Send us a text

My guest today is David McBee. David is a podcast host, children’s book author, and public speaker. He’s read a lot of self-improvement books, and then wrote his own, Everyday Lessons Every Day, the story of how reading helped him overcome anger issues that nearly destroyed his family. We have a wide-ranging, open, and fascinating conversation about all that, plus the effect of his cancer diagnosis on his life.
◘◘◘
David's YouTube Page
https://www.youtube.com/davidmcbee

Send us a text

My guest today is Cleoniki Kesidis. Cleoniki is a freelance copywriter who writes marketing materials for various clients. As she puts it, she uses her storytelling skills to write “compelling marketing materials that spark emotion and drive action.” I also noticed in her profile that she said she has “a knack for explaining complex concepts clearly.”
◘◘◘
Cleoniki's Website
https://cekcopywriting.com/

Send us a text

My guest today is Fernanda Barajas. She’s a copywriter who does work for several different companies. She also hosts a podcast, and writes a blog, called My Impression Of, where she reviews and discusses books, movies, series, authors, and songwriters. She mentions in her profile the importance of stories, and I asked her to be a guest on the podcast to talk about the importance of words—instead of or in addition to. It was a fun and informative chat.
◘◘◘
Blog
https://myimpressionof.com.mx/

Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/7mewBmfT9XtGFWRd3nMh1V

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

Linktree
https://linktr.ee/myimpressionof

Send us a text

My guest today is Mary Beth O’Connor. She’s a retired judge now, but in January she published a personal memoir that was far from legalese. The title kind of covers it: From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction. The language is frank and the story has got compelling built in.
◘◘◘
Mary Beth's Website
https://junkietojudge.com/

The Book
https://www.amazon.com/Junkie-Judge-Womans-Triumph-Addiction/dp/0757324568/

Send us a text

I’m solo today and the topic is the English language, specifically one of its very recent words: stonk. It’s a nice case study of one of the ways in which new words come into the language. First, they’re known by only a few people; then there’s a niche who know about the meme (if it was coined online, as stonk was); and then it starts to gain some acceptability (appears in dictionaries, for example).
◘◘◘
Words We're Watching: The Story Behind "Stonks": Buying Low and Selling High in the Meme Market
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/stonks-stocks-meme-words-were-watching

What Meme Man Looks Like
https://imgflip.com/i/7p7jqr

Urban Dictionary
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stonks

Wiktionary
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stonk

Memes Dictionary
https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/stonks/

Send us a text

Before I start the show and the conversation with my guest, I want to let you know that I’m changing the frequency of the podcast from three episodes a week to two episodes a week. The main reason is that I am now in the process of working with the folks who are helping me edit and ultimately publish the book I’ve written. (It’s called My Sam Johnson, and I am aiming for publication in September. It’s a biography of the great 18th-century English writer Samuel Johnson, but with a difference: it’s written for general readers and not for scholars.) Once that’s done, I plan to start another book, and I just need a little more free time in my life to do all three of the pursuits that I’m passionate about in my life: podcasting, editing, and, yes, writing. So, there will be episodes on Monday and Thursday as usual, but not on Saturday, though I will devote the occasional episode to the English language and its words, as I used to do on my Saturday feature. So, please keep listening. It’s the same podcast, just a little slimmer than it used to be—just like its host, I’m happy to say!

My guest today is Jen Hardy. She was raised by an entrepreneur and started working in the family business at the age of 12. She’s now a writer who has published several books, and is also a longtime blogger. Jen is also the host of two podcasts, “Fabulous Over 50” and “Medical Gaslighting.” I asked her to join me on my podcast to talk about journaling, and the books she has published to encourage and guide people in the practice.
◘◘◘
Jen's Website
https://jenhardy.net/

Jen's Books
https://jenhardy.net/books/

Send us a text

My guest today is Debbie Ausburn, who says that she makes a living as a lawyer but what she does with her life is, as she puts is, “take care of other people’s children.” In fact, children, and especially at-risk children, are the focuses of many aspects of her life—as a foster parent and a stepmother, but also as a now former federal prosecutor of child abuse and violent crimes. The circle was of love and care got created recently as she and her husband found themselves raising the child of one of her former foster children. Debbie published a book a couple of years ago called Raising Other People’s Children, and we talk about it and her extraordinary volunteering.
-----
Debbie’s Website
debbieausburn.com/

Debbie’s Blog
debbieausburn.com/blog

Debbie’s Book
amazon.com/Raising-Other-Peoples-Children-Parenting/dp/1578268990/

Send us a text

My guest today is Steph Katzovi. She has a law degree, but she has spent most of her career as a speechwriter and strategic communications consultant. Now, though, she’s published a middle-grade novel about a girl who is away at camp when a hurricane comes. There are intentional life lessons in the book, and part of what I was interested in was how she maintained the balance between the book being an entertaining novel versus one full of wholesome lessons for kids.
◘
Steph's Website
https://stephkatzovi.com

Send us a text

My guest today is Robin Schepper. For more than thirty years, she served at the highest levels of American politics and government, including presidential campaigns, and she was also executive director of Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity initiative, Let’s Move! She’s just published a memoir, and I was interested in some of the details in it as well as how she went about writing it. How do write about something when you’re so busy? Do you take notes along the way? Do you just hope you have a good memory?
-----
Robin's Website
https://robinfschepperauthor.com/

Send us a text

My guest today is Michael Wallach. He’s a screenwriter, but he’s also now produced a timely documentary about COVID-19, calling it a “viral delusion.” He’s worth listening to for an alternative take on the three years of lockdown and crisis we all went through.
-----
The Viral Delusion: The Tragic Pseudoscience of SARS-CoV2 & the Madness of Modern Virology
https://paradigmshift.uscreen.io/