Here's What We Know

Send us Fan Mail

This week on Here’s What We Know, we sit down with Brent Huff to talk about what acting and voiceover work really take. Brent has one of those voices you recognize before your brain catches up with the face. Fans know him as Smitty on The Rookie, where he’s now in his ninth year playing the part.

Brent grew up in the Ozarks and dreamed of playing in the NBA and starring in movies during the offseason. He shares the story of a year when everyone thought he was working all the time, while his appointment book told a different story: 100 auditions and four bookings. Brent still considers it a great year.

Brent’s first book, My Playbook for Life, comes out November 6 on Amazon. He built it from years of underlining passages and keeping journal notes from the self-help books and biographies he loves. He also recorded the audiobook himself, which took about 200 hours. Brent explains why he decided not to use an AI voice clone that could have finished the job in a day. 

In This Episode:

• Growing Up in the Ozarks
• Dreaming of the NBA and Hollywood
• Making the Move to Los Angeles
• The Reality of an Acting Career
• 100 Auditions and 4 Bookings
• Brent Huff's Voiceover Career
• The Old-School Voiceover Auditions
• Finding a Distinctive Voice
• Brent Huff on The Rookie and Smitty
• My Playbook for Life
• Avoiding Bitterness in Hollywood
• Finding Your Calling
• Getting Better and Caring Less What People Think
• Brent's Career, Books and What's Next
  
  

This episode is sponsored by:

Reed Animal Hospital 

Bio:

Brent Huff is an actor, voiceover artist, and author best known for playing Officer Smitty on The Rookie. He has spent decades working in television, film, and voiceover, with appearances in shows including Mad Men, Shameless, and The West Wing. Brent grew up in the Ozarks and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. His first book, My Playbook for Life, brings together lessons and advice he has collected from years of reading, journaling, and building his career in Hollywood.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brent.huff.9/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brenthuff11/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brenthuff11

Tags: Brent Huff, Brent Huff podcast, Brent Huff interview, The Rookie, The Rookie TV show, Officer Smitty, Smitty The Rookie, Brent Huff The Rookie, Brent Huff actor, Brent Huff voiceover, Brent Huff voice actor, Brent Huff movies, Brent Huff television, Hollywood actor, Hollywood acting, acting career, voiceover career, voice acting, My Playbook for Life, Brent Huff My Playbook for Life, Van life

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

For everyone who has ever sung “King of the Road” at the top of their lungs without knowing the second verse.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary Scott Thomas looks back at the remarkable life of one of the most unpredictable minds in country music, Roger Miller.

He wrote “Dang Me” in four minutes, recorded 16 songs in a single day, won a Grammy for “King of the Road,” and won seven Tony Awards for Big River.

But the accomplishments only tell part of the story.

Gary takes a closer look at the funny, restless, complicated man behind the music and how a poor kid from Erick, Oklahoma, became the songwriter Bill Anderson called the closest thing to a genius country music had ever had.

Best known for “King of the Road,” “Dang Me,” and “Husbands and Wives,” Roger Miller had a rare gift for turning heartbreak, humor, human nature, and the strange little observations of everyday life into unforgettable songs.

This is the story of Roger Miller, the music he left behind, and the remarkable mind that created it.

In This Episode:

• Why Roger Miller Is Country Music's Forgotten Genius
• Roger Miller's Childhood in Fort Worth and Erick, Oklahoma
• How Sheb Wooley Taught Roger Miller to Play Guitar
• Roger Miller's Army Years and the Move to Nashville
• The Chet Atkins Audition That Almost Went Wrong
• How Roger Miller Wrote Dang Me in Four Minutes
• The Story Behind King of the Road
• Why King of the Road Won a Grammy Over Yesterday
• Marriages, Addiction, and the King of the Road Inn
• How Roger Miller Wrote the Big River Score
• Roger Miller's Death and His Most Heartbreaking Quote
• The Husbands and Wives Story From Waylon Jennings
• Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Roger's Best Lines

This episode is sponsored by: 

Dignity Memorial 

Sterling Oak Cabinetry 

Bio:

Roger Miller was one of country music’s most original voices, a gifted songwriter, musician, performer, and storyteller whose wit was as memorable as his music. Best known for timeless hits like “King of the Road,” “Dang Me,” and “England Swings,” Miller brought humor, heart, and an unmistakably unconventional style to country music. His career stretched from Nashville honky-tonks and television to Broadway, where his music for Big River earned him a Tony Award. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995, three years after his death, leaving behind a legacy that continues to influence musicians and storytellers today.

Website: https://rogermiller.com/

Tags: Roger Miller, Roger Miller podcast, Roger Miller documentary, Roger Miller story, Roger Miller biography, Roger Miller country music, Roger Miller songs, King of the Road, King of the Road Roger Miller, Dang Me, Dang Me Roger Miller, Husbands and Wives Roger Miller, Big River Roger Miller, Roger Miller songwriting, Roger Miller songwriter, Roger Miller genius, forgotten country music legends, country music history, classic country music, country music podcast, country music legends, Nashville songwriting, greatest country songwriters

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

What can refugees teach us about resilience, gratitude, work, and starting over?

This week on Here’s What We Know, we sit down with Dalton T. Sirmans, author of The Refugee Advantage, to talk about the incredible stories of people who were forced to leave their homes and rebuild their lives from almost nothing. 

We’ll talk about resilience, entrepreneurship, gratitude, and why many refugees become some of the hardest-working and most committed people in their communities. Dalton also shares stories of refugees creating businesses, becoming valuable employees, supporting others, and finding ways to give back even when they have very little. 

The conversation stays out of politics and focuses on real stories, policies that have worked, and the economic and human value refugees bring to the communities that welcome them. 

Listen in and let these stories challenge you to reconsider what you see when you look at refugees and what we might learn when we take the time to hear their stories.

In This Episode:

• What does it mean to be a refugee? We explain the difference between refugees and internally displaced people.
• How many refugees are resettled? Only 1% to 2% worldwide ever get the chance to start over in another country.
• How does the U.S. Refugee Program work? We look at the 1980 program and its focus on resettlement, integration, and self-sufficiency.
• Do refugees contribute to the economy? From 2005 to 2019, refugees contributed about $123 billion more in taxes than the cost of their resettlement and integration.
• What does starting over cost? Refugees in the U.S., Canada, and Australia repay the cost of their travel to their new country.
• Can refugees build financial independence? Dalton shares how access to credit can help refugees and immigrants build a new financial future.
• What if refugee aid looked more like investment? Dalton explains why he believes mutual opportunity can be more powerful than charity.
• Could refugees help businesses find great employees? We look at the connection between refugee employment and the ongoing need for quality workers.

This episode is sponsored by: 

Bison Junk Removal 

Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) 

License #: 679261 

Bio:

Dalton T. Sirmans is an entrepreneur, investor, and author of The Refugee Advantage: Building Enterprise in the Face of Adversity. He co-founded MainStreet Technologies, growing the company from a rural Georgia startup into a nationally recognized fintech firm. After earning a Master of Liberal Arts in International Relations from Harvard, Dalton turned his attention to refugee entrepreneurship, researching how refugees rebuild their lives and create economic opportunity. He is also the founder of the Sirmans Global Impact Foundation, which supports refugee entrepreneurs and refugee-serving organizations through investment, partnerships, and storytelling.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalton-t-sirmans-2017833/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalton.sirmans/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Refugee-Advantage/61573021826766/

Tags: Refugee Advantage, Dalton Sirmans, refugees, refugee stories, refugee resilience, refugee entrepreneurship, starting over, immigration, opportunity, resilience, gratitude, refugee success stories, human potential, humanitarian aid, refugee integration, entrepreneurship, refugee advantage, entrepreneurship, refugee resilience, starting over, immigration, refugee integration, entrepreneurship, resilience, gratitude, humanitarian aid

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Before she was the First Lady of Country Music, Virginia Wynette Pugh was a little girl picking cotton in Itawamba County, Mississippi, raised by her grandparents while her mama worked in Memphis. Her daddy died before she turned one, leaving her only his instruments and stories told secondhand.

Nobody looking at that childhood would have predicted Nashville. But Tammy Wynette's story is proof that talent finds a way out, even when everything else says stay put.

This week on Once Around the Country, we trace her path from beauty school and a teenage marriage to the night producer Billy Sherrill, who changed her name and changed her life. We talk about "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," the firestorm around "Stand By Your Man," her marriage to George Jones, and the health struggles that followed her all the way to her death at 55 under circumstances her own family still argues about. 

Listen now to her whole story, both the good and the hard parts. Give it a listen and let us know what you think.

In This Episode:

• Her childhood in Itawamba County and the father she never really knew
• How an uncle's connection led to her first television audition
• The Billy Sherrill meeting that turned Wynette Bird into Tammy Wynette
• The making of "Stand By Your Man" and the backlash that followed
• Her marriages, including the turbulent years with George Jones
• The addiction, the surgeries, and the disputed circumstances of her death
• What Gary saw backstage that he still thinks about

This episode is sponsored by: 

Sterling Oak Cabinetry 

Dignity Memorial

Bio:

Tammy Wynette, born Virginia Wynette Pugh in 1942, grew up on a cotton farm in Mississippi before becoming one of the most recognizable voices in country music. After working as a beautician and raising three children, she moved to Nashville in 1966 and signed with Epic Records.

Known as the First Lady of Country Music, Tammy sold more than 30 million records and recorded some of country music’s most enduring songs, including “Stand By Your Man.” Her deeply emotional singing style connected with millions of listeners because she sang about the things they knew firsthand: love, heartbreak, marriage, loneliness, and family.

Her life away from the stage was just as eventful. Her seven-year marriage to George Jones became one of country music’s most famous and complicated relationships. She later married songwriter and producer George Richey and continued recording despite years of health problems.

Tammy Wynette died in 1998 at her home in Nashville. Later that year, she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Website: https://tammywynette.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialwynette/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TammyWynettemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyWynette/

Tags: Tammy Wynette biography, who was Tammy Wynette, Tammy Wynette life story, Tammy Wynette story, why was Tammy Wynette called the First Lady of Country Music, what happened to Tammy Wynette, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, Tammy Wynette Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette legacy, Tammy Wynette country music career, Tammy Wynette songs, Tammy Wynette George Jones, First Lady of Country Music, Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette country music, Tammy Wynette Nashville, Tammy Wynette Country Music Hall of Fame, classic country music, country music legends, country music history

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when a box of old family letters opens a window into one of the most dangerous chapters of World War II?

This week on Here’s What We Know, we welcome author Jan Cress Dondi to talk about The Navigator’s Letter, a remarkable story built from letters, family memories, military records, and the lives of three young people whose paths were changed by war. 

Listen in as the conversation takes us into the world of B-24 navigators, the deadly Ploesti mission, prisoner-of-war camps, and the emotional reality faced by young men who knew they might not make it home. Jan also shares the deeply personal connection she has to the story through her father, her uncle, and her mother, and how those letters helped bring their personalities and experiences back to life decades later.

We’ll also deep dive into what happens when the people who lived through history don't talk about it and what families can discover when they take the time to ask questions and preserve the stories that remain.

If you have old letters, photographs, journals, or stories from someone in your family who served, this conversation may make you look at them a little differently.

In this episode:

• The true story behind The Navigator’s Letter
• What WWII letters reveal about the lives of young servicemen
• The dangers faced by B-24 crews and navigators
• The infamous Ploesti mission and "Black Sunday"
• Life inside a Romanian POW camp
• The friendship and complicated relationship between Bob, John B., and Polly
• Survivor's guilt and the emotional cost of war
• Why family history matters before the people who lived it are gone

This episode is sponsored by: 

Dignity Memorial 

Reed Animal Hospital 

Bio:

Jan Cress Dondi's journey began in Hillsboro, Illinois, where the inspiration for The Navigator’s Letter took root. With thirty years experience in legal writing and research, she learned to trace facts with precision, following threads of the past—across time, language, and continents. Her pursuit was personal—a labor of love of family—a desire to connect historical truth with the human experience. The culmination of which has enriched this narrative with depth and authenticity.

Hundreds of letters from two B-24 navigators—John B. and Bob—and a POW diary together with historical documents became the backbone of this book. Clues led Dondi on an emotional search for answers, one that carried her across the globe—to her father’s POW camp in Romania, the military archives in Germany, her uncle’s military base in England—where she pieced together a deeply human story of war, courage and love—one that had waited decades to be told. 

Dondi was born in Hillsboro, IL. Raised in Atlanta, she graduated from the University of Georgia; lived years in Anchorage, AK, where she pursued post-graduate studies at the University of Alaska; and built a career as a litigation paralegal. She has spoken about her father's POW experience at the US Embassy in Bucharest, recounted her uncle's mission experience to the 93rd Bombardment Group in Washington, DC, and flown in one of the only B-24 Liberators still operating. The mother of two daughters and grandmother of four, Jan has been married nearly forty years to an aviation enthusiast and hobby pilot whose projects include building a 72% scale all-carbon replica of a P-51 Mustang, the WWII fighter that significantly impacted the war. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Website: https://jancressdondi.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jancressdondi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenavigatorsletter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b24navigators/

Tags: The Navigator's Letter, Jan Cress Dondi, World War II, WWII, WWII family history, WWII letters, World War II history, WWII veterans, WWII navigator, B-24 Liberator, Ploesti mission, Ploiesti Romania, WWII prisoner of war, WWII POW, military family history, family letters, World War II books, WWII memoir, historical nonfiction, Gary Scott Thomas

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Our host, Gary Scott Thomas, has spent nearly 50 years in radio, and during that time he has met plenty of artists who went on to become stars. But there was one he never saw coming: Kenny Chesney.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary walks through Kenny's full journey, from a self-produced demo album sold out of the trunk of his car in Johnson City clubs to a publishing deal at the Opryland Music Group to a first record deal that ended when the label shut down to the persistence that finally landed him a deal with BNA Records. Gary also shares a personal memory from a moment in a program director's office, when a young and slightly discouraged Kenny Chesney needed a laugh and a little belief from the people around him.

Years later, when Kenny had become a superstar, he returned the favor by being the first big guest on KRTY’s new streaming radio station. This is a story about Kenny Chesney, hard work, humility, timing, and what happens when someone keeps going even when the path ahead isn't obvious.

In This Episode:

• Kenny Chesney's childhood in Luttrell, Tennessee, and his athletic beginnings
• Attending Gibbs High School, the same school that later produced Morgan Wallen
• Discovering bluegrass music at East Tennessee State
• Meeting Alison Krauss while both were still students
• Selling over a thousand self-produced albums with no promotion
• Moving to Nashville and playing the Bluebird Cafe and the Turf
• Signing his first record deal on Capricorn Records in 1994
• The label closing and what came next
• Signing with BNA Records in 1995 and his first top ten hits
• The moment Gary and his radio partner Julie helped Kenny push through self-doubt
• Kenny agreeing to help launch the radio station's move to streaming
• What Kenny Chesney is really like, according to someone who has known him for decades

This episode is sponsored by: 

Bison Junk Removal 

Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) 

License #: 679261 

Bio:

Kenny Chesney is one of country music’s biggest stars, but his story started far from the stadiums. A Tennessee native and former college baseball and football player, Chesney discovered bluegrass at East Tennessee State before moving to Nashville and building his career one club, song, and fan at a time. Known for hits like “How Forever Feels,” “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” and “That’s Why I’m Here,” Chesney’s career is a story of hard work, persistence, and knowing when to change course.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennychesney/

Tags: Kenny Chesney, Kenny Chesney story, Kenny Chesney career, Kenny Chesney biography, Kenny Chesney early career, Kenny Chesney Nashville, Kenny Chesney country music, Tim McGraw, Gary Scott Thomas, country music stories, country music history, country music radio, Nashville music, Here’s What We Know, Once Around the Country, Kenny Chesney superstar, Kenny Chesney rise to fame

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Who has the best shot at making the Super Bowl this NFL season?

This week on Here’s What We Know, longtime Bay Area sports radio host Mark Willard joins Gary Scott Thomas to talk 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos, and the teams he thinks could make a serious run this season.

Mark explains why he has the Rams as his favorite in the NFC, where he sees the 49ers in the NFC West, and why he’s finally willing to take the Chargers seriously. We get into Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, quarterback play, injuries, the changing world of college football, NIL, the transfer portal, and what it all means for the game we grew up watching. And yes, they make their Super Bowl predictions.

It is a fun, opinionated conversation full of Bay Area sports talk, some good-natured arguing, and a reminder that being a fan is supposed to be fun in the first place.

In This Episode:

• Why local radio is not dying, even when parts of the industry are struggling
• What it is like to be a fan of a genuinely hated team
• Growing up a Saints fan in South Alabama with no cable television
• Why criticism online is often a sign you are doing something right
• Football as the last true team sport left in modern athletics
• The NIL era and what it means for the future of college football
• NFC West breakdown: Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals
• Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, and the quarterbacks who deserve more credit
• Baker Mayfield's contract standoff with the Buccaneers
• Why the Patriots may take a step back this season
• The case for the Chargers as a real AFC contender
• Final Super Bowl predictions from both Gary and Mark

This episode is sponsored by: 

Bison Junk Removal 

Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) 

License #: 679261 

Bio:

Mark Willard is the host of the San Francisco-Bay Area leading drive-time show “Willard & Dibs” on 95.7 The Game and is a nationally syndicated weekend host on FOX Sports Radio. He previously hosted college football Saturdays for Pac-12 Networks and a daily show on ESPNLA with Lakers great Mychal Thompson, as well as the weekly show The Forum. He is the proud father of three teens.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktwillard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtwillard/

Tags: NFL predictions 2026, NFL season predictions, 49ers predictions, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, LA Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, LA Chargers, Denver Broncos, NFC West predictions, Super Bowl predictions, Mark Willard, Mark Willard NFL, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, NFL quarterbacks, college football, sports radio, football podcast, Gary Scott Thomas 

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when anger becomes funny?

Alex Pearlman has built a following by saying the things many people are thinking but cannot always say themselves. His viral Mexican Pizza rant helped put him on the map, but there was a lot of work behind that moment.

This week on Here’s What We Know, comedian and TikTok star Alex Pearlman talks about growing up outside Philadelphia, finding his voice through more than two decades of comedy, going viral, and what happens when the internet suddenly decides you're an "overnight success."

Alex believes people have lost sight of the fact that there is a real person on the other side of the screen. His Crashing Out Tour is part of his effort to get people out of comment sections and back into real conversations. Listen now.

In This Episode:

• The real story behind Alex's viral "Mexican Pizza Hut rant" and what he learned about timing, monetization, and TikTok
• Why Alex calls himself an "anger translator" for people who can't say what they're really thinking
• Growing up in Delco, outside Philadelphia, and how that shaped his comedic voice
• The difference between angry-and-funny and angry-and-jerky, and why so few comedians land on the right side of that line
• What Alex means by a "25-year overnight success" and the odd jobs that quietly fed his material for decades
• Why his wife became his most trusted editor and what that partnership taught him about ego
• The danger of young creators going viral with no life experience to back it up
• Why Alex built the Crashing Out Tour around getting people off their phones and back into a room together
• What's coming to San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts on September 11th

Catch Alex Pearlman's Crashing Out Tour on September 11.

Pick up your tickets here before they sell out! 

This episode is sponsored by: 

Sterling Oak Cabinetry 

Reed Animal Hospital 

Bio:

Alex Pearlman is a comedian, podcaster, and creator who has been performing stand-up since 2002. A longtime Philadelphia-area resident, Alex has built a following with his sharp, often angry, and always funny takes on everyday life, culture, and politics. His viral videos have introduced him to a much larger audience, but his comedy is rooted in more than two decades of performing and developing his voice. He is also the creator of the Crashing Out Tour, which aims to bring people out of online arguments and back into real conversations with one another.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pearlmania500/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pearlmania500/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pearlmania500

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexPearlman2000

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

We lost the biggest star country music has ever had.

This week on Once Around the Country, our host, Gary Scott Thomas, takes you back to a Saturday afternoon in Red Level, Alabama, where an eight-year-old boy stood in a plowed field, fire ants and all, as Porter Wagoner performed on a flatbed trailer and a young Dolly Parton walked onto the stage. Gary had no idea then that he was watching someone who would become one of country music’s biggest stars.

In this episode, Gary shares what he remembers about that day, industry insight from his years in country radio, and a heartfelt tribute to a woman who built an empire, stayed true to herself, and never forgot where she came from.

Gary also talks about Dolly’s relationship with Porter, her rise from country music star to cultural icon, her marriage to Carl Dean, and the few moments he was lucky enough to speak with her. And at the end, he’ll tell you what happened when he asked Dolly if she remembered that first concert. Listen now.

In this episode:

• Gary's first concert ever, and why it still sticks with him today
• The real story behind Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton's partnership and eventual split
• How "I Will Always Love You" started as a professional goodbye letter
• Dolly's business instincts, including the decision that cost Elvis Presley the song and made Dolly millions
• Dollywood, her marriage to Carl Dean, and what she was like one-on-one
• Why Gary believes Dolly was country music's first true crossover star

This episode is sponsored by: 

Sterling Oak Cabinetry 

Reed Animal Hospital 

Bio:

Dolly Parton is a country music legend, singer, songwriter, actress, author, and entrepreneur who rose from a large, poor family in Tennessee to become one of the most recognizable and beloved artists in the world. Known for her distinctive voice, songwriting talent, humor, and business sense, she built a career that crossed from country music into pop culture while remaining proud of her Appalachian roots. Her catalog includes classics such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” and her legacy extends beyond music through Dollywood, philanthropy, and her commitment to literacy and children’s causes.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollyparton/

Tags: Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton podcast, Dolly Parton story, Dolly Parton first concert, Here’s What We Know, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, country music history, country music stories, Dolly Parton career, Dolly Parton legacy, I Will Always Love You, Dollywood, Carl Dean, country music podcast

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Middle Falls Time Travel series bestselling author Shawn Inmon has been on Here's What We Know twice before, and this conversation might be the most personal one yet. 

In this episode, join us for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, love, creativity, and facing cancer. Shawn shares how the idea behind Middle Falls came from wondering whether we could go back in time and change the choices we made, and how that universal idea grew into a bestselling book series. He also talks about expanding the Middle Falls universe to England and Australia, working with other writers, and why he trusts his audiobook narrators so much. Shawn also opens up about how cancer and treatment have affected his ability to write, why he has permitted himself to step away from the keyboard for a while, why he's choosing to be open about it publicly, and what he wants other men to know about catching it early. Listen now.

In this episode:

• How Shawn met his wife at 15, lost her for 30 years, and found her again at a drive-in
• Why Shawn calls himself an organic writer and how he builds a book without an outline
• The story behind Michael Hollister, the shortest and most beloved book in the Middle Falls series
• Writing Reggie Blackwell, a character who resists redemption for years
• How Chuck Burke's storyline tackles hoarding and addiction with honesty
• Expanding Middle Falls into England with co-writer Kirsten McKenzie
• Bringing a Western Australia storyline into the series with a new collaborator
• Shawn's prostate cancer diagnosis, his treatment, and why he's sharing his story publicly
• What's coming next, including fan-favorite character Moondog

This episode is sponsored by:

Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!)

License #: 679261

Bison Junk Removal

Bio:

Shawn Inmon is a small-town kid who dreamed of being a writer. Today, he is a full-time author who lives in Tumwater, Washington, USA. He worked several dozen jobs - retail, real estate, traveling with the Unlimited Hydroplanes, crabbing in Alaska, morning disc jockey and station manager, and many others he can't remember to list. These jobs gave him a wonderful base to write what he knows because he knows a little about a lot.

He achieved his dream of becoming a full-time writer in 2016 and has never looked back. One reviewer called him "The King of Redemption stories." Shawn says he doesn't feel like a king of anything, but he does love a good tale of second chances.

He is the author of the ever-growing The Middle Falls Time Travel series, 18 books and counting, and The Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure series. He is also the author of Feels Like the First Time, a bestselling memoir of growing up in a small town in the seventies, falling in love, and messing everything up.

He lives with his high school sweetheart - now wife -Dawn, two happy-go-lucky Chocolate Labs, and a slightly schizo cat named Georgie. 

Website: https://www.shawn-inmon.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShawnInmonWriter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawninmon/

X: https://twitter.com/ShawnInmon

Tags: Shawn Inmon, Middle Falls, Middle Falls series, bestselling author, Shawn Inmon interview, time travel books, second chances, writing books, author interview, audiobook narration, cancer and creativity, writing through adversity, Who is Shawn Inmon, what is the Middle Falls series, Shawn Inmon books, Shawn Inmon author interview, what is Middle Falls about, Shawn Inmon writing process, Shawn Inmon cancer, Shawn Inmon audiobook, books about second chances, books about time travel,

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!