Who We Know

Austin City Council member and immigration attorney Chito Vela talks with Patrick about growing up in Laredo, his journey expanding his horizons at UT Austin at the LBJ School and UT Law, his political races, and his current service as representing northeast Austin on the Council. Chito shares his thoughts on how to improve the wellbeing of all who live in Austin and the State of Texas. 

Rabbi Lev Baesh and Patrick talk about Judaism, growing up in the spotlight,  public speaking, the nature beautiful moments as unique to people and situations, and finding happiness in life. 

Patrick and Amber talk about education, law, and Amber's journey to finding the good things in life by learning from adversity. Season Four is an attempt to reach Patrick's US Representative Lloyd Doggett, starting with his colleague Kwita Carrington, who nominated Amber, who makes her nomination to get a little closer to Mr. Doggett in this episode. 

Ms Carrington and I talk about teaching, SXSW, her family's historic roots in Austin, and her early passing connection to Lloyd Doggett when she was a child. Kwita shares her thoughts on what it means to be happy and the importance of family. 

This season on Who We Know, we're taking the "conversational game of tag" to a whole new level. Instead of letting our network of connections wander freely across the globe, host Patrick Aziz has a specific "destination guest" in mind: his very own U.S. House Representative, Lloyd Doggett.

Can an everyday citizen break through the layers of politics, schedules, and gatekeepers to have a real conversation with their congressperson? Using a six-degrees-of-separation approach, Patrick will attempt to bridge the gap between constituent and representative. Will our experiment lead to an inspiring dialogue or reveal just how hard it is to connect with those in our representative democracy? Follow us and find out! 

This is an "out of season" episode to explore connections between religions and ideas and how they may apply to life. I speak with former UT professor of English and Philosophy Dr. Ernest Kaulbach, who talks about his life growing up in 1950s New York, becoming a scholastic, teacher, and still figuring out life as he approaches 90 years old. He has never been moderate in his word choice, so be aware this episode is NSFW, for language. 

Andrea and I converse about all things fashion, costuming, production design and her work in the world of the arts in NYC. We talk about her fashion brand of stylish jumpsuits, Risen Division, her journey into the performing arts through her skills in textiles as well as her omnivorous curiosity, wherever it leads. 

Frank and I start up the new Season Three, spending a lot of time on the idea of "common ground" between us. He talks about his childhood in Africa, coming to the States, and his life as a real estate agent in San Diego. We go deep in exploring  religion and examining perspectives on Islam, Catholicism, and other traditions. We round things out with the survey on happiness and living well. Enjoy!

Gale and I talk about her book, Money Come Dance with Me, as well as her podcasting, life coaching, and her thoughts on life and living well. 

Mark and I talk about his early days programming, becoming a manager, consulting, starting up businesses, and now his life as an artist and life coach. I enjoyed considering life's turns with him, and surveying him on happiness and the meaning of it all. 

Meryl and I talk about her drawing from the perch of her high chair as a very young developing artist, her becoming enamored with punk and metal music in college, her soul-searching at Woodstock for five years, and her transformation into a tattoo artist. We discuss the transformative power of getting a tattoo, the holiness in nature, and her appreciation of her brother Mark, whom she nominates as our next guest.