Chris Balanciere, Namastir's first returning guest, sits down with Blair in The Garage to discuss the upcoming election and offers a black perspective.

Emily Jones comes into The Garage to talk with Blair about becoming a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting.  

Emily and Blair discuss underrated restaurants and ballplayers and along the way she gives her opinion on great margaritas, why church is important, being starstruck by Troy Aikman and her friendship with Mike Leach.

Emily gets the Barbara Walters treatment towards the end as she shows her soft side while discussing her relationship with her father and how that shapes the parenting of her two kids.

In 2004, 19 year old, Private First Class, Michael Yandell, a U.S. Army Bomb Disposal Specialist, was sweeping a stretch of Baghdad Airport Road, or "Route Irish" as the U.S. military called it, when he and his partner encountered a recycled abandoned artillery shell casing.  Rather than risk continued potential exposure to sniper fire, they opted to take this shell casing back to base and dispose of it safely.

Within minutes, both soldiers knew something had gone terribly wrong.

What followed this incident continues to shape Rev. Dr. Michael Yandell's perspective on life.  Michael recently finished his PhD in Theological Studies at Emory's Laney Graduate School in Atlanta, GA.  Michael's focus was on the topic of moral injury.

Listen as Michael sits down with Blair Lewis to share what led him to Iraq shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the growing disillusionment he felt about the righteous high ground he once felt so certain in.

Michael's story has a redemptive arc as he searched for meaning in a world that felt increasingly meaningless.  Rather than abandon the faith he was raised with, Michael was able to transform the way he experienced God by adapting the perspective commonly known as Liberation Theology.

An episode I like to call, "With all of this shit, there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

Casey and Katie Sundt stop by The Garage to talk about the wild times Casey had in the early 1990's when he lived in NYC and Hollywood.  Casey bartended some of the most popular bars of that era and came in contact with notorious characters and famous people.  

The overriding theme seems to be learning to laugh in the face of hardship and horror.  

This episode is here simply to amuse.  We have had some heavy subjects in the first month of Namastir, so I offer this one up simply to give you a few funny stories for you to chew on during your day.

Bryce Moen was inspired during graduate school at the University of Texas to become a philanthropist.  He learned quickly that without the money to donate in order to sit on a Board of Trustees, he could do little more than volunteer.   Then fate intervened.

Bryce and his wife Sara became confronted with the difficulty of raising a child with a speech disorder when their daughter, Chandler, was slow to speak as a toddler and became frustrated with their inability to communicate with their second born.

In search of answers, Bryce turned to a colleague at work who had a child with similar struggles and was introduced to the sticker shock of what it costs to put someone into speech therapy sessions even if it was just once or twice a week.  So, in 2020, Bryce created "Chandler Speaks", an charitable organization that is designed to provide the funding for families that don't have the financial resources to provide speech therapy to their children.

https://www.chandlerspeaks.org

Casey Sundt had a front row seat as Head Bartender for Planet Hollywood and House of Blues in the early 1990's in both New York City and then later in Los Angeles.

Casey left with no money (as you can hear in the entire conversation on the Namastir YouTube Channel), but a whole lot of stories.

Here, in Casey's Tight Five, you hear stories of him getting told off by a Rock God, getting a bad tip from a very cocky Jack Nicholson and get an insight into the man who raised Casey when it is time to put grandma in a home.

If you like this sample, find your way to the Namastir YouTube channel and check out the Casey Sundt Storytelling episode.

Dr. Randy Brown of Ft. Worth, Texas is a man of conviction.  Blair sits down with Dr. Brown to explore what it means to seek the heart of God.

When God speaks, Dr. Brown acts.  Action is Randy's covenant and it has led to many adventures:  

• Re-imagining a California summer camp he worked with as a young man, Camp Opportunity, for economically challenged children, and bringing it to Texas.
• Starting a mentoring program for school-aged boys in the Como neighborhood of Fort Worth, "Dr. Brown's Mighty Men", 
• Creating a private school for marginalized children in Fort Worth, The Rivertree Academy.

Randy talks of how he learned to listen for God's instruction and, perhaps more importantly, made the commitment to act upon receiving direction with confidence that it will thrive if it is indeed from God.

If you have ever struggled to have a relationship with God and to know how to follow God's direction, Randy's story may provide some insight, but be prepared to act.

Chris Radford, President of AE Wealth Management, the wealth management division of Advisors Excel, comes on the Namastir Podcast to discuss how the son of a furniture salesman became the President of one of the 10 fastest growing Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firms in the country.

Chris focuses on "We" rather than, "I" when discussing the topic of success and when asked to point to how he builds effective times, Chris discusses the importance of listening to, and caring for, your employees in order to get "buy in".

Blair has Chris walk him through his childhood aspirations, how he found financial services, and when "the light came on" that he could lead an organization at its highest level.

What emerges throughout the conversation is that Chris does not fit the ego-centric model of leadership, but rather approaches it from the perspective of servant leadership.

Lance Marshall, Co-Head Pastor of First United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, sit down to discuss how life has worked in mysterious ways for Lance.

From a childhood that set Lance on a trajectory for corporate success, to an adulthood of disillusionment with the trappings of the "American Dream", Lance reveals how he got to where he is now:

• Husband, 
• Father of 4 (including 3 recently adopted siblings)
• Co-Head Pastor of a 10,000+ member downtown church, 
• two-time cancer survivor, 
• son, 
• friend, 
• video gamer and,
• amateur sommelier.  

Lance is a man of many passions, and storytelling is certainly one.

Recently named to the Blair Lewis's "Top 10 Most Interesting People List", Lance's pursuit of happiness is never dull.