Welcome back to Jonah Asks. Meet Jonny. Meet Jonny. A fantasy writer, a cat lover, a Gay Black Jewish man, and a kind soul.

In this episode Jonny takes us through his journey, both physically and psychologically, from childhood through the present...for him age 36. Jonny has lived in many cities, had many jobs, and collected oceans of experience as a human. He's a searcher.

Topics we discuss:

*identity

*coming out as a gay man

*Southern Virginia

*military families

*family dynamics

*traveling

*HIV

*writing (fantasy/thriller)

*politics

*race and democracy

*economic equality

*minimum wage

*cats

*baths

This was a wonderful talk. I hope you enjoy Jonny's stories and wisdom.

If you'd like to buy his book, click here:

https://www.amazon.com/Collection-Chronicle-Soul-Seed-Novels/dp/B0892792P9

If you'd like to support the podcast, click here:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Thanks for listening and stay safe,

Jonah

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks

Meet Jenn. A thoughtful human who teaches Philosophy, has raised two children, and rejected social media from the beginning. In this conversation, you'll hear quite a journey. Jenn describes growing up in Sacramento in the 70s, getting into punk music, heading to Santa Cruz then Wales for a year, among other places early on in her life.

Over time, Jenn got a PhD in Philosophy and became a mother and a professor.

Themes we discuss:

*adolescence

*punk music and politics

*college at UC-Santa Cruz

*philosophy

*parenting

*home-ownership

*cities

*labor rights

*social media

*trust

*Jewish identity: culturally Jewish not religious

To support the podcast,

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Thanks for listening!

Jonah

Welcome back to Jonah Asks. In this episode, I answer questions from my guests.

1. Parenting: What is the hardest part? What is your favorite part?

musical break: (cover of Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place")

2. Race: What is it like to be in an interracial marriage? To have a multi-racial child?

3. Aging: Do you fear getting old?

Thanks to Alex and Justin, Bridgette, and Jeremy for asking these great questions. It was interesting to dive into them in stream-of-consciousness monologues. I hope you enjoy these ruminations.

If you'd like to support the podcast, please share, subscribe and rate it.

Another great way to support Jonah Asks -- Buy Me a Coffee

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Thanks for listening.

This is Temporary,

Jonah

Meet Eli. A composer of sounds. A newly graduated student, who briefly taught in my Zoom classroom. A thoughtful human.

To hear Eli's debut album:

https://moonglyph.bandcamp.com/album/fishland

Topics we discuss:

*growing up around music

*childhood experiences (NYC, FL, Bay Area)

*growing up with mom who teaches philosophy

*identity and artistic persona

*David Bowie

*John Coltrane

*improvised music

*jazz

*sustaining creative practices

*validation: internal vs external

*navigating social media

To support the podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Another way to support: share, subscribe, and/or rate Jonah Asks.

Thanks for listening.

Go check Eli's music out!

Welcome back to Jonah Asks.

Meet Dave. He's my neighbor and his little girl Kenzie is pals with Rebelle Harmony. Dave is a funny fellow who's worked in various jobs in the medical field. These days, Dave works in nursing administration and online teaching. His work is mainly focused around health policies and regulations. He is the swiss-army knife of nursing administration.

To support the podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Topics discussed:

*Growing up in the Florida panhandle

*Growing up in the 80s

*Becoming an EMT

*Nursing

*Compartmentalizing

*Work-Life balance

*Fatherhood

*Driving

*Vaccine

*Pandemic life

Thanks for listening and stay safe.

This is Temporary!

Jonah

One Muddy Morning: Audio Essays on Time, Creativity, Fatherhood and Patience

These seven short essays were written in the last two years. Rather than compile them in an audiobook and attempt to promote/sell that, I'm publishing them here. If you enjoy them, please consider clicking the link below.

To support my writing and Jonah Asks, please visit:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

By donating a few dollars, it helps support my addiction to recording and sharing thoughts.

1. One Muddy Morning (0:00 -- 7:50)

date: January 4, 2019

2. Tantrums (8:00 -- 13:55)

date: November 7, 2019

3. How Are You Feeling: A Trip Through Health, Psychology, Adolescence, Fatherhood, Relationships and Emotion (14:00 -- 31:30)

date: March 9, 2020

4. On Creativity, Stillness, Time and Patterns: a Response to Alan Lightman (31:40 --- 41:10)

date: April 14, 2020

5. Time Passing With Child (41:25 -- 46:20)

date: December 3, 2020

6. He Was Not a Typewriter (46:30 -- 51:30)

date: February 12, 2020

7: Six Feet Under, Sixteen Years Later (51:40 -- 59:50)

date: February 16, 2021

To support my writing and Jonah Asks, please visit:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Thanks for Listening.

This is Temporary!

Jonah

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks.

In this episode, meet Annie. She grew up as a middle child and is now both a mother and a nurse. She lives near Asheville, North Carolina and she's also my cousin. Annie is full of empathy. In the talk, you'll hear what a wonderful mother, dedicated nurse and all-around good human she is.

To support this podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Topics we discuss:

*parenting four children

*sleeping

*family dynamics

*identity and personality types (Annie is a peacemaker)

*being a middle child

*technology, screens and child development

*nursing

*building community

*elementary school on zoom

*social media

*vaccines and distrust

Thanks for listening. As always, sharing and subscribing to Jonah Asks is greatly appreciated.

To support this podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Stay safe and remember this is temporary,

Jonah

Meet Cousin Alex. She is open-hearted and compassionate. We are second cousins, but this conversation was the longest we've talked...maybe ever. It was really cool getting to know her better through this conversation. I think you'll enjoy her positive personality and laugh.

For show notes and links:

https://jonahasks.medium.com/episode-16-with-cousin-alex-on-family-being-jewish-divorce-building-community-suitcases-and-9638d59dd93d

To support this podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Topics we discuss:

*identity

*childhood and divorce

*psychology

*being Jewish

*family history

*being an only child

*parenting

*dance/yoga

*listening/calming

*public health work

*social media

To support this podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Please share, subscribe and rate the podcast.

https://jonahasks.podomatic.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jonah-asks/id1537595117

For detailed show notes:

https://jonahasks.medium.com/episode-16-with-cousin-alex-on-family-being-jewish-divorce-building-community-suitcases-and-9638d59dd93d

Thanks for listening and stay safe!

Welcome to Episode 15 of Jonah Asks. Meet my brother, Ben. He's four years older than me, and he's a middle school math teacher. In this talk we look back at our memories of childhood.

To support this podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Topics we delve into:

*sibling rivalry

*parental expectations

*divorce

*parents as individuals

*tennis

*psychology and control

*teaching

*parenting

Thanks for listening. If you enjoy it, please subscribe, share and rate this episode.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Stay Safe,

Jonah

Welcome to Episode 14 of Jonah Asks. Meet Vibraphonist Chris Dingman. Chris makes meditative music. For anyone in need of transporting to a calmer place, this music is a wonderful vehicle.

chrisdingman.bandcamp.com

To support the podcast:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jonahasks

Topics we discuss:

*music in childhood

*listening and musical influences

*categories of music: jazz vs experimental

*studying music at Wesleyan

*music as healing

*exploitation of the artist in the music industry

*process vs product

*creating music versus promoting music

*composing

*teaching

*losing a parent

*universal language of music