So Important: The Interview Podcast!

Greetings friends!

Appropriate for the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, I spoke with retired Brigadier General Ty Seidule about his remarkable book, Robert E. Lee and Me:  A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, which was just published in paperback and which is currently Amazon's number one release in American Civil War Biographies. The book is an important history, but it's also a highly personal memoir of how one man, raised in and respectful of the deep traditions of the South, came to view the Civil War as about slavery only, and to see Robert E. in a very different light than he did as a young man. 

Ty brings a historian's perspective on what we as a nation must do to overcome racial bias in this country. And the book is all the more remarkable in light of Ty Seidule's own backstory. He is a retired United States Army brigadier general, the former head of the history department at the United States Military Academy, the first professor emeritus of history at West Point, and the inaugural Joshua Chamberlain Fellow at Hamilton College. He brings a deep appreciation and understanding of history to the story, as well as a compelling narrative about his own journey.

Thank you to Ty Seidule for sharing your story with us. It is a compelling call to action, and I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me. 

See you soon with....EPISODE 50!

Greetings friends and fans of the So Important podcast! It's the holiday season, and I thought a story of inspiration was in order. And our guest on this episode is very inspiring, to say the least. Spend a little time with Amy Edelstein, who discusses her lifelong personal journey to attain a higher level of spirituality and one-ness with the world - but also to translate her life's lessons into helping others deal with life's stresses and traumas. She has run programs for inner city youth in Philadelphia, written numerous books, and hosts her own podcast.

Amy is an award-winning author, and her most recent book, Adventures in Zanskar: A Young Woman's Solitary Journey to Reach Physical and Metaphysical Heights, chronicles her solitary, 500 kilometer trek in the early 1980s, when she undertook a months-long trip through the remote, westernmost corner of the Tibetan plateau that had just been opened to travelers. It's hard to envisage taking a journey like Amy describes; the fact that she did it in her early 20s makes her story all the more impressive and inspiring. We discuss this journey extensively and for the record, Amy's book has become my go-to gift for the holiday season!

I know you'll find Amy's story moving, elevating, and so inspiring in these often-challenging times. Thank you Amy for spending time with me, and I'll see everyone soon for a new episode of So Important: The Interview Podcast!

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Suzanne Romero, the Founder and President of the George A Romero Foundation in Pittsburgh, PA.  Suzanne established the Foundation to secure George's great legacy, and as its comprehensive website makes clear, the Foundation is accomplishing this in any number of exciting ang meaningful ways. We talked about how the Foundation is supporting independent filmmakers, its relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, where all of Romero's films are archived as part of the University's Horror Studies Collection, George's special relationship with another Pittsburgh horror icon, the great Bill Cardille - and of course, the films themselves, and their place in the cultural zeitgeist.

Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead - these are all classic films appreciated by anyone who likes a good scare. But dig deeper, and you'll appreciate the cultural and social commentary within these films, reflecting George's deeper vision and compassion for humankind.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with Suzanne, and help share his legacy. See you soon with a new episode of So Important. In the meantime, I'm sure you'll enjoy this conversation with Suzanne!

Daniel Webster is one of the country's leading experts on addressing the threat of gun violence in this country. As the Director of the Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Webster focuses on the public health aspect of addressing this epidemic.  I  am grateful that Dr. Webster joined me to talk about this important topic. Dr. Webster's biography is impressive, and I've shared it below for your perusal. 

This was an illuminating, important conversation, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to share it with you. I admit, the public health aspect of controling gun violence is not one I had thought much about; it's clearly time to think about it a whole lot more. 

Thanks to Dr. Webster, and I hope you enjoy our conversation. See you soon!

Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH is Bloomberg Professor of American Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where he directs the Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy. Dr. Webster is one of the nation’s leading experts on the prevention of gun violence and has published widely on the impacts of gun policies on homicides and suicides, the diversion of guns for use in crime, community violence prevention, youth violence, and intimate partner violence. He is the lead editor and a contributor to Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013). He is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice’s Working Group on Violent Crime. Webster’s research has informed policies to reduce gun violence at the local, state,

Hello friends! I contacted Dr. Raymond Doswell to talk about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Doswell is the museum's Vice President and Curator and brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective to the topic. We talked about the museum for quite a while - but what makes the conversation especially meaningful is that Dr. Doswell spent some time at the start of our conversation discussing the Negro Legues themselves - how they contributed to American culture, the opportunities they provided to black ball players who were shut out of the major leagues, and their enduring importance in American societal development. It was a great conversation, and I'm so pleased to have the chance to share our talk with all of you. And our conversation provided a meaningful context when we turned to discuss the Museum itself. 

Here's a link to the museum - it's a great site and worth checking out. I've gotta get to that place - it sounds fantastic!

And be sure to check out the podcast, widely available, hosted by the museum's president, Bob Kendrick, entitled Black Diamonds. It's one of my favorities. Energy and enthusiasm - and great depth of knowledge - abound!

See you soon with a new episode, and hey, get on over to Apple and give us a good rating - it's always appreciated!

Monte 

Hey gang! Had a very fun conversation with Richard Adler, who knew - and played with members of - the seminal punk band The Ramones. We talked about the early days, as the band was just getting started - and Richard has great stories to tell. He also brings a great perspective to the table. A long-time veteran of the music business, Richard tells some great stories of the early days, in particular with his good friend and original Ramones drummer Tommy Erdelyi - aka Tommy Ramone - and the Ramones guitarist, Johnny Ramone. But of course, Johnny was just John Cummings back then! 

I'm very grateful for Richard for spending some time with me; we could have talked for hours. I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing about the early days of one of the most important, and musically enduring bands, in history. 

See you soon with a new episode!

Monte

What's it like to be a first round pick in baseball's annual draft? What's it like to be facing incredibly lofty expectations - including from a coach who says you "walk on water" - when you're just a teenager? And what do you do with yourself when the pressure is just too much, and things just dont work out? 

Well, here's what my guest today, Mr. Chad Hermansen did: he took his experiences and developed a program to help young athletes deal wtih the mental pressures of athletics. Chad could have walked away from sports altogether, but instead he dedicated himself to helping young athletes overcome performance anxiety and handle the mental side of the game. It's an extraordinary story, and Chad was kind enough to share his story with us on this episode. His insights into how he took his personal experience and turned it into something good for so many young athletes is compelling, and frankly inspiring. 

I'm grateful that Chad spent some time with me. If you're interested in learing more about Chad's program, The Mental Edge, you can do so here; you can also e-mail Chad directly at [email protected]. 

Special tip of the hat to the guys at the Bucs In The Basement podcast. I heard Chad on their show, and I just said to myself, that's a guy I've got to talk to. If you love baseball, and especially Pirates baseball, check out their podcast. It's a good one!

See you soon, and feel free to rate and review us at Apple and other fine carriers of this podcast!

Monte

Greetings friends! We're rolling along...presenting our second episode since returning from a short break. And what a show it is! David Wilson is an IT consultant with the United States Agency for International Development, in Washington DC. But he is also a dedicated Revolutionary War reenactor, and that's what we talk about today. David gives us a presentation on revolutionary war reenactment, and in his presentation and our subsequent conversation, he shares his thoughts on the importance of this activity in helping us learn from, and appreciate the lessons of, this important part of history.

David is a member of the First Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line. He has thought deeply about revolutionary war reenactment as an integral method for helping us learn from history in an engaging and at the same time, entertaining way. It's a great listen, and I appreciate David spending some time with me.

See you soon with a new episode of So Important: The Interview Podcast. In the meantime, I sure would appreciatet it if you went to apple and gave us a rating and review. See you soon!. 

Greetings Friends! Returning from hiaitus with a terrific conversation with Dr. J. Brian O'Roark on Superhero Economics! Dr. O'Roark developed an approach to teaching economics to his students at Robert Morris University - just outside of my hometown of Pittsburgh - by relying on popular culture, and in particular superheroes, to convey complex economic ideas in ways that students and others can relate to and understand, and indeed apply in their everyday lives. Dr. O'Roark is a pioneer in this field; he has written numerous articles on the topic, including this terrific overview, edited a definitive book on the topic that is available at Amazon and I'm sure wherever economic and other academic books are sold; and is the author of Why Superman Doesn't Take Over The World: What Superheroes Can Tell Us About Economics. Dr. O'Roark has won numberous awards for his teaching, and is truly an innovater in the field of education. 

I know you will enjoy our conversation - and if you do, don't be shy about going to Apple podcasts and leave a review and a rating! It's always appreciated. And let me just note my great appreciation for Dr. O'Roark, who was so generous with his time. 

See you soon with a new epiosde of So Important: The Interview Podcast!

So pleased to chat with Bruce Pegg, who wrote the definitive biography of Chuck Berry back in 2002. The title says it all: Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Hard Times of Chuck Berry. It's available on Amazon, and wherever great books are sold. 

Chuck made some of the most important and enduring music in American  history. Yet he never seemed to recognize the extent of his own contributions; he usually toured with a pickup band hired by the club or outlet; and he just couldn't stay clear of the law. Racial incidents that he experienced in his youth seemed to scar him significantly, and while he played right up to his 88th birthday in 2014 - just three years before his death, Chuck lived in relative obscurity and  carried a huge chip on his shoulder - right to the end. 

We barely skimmed the surface here, but it was a real pleasure for me to talk with Bruce and I think you'll enjoy learning about this enigmatic, but extremely important, figure. 

Bruce's web site is worth reading; lots of great insights and the man can write. And the book is so good, I read it twice! So go give it a shot!

See you soon with a new episode. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy!