Episode Summary

Host Holly B. sits down with Spann Cordle — disability advocate, 19-year Walmart associate, and emerging keynote speaker — for a warm, funny, and deeply moving conversation. Spann shares the story of Finn, his mobility service dog and the first-ever service dog at Walmart, who could pull a wheelchair, open doors, do laundry, and even detect a medical issue before Spann knew he had one.

Along the way, Spann opens up about growing up with cerebral palsy, the eye-watering cost of service dogs today, and his new mission: turning his story into a public speaking career that helps disabled and able-bodied people alike realize "whatever you want to do, you can do it."

Meet Our Guest

Spann Cordle is a Disability advocate, Walmart associate (going on 19 years), and keynote speaker in the making. Along with his service dog Finn, they formed Walmart's first-ever service dog team. He now shares his story through podcasts and public speaking to inspire others with disabilities.

Topics Covered

• Meet Finn — the mobility service dog who could do laundry, work elevators, and open doors
• The uncanny personality match between Spann and Finn (a 0.1% difference!)
• Becoming Walmart's first-ever service dog team back in 2007
• The skyrocketing cost of service dogs — from $5,000 then to $40,000–$60,000+ now
• The tough tradeoffs of privately-owned vs. organization-provided service dogs
• Spann's pivot from years of unpaid media appearances to pursuing public speaking
• Saying goodbye to Finn in 2018 after 14 years together
• Spann's mission: showing people that determination and perseverance can accomplish anything

Memorable Moments

• The trainer's personality assessment found Spann and Finn were essentially a perfect match — closer than she'd ever seen.
• Finn's day-to-day "superpowers": pulling a wheelchair, opening and closing doors, working light switches, doing laundry, and pushing elevator buttons.
• A candid, honest conversation about the emotional and financial barriers facing families who need service dogs today.
• Spann's quiet confidence about his growing speaking career, sparked by someone telling him it could become "bigger than Walmart."

Connect

• Follow Ramblings from the Little Shed for more inspiring conversations
• Learn more about Spann at www.spannsworld.com
• Have a story like this or your own unique story? Holly wants to hear from you!

Episode Summary

A funny mother-son podcast episode covering gaming confessions, grizzly bear camping safety, a mood ring mystery, and a childhood clown photo that needs to be seen to be believed. Holly B. and Rogan catch up on indie game development, video game hours (Outer Wilds, Starfield, Fallout, Baldur's Gate 3), acupuncture, and why you should always be "bear-wise" before camping in grizzly country.

Episode Summary

Holly B. and Rogan welcome author S.E. Tschritter to the Little Shed for a warm, funny, and unexpectedly moving conversation about creativity, grief, and the animals who show up in the middle of it all.

Sam shares how her Siberian husky Bandit (who nearly got named "Onomatopoeia") and her garden have become part of her writing process — and gives listeners a live, in-the-backyard introduction to Bandit himself.

The conversation moves from lighthearted pet stories into the deeply personal story behind her memoir The Prodigal Son, and wraps with a look at her upcoming romantic suspense series, The Lakeshore Secret.

About S.E. Tschritter

Multi-award-winning author Samantha Evans Tschritter specializes in articulating grief and loss, leading grievers toward hope and healing. Her 20-plus years of leadership experience and contributions to over 30 books enable her to serve others, speaking truth with transparency, humor, and love.

Connect with Sam

https://www.loveunedited.com/long-bio  Purchase The Prodigal Son, and find links to Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

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Rogan and I are searching for a great coffee roaster or coffee shop to highlight on our Bruce Trail adventure over the next year. If that’s you, please reach out, we’d love to collaborate!

Episode Summary

In this episode, host Holly B. and Rogan sit down with author and therapy dog expert Susan Hartzler to talk all things dogs — from Hollywood to healing. Susan shares hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from her years training animal talent for TV and film.

She also opens up about her writing journey, including her memoir I'm Not Single, I Have a Dog: Dating Tales from the Bark Side (which took 10 years to find a publisher) and The Peace Puppy, a memoir about caregiving for her father with the help of her dog. The conversation turns heartfelt as Susan discusses her therapy dog work, the science behind why dogs calm us down, and her exclusive announcement of a brand-new project: "Sit With Me," a Substack series pairing guided meditations with your dog.

Meet Our Guest

Susan Hartzler is an author, therapy dog handler, former Hollywood animal talent wrangler, and Substack writer.

The Dogs

Susan's two Australian Shepherds: Seven (rescued off the show ring) and Paige Turner (named for her goddaughter + a drag queen — "Page Turner," get it?)

Hollywood Tails

• Susan's late dog Bliss had an entire acting career: CSI, Scandal, commercials, music videos
• The best story of the episode: getting Seven to stick his head out a moving car window for a commercial — Susan ran alongside yelling "STOP!" like a lunatic to nail the shot
• Bliss got a farmer-dating-site commercial where the crew hired her a makeup artist... to make her look dirty
• Susan got Bliss to "talk" on camera by howling along with her in front of the whole crew — standing ovation earned

The Books

• I'm Not Single, I Have a Dog: Dating Tales from the Bark Side — first memoir, published when Susan was 62, took 10 years to find a publisher (and only 5 days once she actually pitched it)
• The Peace Puppy: A Memoir of Caregiving and Canine Solace — about caring for her father through Parkinson's, with her dog by her side
• An upcoming book on therapy dogs, gathering stories from teams across the country

Where to Find Susan

• Book: I'm Not Single, I Have a Dog (audiobook coming this summer)
• https://www.instagram.com/susanhartzlerauthor/
• https://susanhartzler.com/

Episode Summary

Holly B. and Rogan welcome Jennifer Lieberman, the multi-hyphenate creative force behind the five-time award-winning solo show Year of the Slut and its bestselling novel adaptation, Year of the What? — for a wide-ranging chat that moves from cozy dog talk to a genuine masterclass in creative self-determination. Jennifer shares the story of her impossibly chill rescue dog Bailey, why she stopped waiting to be "picked" and started producing her own work, and why she believes theater, and real conversation with strangers might be the antidote to our screen-fatigued, hyper-connected-yet-lonely moment.

Fun Facts Dropped in the Episode

• My Big Fat Greek Wedding began life as a one-woman show.
• Kim's Convenience started as a play at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2011 before becoming a CBC series.
• Sean Baker's Sundance breakout Tangerine was shot on an iPhone.
• A modestly-budgeted awards contender can spend three times its production cost on an Oscar campaign alone.

About our guest

Jennifer Lieberman is an actor, writer, and producer from Maple, Ontario. Her solo show Year of the Slut is a five-time award winner, and its novel adaptation Year of the What? became a #1 Amazon bestseller. She teaches independent theater production at Toronto Metropolitan University and has a new book, Independent Theater Production for the 21st Century in Seven Simple Steps, out next month.

About our featured pet

Bailey is an 8-year-old rescued lab mix known for her regal, unbothered demeanour, her refusal to ever cross the bedroom threshold, and her newfound taste for goat milk powder mixed into her kibble.

How to connect with Jennifer

https://www.instagram.com/iamjenlieberman/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/iamjenlieberman/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1970863/

Episode Summary

Kevin, co-founder of the One Moment Podcast, joins Holly B. and Rogan for a warm, funny, wide-ranging conversation about rescue dogs, mental health advocacy, spontaneous travel, and an unexpectedly deep dive into video games. It's a reunion episode after Kevin previously hosted Holly on his own show.

NOTE: This episode went longer than usual because Kevin and Rogan got lost in video game talk! I tried to remain focused but they lost me at Horizon!

Episode Highlights

The One Moment Podcast

• Focused on mental health, substance use, suicide prevention, women's issues, LGBTQ+ issues, and minority mental health.
• Self-described as "the Joe Rogan of mental health."
• Over a year old, live in 51+ countries, distributed across 40+ platforms (yes, including Audible and Mastodon), with roughly half a million impressions and ~14,000 followers.
• Kevin's driving mission: helping decriminalize suicidal ideation in the dozen or so countries where it's still against the law, so people can seek help without fear of arrest.
• Runs entirely as a labor of love — no one on the team gets paid.

The Gaming Tangent (a fan favorite)

• Turns out Rogan and Kevin are both diehard Horizon Zero Dawn fans right down to matching Aloy profile pictures on PlayStation Network.
• Rogan reveals he took a Utah road trip specifically to visit locations featured in the game.
• Other favorites discussed: God of War (Ragnarök era), Tom Clancy's The Division 2, and Ghost of Yōtei.
• Rogan casually drops that he's a mobile game developer, which delights Kevin
• Bonus: confirming that "thebomb.com" is, in fact, a real (delightfully retro) gaming website.
• Grand Theft Auto 6 hype, with Kevin's recommended playing order: San Andreas → GTA V → GTA VI.

One Moment Podcast on Apple

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one-moment-podcast/id1835039714

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/onemomentpodcast/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/OneMomentPodcast/

Episode Summary

Kevin, co-founder of the One Moment Podcast, joins Holly B. and Rogan for a warm, funny, wide-ranging conversation about rescue dogs, mental health advocacy, spontaneous travel, and an unexpectedly deep dive into video games. It's a reunion episode after Kevin previously hosted Holly and Rogan on his own show.

NOTE: This episode went longer than usual because Kevin and Rogan got lost in video game talk and there's nothing I could do about it!

Episode Highlights

The One Moment Podcast

• Focused on mental health, substance use, suicide prevention, women's issues, LGBTQ+ issues, and minority mental health.
• Self-described as "the Joe Rogan of mental health."
• Over a year old, live in 51+ countries, distributed across 40+ platforms (yes, including Audible and Mastodon), with roughly half a million impressions and ~14,000 followers.
• Runs entirely as a labor of love — no one on the team gets paid.

The Gaming Tangent (a fan favorite)

• Turns out Rogan and Kevin are both diehard Horizon Zero Dawn fans — right down to matching Aloy profile pictures on PlayStation Network.
• Rogan reveals he took a Utah road trip specifically to visit locations featured in the game.
• Other favorites discussed: God of War (Ragnarök era), Tom Clancy's The Division 2, and Ghost of Yōtei.
• Rogan casually drops that he's a mobile game developer, which delights Kevin — cue talk of connecting him with Kevin's game-developer friend Karissa.
• Bonus: confirming that "thebomb.com" is, in fact, a real (delightfully retro) gaming website.
• Grand Theft Auto 6 hype, with Kevin's recommended playing order: San Andreas → GTA V → GTA VI.

Connect with Kevin

One Moment Podcast on Apple

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one-moment-podcast/id1835039714

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/onemomentpodcast/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/OneMomentPodcast/

Episode Summary

Holly B. and Rogan catch up after Holly recorded a solo episode featuring her pug, Frankie — his podcast debut. From there the two dig into Holly's new obsession with reading century-old letters aloud, Rogan's disappointing trip to a hawberry festival that had zero hawberries (wrong season), a heartfelt fundraiser Holly volunteered at for a local author's memorial film project (Chapter 52 Film based on Cathy Mulroy's book My View From The Blackened Rocks, and a deep dive into Diet Coke vs. Diet Pepsi.

Episode Summary

Ben Leman, a Central Texas rancher, joins Holly B. and Rogan to talk about ranch life, raising and processing his own livestock, and the remote-Alaska writing retreats that shaped his debut historical novel, Between the Times.

Meet Ben Leman

Ben Leman is a businessman, rancher, and fourth generation Texan. His craving for adventure has taken him on extended trips to remote parts of Alaska, elk hunting in mountain wildernesses, flying as a licensed pilot, and on travels all over the world. Of Scottish decent, Ben has spent years studying the clashes between Highland clans, and particularly, the content of this story. His quest to understand their complexities has taken him to many of the locations in Scotland mentioned in his debut novel, Between the Tines.

Ranch Life in Central Texas

• Ben runs a full working ranch: cattle, horses, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, cats, and dogs.
• Grew up on a smaller family farm; ranching and rural living became core to his identity.

About the Novel

• Historical fiction set in 1640s Scotland (Highland clan culture), with battle scenes based on real historical events.
• Ben rewrote the entire manuscript twice as his research deepened and the story's themes grew more serious.
• Combines romance, courage, and strong, historically grounded female characters alongside the battle narrative.
• Thematically ties into the immigrant experience — why people left the old world for uncertain new beginnings, drawing a parallel to American colonists.

Connect with Ben

Website: https://www.benlemanauthor.com/

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

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

Episode Summary

Rogan and his mom are back in the shed for another rambling, sunburnt, dog-interrupted chat. This week: a matcha quest that spans three towns, a video game that's basically camping in space, and a deep dive into what a "flannel graph" actually is.

Engagement prompt

Comment below — what do you think Rogan's forgotten "thing of the week" was?