JDS podcast

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Elisa Neven-Pugh, a motivational speaker and advocate living with Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia.

Elisa shares her journey of growing up with a disability, coming to Christ in 2021, and turning her desire to serve others into a deeper passion for advocacy, encouragement, and personal growth.

Together, they explore disability, faith, resilience, identity, overcoming challenges, advocacy, and developing a Christ-centered growth mindset that acknowledges hardship while still believing transformation is possible.

Learn more about Elisa and her work at positivelyadaptive.com.

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with award-winning author, keynote speaker, and life strategist Lauren Fay to explore the courageous decisions that can completely change the trajectory of our lives.

Lauren shares her personal journey of becoming alcohol-free in 2018 and how that decision became the beginning of a much deeper transformation involving self-leadership, identity, emotional resilience, intuition, confidence, and self-trust.

Together, they explore why we often negotiate with ourselves, how to make decisions that align with who we truly want to become, and what it takes to create lasting change from the inside out.

Learn more about Lauren and her book Blurred Lines at blurredlinesbook.com.

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Daniel Alfon, a LinkedIn strategist, entrepreneur, and author of Build a LinkedIn Profile for Business Success.

With over two decades of experience on LinkedIn, Daniel has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and business professionals use the platform more strategically—not by chasing followers, cold connecting, or relying on expensive tools, but by building authentic relationships that can lead to real business opportunities.

Together, they explore how entrepreneurs can turn LinkedIn connections into referrals, leads, and revenue while staying authentic and focused on what actually works.

Learn more about Daniel and his work at danielalfon.com.

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Peter George, a public speaking coach, professional speaker, award-winning author, and podcast host who has trained more than 120,000 professionals across 50+ countries.

Peter shares his journey from growing up with a lisp and stutter to becoming a highly sought-after communication coach. Together, they explore how to overcome fear, become a more confident speaker, connect with an audience, and turn adversity into strength.

Peter also shares insights from his award-winning book The Captivating Public Speaker and his experience hosting Public Speaking with Peter George.

“If you want to learn more about Peter’s work, get his book, or explore his coaching services, visit PeterGeorgePublicSpeaking.com.

You can also check out his podcast, Public Speaking with Peter George, for more practical insights on becoming a more confident and impactful communicator.”

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Elias Martin, a history enthusiast, researcher, podcaster, and technology-minded thinker exploring why political and social divisions have become so intense.

Elias brings a nuanced perspective to topics including American political tribalism, the two-party system, history, technology, religion, spirituality, and the growing difficulty of having meaningful conversations with people who see the world differently.

Together, Joshua and Elias explore why people are becoming disconnected from politics, how technology shapes the way we understand current events, and what it takes to disagree without turning every disagreement into a personal battle.

“If you enjoyed this conversation and want to hear more of Elias’ work, check out his podcast, Politically High-Tech, at politicallyhightech.buzzsprout.com.

You’ll find conversations covering politics, history, policy, technology, spirituality, self-improvement, and much more.”

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with commercial pilot, former flight instructor, author, and lifelong UFO researcher David Brandon.

After witnessing a UFO at the age of 13, David developed a lifelong fascination with unexplained aerial phenomena. Drawing from his aviation background and his science-fiction novel Rings of Saturn: Enemy Within, he explores UFOs, UAPs, secret space programs, extraterrestrial questions, and the stories that challenge how we understand our world.

This conversation explores curiosity, questioning assumptions, aviation, storytelling, and what it means to keep searching for answers when we don’t have all the facts.

If today’s conversation sparked your curiosity and you’d like to explore David’s work and his novel Rings of Saturn: Enemy Within, visit RingsOfSaturn.ca. You can learn more about the book and find links to purchase it.”

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Julie Pham, PhD—a Vietnamese-born, American-raised refugee, Cambridge-trained social scientist, award-winning community organizer, Amazon bestselling author, and TEDx speaker.

Julie shares her unique perspective on respect, curiosity, inclusion, leadership, cultural identity, and community building. She also explores her 7 Forms of Respect framework and how challenging our assumptions can improve communication, collaboration, and relationships.

From her experiences growing up between Vietnamese and American cultures to her work across academia, business, community leadership, and research, Julie offers a fascinating perspective on what it means to think differently and lead with curiosity.

Learn more about Julie and her work at curiositybased.com.

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with author, editor, publisher, and literary culture producer Cody Sisco to explore resilience, identity, creativity, and what it means to stay focused in a world increasingly shaped by technology and competing distractions.

Cody shares his journey as a writer and creator, the ideas behind his Resonant Earth series, and how speculative fiction can help us examine real-world questions about truth, identity, neurodivergence, mental health, technology, and human resilience.

The conversation also explores how we can protect our attention, stay connected to our values, and continue pursuing meaningful goals in a world constantly trying to pull us in different directions.

In this episode of the JDS Podcast, Joshua Agbontaen sits down with Shante Alexander, an Organizational Psychologist, executive coach, speaker, and author of The Emotional Cost of Clarity™.

Together, they explore the hidden emotional cost of success through the lens of leadership—why high achievers can feel exhausted despite accomplishing everything they once wanted, how identity shapes performance, and what happens when the roles that helped us succeed no longer fit who we’re becoming.

Shante shares practical insights on ambition, leadership, boundaries, burnout, emotional well-being, and the importance of separating who we truly are from who we learned to become.

you can learn more about Shante’s work and download the first chapter of The Emotional Cost of Clarity™ at ShanteAlexander.com/books.”

In this heartwarming episode of the JDS Podcast, host Joshua Agbontaen sits down with award-winning author, podcaster, and MFA student Holly B. Gutwillinger.

Holly’s storytelling is rooted in family, resilience, and the remarkable bond between people and animals. Her debut novel, North of Broken & Furever Home, explores grief, healing, and second chances through a unique dual narrative told from both human and canine perspectives.

Together, Joshua and Holly discuss the writing journey, balancing creativity with life, the emotional connection we share with animals, self-publishing, and how stories have the power to transform lives.

Learn more about Holly at:

https://www.ramblingfromthelittleshed.com

In this episode, we discuss:

* Holly’s journey to becoming an author

* The inspiration behind North of Broken & Furever Home

* Writing from both human and canine perspectives

* Family, motherhood, and storytelling

* The healing power of rescue animals

* Creative writing and earning an MFA

* Self-publishing and building a writing career

* Podcasting and connecting through creativity

* Overcoming challenges as a writer

* Living a creative life with purpose