Who's This For

For nearly forty years Jim McGuinn has been a familiar voice, playing amazing music on the radio. He has introduced countless bands, programmed stations that shape entire music scenes, and carried a name that is not the one he was born with.

In this conversation for Who’s This For we sit down to talk about what it means to be yourself when a microphone is always in front of you. Jim tells the story of how a first boss suggested his real last name was “too ethnic,” and how choosing McGuinn set the stage for a lifetime of radio. From there we move into the craft of being on air as he explains how to speak naturally when every second is planned, how to keep your excitement honest, and why good radio is like telling a story at a party.

Jim shares his approach to programming, the balance of surprise and comfort that keeps a station alive, and the philosophy he calls the “spoke and wheel.” We also look ahead at the future of broadcasting, talking about artificial intelligence as a tool that can help but should never replace the human connection that draws people to music in the first place.

This episode is for anyone who creates music, podcasts, brands, or experiences and wonders how to stay true to themselves while still performing for an audience. Jim’s insight is a reminder that authenticity is not an accident. It is a skill and a choice, and it can make a voice on the radio feel like a friend in the room.

Find Jim: xpn.org/

Find this Podcast: linktr.ee/WhoIsThisFor

Ever feel like the version of yourself you present to the world isn't the real you? Like you're playing a part, and it's slowly draining the life out of you?

My guest this week is Inga Orth, a Wisconsin dairy farmer, licensed cheesemaker, and the former host of the PBS series "Around the Farm Table." For over a decade, she showed up on camera with a smile, telling beautiful stories about food and farming, all while feeling a profound disconnect from her own authentic voice.

This is a conversation about the radical power of showing up as you are. Inga takes us on her journey from performing for an audience to communicating from the heart. She shares how hitting a wall of burnout led her to slow down, start therapy, and ultimately, save her farm and herself by embracing raw vulnerability.

We talk about the surprising profitability of doing less, the tangible benefits of rest, and how her cows started producing more milk when she started prioritizing her own well being. She opens up about setting hard boundaries and how, in being brutally honest about her struggles, she found a deeper, more supportive community through her authenticity.

A quick note for you, the listener: we had a small technical hiccup at the very end of our recording, so the conversation wraps up a little abruptly. But the message is so powerful and real, I knew I had to share it with you anyway.

This episode is for anyone who creates whether it's music, brands, experiences, or stories and feels the pressure to be a polished version of themselves. It's a powerful reminder that the most profound connection happens not when we're perfect, but when we're real.

Find Inga: https://ingaorth.com/

Find This Podcast: https://linktr.ee/WhoIsThisFor

This week on Who's This For?, I get to talk with someone I’ve been calling a friend for nearly two decades, Matt Banker. Matt is a walking example of creating with intention, having taken a wild journey from a fine arts degree in sculpture to running a marketing firm for a very specific niche: accounting firms.

We'll talk about his journey, the weirdly similar skill sets of art and marketing, and how niching down to a single type of client can actually unlock deeper creativity. Plus, in our "Deep, Dark, Dirty Secret" segment, Matt reveals a couple of ways he’s using AI to streamline his work and connect with clients.

Find Matt:

Marketing For Accounting Firms - marketingforaccountingfirms.com

Struggling to know what to post on LinkedIn? You're not alone. This week, Bradley Jacobs, founder of Mylance, breaks down the exact strategies he used to build a massive audience and a multi-million dollar business directly from LinkedIn.

We dive deep into the simple but powerful framework that one of his clients used to build a $1.5 million pipeline. Learn how to move beyond connection requests that get ignored and create content that actually resonates with your ideal customer.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The "Ellie Strategy": The simple 4-step process to fill your calendar with qualified leads.

• How to never run out of content ideas by using your sales calls as inspiration.

• Why your first viral post is closer than you think (Bradley's got 46,000 reasons why).

• How to build authentic authority so prospects feel like they already know you before you ever hop on a call.

• A behind-the-scenes look at Mylance's AI tool that helps you draft authentic, high-performing LinkedIn content in your own voice.

If you're an entrepreneur, consultant, or freelancer ready to stop scrolling and start generating real business on LinkedIn, this episode is your blueprint.

Where to find Bradley:

• Mylance Website: ⁠https://mylance.co⁠

• Bradley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

• Six Figure Secrets of Fractional Experts Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/six-figure-secrets-of-fractional-experts/id1702054004

Where to find more episodes of this podcast: https://linktr.ee/WhoIsThisFor

In this episode of Who's This For?, I sat down with the brilliant Julia Barton, a podcast story editor who has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Malcolm Gladwell. If you've ever wondered how to make your show a better listening experience, Julia is the person you want to talk to.

We get into the fascinating history of audio, a topic Julia explored during her Neiman Fellowship at Harvard. She's got this incredible knowledge that connects the dots from the earliest days of radio to the podcasting boom we're living through right now. You won't believe some of the wild parallels she draws, like how a hundred years ago, radio stations were literally based in department stores to sell receivers. It's a reminder that a lot of the challenges we face today are not new at all.

Julia also gives a peek behind the curtain of her work as an editor. She explains her role as a "gentle mirror" for creators and how she puts herself in the listener's shoes to make sure a story is landing. We also touch on the future of media, specifically how AI could be a powerful tool for journalism and research.

And, of course, no conversation with Julia would be complete without talking about the bizarre, almost cinematic trip we took to Moldova and Romania years ago. We reminisce about our mission to start a radio station at a high school and our side quest to find a replica of the Dallas ranch. It’s a story I’ve never forgotten, and it really highlights how a trip like that can change your perspective.

This conversation was a great reminder of why I love this medium so much—it's both rooted in history and constantly innovating. I hope you get as much out of this chat as I did.

Find Julia and her work here:

• Sign up for her newsletter, Continuous Wave, which explores audio history.

I’m joined on the podcast by multi-talented visual communicator, Branden Nall. We discuss his creative journey, from filming high school sports to becoming a professional photographer. Branden shares how his photography workflow adapts for different clients, whether he’s shooting a corporate event or a professional sports game. We also talk about how the final use of a photo, such as for a print ad versus social media, changes his process and how he sees the world through his lens. We also touch on the role of AI in his work and make a big announcement about our new partnership.

In this episode, Branden highlights the importance of anticipating the final product from the moment he picks up his camera. He explains that his workflow isn't just about taking pictures, but also about understanding the client's needs and the intended audience for each photo. We delve into how shooting for a team's internal use differs from shooting for the public, and the nuanced decisions he makes on the sidelines. We also touch on the use of AI as a tool for research and drafts, but not as a replacement for the human element in creative and communicative work. The episode concludes with the exciting news that Branden and I are teaming up to offer a full suite of media and marketing services.

My guest, Micah Davis, is an incredible full-time video maker, and it was so clear how his outgoing nature and pure joy in community directly fuel the amazing work he creates. We talked about how his journey started with a slightly sneaky plan to get into music festivals for free, which actually birthed his super popular "Walkabout Talkabouts." These aren't your typical "gotcha" interviews; they're all about fostering real connection and positive vibes on the street. Having been in a few myself (totally by chance, I swear!), I can tell you they're as uplifting and authentic as it gets.

We then dug into Micah’s latest big project, The City for the Trees, a documentary series he co-created. This series makes a powerful case for how vital trees and green spaces are in our communities, even showing how something as simple as landscape design can silently communicate value to the people living there. Micah shared the unexpected hurdles they faced while filming and a brilliant insight: when you make something intensely personal and specific, it can actually become universally relatable. That’s because genuine authenticity just hits different and truly resonates with all kinds of people, making it a fantastic example of communicating with intention.

We also pulled back the curtain on Micah’s editing process, where he’s always thinking about the audience, gently guiding them through the story. We chewed on that classic challenge for creatives: balancing what the client wants with what the audience truly needs. It’s a core tension in any kind of paid communication, but it became clear that when you’re truly stoked about your projects, that enthusiasm just pours into the final product. And when I asked him about AI, Micah had a refreshing and human-centered approach. He mostly uses it for behind-the-scenes tasks, like transcription, where efficiency is key. But for anything the audience sees, like video captions, he always opts for a human touch, knowing that extra nuance makes all the difference.

To wrap things up, Micah told me about his biking vlog, "Like It To Bike It with Micah," where he celebrates everything about cycling and tries to get more people out on their bikes. We even filmed an episode together recently, showing an efficient and fun route between two state trails. It was a blast! Micah’s parting words really stuck with me: "I do love connecting with people. I think being connected is the ultimate joy in life and people are fairly easy to connect with if you just give a chance." That sentiment perfectly captures his philosophy, showing how his personal drive for connection and joy isn't just present in his work, but is the very fuel for it. If you loved hearing Micah's approach to creating with intention, make sure to like and subscribe for more episodes of Who's This For? wherever you get your podcasts!

In this "Who's This For" episode, I had a fantastic chat with my good friend, comedian Cullen Ryan, to really dig into what makes a comedian truly connect with an audience. We quickly got into the nitty-gritty of how top-tier performers go beyond just having great jokes. Cullen broke down how years of dedicated practice and meticulously honing their craft are the real secret sauce. It's about developing impeccable timing, precise pacing, and that crucial ability to adapt on the fly. He shared how the most seasoned pros have told their jokes literally "a thousand times," building an almost intuitive sense that allows them to pivot seamlessly if something doesn't quite land—they always have an "option, option, option" ready to go.

The conversation then shifted to something I've always found fascinating: the repetition of material. I asked Cullen if saying the same jokes over and over ever feels stale. He was quick to point out that it absolutely doesn't! He put it brilliantly, comparing it to a musician playing a G major chord—if the song calls for it, that's what you play. For comedians, every room, every audience, and even their own energy on a given night is different, creating an infinite array of possibilities that keeps the performance fresh and dynamic. It's a powerful reminder of the constant learning and razor-sharp adaptability needed at the highest levels of any craft, not just comedy.

This week, we’re getting into the weeds (in the best way) of political communication with Wisconsin State Representative Jodi Emerson. How do you actually break through the noise online? What does it take to connect with people across increasingly stretched-out districts—and still sound like yourself? Jodi gets real about the pressure of having every word picked apart, the constant scramble for attention on social media, and why showing up in person still matters. We also dig into how, even with AI on the rise, good old-fashioned critical thinking is more essential than ever. It's a thoughtful look at what it takes to communicate clearly and intentionally in a world that’s louder than ever.

What does it truly take to connect, heart to heart? In the kickoff episode of "Who's this for?", we explore this question with our first guest, the prolific writer, professor, and documentarian B.J. Hollars. From the world of radio dramas to the impact of documenting a community's forgotten story, we discuss how to build bridges, foster inclusion, and leave a lasting impression. Tune in to learn why every message, whether intended for one person or many, starts with a genuine human connection.