The Joseph Wells Podcast

My guest today is Rob Lawless (@robs10kfriends). Rob is a Penn State graduate and founder of Rob's 10k Friends, a project where he's seeking to spend one hour with 10,000 different people. He's more than four years in and nearly 1/3 of the way to his goal.

Rob and I talked about stereotypes, fulfillment vs. financial maximization, how conversations highlight our similarities, how it's hard to hate up close, and much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. 

My guest today is Matt Conroy. After graduating from Niagara University, Matt was commissioned as an Officer in the US Army, served four years in Alaska, and nine months as a military advisor to the Afghan National Army. He is currently a Captain in the US Army Reserve, and is pursuing his dream as a Country Songwriter, splitting his time between Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee.

Matt and I discuss ROTC, the power of shared suffering, our thoughts on compulsory national service, the benefits and drawbacks of the military, and much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. 

My guest today is Ben Gagne-Maynard. After graduating from Boston University, Ben spent two years teaching in Hartford, Connecticut through Teach for America. After Teach for America, Ben continued his service in a different form. He currently works for the Tennessee Department of Education.

Ben and I discuss his teaching experience through Teach for America, decreasing the stigma of a gap year, and how to build better systems that support teachers. Ben also shares some good ideas around incentivizing service rather than making it compulsory. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

My guest today is Kerri Murphy (@kerrimup), a current employee at Intel, and a former NYC public school teacher. After college, Kerri spent two years in the Peace Corps where she served as a teacher on a banana plantation in Costa Rica.

Kerri and I discuss her time in the Peace Corps, the benefit of bringing real world experience to the classroom, the controversial nature of most important American institutions, and much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. 

My guest today is Jurvis Tan (@jurvistan), a Singapore native and current student at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles. Jurvis is the co-founder of Undertide Apps (@undertideco), a company that matches talented high school students to fulfilling and challenging technical projects.

As a citizen of Singapore, Jurvis served conscription, or mandatory military service, in the Singapore Armed Forces. In our conversation, we discuss his time serving, his thoughts on the importance of sharing meals, the intersection of books with experience, and much more.

My guest today is Dipan Patel, a deep thinker who shares his unique perspectives on the importance of experiencing multiple cultures.