I Find It Interesting

In this episode of the "I Find It Interesting" podcast, I sit down for an extended interview with Peak Extracts' CEO Katie Stem.  Katie is an absolutely fascinating person, whose background, interests, and skillsets cover an immense range of topics.  Our conversation barely touched the surface of Katie's vast and varied curriculum vitae. As CEO of Peak Extracts, Katie deals not only with the foundational business matters of the company, but also works out the chemistry, portioning, and physiological effects of her cannabis-centric products.   But earlier in her life,  Katie had initially planned on going into medicine, and was both pre-med AND an English literature major while in college.  A reoccurring health issue put up a slight roadblock in this plan, while prodded her to examine medical practices outside the standard Western fields. We cover all these background topics – and much, much more – during our initial 45 minute conversation, and then Katie and I wander over to the Peak Extracts production facility, where we catch up with Kate Black (Katie's partner), and take a twenty minute audio tour of place.  As a quick heads up, the audio quality in the production facility is quite poor (the place was sooooo noisy), though the content is genuinely fascinating.

Christine Frazer is an H.R. consultant, based out of Bend, Oregon. Does that sound interesting to you? Well, I've got to be honest here, when I was first given Christine's name (and, especially, her job title) as a potential guest for the show, I was a bit...  Well...  Hesitant.Human Resources consulting?  How interesting could that be?Well, as it turns out, absolutely fascinating.Because Christine has an absolutely fascinating backstory.Because she's spent time in prison.Because she's spent time in multiple prisons.Okay...  She wasn't a prisoner – she hadn't committed any crimes – but she spent more than a decade working in prisons and jails, all across the country, and she has some amazing observations and insights to share.Christine also works as a public speaker AND as a meditation guide.  At one point during the episode (about 2/3rds of the way through) Christine takes the time to outline an insanely clever and creative way for someone like me – the poster child for A.D.H.D. – to settle in to a manageable meditation regimen.  Rounding out our conversation, the last four minutes of the podcast are spent with Christine giving a guided meditation.You can connect with Christine on her company's website – HR Any Day – along with Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The most interesting people in our world aren't the people who can be defined by a simple job description or some single past achievement.  As part of their character, interesting people do a number of things, often moving through numerous and varied careers, and racking up a list of achievements over the years.Well, Dave Allen is one hell of an interesting person. A talented and influential musician, Dave Allen first showed up on the scene in the mid-1970s, playing bass with the British post-punk band, Gang of Four.  He then moved on to a poppier realm, co-founding and playing bass in the band Shriekback – probably best known, in the States at least, for their song, "My Spine is the Bassline).But then something happened. Technology arrived. Internet technology arrived. And Dave, with his curious mind and internal drive to always "check to see what's around the corner," found himself involved with the first commercial music streaming service (i.e.: eMusic).But a record label was also in the works. And then the folks at Intel came calling. And then a stint at Beats by Dre took place. And then Apple happened. And then...  Well...  You should probably listen in to our conversation to find out all the various details of Dave Allen's interesting life.Be sure to follow Dave on Twitter (@DaveAtBeats) and Instagram (@DaveAllen) P.S.: Dave has an amazing story to tell about Joni Mitchell.  You'll find that story about ten minutes in to the podcast.

Throughout most of her day-to-day life, Rachel Zoller is a mom, an office administrator, and an educator.  But when she heads out into the fields and woodlands of North America she becomes "Yellow Elanor," a specialist in all things fungi related.Just a few weeks back, Rachel (i.e.: Ms. Elanor) and I headed up a mountainous trail on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge, where we hunted for mushrooms and talked about...  Well... About a wide variety of mushroom related topics.This was a really fun episode to make AND a physically challenging episode to record: myself, I was wearing about 20 pounds of audio gear strapped to my body as I huffed and puffed up the mountain trail.Oh!  And do be sure to listen all the way through to the very end, where there's a last minute mushroom encounter that...  That...  Well, it's hard to describe...  But it's an entertaining encounter. Show notes, with photos from our hike, pictures of the mushrooms we encountered, and links to various books and topics mentioned can be found in the "Episodes" section of the "I Find It Interesting" website:http://ifinditinteresting.com/index.php/the-podcast-episodes/ If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to leave a review on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever/however you listen to podcasts.

Reema Zaman is an actress, artist, essayist, public speaker, and author of the outstanding new memoir, "I Am Yours."  In this episode of the podcast, Reema and I sit down in front of the microphones and have an in-depth discussion about culture, power, relationships (good and bad), and the creative process.  Reema and I then discuss her new book, along with the authors and books who've inspired her.

In this short introductory episode, Matt Monroe, host of the "I Find It Interesting" podcast outlines the purpose of the show (i.e.: its focus on interesting people, places, and things) and highlights the sorts of guests who will be appearing on the pod: people who've had – or are having – a front row seat to the changes in our society and culture.