God & Other Delicacies

God in the harmony of voices mingling together in song; being a person of color in the white world of choral music; God shining down on her at the age of five; being raised by her mother while her father followed his music; Kwanzaa; and owning her own identity in the age of Black Lives Matter.

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is an award-winning American composer, vocalist, and teacher. She is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance.  She is a performing arts instructor at Harvard-Westlake Upper School in Studio City, CA.  She is also the director of music at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, CA. 

As a concert soprano soloist, studio vocalist for film and television, and professional ensemble singer, Dr. Robles has sung throughout the United States and the world. Her film, television, and video game credits include Glee, Tinkerbell: Pirate Fairy, Godzilla, Minions, Creed, The Lego Movie, Despicable Me 3, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Venom, Smallfoot, Frozen 2, Underwater, Mulan, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Dr. Robles holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the USC Thornton School of Music, a Master of Music degree from CSU Northridge, a Bachelor of Music degree from CSU Long Beach, and she is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

Zanaida's official website: Zanaida Stewart Robles

Zanaida's Twitter: @znrobles

Zanaida's Music: Zanaida on Soundcloud

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

On creating “God 101” with Julie Chen Moonves; the celebration of her Armenian identity and culture; the loss of her Jewish father as a child; “welcoming Jesus into her heart” as a grade schooler; a message and direction from her mother’s spirit; and giving her husband a second chance after a botched first date.

Anita Vogel is a Correspondent and Anchor for the Fox New Channel, as well as an actor, voiceover artist, moderator and host.  A graduate of the University of Southern California with degrees in both Broadcast Journalism and Political Science, Anita spent ten years as a full-time anchor and correspondent at FOX.  As a contractor today, she flies all over the country delivering content for multiple news outlets.  As an actor you may have seen her on 911, The Last Ship and Rosewood.  She is based in Los Angeles and often lends her time to charities and community organizations as a host and speaker.

You can find Anita's show #God101 with Julie Chen Moonves and others on Instagram here: @juliechenmoonves

#God101 on Instagram: #God101

Anita's Instagram: @anitajvogel

Anita's Twitter: @anitajvogel

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

His grandmother as conduit to his ancestors and what is “holy”; deep reflections on slavery and his journey through “The Slave Letters”; the brutality and abuse of his parents and grandfather; the rejection of Christianity and his embrace of Buddhist practice; the release of guilt and a future bound up in kindness and beauty.

Michal Dawson Connor is an accomplished performer and composer of choral, chamber, and solo vocal works, with a particular emphasis on slave songs created before the Civil War. He was born in Jamestown, New York and is a proud alumnus of Carnegie-Mellon University and L’Ecole Hindemith in Vevey, Switzerland. 

Mr. Connor’s Broadway credits include featured performances in the Tony-Award winning productions of RAGTIME and SHOWBOAT as well as starring roles in productions of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, BIG RIVER, and PORGY AND BESS. In addition to soloing on multiple occasions for President Ronald Reagan, he’s immensely proud of performing for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Billy Graham, Elizabeth Dole, and Admiral Michael Mullen. Mr. Connor is a published author of THE SLAVE LETTERS currently available on Amazon.com.  On network television, he was a guest star on FRIENDS, as well as several appearances on the Emmy-Award winning show: EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION.

Here's a link to Michal's project, THE SLAVE LETTERS: https://www.theslaveletters.com/about 

Michal's Instagram: @michal.d.connor

Michal's YouTube: Michal's Videos

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

Music as foundational to understanding the spiritual; being a religious skeptic while loving the church choir; how the pandemic freed her musical “beast”; reflections on the future death of her mother; the release of control and the glee that followed.

Majel Connery is a vocalist and composer with the NYC art/punk band Sky Creature, which recently released its Bear Mountain/Childworld double EP. On the side, she composes electro/acoustic music as a solo artist, and recently released the album “The Rivers are Our Brothers,” a song cycle on the natural world. The male choir Chanticleer recently commissioned an arrangement of The Rivers are Our Brothers for their fall 2023 tour. Connery has a background as a Classical pianist and opera singer. For ten years, she ran avant-garde opera company, Opera Cabal. An artist with a Ph.D. in musicology, she has held visiting professorships and artist residency positions at Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Wellesley and the University of Chicago.

Here's another link to Majel's new art/punk band, Sky Creature: https://www.skycreature.nyc/ 

Majel's official website: https://www.majelconnery.com/

Majel's Instagram: @majelconnery

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

Nick will be recurring throughout the new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, premiering this Thanksgiving 2022 on Paramount+!

Nick is in graduate school pursuing his Masters of Divinity at Meadville Lombard Theological School.  It's one of only two Unitarian Universalist seminaries in the world.

What is Unitarian Universalism?

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

A "goodbye for now"; and excerpts from two of Nick's favorite books.

Nicholas D'Agosto is a professional television, film and stage actor, and the creator and host of this podcast - God & Other Delicacies.

Here's a link to Gore Vidal's review of Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities" in The New York Review of Books - Fabulous Calvino by Gore Vidal

Here is an article in The New Yorker compiling some of Italo Calvino's letters, one of which was a letter of appreciation to Gore Vidal regarding the aforementioned review Vidal wrote of "Invisible Cities - The Letters of Italo Calvino

And, if you desire, here is a link to choose where you'd like to purchase... Brian Browne Walker's translation of the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu.

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

A Christ follower that's wary of the word "Christian"; her mothers' final, transcendent moments; Top Story Tonight: Jesus! and how her research has redefined her faith; and the contentment that comes with knowing and choosing what is right for oneself.

Jane Wells is an award-winning broadcast journalist with over 30 years experience in the news media.  She has worked all over the country, moving up from local news stations to national ones, but it is at CNBC, her current employer, where she has spent the bulk of her career, developing features, special reports and contributing to breaking news coverage.  Jane received a Peabody in 1992 for her role in the live coverage of the Rodney King trial. 

She is also a podcaster, having developed the Strange Success franchise for CNBC, and now self-producing her new podcast, the Top Story Tonight! franchise - the latest iteration of which focuses on Jesus, with Jane's modern media twist. 

Get started with the first episode of Top Story Tonight: Jesus! here, at this iTunes link -- Top Story Tonight: Jesus! Christmas Part 1

Jane's Twitter: @janewells

Jane's Instagram: @janewells

Jane's Facebook: Jane Wells

Jane's Linkedin: Jane Wells

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

Being religious but not spiritual; the search for serenity; learning about his OCD; reflections on the temptations and dangers of "status"; choosing the internal good; the admiration of material indifference and non-attachment; and the dilemma of loving the individual despite possessing opposing ideologies.

Jeffrey Guhin is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at UCLA, with research interests in education, culture and religion.  His first book -- Agents Of God: Boundaries and Authority in Muslim and Christian Schools -- has just been released through Oxford University Press.  Jeff received his doctorate and masters degrees from Yale University, his bachelors from Loyola University in New Orleans, and he has studied in Damascus, Syria, and Mexico City, Mexico. 

Here's a link to Jeff's new book... Agents Of God: Boundaries and Authority in Muslim and Christian Schools

And here's a link to Jeff's writings for SLATE, including the one he mentioned about Neil deGrasse Tyson: Jeffrey Guhin at SLATE

Jeff's Official Website: jeffguhin.com

Jeff's Twitter: @jeffguhin

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

Owner of award-winning Hotville Chicken in South LA; daughter of an Evangelist preacher; God in every facet of her life; prayer; and hilarious stories about the Prince Family men and other philanderers who got punished by the scalding heat of the Hot Chicken tradition in Nashville.   

Kim Prince is the owner and creator of Hotville Chicken, a Los Angeles restaurant serving Nashville Hot Chicken in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw neighborhood of South LA.  Recently voted one of LA's Best Restaurants of 2020 by Los Angeles Magazine, Hotville is also partnered with Greg Dulan of Dulan's Soul Food Restaurants (who was a previous guest on this podcast).  Kim's great-great Uncle, Thornton Prince, is credited with having invented the Hot Chicken recipe and tradition in Nashville, and the Prince Family has been serving Nashville Hot Chicken for nearly 100 years.  Kim is a graduate of Fresno State University, and she previously worked for over 20 years in television production.  

Looking for a deep history on the Prince Family and the origins of Nashville Hot Chicken?  Check out this excellent article in The New Yorker: The Prince Family Business

Prince's Hot Chicken - the original Nashville restaurant that Kim grew up working at - was named: One of America's 38 Essential Restaurants by Eater

Hotville Instagram: @hotvillechicken

Hotville Twitter: @hotvillechicken

Official Website: Hotville Chicken

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano

Faith in combat; reflections on his service during the Iraq War; the self-discoveries from time spent "in extremis"; the unintended consequences of war; and how he carries his service as a civilian.

Ben O'Rourke is a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, a combat veteran, and a graduate of the US Army War College.  He graduated from Notre Dame, and currently serves as an executive for an enterprise tech company in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife and children.

Here is a brief overview regarding the Iraq War, which Ben describes throughout this episode from his unique vantage point: The Iraq War (or Second Persian Gulf War)

An article discussing Viktor Frankl's book, which Ben found at a deeply poignant moment in his journey: Man's Search For Meaning 

Ben's Facebook: Ben O'Rourke

Ben's LinkedIn: Ben O'Rourke

Official Website: nicholasdagosto.com

Instagram: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow

Twitter: @nicholasdagosto #GodsDelicateShow 

LinkedIn: Nicholas D'Agosto 

Music by Sean Whalen, Art by Alexandra Delano