ManListening

Five years. 200+ women interviewed by one man. Reflecting on lessons learned.

My Aunt Lucy Jane Watson of 902 Quintard Avenue in Anniston, AL married Julian Saks, a less well known cousin of the Saks of Saks Fifth Avenue. He closed up his small store and moved to Houston, Texas where they raised my cousin Judith Ann, a brilliant painter, and she married Haskell Rosenthal and they too had one child Brian who is a brilliant guy who graduated Harvard and worked for years for Facebook and now he and his wife have a whole bunch of kids and Judith Ann moved up to New York state to be with them. For THOSE kids, I want you to always have a memory of your great grandmother’s voice. A REAL recording of her telling a part of her story - NOT AN AI REPLICA.

She was 10. Her classmates turned their backs. When reunited with her father briefly in jail, he told her she’d never see her a free woman again. Now a young mother of two boys, she credits her survival to strong relationships with her grandmother, her grandfather, a foster mother and a key advocate. This is the story you rarely hear - of overcoming. Trigger Warning: Cheyenne's story contains a discussion of attempted suicide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marina Zenovich interviewed ME for her acclaimed HBOMAX Documentary THE WAY DOWN about a Church inspired weight loss program and the tragedies that followed.So I turned the tables and interviewed her to learn a little about how she learned to tell fact based stories on film! This was originally recorded four years ago in Santa Monica.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For our (TA-DAAAAA) 250th continuous weekly episode, an intimate and illuminating conversation with my cousin from Atlanta.She wrestles with how to honor her late husband’s legacy in choosing the right place for his remains. Maybe you can relate…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When is it safe and fun and even healthy to straight up flirt? How do age and gender and culture change the “rules”? Stuart talks to his friend and colleague Amy about their time together at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC and was Stuart decent to this 20-something intern?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emma Claire Cantrell is a superb rugby player who played in college in Wales. We talk about how girls and women listen and play a rough and tumble game differently than their male counterparts. A tutorial in coaching and leadership. Just listen!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rev. Lori Raible is a great wife and mom and the first woman ever to be named Senior Minister at Selwyn Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC.In a wildly freewheeling conversation we steer clear of theology and just talk about modeling kindness in a popular culture that rewards cruelty. Lori makes me feel HOPE in this age of despair. Take THAT, haters. Thank you Lori!!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ramona Holloway and I try to process grief and trauma as the men who openly despise Black women gloat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan had an abortion. Then she gave up a child for adoption.Then she got clean and sober and had a baby.Then the adopted child returned to her life.An amazing woman speaks from first hand experience about the choices no man can make. (TRIGGER WARNING: I'm adopted and parts of this story trigger ME! So take care of yourself.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As I research my own personal experience as a White child in the Deep South raised in part by Black women, I walk through the storytelling process with my friend Ramona Holloway with an eye on sensitivity and respect, knowing the whole area is a kind of minefield.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maeya Carr grew up in a time when family would bring the recently deceased body of a loved one into the home and people would basically have the wake around the body. So she's comfortable around death as a part of life. I ask her how I can get more comfortable and spiritual sparks fly. You'll get a lot out of this!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can families torn apart by extreme, cult-like politics turned bitterly personal find a way to make peace?How can we protect ourselves from hateful abuse and give grace to people we love? What do you when you feel totally alone?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roxanne and Stuart speak from tough personal experiences on the front lines on when and how to intervene in a loved one's drinking and drugging.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robyn studies the skies for answers. She has travelled the world and spent years taking courses and doing in-depth reading in the world of astrology. We sit down in Tongva Park in Santa Monica for a discussion of the history and teachings of ancient scientists. Together we marvel at what kind of fate brings us together and how unlikely life is. Lots of twists and turns. Awe inspiring.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Matone first opened up publicly about her own mental health struggles on this very podcast.Her personal story helped her and many others as she becomes an ambassador for Mental Health America and sound practices in mental wellbeing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roshanda Pratt believes VISIBILITY doesn't just happen - but it can be taught. And she's just the one to teach it! Since our conversation (masked, during COVID) she's taken off like a big ole ROCKET, teaching courses on LINKEDIN and online helping all kinds of women step into their power and use their real voices to change our world for the better. I worked with Roshanda back in the day at WCNC-TV and I'm proud to call her a friend. Coincidentally she helped me to develop and launch this very podcast as a consulting producer. THANK YOU RO! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LeAnne Feliciano has taken women on shamanic journeys to discover their sacred connections to spirit guides. It's every bit as wild and mystical as you might expect. When a podcast starts with a prayer to the Universe, we're in for a wild ride! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm tremendously grateful to have worked with Allison Andrews on national award winning investigative reporting in my career in TV news. Then she was my go-to developmental producer who strongly encouraged (bitch slapped) me into starting this podcast almost five YEARS ago! Now she's encouraging me to strategize and REBOOT this whole “man listening” thing - especially when I get down and just want to either mail it in or quit. She won't have it. THANK YOU ALLISON!!! This is a repeat episode TBH but it's worth repeating! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I admire Susan Andersen so much for creating ANSWER Scholarships to send dozens and dozens of young Moms back to college to graduate into higher paying vocations where they can make better use of their talents and earn significantly higher incomes over the course of a career. Often Susan finds a “Halo Effect” in the lives of the next generation of school kids who witness first hand what is possible through hard work and focus on a goal. I have personally donated to this cause and strongly endorse Susan's work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My long time friend and colleague Nancy Amons is being inducted into the Silver Circle by the Nashville (Mid-Atlantic) Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the folks who bring you the EMMYS! Nancy is one of the greatest investigative reporters in the U.S. - not just the South, not just on TV, but in any medium. I admire her and I respect her and I congratulate her on a stellar career serving the people of Tennessee and our nation. Richly deserved! CONGRATS NANCY! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than five years ago Nayla came to my 60th birthday party, an intimate dinner prepared by my favorite chef, my lovely wife.I didn't know her story. But no sooner than I pulled up a chair and began listening, I was inspired by the grit and work ethic of this lovely woman.Not to mention her HUGE heart !Nayla and her husband Dr. Carlos Rish own and operate Centro Medico Latino here in Charlotte, NC and along with their staff serve well over 50,000 patients, most of them immigrants. That's why her own story of becoming an American citizen and entrepreneur is so compelling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kathleen Johnston is a world class investigative journalist who has worked for CNN and CBS. In this season of her life she acts as teacher, mentor, coach and example of what is right and noble about the calling of journalism at Indiana University. I'm proud to call her not just a colleague but a friend. Note this episode was recorded some five years ago in 2019 in Houston TX so before COVID and before the 2020 election and the subsequent attacks undermining democratic values in the US and around the free world. So while some of this will be dated, her commitment to democracy stands. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren Strassner Russell is my FRICKIN HERO. She ain't no “girl boss.” She is a BOSS WOMAN. The woman launched a US MADE Furniture company that did not just survive The Great Recession AND Covid and the ensuing economic woes. She. Has. THRIVED. Want to know her secrets? Mystical Manifesting, Synchronicity (Timing) plus a grinding work ethic that starts at 4AM and rarely takes a day off. Thank God she took time to talk to me. You will be the beneficiary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Fate (God? The Universe? Blind Luck?) would have it, I was destined to meet Lynn Murray Chavarria who just happened to hitch a ride with her old friend Mike Waterman when he picked me up at the Sanford/Orlando Airport on Saturday. Turns out she has quite the stories of her dad Bill Murray and how he developed an entire Christmas Tree Industry in the Deep South. So I hit the red RECORD button on my iPhone and YOU dear listener are the beneficiary of all the generations of lore from this amazing person! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My friends Nancy Haynes and Ramona Holloway have each forgotten more about media than I will ever know.Especially radio (like podcasting with less latitude).So we present for your listening pleasure a couple of free wheeling unedited conversations! Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethel Smith wrote her hero, back when lovers of Language put pen to paper and did such things. To this day whole generations appreciate a hand written note. Maybe it's more real, a tactile demonstration of a love for the written word. Wonder of wonders, her hero wrote back! Changed her life. Just listen. (Recorded in Birmingham, Alabama in December of 2020 in the midst of COVID) RERUN OF EP. 50 NOW 180 EPISODES LATERSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hope Aldred is no less than an angel for families in recovery from addiction of all kinds.She gleaned her compassion from hard won experience with her own husband and having to explain to their two sons why Dad was dying.For her and those young men, it's been quite the journey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first conversation I taped for this podcast was one of the most difficult. My friend Lucy Lustig was dying and she knew it. She was lying in a hospital bed in her living room and reflecting on a life filled with art and rich friendships and second chances. I honor her courage and creativity in the face of her own imminent death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm talking ABOUT a woman this week: the woman whose car I plowed into on Friday afternoon. I would have been angry. She asked if I was OK. A study in grace and compassion - all hers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For citizens like Courtney Humbaugh (and me), finding  our most basic personal health history means fighting a maze of government laws and regulations. Orphans, foster kids… ANY adult can get their original birth certificates and the DNA history that goes with it no problem. Not adoptees. Now Courtney and many other adult adoptees, birth parents and adopting parents are trying to change that old law in our home state of Georgia.With the vast majority of lawmakers in favor, why is it taking years to get a vote to the floor and the bill to the Governor?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colleen makes it sound like I forced her to talk to me on tape. Judge me if you must. It's hardest to listen to the women closest to me in my own family. Especially when what they have to say is, “You don't listen.” My 28 year old daughter and I talk volleyball , HAIKYU!! (The Japanese anime series on Netflix), backpacking solo in Europe for 100 days, Taylor Swift, and brain science. Keep up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Weiss was adopted as a child. Now she's a mother herself. We speak from common personal experience as only adoptees can. Now Jamie and lots of us are asking Georgia lawmakers to treat adopted people the same as foster children, orphans and every other citizen - and give us our original birth certificates. Why is that so hard?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I met Diana at a retreat for adult adoptees who never really worked on healing the inner wound created by losing your mother at birth. That was almost five years ago. WOW! Have we both come a long way. This is wisdom born of pain. Hint: No shame and no blame. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I met Kenya in 2016 when we were in a play together at Spirit Square and a presidential candidate who shall not be named was campaigning in the next theater .Secret Service. Security. Crazy times.Kenya Templeton has a GORGEOUS singing voice. A clip from this podcast was featured on WBUR's HERE AND NOW on NPR. This is a reprise of our original episode but it's worth checking out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Octavia Cannon is kind. She's been personally kind to me. And she's kind to the women she treats. Unfailingly kind. Just listen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 50 years ago, Mary Hopper needed a safe abortion. She found it in Mexico. She was a Republican… until the Equal Rights Amendment and the Reagan Right ignored women like her. She never went back. Could the US Supreme Court beholden to you-know-who sink GOP? A Reprise of our conversation several years back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wendy Hickey relishes her nickname as “Art Mama” by lots of artists who have benefited from Wendy's tireless support for local art! But you might not know how Wendy was a bit of a teen rebel who left home at 16. Relax!  It all turns out well. Wendy combined her years of experience in billboard sales with her love of local artists to create ART POP! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Alexander grew up in New Orleans, assaulted by her own father and grandfather. She turned her own life around after Hurricane Katrina and now works with boys and young men to show them a more hopeful future. Now Kim runs Our Daily Bread Foundation teaching young men to bake bread as an alternative to violence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dealing with an aging parent can be stressful and heartbreaking in the best of times. Add dementia and money problems or a health crisis and it strains families to the breaking point.Jennifer Szakaly (pronounced Sock-Eye) has decades of experience both personal and professional in precisely this field. She helps everyone just take a deep breath. Her company CAREGIVING CORNER can help with options you might not know about.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darcy is a White woman born in Canada with an atheist father. Then as an adult in the American South, she was invited to attend a Black Church.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Vinroot Poole has survived breast cancer and recently lost her mother. We talk about her wonderful Mom who just passed, her love for her native North Carolina, her Dad's races for Governor, her black designer wedding gown she got for $75 at a thrift store in San Francisco, the NC Republican Party and whether it has a future, and too much about my ignorance of women's fashion given that I have three daughters (and she has a daughter as well). Laura Vinroot Poole has her own podcast on the QUEEN CITY PODCAST NETWORK which you should definitely check out. It's called WHAT WE WORE and it's about people, not just fashion. Laura flies to Europe multiple times a year and she really knows fashion. She owns and runs her own stores: CAPITOL (Charlotte) CAPITOL BRENTWOOD, TABOR, and POOLE SHOP. She describes herself as “fashion retail's entrepreneurial rule-breaker.” Indeed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julia Greenfield hadn't thought about running for political office… until 2016. Now she's going to the Statehouse in Raleigh. Her goal: make Roe v. Wade the law of the land. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What education earns the biggest bang for the buck for young Lawyer or Master Plumber? LaToya Faustin encourages the next generation of women to enter the building trades. She does double duty home schooling her eight-year old son who's a professional actor appearing in his first streaming TV gig on THE CONNORS on ABC and Hulu.(He tags along with mom on this interview and restrains himself remarkably!) LaToya Faustin is the Executive Director of the non-profit SHE BUILT THIS CITY.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Padma Nunna had three Masters Degrees, two daughters and one husband from an arranged marriage. Then “life happened.” Her husband left and her world radically changed. And in the midst of dark muck, she bloomed. Padma means lotus, the flower that is rooted in the dark muck at the bottom of a body of water.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maeya Carr teaches Tai Chi which she came to through her love of the Martial Arts . But how she got there is an education that stretches back across hundreds of years which she learned from her Great, GREAT GRANDMOTHER (yes, TWO greats).Now Maeya passes on the tradition of non-violence and compassion to HER great-grandchildren. You're gonna love this woman! Promise.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ramona Holloway cared for her aging Mom, moving her into her home until she could no longer feasibly provide the best care. I admire Ramona both professionally as a broadcaster and personally as a friend. You'll love this archive edition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ellen Whiteside was assigned to me as a partner in a Transformational Leadership Program almost nine years ago.I've learned from her ever since. We talk of spirit and she walks in spirit. You can hear her certitude and courage in her voice.Ellen owns and runs Sacred Grove Retreat near Gold Hill NC.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah Olin loves people. And it's not just a warm feeling. It's years, decades of work. As a coach, mom and leader at LUMO, Sarah lives her values. Here's what made her that way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queen D gives me a manicure and a pedicure on those too-rare circumstances when I treat myself to some manly pampering. When we got to talking I found out not only that she did time in prison but that she had worked very hard to transform her life and not look back. She is a portrait in resilience.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jackie Harwood is sweet, pretty, and soft spoken, a suburban working wife and mom to two sons. So acquaintances are often shocked to hear she once went to prison for forging prescriptions to support her addiction to opioids. But when you hear her whole story, the most surprising thing is that she got clean, kept her marriage intact, and renewed a loving relationship with her husband and two sons. Jackie looks back with startling clarity and honesty, but she'll never GO back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.