Three Song Stories

Phonte Coleman is best known as a founding member of hip-hop group Little Brother, and as one of the co‑hosts of the podcast Questlove Supreme with Questlove. In the late 90s, Phonte met Thomas “Big Pooh” Jones and Patrick “9th Wonder” Douthit and they started making music together as the hip-hop collective, Justus League and released their first album The Listening in 2003. They changed their name to Little Brother and signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and released The Minstrel Show in 2005. They left Atlantic not long after and then released Getback in 2007 and Leftback in 2010, but then disbanded. Phonte and Big Pooh reunited in 2018 at the Art of Cool Festival and started working on the album May the Lord Watch which came out the following year. There's a documentary called May the Lord Watch you can find online that tells their story, from founding to breakup to reunion. Their final tour which is underway now.Phonte is also co-founder of the Grammy-nominated group The Foreign Exchange with Dutch producer Nicolay. They've put out six studio albums and several singles. SONG 1: “Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins from the 1972 album of the same name. https://youtu.be/vCByeJsq65M?si=e6yfkujwMOUfo5izSONG 2: “Word Play” by A Tribe Called Quest off their 1996 album Beats, Rhymes and Life.https://youtu.be/LfWtkay3lEo?si=VnnVZE9s5eCZEx-pSONG 3: Natalie Cole's “La Costa” released in 1977 on her album Thankful.https://youtu.be/E1ckb_LDGnA?si=gqZpULJymfyKuCru

Joe Harley makes music under his moniker Hotel Life, which signed to 9 Lives Records in 2023. He began playing guitar in the Fort Myers bar scene in 1993 with a number of bands including Potato Gun and Strip Club Moms. Potato Gun played the official grand opening of FGCU in 1997.Joe moved to St Pete in 2000 to be in an original rock band there and then moved back to Matlacha in 2002 where he got back into the local bar music scene and became a highly decorated saltwater fly fishing guide until Hurricane Ian disrupted and ended that for him in 2022.He still lives on Matlacha and writing songs and playing solo acoustic gigs around the region.SONG 1: "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell...it's the title track to his 1975 album...it was originally written and recorded by Larry Weiss the year before. https://youtu.be/6P7Sx2L0fVU?si=oVtzQW05JVk9cSLdSONG 2: Cake's version of Gloria Gaynor's 1978 "I Will Survive" off their 1996 album Fashion Nugget. https://youtu.be/3VFOEa8K-6Q?si=4Be9P7PD3z7Gf6aTSONG 3: "Sundowner" by Kevin Morby from the album of the same name released in 2020. https://youtu.be/OnwdbXwU4YE?si=kgjGe_heUIqTpwa_

 Petar Kodzas was born in what's now Serbia but was, at the time, Yugoslavia.During college, Petar toured and recorded as a lutenist with an early music ensemble; he played over 100 shows at the professional musical theatre, sat in jazz sessions, and performed throughout the former Yugoslavia as a musical ambassador for the international organization Jeunesses Musicales.Petar was also Senior Instructor in Guitar for the Eastman Community Music School from 1997 to 2017, and since then he's been performing mostly on his laptop keyboard in his administrative role as an Associate Dean and Director of the Eastman Community Music School. SONG 1: La Camorra, Movement I: Soledad; Composer: Astor Piazzolla; Performers: Astor Piazzolla with Quinteto Nuevo Tango https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-h-TRKJrsESONG 2: Ave Maria, gratia plena…virgo serena; Composer: Josquin des Prez; Performers: The Hilliard Ensemble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O16_dwmKpjoSONG 3: Symphony No. 3 Op. 36 (1976) Movement II; Composer: Henryk Górecki; Performers: Zofia KIlanowicz (Soprano) Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit, Conductor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqLXliq-WP0

Episode 377 - Jameson Yingling

Desmond Meade is a MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow; a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and having been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. He's also's author of the 2020 book “Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens.”Desmond is President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition -- the organization that led the successful effort to restore voting rights to some 1.4 million former felons in FL. The amendment passed with nearly 65% support. Desmond was born in St. Croix but grew up in Miami, and after a time in the Army, he found himself addicted and homeless in Miami. He served time in jail for felony drug possession, and after a fight with his brother was convicted of aggravated battery, also a felony. Then, in 2001, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon and sentenced to 15 years in prison. An appeals court reversed that conviction and he was released, but still a convicted felon with no right to vote in the Sunshine State.Desmond graduated from Miami-Dade College in 2010 while living in a homeless shelter, enrolled in the FIU College of Law, graduating in 2013, joining the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition while in law school.ppearances on CNN, MSNBC, 60 Minutes, and Fox TV demonstrates his ability to appeal to and inspire people from all walks of life.SONG 1: "Lose Yourself" by Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 movie 8 Mile. https://youtu.be/xFYQQPAOz7Y?si=RFYS3pPTCqZAnVOTSONG 2: "We Are the World" - the charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. https://youtu.be/9AjkUyX0rVw?si=jPzSQ23ydm5wl6yNSONG 3: "Freedom" by King Blackman ft Ronnie VOP, Desmond Meade.https://youtu.be/95Nc4JF_NpE?si=JcXPdk3muIVwnt2T

Edward “Teddy” Byrne is a Producer and Writer at WGCU on the “Southwest Florida in Focus” TV show team. After earning degrees in Journalism and Psychology from Keene State College Teddy settled in Southwest Florida starting with a job with WINK News. As a Sports Producer there, he had the opportunity to tag along with the FGCU Men’s Basketball team during their epic “Dunk City” adventure to the Sweet 16 in 2013. A trip back to the newsroom led to him becoming part of the NBC2/ABC7 team that spent multiple days covering Hurricane Ian. Now, he says he feels privileged to help develop strong newsworthy content to residents of Southwest Florida at WGCU. SONG 1: “Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass from their self-titled album released in 1972. https://youtu.be/DVx8L7a3MuE?si=gvoJp78YDuZYVTuC SONG 2: “Smile” performed by Nat King Cole, released in 1954...it's actually based on the theme song used in the soundtrack for Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times. https://youtu.be/phS7BfOfTOY?si=7wg07rdZOxYTyv97 SONG 3: “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf from their 1968 album The Second. https://youtu.be/zROGY_nH5BU?si=6K3rDHK-y_L2UYXy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lainey Schooltree is a musician, comedian, streamer, and former half of the musical comedy duo The Steamy Bohemians. She then formed the solo art rock project Schooltree. When the pandemic hit, she began performing on Twitch and found that live-streaming offered the interdisciplinary playground she'd been after. What began as a temporary pivot became a long-term transformation and these days she captains a spaceship on Lainey Schooltree TV - a live show where she’s an “astro-streamer” assigned to deliver packages while improvising music with analog synthesizers, electronic drums, and layered vocals in a show that blends surreal comedy, retro-futurist visuals, and themes of corporate absurdity and creative resistance. SONG 1: Kashmir by Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzVJPgCn-Z8 SONG 2: Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116: IV. Intermezzo interrotto. Allegretto performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1993.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUZ83BzCQNM SONG 3: Hammer Horror by Kate Bush off her album Lionheart released in 1978.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR4KnfcgLm0 PARTING TUNE: Cat Centipede by Schooltree from the album Heterotopia released in 2017.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF14v_qeVu8See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joshua Conyers is an Assistant Professor of Voice at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and a Grammy-nominated Baritone who is known for his captivating performances and recognized as one of the leading dramatic voices of today. He has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, English National Opera, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and many others. His recordings include the Grammy-nominated “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” his debut solo album is “A Miracle in Legacy.” He says it tells his story of his “being born into the crucible of poverty, haunted by the specter of addiction and abuse.” He says “yet, amid the shadows, I found my guiding light in the melodies of classical music.” SONG 1: “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men from their Album II released in 1994. https://youtu.be/USR_0iImpcM?si=VDXE1s_O2toNwRkJ SONG 2: “Nessun Dorma” by Giacomo Puccini from the opera Turandot...performed here by Franco Corelli from the 1958 film of Turandot.https://youtu.be/fWokel5YxM8?si=_D9UEH6jKbz1Bo2G SONG 3: “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” by Eminem off his 2002 album The Eminem Show. https://youtu.be/4t2ETI2Lrjg?si=pgmx0aGLs4Tag6HASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Bowen is a singer/songwriter/computer engineer who grew up in Fort Myers but headed off to New York City in the 90s, in part to live the big city life and in part to be able to see Moxy Früvous shows. Bill is also the former roommate and Foosball partner of WGCU’s own Mike Kiniry. SONG 1: "Garden Party" released in 1972 by Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band on the album of the same name. 3:45 https://youtu.be/1JK0Z6IdLF4?si=Ehx5EuV6wmldcnhw SONG 2: "The Drinking Song" by Moxy Früvous from their debut album Bargainville released in 1993. 5:09 https://youtu.be/M5Xf2xrcchw?si=mNKGGOZ07vhuxhlC SONG 3: Barenaked Ladies "War on Drugs" from their 2003 album Everything to Everyone. 5:32 https://youtu.be/3rWVeFzSrL0?si=udpJepjUyX7j0q5nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Lipke is a composer, producer, arranger, conductor, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and educator who has toured for more than a decade with the Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out and performed as a vocalist with Steve Hackman's Brahms V Radiohead symphonic synthesis; and he collaborates with World Café Live on music education programs for underserved youth in the Philadelphia area. Andrew has produced and released seven albums of original music spanning various genres; and he has collaborated with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra four times, including conducting a "Rock Star Séance" concert and conducting and performing in the Valentine's Day-themed concert called "You've Got Mail!: Musical Love Letters". with the Southwest Florida Symphony. He is scheduled to conduct a concert titled "70s, 80s & 90s Unplugged" with the Southwest Florida Symphony on May 18, 2024. (Note: This date appears to be in the past, which might be an error in the source or my interpretation. It's worth noting.) He is scheduled to conduct a concert titled "Rock Star Séance" on October 24, 2025? praised for his songwriting and orchestration. Producer: Has produced numerous recordings for artists in the Philadelphia region in his studio, The Record Lounge. Arranger & Conductor: Extensively worked with Amos Lee, providing orchestrations for his albums and conducting orchestras for his performances, including major American symphony orchestras. Conducted various other prominent orchestras. Multi-instrumentalist & Vocalist: Toured for over a decade with the Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out and performed as a vocalist with Steve Hackman's Brahms V Radiohead symphonic synthesis. Concert Series Curator & Host: Created and hosted the innovative "Intersect" concert series with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, exploring cross-genre musical connections. Music Educator: Collaborates with World Café Live on music education programs for underserved youth. Was an artist in residence for Julia Wolfe's Pulitzer Prize-winning composition and has an ongoing residency with Hill Freedman World Academy, resulting in multiple albums and an Emmy-winning documentary. Taught at The Hartt School of Music. Album Cycle & Current Projects: Created an album cycle based on Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" and is currently working on a new concept album titled "IRIS" and other projects. SONG 1: Solfeggietto by C.P.E. Bach (Carl Philipp Emanuel) performed here by Frederic Bernachon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6g-tWmOSsoAnnie’s SONG 2: Song by John Denver from his 1974 album Back Home Again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNOTF-znQyw SONG 3: Master of Puppets by Metallica from their 1986 album of the same name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ozmU9cJDgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mickela Mallozzi is host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a PBS travel series that showcases the diversity of dance from around the world Mickela is a professional dancer and trained musician who had a dream in 2010 about travelling the world with a camera while dancing in the lives of everyday people. Since dreaming that dream she’s collected four Emmy Awards for the show in six seasons, with Season Seven set to release in May. Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi airs Saturdays at 3:30 pm on WGCU TV, and also on WGCU Create. Check your local listings. SONG 1: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) by Whitney Houston from her self-titled album Whitney released in 1987. https://youtu.be/eH3giaIzONA?si=M2hvtneWRLI4qEPP SONG 2: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op 71 – Miniature Overture Conducted by Sir Simon Rattle with the Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra. https://youtu.be/Us6YGiWbsbw?si=0lhzOJHOzUzDspEX SONG 3: Nu te fermare - by Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino released in 2012 on the album Pizzica Indiavolata. https://youtu.be/E-IfNJyxA8w?si=QlEdS9TFlnlQXkJoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christina Goh is a French composer, poet, and vocalist whose multidisciplinary universe includes digital art, poetry and musical creation. She’s the initiator of a vocal technique for accompanying high range percussion and she’s a member of the Board of Directors of the French Association for Percussion. Christina has performed her music from Indonesia to Canada, demonstrating her vocal technique with unique configurations. Since 2023, the Chanson prize in the historical Jardin de France literary competition bears her name. Christina was cited among the 500 personalities of African descent who have impacted the world by the South African media Tropics Magazine in 2021. Her seventh album, Andromede, came out in 2024. SONG 1: Duniya Mein Hum Aaye Hain by Lata Mangeshkar from the original 1957 Mother India motion picture soundtrack. https://youtu.be/HQ03mTy8HR4?si=GDSBcsS_eIHb6mVW SONG 2: Avant toi (Olympia) by Mama Béa from Edith et Marcel (Bande originale du film) released in 1983. https://youtu.be/OJUkBY21PEo?si=xfgWYMSTfuBWykYC SONG 3: Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan, released in 1983. https://youtu.be/Chk4tCMRBxk?si=CN_5Yx9T7pOR_De7See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Dunham was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Michigan. She moved to Connecticut after high school and lived there for about six years before moving to Florida in 1999. Kim’s been working at WGCU since 2019 as part of the membership team. SONGS AND LINKS The original opening 20th Century Fox intro into the original theatrical release of Star Wars in 1977. https://youtu.be/oJguy6wSYyI?si=SRwB09rUgasvWdrI Black Celebration by Depeche Mode - it's the title track of their fifth album release in 1986. https://youtu.be/axs85iB5y1E?si=F6PNbeg2_daFPvCG I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner from their album Agent Provocateur released in 1984. https://youtu.be/4jA-_g_iSY0?si=JXmiBVLX3o5FsPxQSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madison Morris is a singer-songwriter who focuses on bringing his storytelling nature to light over top of an Americana sound - playing more than 200 live performances throughout the year as a full-time musician. He co-wrote "We're All Still Here" with his wife in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian after they were displaced from their home and lost so much. It was included on the official ballot for Grammy consideration in 2023. The newest single, “Hard Rain”, came out in July of 2024 and was also recognized with a Grammy consideration in 2024. Madison also officially launched his band, called Madison Morris & the Stringfellows. SONG 1: “Seminole Wind” by John Anderson from his 1992 album of the same name. 3:57 - https://youtu.be/UmWexj90OU4?si=nZluDeCKRcfIF5kd SONG 2: “24 Frames” by Jason Isbell by his, IMHO, singular album Something More Than Free released in 2015. 3:13 - https://youtu.be/-JLlPssDF5A?si=QBL6gqDhXNCF2rTP SONG 3: Jimi Hendrix's “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” from his 1968 album, Electric Ladyland. 5:13 - https://youtu.be/L7UMubmfbH0?si=9KXMJZuioFzfLpgt See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Turow is a writer and attorney. He is the author of fourteen works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent, and most recently, Presumed Guilty, which hit the shelves in January of this year. All of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers. His works have been the basis for film and television projects…last year Apple TV+ released an eight-part limited series based on Presumed Innocent, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. From 1978 until 1986, Mr. Turow worked as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois prosecuting several high-profile public corruption cases. He has also served on a number of public bodies, including the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, which proposed reforms to Illinois’ death penalty system, and he was the first Chair of Illinois’ Executive Ethics Commission, created in 2004 to regulate executive branch employees in Illinois. SONG 1: “We Shall Overcome”...this is a 1962 live recording that’s been remastered…and re-released on the album Every Morning at Half Past Four in 2020. https://youtu.be/KUbkld3Rq2A?si=Xvtm-4JB5lhXLuGF SONG 2: Kermit the Frog singing "Rainbow Connection" - in the 1979 film The Muppet Movie. https://youtu.be/YRPBUeVOimU?si=Uz2a2ICgc1zf_c7a SONG 3: "Runaway" by Del Shannon released in 1961 on his debut album Runaway with Del Shannon. https://youtu.be/0S13mP_pfEc?si=YPul_1R6i_CpLfZLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Bayles is Senior Environmental Reporter at WGCU. A lifelong Florida journalist, Tom has covered stories in 67 counties, including plenty of hurricanes. Tom covers climate change, biodiversity, water quality and quantity issues, Everglades restoration efforts, endangered and invasive species, beach and coastal issues, and the intersections of global warming and the economy, politics, religion, society, and science. Bayles worked for The New York Times Company in Sarasota, the Associated Press in Tampa, Miami, and Tallahassee, and he was a staff writer at the Tampa Bay Times in Clearwater, Tampa, and St. Petersburg. For all of his work, Tom was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal for Public Service in Investigations from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, a Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism in Florida, was named the state’s top environmental journalist by the FSNE and the Florida Press Club. SONG 1: “Fools Game” from Michael Bolton off his self-titled album released in 1982. https://youtu.be/NukzQZM-1Qk?si=QnPLGcJMiD0QHRr1 SONG 2: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” from Guns n’ Roses’ 1988 album Appetite For Destruction. https://youtu.be/1w7OgIMMRc4?si=Cm1CoijOT0N5V9nF SONG 3: “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf from his album Bat Out of Hell released in 1977. https://youtu.be/a136H5K3OKw?si=LIe0QLEqWd64A_raSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Bichner is an orchestral composer with synesthesia - that’s the neurological condition that allows her to se” splashes of specific colors in her mind’s eye when she hears their corresponding pitches. Mary has served as composer-in-residence at The Vasilicos of Santorini in Greece, for which she composed a new string quartet work inspired by the colors of the world-famous Santorini sunset; she served a two-year composer residency at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery of Massachusetts; she was composer-in-residence at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Marble House Project of Vermont; she had a multi-year partnership with the Museum of Science Boston for the “Synesthesia Suite: Live” concert series; and she has an ongoing partnership with French composer Christina Goh for an international poetry chamber concert series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Randy Kambic has written hundreds of articles for The Fort Myers News-Press, Southwest Florida Parent & Child Magazine, The Banner, Florida Weekly and now The Naples Press. He compiled a regular weekly section on recreational tennis and golf for the Coastal Life section of the News-Press for more than two years; Prior to that, he working in public relations in NYC for more than 25 years for several agencies and also for Madison Square Garden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff James is a Director of Professional TTEC Digital - and he's also the author of a self-published children's book called Brainbows: A First Reference Book for Very Young Minds. He describes himself as a music geek who spends his spare time listening to music, playing music (guitar mostly), or exploring music and looking for songs and artists that aren't famous but should be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renée Benmeleh is a multi-cultural vocalist, composer, instrumentalist and teacher. She has been joyfully singing Improv, Jazz, World, Ritual, and her own Original music for more than 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s the founder and agile facilitator at Sound Nourishment where she leads monthly classes, workshops, and events. She is also a Drum Circle Facilitator, and a childhood music practitioner.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Keys has been in the restaurant business for just over 30 years and has spent almost 18 of those years with Melting Pot. He’s been an Owner/Operator of the Fort Myers restaurant since 2018. Before he settled in with Melting Pot, Chris worked with a few different national restaurants that include Checkers, Lonestar Steakhouse, and TGIFriday's. But he says most places he’s worked at were independently owned - including spending 4 years at one called Crowley’s at Stonehenge in North Carolina where he started his management career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judge Michael Cicconetti is a retired Municipal Court Judge who served for more than 25 years in his hometown of Painesville, OH. He gained a nationwide reputation during his time on the bench for handing down sentences that could be accurately described as unique in certain cases. For instance, teenagers who flattened tires on school buses were ordered to throw a picnic for the school children whose outing was cancelled because of their prank. While some may have not exactly approved of his approach, the recidivism rate in Judge Chick’s court was around 10% versus the national rate which is around 75%See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shirlette Ammons is a Durham, NC-based musician, writer, and producer who grew up in rural Eastern North Carolina in an area called Beautancus near the little town of Mount Olive (where they make the pickles). As a musician, Shirlette has released four albums including her latest, called Spectacles which came out in April of 2024. She’s published several books of her poetry, and is currently working on a podcast called “Tending” that explores the stories of Black farmers who were claimants in the class action lawsuit, Pigford vs. Glickman. That suit alleged that the USDA discriminated against Black farmers in its allocation of farm loans and assistance from 1981 to 1996. It was settled in 2011 for $1.25B - the largest Civil Rights settlement in history, at the time. Shirlette also served as a producer on the Emmy and Peabody Award winning PBS series A Chef's Life which starred episode 339 guest Vivian Howard.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Rodriguez is a stonemason who was born and raised and still lives in Sante Fe, NM. Mark is on a very short list of people who have received two double lung transplants. Mark’s experiences and trials have brought him to a place where bringing a message of resilience, perseverance, and great faith has become central to his perspective, which he brings to his work as an author, international speaker, and transformational empowerment coach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew Sabatella is a Hollywood, FL-based musician who performs regularly, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the Rambling String Band. He earned first-place ribbons in the 2019 Florida Folk Festival’s Old-Time Banjo Competition and the 2023 Florida Old-Time Music Championship’s Old-Time Banjo and Singing competitions. Matthew also teaches about America’s music at Lifelong Learning Institutes, including at Florida Atlantic University, George Mason University, Florida International University, University of Miami, and Nova Southeastern University. He's also founder of the nonprofit “Ballad of America”, and Vice President of the Southeast regional chapter of Folk Alliance International.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Mark Schulman is an award-winning pollster and was co-founder & CEO of one of the nation’s largest survey research & polling firms, SRBI. He's has worked with news media, major corporations, foundations, and government. For news organizations he has tracked presidential job ratings, political campaigns, analyzed election results, and probed policy issues. Dr. Schulman served as Time magazine’s pollster for almost ten years and was also on the ABC News Election Decision Desk for many years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Joe Kiniry (Mike's big brother) - is a Principal Scientist at a Portland, Oregon-based technology company called Galois. He’s also the Principled CEO and Chief Scientist of a Galois spin-out company called Free & Fair that works on high-assurance election technologies and services. Prior to joining Galois in 2014, Joe was a Full Professor at the Technical University of Denmark where he headed up the Software Engineering section. He also held a guest appointment at the IT University of Copenhagen, and has held permanent positions at four universities in Denmark, Ireland, and The Netherlands. Joe holds five advanced degrees, including a Ph.D. from Caltech.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff Marks is a retired journalist and television executive who grew up and started his career as a radio reporter in Kentucky. He's held senior management positions in television newsrooms in Kentucky and Washington, D.C. including serving as general manager for television stations in Maine, New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia. Jeff became known worldwide in 2015 as the public face of WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Va. when two of their journalists were murdered on live TV.Jeff is a past chair of the Radio-Television-Digital News Association, and he's taught journalism and news production, in Ukraine, Romania, and the Republic of Georgia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marc Collins serves on The City of Ft. Myers Planning Board, the Ft. Myers Charter Review Committee, and since late 2022 he's been the Executive Director of the Uncommon Friends Foundation. The list of the nonprofits and other local organizations he's either directly involved with or that he supports somehow is far too long to list here. Marc is very involved in the Southwest Florida arts and social scene, working to raise awareness and funds for those in need. He can often be found serving as emcee and speaker at local events.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Griogair Labhruidh is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinct musical stylings merge Scottish Gaelic language, music, and cosmology with modern influences like analog boom-bap, hip-hop and soul-inflected jazz, creating a truly unique sound. Griogair has gained international recognition for his voice as a featured soundtrack artist and songwriter on the TV series Outlander. And he's shared the stage with many preeminent Celtic artists, and has made an impact in the world music scene as a leading member of the multi-platinum record-selling group, Afro Celt Sound System.  Griogair will soon be releasing his long-awaited solo album with featured guest performances from Julie Fowlis, Scottish multi award-winning screen actor Alan Cumming and Speech, founder of the two-time Grammy winning Hip Hop outfit, Arrested Development.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy Waugh is co-founder of a dark wave cover band called the Lovecats with her best friend Missy Balsam. These days, she sings in the cover band Rockadelic with Joe Palumbo and Dan Wolkoff.  Tracy has been in a series of original bands since high school, she says her favorite being Space Vacuum (From Outer Space). They released their album Starcade in 2005 on Dionysus Records. It featured songs with titles like Space Monkeys, Plastic Planet People, Spy Fi Agent, and Space Booty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eric King s a senior interpretive naturalist with the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department. He manages and conducts nature-based education at Castellow Hammock Nature Center & Preserve in Redland Eric is also an avid butterfly and vegetable gardener as well as an eclectic musician who writes and produces everything from folk to cinematic music - and he's currently in the process of reviving a folk rock project called The Brothers King with his older brother, Scott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paula Poundstone is well-known to NPR listeners - especially those who tend to tune in on the weekends to catch Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me, on which she's a regular and beloved panelist. Beyond Wait Wait, Paula is a legendary stand-up comedian, author, actress & voice actor, interviewer, and commentator. She was introduced to the world at large in the late 1980s through a series of hour-long HBO comedy specials and has continued performing to this day. She's also a podcaster these days, making Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone with fellow Wait Wait semi-regular Adam Felber.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Donlan was born in Narragansett, Rhode Island but his family moved to southwest Florida when he was just five so pretty much considers himself a Florida man. He graduated from FGCU in 2021 and then taught high school algebra (where he was in charge of his students' DND club) for two years before deciding that was enough of that -- he now works at Gartner in Fort Myers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time for another throwback to the songs our musician guests played for us.  Bulletproof Heart by Dan Navarro (Ep 309) Lucky to Find Love Again by Tim McGeary (Ep. 323) Hills by Coyote Island from the Sugarshack Sessions (Ep. 311) Preston Rumbaugh Maggie Campbell Blues (Ep. 314) Favorite Things by DAVE!Ja!Vu! (Ep. 326) Buzzcut by Charlie Pace (Ep. 327) The Ballad of Cilantro by Dan Navarro (Ep. 309)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're featuring 3 clips from the podcast hosted by our audio producer, Jared Gonzalez - The RAZZLE DAZZLE Show. First up, a look back at Guitar Hero, then an with renowned music composer and writer, Adam Gubman, and finally, THE DELTA QUEST, their monthly D&D campaign!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Kiniry (no relation by the way) is a freelance journalist specializing in travel, food, and culture. Laura has gone on numerous adventures including a six-month solo journey across Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand - she spent a summer working in Montana's Glacier National Park, and has visited all seven continents.  Laura's work can be found in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, Atlas Obscura, BBC Travel, and Conde Nast Traveler.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren Robie co-founded Hope Eternal Gardens in Punta Gorda with her husband Chris Alonso. It's a licensed natural burial cemetery with planting forests and meadows where people can celebrate loved ones in a park-like setting. The dream of creating Hope began with the last wish of Lauren's mother-in-law, and she and her husband have kept that promise and brought her dream into reality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Lindsey is System Director for Performance Excellence at Lee Health (the largest public health system in Southwest Florida). She has her master's in healthcare administration but has held all sorts of roles with Lee Health over the years. Jessica also serves as treasurer on the SWFL Inc. Board of Directors and is an Advisory Board Fellow. Beyond her professional roles, Jessica volunteers with several local community nonprofits helping their boards of directors with strategic planning. She also engages in community initiatives through The Dubin Center, The Collaboratory, and Quality Life Center of Fort Myers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JP Soars is a Boca Raton-based multi-instrumentalist who's been releasing his music with his powerhouse trio The Red Hots since 2008, when he released his debut album Back Of My Mind. JP has won the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge in 2009 and the prestigious Albert King guitar award. In 2012, he was named a Blues Music Award Nominee for Best Contemporary Male Blues Artist, and in 2019, he climbed his way to the top ten of Billboard's blues chart. In 2022, JP was a Blues Music Award nominee for Best Blues Instrumentalist on Guitar, and he was nominated for the BB King Entertainer of the Year honors and for Band of the Year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Casey Kalmenson is a Los Angeles-based singer, writer, and producer who makes music under the moniker Little Monarch. She's also an integral member of Gracie Abrams' band and played a pivotal role in the highly acclaimed Taylor Swift The Era's Tour in 2023, showcasing her exceptional talent on a global stage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vivian Howard is the chef at the center of A Chef's Life, which ran on PBS from 2013 to 2018 - and 2020's Somewhere South. Vivian won a Peabody, Emmy, and James Beard award for A Chef's Life. She also runs three restaurants: Lenoir and Handy & Hot in Charleston, South Carolina, and The Kitchen Bar at Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, NC. Vivian is author of two books, Deep Run Roots: Stories & Recipes from My Corner of the South, which was a New York Times bestseller and was named “Cookbook of the Year” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals - and This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking, released in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelsie Watts is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. Raised in a musical family, she went on to study opera, vocal performance, and commercial music. Following her collaboration with AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys and her appearance on The Voice, she released original songs in 2021 and 2022.  When not writing and performing, Kelsie is a mental health advocate, working with organizations like the Not Alone Challenge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jay Allison is host and producer of The Moth Radio Hour,  host, curator, and producer of This I Believe on NPR, and creator/producer of hundreds of documentaries, essays, and special series for national and international broadcast. Jay has won virtually every major industry award for his productions and collaborations, including six Peabodys.  He was also the 1996 recipient of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding contributions to public radio, the industry's highest honor.  Jay is also a founder of the Association of Independents in Radio and founder of The Public Radio Exchange (or PRX), which is how many Public Radio shows and other content are shared with stations like WGCU…it's a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation's “Genius Organization” Award.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tara Lynn Rye is a musical artist and filmmaker from New Jersey who calls southwest Florida home these days. She spent time in New York City and Los Angeles honing her craft in film - she directed, produced, shot, and edited short films, documentaries and episodics. Tara's played shows with her band at Rockwood Music Hall, the Peppermint Club, and the legendary Viper Room. She released her song “Gator Country” back in May  along with an energetic music video See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mitchell Austin is the Urban Design Manager at the City of Punta Gorda, where he is responsible for long range planning and capital projects planning and design. Since arriving on August 16, 2004 (three days after  Hurricane Charley devastated Punta Gorda), Mitchell has focused on the art and science of urban place-making in Punta Gorda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtney McNeil is museum director and chief curator at the Baker Museum at Artis—Naples. She's an award-winning curator, art historian, and museum leader with more than two decades of museum and gallery experience. Prior to joining Artis—Naples, Courtney served 15 years in the curatorial department of Telfair Museums in Savannah, ultimately holding the title of chief curator and deputy director for curatorial affairs.  Earlier in her career, Courtney held positions at Childs Gallery in Boston, where she specialized in American painting and works on paper, and in the publications department of the National Gallery in London.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Missy Balsam is a yoga teacher, singer-songwriter and recording artist. Missy began teaching yoga in 2007, after spending her 20s and 30s in a stressful, high-level sales and marketing career in New York City and Los Angeles. Missy began her music career by blending elements of alternative rock with Sanskrit mantras from the yogic tradition called kirtan. Her 2016 debut studio album REVEALED was called a "spiritual rocker" by Yoga Chicago magazine.  She's toured nationally, performing her music at yoga and music festivals -- and she's also performed as lead vocalist with B432, a psychedelic rock band reminiscent of the Doors and Pink Floyd, with whom she released a 2020 live studio album called THE LOVE FREQUENCY BAND.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Garfien is an Anchor and Reporter for NBC Sports-Chicago - he hosts White Sox Pre and Post-Game Live with Ozzie Guillén, Frank Thomas, and other former White Sox players. He also writes for nbcsportschicago.com and hosts the White Sox Talk Podcast. Chuck basically gets to live and breathe Chicago White Sox for a living.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Dunnigan is Owner of Ollie's Pub in Cape Coral, FL, a punk venue located on Cape Coral Pkwy. Ollie's was one of the few venues in Southwest Florida that hosted live, original rock, metal, punk, and experimental concerts and events.  Following a challenging 2020 and weathering the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Ollie's, unfortunately, had to make the difficult decision to close its doors in April of this year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLAY is a Los Angeles-based alt-pop musical artist who has amassed more than 45 million streams across her platforms, and just wrapped up her “Waiting for God in the Garden” tour, which was her first full headlining run across the U.S. with performances in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, New York, Nashville, Denver, and San Francisco. She joined us from her home in LASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.