer for four years at Fort Jackson, which is the primary facility for Basic Combat Training of our nation’s Army soldiers, located in Columbia, SC.  Tom also served as an enlisted soldier, non-commissioned officer and commissioned officer during 28+ years of active military service, from 1986 until 2015.

Tom talks about, among other things:
-the Army’s rank structure
-how the Army forges a sense of unity among its disparate recruits
-his service in Africa and Southwest Asia
-coping with the unimaginable stresses of real-life military combat
-the balance of freedom and responsibility

Tom finds hope seeing the motivation and training of the Army’s next generation, noting it reflects a cross-section of American society. 

John Jastremski (“JJ”) has been a sportscaster in New York for more than a decade and currently hosts two of his own podcasts – “New York, New York” and “The Ringer Gambling Show” – on The Ringer network and is a daily contributor on regional sports television network SNY.  JJ grew up in Staten Island and studied broadcast journalism at Syracuse University, so it is fascinating to learn about his journey.

JJ talks about, among other things:
*how he prepares for his various appearances
*his journey into sportscasting from folding shirts at the NBA’s flagship Manhattan store
*which athletes still leave him starstruck
*the merits of each media form he’s on (radio vs television vs social media vs podcasting)
*coping with the toxicity of social media

JJ finds hope in all of the good he sees in people and out in the world, including on his shows.

Darla Burton has been a resident of the Greenville, SC area for almost twenty years after moving there for college after growing up in a small northern Minnesota town.  Host Michael Whidden met Darla in April 2022 during a vacation in the Greenville area when he and his family ventured for their first-ever meal at Cracker Barrel, where she worked and took such gracious and friendly care of them.

Darla shares the fascinating story of her life, including:
*fond insights into Cracker Barrel
*how 0°F in Minnesota feels warmer than 30°F in South Carolina
*her quest for the right church community leading to her expansive family
*cuisine of South Carolina...and her household
*why a resident of twenty years may still be reluctant to speak for the Palmetto State
*a little about Niagara Falls, New York City, the Seattle Supersonics and Legos

Darla finds hope knowing that there is good and bad everywhere and that we have the ability to choose to find the good, whether it’s in the context of religion, region, ethnicity or occupation.

On the 246th birthday of our great and unavoidably imperfect nation, American Tributaries host Michael Whidden shares some thoughts about choosing to love our country and the reasons for hope that abound. Happy Independence Day! And let's get to work.