The Charlotte Podcast

The guys welcomed the amazing Michael Graff back to talk about his new media outlet (Charlotte Optimist), searching for Charlotte's soul, and how tired the three of them are. As always, Michael was intelligent, inspiring and thought-provoking while Miller and John were quite the opposite. Enjoy!

John and Miller are older and still not wiser...and bringing the podcast back. First our first episode in years we sat down in an Independence Park gazebo with Charlotte royalty (literally), Kendall Kendrick, to chat about the Trail of History, the Meck Dec's 250th birthday and all things we love about Charlotte.

John and Miller catch up on the bull running loose around Charlotte, things people can do when they visit town and JOHN'S WIFE MAKES AN APPEARANCE (kindof).

John and Miller are joined by David Fleming to discuss why the Meck Dec is real and reveal their dislike of TJ. Be sure to check out David's new book "Who's Your Founding Father"!

The Internet's (and Shutdown Fullcast) Ryan Nanni joined us to learn Charlotte trivia and other random things like Juwanna Mann. We also learned about John's workout habits.

On this week's episode, the guys chatted with Vince Long of the Potters Market about the upcoming event. We also hit on cheers, jeers and more sports talk. 

The boys are back in town (the boys are back in town) After a short break, the fellas are back this week to cover what they've been up to recently and are joined by the inimitable Monique Douglas, founder of CBK Branding & Consulting and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Collective in uptown Charlotte, and wrap it all up with some cheers and (very specific) jeers.

On this episode, the boys spoke with local writer and host of the Charlotte Readers Podcast, Landis Wade, about his podcast, writing process and new novel, Deadly Declarations. The guys also shared some cheers and jeers and staying up late led to some interesting conversations.

RECORDED LIVE FROM THE BROOKLYN COLLECTIVE PODCAST STUDIO This week, the boys spoke with Gwen Jackson, Founder & President of Urbane Environments. They discussed the importance of preserving a neighborhood's identity and brand, and the efforts Gwen is leading to maintain that brand for years to come.

This week, the fellas were joined by Charlotte author Pamela Grundy to discuss her new book LEGACY: Three Centuries of Black History in Charlotte, North Carolina. They also spared some time for Cheers and Jeers, and John gave Miller a new mantra.

The guys were joined by Michael Felder to discuss how great Days of Thunder is, its relevance today and how much Felder misses Charlotte. We also learned about Sam Billings and discussed Charlotte FC excitement.

The guys were joined by internet legend and North Carolina connoisseur, Jeremy Markovich, to discuss the evolution of his newsletter (North Carolina Rabbit Hole), fake Gastonia TikToks and draft North Carolina movies. We also learned the impact former Johnson C Smith president, HL McCrorey, had on Charlotte and celebrate John's first win coaching his kid in basketball.

John and Miller met up in person to get the inside scoop on the Mayo Bowl and Mayo Dump, place predictions on 2022 Charlotteans of the Year and share some cheers and jeers.

On this week's pod the boys bemused about their favorite seasonal delights, if it's ok to have seasonal delights, new pedestrian bridges and made guesses on what would be In for 2022 and said Adios to 2021 things that will most certainly be out.

We entered the fortress of solitude and set up shop around some halloween decorations to discuss pumpkin walls, the Hornets, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, Uptown being a ghost town and more. Plus Miller reveals how weirdly competitive he is.

The boys hopped on a call with no script and ended up chatting about how to save Uptown, Mick Jagger, John's writing ventures and more.

The guys hopped on a zoom call and chatted about their favorite pumpkin patches, John's favorite sons (the Charlotte Hornets) and more.

This week the fellas were joined by old friend and creative muse Supportive Guy. The chums talked about classics, Mayonnaise, football, and dad hacks, as well as where to take Charlotte's most famous mom out for a classy and respectful first date.

This week we were joined by a very special co-host, Liz Bruno, and spent some time being replenished with Dr Jonathan Leake of Hydrate Medical. We covered Kanye West, extreme athletes, if Pedialyte is a hoax, and of course the poop in the lake.

We chatted with Tracie Ohonme of Samaritans Feet to learn more about her family's story and their path to helping over 8 million people in the world. We also talked about some current events (new segment!), cheers and jeers, and more!

This week the boys caught up in person for the first time pre-Covid and sweet daddy Grace, were the takes flowing. The boys covered blimps, July 4th, casinos, post covid greeting protocol, and Dale Earnhardt wine.

This week the boys were joined by Betsy Mack of the Charlotte Hornets Foundation. They talked about the great work around the foundation, coffee preferences, and the curious case of the Quad City DJ origins. The boys also gave a big ol sweaty Jeers to “A Charlotte Summer's Fatal Flaw”, humidity.  PS sorry Miller's audio was especially bad. He is working with a new computer.

This week we reconnected with the 5th Street Group to hear the latest performance of the Tip the Kitchen initiative (spoiler alert: it's going great). The boys also handed out some Cheers and Jeers and weighed in on the latest City Council shenanigans.

We were joined again by Spencer Lueders for an update on 24 Hours of Booty and how they have adjusted over the past year and their plans for the upcoming event. John continued to talk about NFTs and why he hates LoSo.

This week we sat down with Patrick Whalen and Chef Jamie Lynch to learn more about the start of their restaurant group, how they were affected by a global pandemic and the measures they are taking to better support their staff. We also learned about Miller's dating strategy, John growled like a Panther and we tried out our first ever cold open.  We're not going to lie, this is a great episode.

This week the fellas got in touch with Will Bryan of the Panthers to talk about his job, the NFL draft and craft beer. We also discussed turf, our upcoming podcast episode that can only be listened to by purchasing the NFT, StarMed Twitter, and our Cheers and Jeers (the South End Tweet).

This week the fellas got in touch with William McNeely of Do Greater Charlotte and gave out some Cheers and Jeers.

This week the fellas cover a busy week in Charlotte

This week the fellas got in touch with nature via their guide, Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, who was kind enough to learn us about NC's wildlife and was a good sport about us asking him about his favorite taco. We also learned an amazing fact about salamanders and gave out some Cheers and Jeers.

John and Miller took a few moments to ask each other five serious questions while John walked his dog. From greatest athletic achievement to finally answering if Charlotte is Prime, this podcast reveals some of our deepest secrets.

This week the fellas talked about triple bottom lines and baby accessories with the founder of Bella Tunno, Michelle Tunno Buelow, covering everything from teething rings to business things. They also took a look at how Charlotte's commute times compare to the national averages for the Charlotte Fact of the Week.    

This week the boys quickly get together to talk about five notable black Charlotteans and get nuts with this week's Charlotte Fact of the Week.

This week the boys were joined by Eric Law, executive director of Promising Pages. We also discussed the benefits of Gold Line and talked about some of the amazing acts that came through the Excelsior Club in its heyday with this week's Charlotte Fact of the Week.

This week the guys used their short* episode to talk about this year's exciting Hornets team and if they are actually relevant. They discuss how the organization can gain more traction and review past draft picks. *this was not a short episode

This week we answered your ridiculous questions, talked to Charlotte musician Kevin Goodwin and potentially created a new theme song? Fun!

After two-time guest of The Charlotte Podcast, Jeff Jackson, announcement that his daughter is potty trained we chatted with Michael Graff of Axios about Jeff's announcement and how he got the inside scoop.

This week the boys were joined by Aaron Gore and Nils Weldy with the Queen City Brewers Festival. We talk about how the festival is changing in its 10th year and its mission to benefit ACEing Autism. We also talked about where Charlotte ranks in terms of US cities with this week's Charlotte Fact of the Week.

This week we kicked off our 6th season with the first of our “quick hit” episodes. We were joined by Ely Portillo of UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute to discuss his new podcast and explain to us what the Charlotte Future 2040 plan is as if we were babies. We also chatted about 2021 Charlotte Resolutions and the Charlotte City  Council Retreat, and debuted the Charlotte Fact of the Week.

We hopped on Zoom to share some updates about the podcast and what we plan on doing in 2021. PS We will never log off...

This week we were joined by Jesse Soloff of the Taylor Soloff Memorial Endowment. Jesse quizzed the fellas with a few trivia questions like those in this year's Answers for Cancer (at home) trivia event. Both of the guys did great answering questions and neither quietly carries a feeling of superiority based on their performance. Donate and sign up for this year's trivia contest here: https://www.taylorsoloffmemorialendowment.com/events

This week we were joined by Marissa West and Heidi Hillman, Owners of West Kept Secret and learned about their journey as female entrepreneurs in Charlotte. They also provided the boys with customized training plans they will be far too lazy to do, and stuck around for some rapid fire questions that they steed were over far too soon. We were also #blessed with the return of Supportive Words from Supportive Guy.

We were joined by the Bad Boy of Breaking News and friendly neighbor, Joe Bruno, to learn more about how long this election cycle has been and if he thinks the Hawthorne Bridge will ever open. John also shared a recap of the great Elizabeth Pumpkin Wall.

This week we spoke with Devlin McNeil, President and Executive Director of Arts+, which has been on our dream guest list for years. Devlin did not disappoint, talking about their programming, life after Spirit Square, and what's changed about their approach post covid. She also nailed the “Woooooo!” at the end.

This week we were joined by Alex Smereczniak, co-founder and CEO of Charlotte startup 2U Laundry. We talk about being an entrepreneur in Charlotte, Breaking Bad, catfishing, and clean clothes.

Charlotte Media Royalty Colleen Odegaard joined the podcast to share about her career on Charlotte TV, her new life coaching project and podcast. We also chatted about the new ATC10K, Charlotte Podcast Festival and the Big Pumpkin Wall that John cares too much about.

This week we spoke with Shawn McAllister, Charlotte developer and leader of Fulcrum, a new project in South End. We brought some intense rapid fire questions for Shawn and let's just say he delivered the goods. We also  dabbled in some history to learn about local journalist Trezzvant Anderson (via a great Charlotte Magazine story).

This week we talked with Amy Aussieker, Executive Director of Envision Charlotte about its role as a champion of sustainability for Charlotte, how to make a public/private partnership successful, and of course, TikTok dances.

This week we connected with Damon Hemmerdinger of Camp North End to learn more about the project and its innovative long term vision. We also talked about baseball walkup songs and the Hornets new uniforms.

We were joined by the delightful Ely Portillo of UNCC and Clayton Sealey of @CLTdevelopment to talk about the future of the city, if development has been affected by COVID-19 and lay down some hot takes. We also learned the history of the first Black councilman since Reconstruction, Frederick D. Alexander.

This week we were joined by Charlotte Media icon Stuart Watson who recapped his career highlights and talked about his new project, Man Listening.   Miller and John also shared what they look for in local places to patronize during quarantine, and there is a halfhearted woo.

We were joined by the incredible Supportive guy to run through our favorite music, movies, TV, food, games, book and "other" during quarantine. Jokes were made. Laughs were had.