Podcasts about Our Town

Julie Halston is one of New York's busiest actresses and was the recipient of the 2021 Isabelle Stevenson TONY AWARD for her advocacy on behalf of The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Her Broadway credits are numerous, including Tootsie, Hairspray, Gypsy, Anything Goes, and The Twentieth Century, and most recently Our Town. She received the Richard Seff Award for her acclaimed performance in You Can't Take it with You and has garnered four Drama Desk nominations for her Broadway and off-Broadway work.  Miss Halston was a founding member of Charles Busch's legendary theatre company and co-starred with Mr. Busch in many productions including The Divine Sister, Red Scare on Sunset, and The Lady in Question. They starred together in the independent feature film, The Sixth Reel. In addition, Miss Halston recently completed the independent feature films, Intermedium and Simchas and Sorrows and Chosen Family with Heather Graham Television credits include a recurring role on the latest Gossip Girl, guest roles on The Good Fight, Almost Family and Divorce. In addition, she has reprised her role as the popular character, Bitsy Von Muffling on the Sex and The City reboot, And Just Like That on MAX. Miss Halston's web series, Virtual Halston was a pandemic hit with over 40 YOUTUBE episodes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode I sit down with the soulful and talented Doron JePaul. We discuss everything from his first three Broadway shows to the longest game of Tree or Stalin ever played.If you're looking for handmade wooden home decor then my Etsy shop is perfect for you! For a look at my catalog go to: JohnMadWoodworking.Etsy.com You can find more info about my work as an actor and voiceover artist on my website at: www.johnmaddaloni.com Rate and Subscribe to my show on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you're listening to this podcast!Support the show

John Marvin grew up in Kansas as a member of a family with significant medical experience. John's father, for example, was a family physician in a small Western Kansas town. John describes some about his life and how his thoughts and attitudes were greatly influenced by his father. Late in his high school career John told his dad that he did not want to grow up to be a doctor because, as he put it, he didn't want to work as hard as his father worked. John will explain that to us. As he also put it, his comment came from a young naïve boy.   In college John settled on securing a marketing degree. After college he ended up going deeply into marketing and eventually he entered the optical industry specializing in optometry.   John and I have some wonderful discussions about self growth, leadership and how to help people and companies grow. I got, and I think you will get, many great ideas from John's experiences and that we all will be the better for what John has to say and teach us.       About the Guest:   John D. Marvin is an entrepreneur and dynamic leader with a proven track record of success in healthcare, wellness, and the eyecare industry. As President and CEO of Texas State Optical (TSO), he has transformed the organization into one of the largest and most respected networks of independent optometrists in the United States, generating upwards of $110 million in annual revenue. With over two decades of experience at TSO, John has cultivated a member-owned cooperative that empowers optometrists to operate independently while benefiting from robust centralized support. His leadership has been pivotal in fostering a culture of innovation, professional growth, and exceptional patient care. John's career spans over 40 years, during which he has held executive roles across various industries, including marketing, consulting, and healthcare. His entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his strategic leadership during TSO's transition from a retail chain to a cooperative network in 2001. Under his guidance, TSO shifted its focus from product-driven services to comprehensive medical eyecare, reinforcing its reputation as a patient-centered organization. Beyond TSO, John serves as President of Texas Eyecare Partners and Health and Wellness Consulting. As a lifelong advocate of personal growth, John has studied the transformative power of mindset and the “inner game” of success. His insights into leadership, achievement, and business management have made him a sought-after speaker and certified John Maxwell Professional Coach. John passionately shares his experiences to inspire others to unlock their potential, offering actionable strategies to overcome challenges and drive meaningful change. John's dedication to education and collaboration is evident in his efforts to support emerging professionals in the field of optometry. He has fostered strong relationships with the University of Houston's College of Optometry and the Texas Optometric Association, contributing to scholarships, professional development programs, and initiatives that promote medical optometry. Through his vision and unwavering commitment to excellence, John D. Marvin exemplifies the principles of leadership, empowerment, and innovation, making a lasting impact on the eyecare industry and beyond. Ways to connect John:   https://www.facebook.com/jdmarvin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdmarvin/  https://www.instagram.com/jdmarvin/ https://tso.com/   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello, everyone. Once again, wherever you happen to be, I'm your host on unstoppable mindset, Mike Hingson, or you can call me Mike, whichever you prefer. And our guest today is John D Marvin. John is an entrepreneur. Has been an entrepreneur for quite a while, and he has been involved in a number of different kind of endeavors over his life. And he's worked, worked in the eye care industry a bunch, and is now in charge of Texas State Optical. We're going to learn more about that and and all the other things I don't know whether I care, does me a whole lot of good directly, but it's fun to talk about anyway. No, no doubt. So John, I want to really welcome you. I'm glad we finally made this work. I'm glad we got a chance to connect. So welcome to unstoppable mindset.   John D Marvin ** 02:13 Well, thank you, Mike. It's a real pleasure to be here.   Michael Hingson ** 02:15 Well, I'm glad that we we get a chance to really talk. We haven't really done too many podcasts on eye care and optical stuff, so I'm glad to be able to do it. But I'd like to start, as I'd love to do so often, tell us about kind of the early John growing up, and go from there.   John D Marvin ** 02:33 Okay, I was born and raised in Kansas. I that that's northern Texas, right? That's northern Texas. That's right, yeah, I actually grew up in western Kansas. I was born in Kansas City, but I grew up in western Kansas, and my father is a family physician, and had the kind of stereotypical country doctor practice small town, 2000 people, and my mother was his office manager for a number of years. And so it was a kind of a family business. And I have three siblings, sisters, and so we grew up in a small Mayberry type town, and it was great riding bicycles till the street lights came on at night, and catching fireflies and all that kind of good stuff. And then I decided to go to school. I chose to go to school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and graduated, it's an emphasis in marketing and marketing and business administration, and ended up in the ad agency business for a little bit of a time, and just kind of really decided that wasn't for me, and ended up from there going into pharmaceutical sales. And really enjoyed that, and enjoyed the the outside sales aspects of it and calling on doctors. And my territory was western Kansas, so I used to say, and still refer to it as my territory looked like my high school football schedule. So we would go to these small towns. And of course, most everyone out there knew my father, and so the typical problem of trying to get past the front desk was made a little easier because people knew my family, and from that, I ended up taking an administrative, marketing administrators position with a group of surgeons in in Wichita, and that led to introduction and eating some ophthalmologists in Houston. Them and followed a job opportunity I had with them and came to Houston in 1989 I've been here ever since, but it was after four years of working with them, I ended up going out on my own and started my own business, which was Marketing Management Group, which did consumer research, and then we would develop marketing strategies based on that. And one of my clients, early clients, was Texas State Optical. And because of my background in eye care, both in Wichita, Kansas and in Houston, I had a better I got some insight into the consumer. And so the work I did with Texas State Optical was a lot we did a lot of work, and did several studies with them, and that kind of introduced me to the whole group of franchisees that made up the Texas State Optical organization. Subsequently, I helped them organize, the franchisees organize, and in the late 90s, 1999 I was hired by the franchisees to put together a Franchise Association, and through that, ultimately help them acquire the company, purchase it, and from that during that process, was asked if I would be willing to come on board as the new president of the company once they purchased it. And that was in 2001 and I've been president ever since. So here you go. It kind of takes you from Small Town Living to big city operations and a network of about 100 optometry offices.   Michael Hingson ** 06:47 So what exactly is Texas State Optical? Or maybe first, what was it and how is it morphed over time?   John D Marvin ** 06:56 Well, originally it was founded by four brothers in 1936 in Southeast Texas, little town called Beaumont, and famous for a lot of things in that part of the state. One of them is Janis Joplin, the others, Big Bopper and George Jones and but it also was the birthplace of Texas State Optical. And they grew a network of privately owned they owned them all over 300 locations throughout Texas, Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas, Louisiana and and then in the early 70s, they sold it to a pharmaceutical company, ironically, the same one that I had worked for when I was calling on western Kansas. But when they sold it, it got converted to a traditional franchise model, and it stayed that way until the franchisees purchased it in 2001 when we I was involved, and we turned it into a brand license business, taking that iconic license that had been around Texas optical since the 30s, 1930s and and then turning around and licensing the use of that brand to young optometrist who wanted to own their own practice, but saw the use of that brand as kind of instant credibility, because a lot of people were familiar with that brand.   Michael Hingson ** 08:40 So what does it provide? What did one of the organization provide under the brand? Well,   John D Marvin ** 08:46 we use the use of the brand, and so you got immediate notoriety in terms of just people's awareness of it, but also we put together kind of a la carte menu of optional services and support and resources that licensees could either take advantage of or not, and it was a really hands off model. We didn't have any, and still don't have any operational control over the way business was done. We We influenced that through best practices and sharing of information, but certainly we didn't require have any requirements of the way that they would operate. Reality is most private practice optometrists operate pretty well, and so we were there to kind of coach and help, but mainly it was them using our brand name, which had a really strong consumer value to it.   Michael Hingson ** 09:44 And so what kind of changes when the franchisees all joined together and bought the company and so on? How have you and they changed it over the years.   John D Marvin ** 09:59 I. I think the biggest change from 1999 to 2001 when they bought it, and to this day, has been the culture of the company. And that is, you know, it's something of a franchise opportunity, yeah, and a lot of your listeners probably either own franchises. Thought about franchises, and you know, it might you and I spent the next year trying to decide we were going to own a franchise. And we'd go out and do all sorts of research, and we'd look into this one and that one, and what kind of industry we want, and we'd finally select one that we were really impressed with. Thought about for great opportunity. We'd pay our $50,000 franchise fee, and about the second or third day of owning that franchise, we would decide that these people don't know anything about this business that we're in, and there's just this inherent adversarial relationship that exists between a franchisee and a franchisor. Some for good reason, some just because of the independent, entrepreneurial nature of a franchisee. Well, when the franchisees owned the company, they owned the franchise, or that adversarial dynamic kind of left. And so now there's nobody to kind of blame except yourself, and people are inclined not to do that as much. And so there was a greater tendency to kind of work together, work through things, come up with solutions to problems or resources that were needed. And it just created a much more homogeneous type of culture, and to the point where our annual meeting we host every year is referred to as our family reunion. And so we gather everyone together. It's really an atmosphere of all of us being as one family, sharing the same kind of core values, and all out to do the same thing, and that is just provide great quality eye care for our communities. And so that, that is a big change. Of course, there's always the things like collective purchasing, education and training. The main difference in those areas are engagement. When you are asked by a franchisor to engage in certain activities, there's that inherent reluctance to do that in our organization. There's an inherent acceptance of it because it comes from a colleague, it comes from others and doctors are more leading doctors than they are being led by some set of suits someplace in the Northeast.   Michael Hingson ** 12:50 Yeah, and that is such an extremely important thing to be able to really make it a family, a disciplined family, but still a family nevertheless, which is kind of cool. I'm curious about something being blind, and having been blind my whole life, and involved with blindness consumer organizations, one of the things that we have found often is that most people in the eye care industry, primarily in the ophthalmological industry, which is kind of a little bit more relevant to us, but tend not to really have a lot of knowledge about blindness and blind people. And so, for example, there are so many stories of a person going into the office of an ophthalmologist, for example, maybe they're losing their eyesight, but the ophthalmologist examines them and for whatever reason, will say things like, you're going blind. I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do, and walk out and never provide any other kinds of resources or knowledge to help the person who's losing eyesight. I don't know whether you see that, given where you are or what your thoughts are on that, but I'd be interested to get your thoughts because it seems to me that there's a lot of opportunity to do significant education about blindness and low vision to recognize that the reality is, blindness isn't the problem. It's people's attitudes traditionally that are the problem.   John D Marvin ** 14:28 That's an excellent point. Mike, I you know my first thoughts are the profession of optometry is really involved in preventing right blindness, and so it's kind of one of the few areas of healthcare that is more prevention oriented than other areas. Most areas are treatment oriented. In other words, you become sick. And then we treat you right, and the profession of optometry is all about we talk to people all the time about protecting your vision and preventing problems from happening. Now, as we see patients that end up either through glaucoma or some form of pathology, retinal issues, start to lose their vision. There comes a point early in that process where they are, frankly, they are outside of the scope of care that an optometrist can provide. So they end up being referred to an ophthalmologist. That being said, there are several optometrists across the country that have decided to devote themselves to low vision, and that's kind of a form of blind and what I would call blindness care, and where it's not complete, there is some level of vision there, but it needs a lot of enhancement, either through equipment or through other types of therapeutics practices. And there are optometrists who say, I'm not going to sell glasses. I'm not going to focus on contacts. I'm going to just provide a low vision clinic. And they're not not there's not a large number of them, but there are some, and what I've experienced in that is it does take a particular type of practitioner to be successful with that. And when I say successful, I mean, to be able to establish the type of patient doctor relationship that actually produces some really positive outcomes and helps people better manage their loss of vision, either whether that's progressive and eventually will become complete, or whether It's stalled at a point where they just cannot function without special aid, like I said, equipment, or some type of therapeutics. And there's just not a lot of people go into Optometry for the refractive side of things, and and so there's, there's not that motivation, really, to learn much about it. We do as an organization. We're very involved with prevent blindness as a national organization, and we'd also have some involvement with low vision clinics that are in the Houston Medical Center. But outside of that, you're right. There's not a whole lot of folks that understand it, probably, or maybe it's just they don't have the patience for it, because it does require a different kind of patient care approach, even   Michael Hingson ** 17:55 so what I wonder is, if there is an opportunity, maybe to provide additional education, so that if your your franchisees, for example, encounter a person who's losing eyesight and they and they realize that that they can help refer them to sources or resources that can assist because part of the problem is that, typically in society, blindness is viewed as such a horrible, devastating thing. And I understand that eyesight is a very wonderful thing, and people want to have it, but the reality is for a variety of reasons that doesn't work for everyone. The problem is that we have so much fear of blindness that we don't tend to deal with and I just wonder if there might be a way to provide some sort of a system or program that would help teach your people that blindness isn't really the end of the world, which is not to say, don't try to prevent it if you can, but when you can't, you can also be an additional source. To say, here are places where you can go, or here are some things that you can learn.   John D Marvin ** 19:16 Well, I do think that it's important, and I'm aware of many, keeping in mind that our members who own locations that use our brand are independent, we have provided them local organizations, clinics, things like that, which help them in referring people that need that kind of help and in education, I think also an important factor is that it's not just the patient that can use that it's the patient's family, because it, while it's perceived as something that you know you. I know that people value their sight, and the thought of losing it and becoming blind is is frightening the individual, but it also is frightening and disruptive to family, who father, mother, wife, husband, son or daughter, to deal with the changes in lifestyle that are required to accommodate that. Loss of vision is significant. You mentioned you've been blind since birth, and that's certainly one group of people, but there's an awful lot of people that end up experiencing blindness when they're in their 30s or 40s, after they've had a large portion of their life with vision. And it's, I don't want to say it's easier by any means. I first of all, I have no right in even suggesting that, but it's a different experience, for sure, not ever having had vision, versus having had it for a number of years and then losing it. And sometimes it might be as scary and frightening for the family around that person as it is the patient themselves. And so we do place a high value on getting people the kind of help and resources they need to better adjust to those changes.   Michael Hingson ** 21:28 Well, when I was born, I actually became blind because of what we now call retinopathy or prematurity, which originally was retro enterofibroplasia, which is harder to spell, but I love the term anyway. At about four months of age, it was discovered that I was blind, and the doctors told my parents they ought to just send me off to a home, because no blind child could ever grow up to be a contributor to society, and all I would do would be a drain on the family and then later on society. And my parents were very unusual in taking the stand that, no, you're wrong. He can grow up to do whatever he wants, and we're going to give him that opportunity. And that was, and really to a very large degree today, still is, a very unusual attitude to take, because we fear blindness so much, and while I appreciate the reality of eyesight is very important for most people, what I would love to see are ways to create more of an understanding so that People understand that blindness isn't the end of the world, and that's what what we see all too often in society in general, which is unfortunate, and you're right. I don't know whether it's easier if you're blind from the outset or become blind later in life. I know any number of people who became blind later in life, who went to programs where philosophically, they were taught blindness was not a problem, and they learned that they could continue to be contributors to society, and they tend to intend to Do that, as opposed to many others from both camps and from birth or not who never understand. Blindness isn't going to be the end of the road if people let it be. So it's it's just one of those conundrums that we end up having to deal with on a regular basis.   John D Marvin ** 23:38 The name of your podcast dealing with mindset, right? A lot of it is exactly that. And if you're find yourself in a you know, the child who's born blind can either have a support system and family and parents that impact his his or her mindset in a way that creates the expectation and understanding that it it doesn't have to be limiting. And same goes with someone who's blind later in life, right? It's a matter of how you look at and decide for yourself. I mean, we all know people that, whether it's a loss of a one of the most five senses, the important senses, sight or hearing, so forth, there is a natural mind. There's one set of mind people that have a mindset that, oh, poor you. Now you've got insurmountable challenges in your life, and this is going to be difficult the rest of your life. And then the other mindset that many parents have recognizing their opportunity they have with their child is to say, yes, that's you. But that doesn't have to define you, that doesn't limit you. You can overcome those things and and I think that that is even in our business, where you have someone who comes into the office and through some type of diagnostic testing, it's determined that they are losing their sight, and that the natural outcome of this progression of pathology will be the total loss of sight. We have the opportunity there, at that point, to affect their mindset, yeah, and to either tell them this is a circumstance that will not limit you or define you, and here are some resources and education materials and opportunities in that area that can help you better understand what you're living with and how that you can overcome that, just from the census standpoint, because It doesn't have to be something you have to overcome in life, per se. It just has to be an accommodation you make, because you can't see when other people can right. And it is all about mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 26:13 It is all about mindset. No doubt about it, you're absolutely correct in that regard. And it is, it is something that we'll all be dealing with for a while, but hopefully over time, the mindset of people will change to recognize that there are always alternatives. Being a Star Trek fan, I love Spock and Kirk who are always talking about there are always options, and there are always ways to get around doing things or to accomplish things that you might not think about, but you have to be multi dimensional in your thought process.   John D Marvin ** 26:52 Well, the other exciting aspect of all of this is the the fact that those with growth mindsets are working diligently on technologies that can actually supplant the deficiency and come up with ways to correct blindness. And so there we may even, in our lifetime, live to a point where the pathological condition that you were born with doesn't have to be permanent. It can be reversed using technology that provides you with as good, if not better, vision than people who weren't born in that same situation.   Michael Hingson ** 27:33 Yeah, the only people who never will come out of it are politicians, because they take dumb pills when they become politicians. So we can pick up them.   John D Marvin ** 27:40 Well, listen, just you could be blind and still be able to see, right? Yeah, that   Michael Hingson ** 27:47 leaves them out. Yeah. No, I understand. I understand they're fun to pick on. But you what? What really made you decide to go into the eye care industry, into that, that whole environment, what, what attracted you to it, or was it just sort of so natural? Well, obviously, that's a mindset. Yeah,   John D Marvin ** 28:10 there's a couple of things. Think the thing that attracted me to kind of eye care in general, and put ophthalmology and Optometry in the same bucket for this. What attracted me to was this whole area of health care that I kind of grew up in with my father and family practice in a small town. Because, you know, my family practice in the 60s and 70s was a whole different discipline than it is today. Oh, I know, you know, especially in a small town where the closest specialist, if you would, is 90 miles away. And so my father had to be what we call today, functionally, you know, a functional medicine, meaning that he had to be able to kind of treat the whole person. I mean, he used to be very proud of the fact that a large percentage of the kids that were in the school that I grew up in, he delivered and so, you know, there was no obstetrician in this small town. So if a woman became pregnant, then he provided her prenatal care. He gave, he delivered the child, and then he gave the provided the pediatric care afterwards. And so having that sense of kind of the global care of of someone kind of gave me a real appreciation for the kind of the system, the the systemic aspects of health. And when I was given an opportunity to get into the eye care business. Because I saw it more as getting into the healthcare business, and even though it was very narrow, defined in eye care, it gave me a connection. And I I'm a big believer that you start down a path and you follow it. And what maybe forest and trees and gardens, they may turn into desert or mountains or valleys or otherwise. So when I started, I really didn't know necessarily where it would go. And I guess you could even back it up and say that my whole entry into the pharmaceutical industry kind of started me down that path and and then that led to being in the practitioner side, which ultimately led to going from ophthalmology into Optometry. I frankly think that all of that background best prepared me to do what I'm doing today, and understanding the whole system of eye care, not just refractions and glasses and contacts, right?   Michael Hingson ** 31:11 Well, you know, and you started out in in the whole marketing world, as opposed to going off and becoming a doctor directly, which which gave you a different perspective. So it really makes sense as to what you're saying and it but you've had exposure to both sides, and that has to really help you in terms of doing the job that you've chosen to do.   John D Marvin ** 31:38 Yeah, I think you're right. I remember having the discussion with my father because as I was like a junior in high school and, and as most juniors you know, you start thinking about what you're going to do when you graduate high school and, and I was graduating high school at a time that I had a draft number given to me, there was a war over in Vietnam that was still going on, and so I, you know, there for a period of time, I didn't know whether I would even have a choice. Yeah, it turns out by the time I actually that last year between junior and senior, the war had really started to wind down. And while I got a draft number, it was very high, and the likelihood of me actually being drafted into service was very low. And so I made some decisions about what I was going to do post high school, and I remember having the discussion with my father about would he be disappointed if I decided I didn't want to be a physician? And he assured me that he wouldn't be disappointed, but he was curious as to why I was not interested in doing that, and I told him, I said, just to be candid, I don't know if I want to work as hard as you do, because at that time, I had spent many Christmases with him, not at home, even though, our town, I mean, you could almost walk to the hospital. Our Town was small enough that, but he was taking care of people in the hospital on Christmas Day or delivering a baby on Christmas Day, and he just, you know, it was clear that in that profession, the way he practiced it in those days was that the patients came first, and the family understood that. And we were all in the doctor business to in that respect, and this whole concept of work life balance was, you know, no one looked at things like that. I mean, everyone understood that this was a commitment that had been made, and it involved the entire family. So I told him, I said, I don't know if I'm willing to do that or not. And so I thought at that time, I decided that I was going to pursue a career in theology, and so that determined where I went to school. And about after my first year in school, I the university I had chosen, their whole theological department was more pastoral, and I wasn't interested in that. I was more evangelical. I was more interested in being an evangelist and and so I not having that in front of me. I decided that it switched to a marketing degree. And it turns out that to be a pretty good evangelist, you got to be a little bit of a marketing person yourself. Anyway, true. So, so I ended up going down that path.   Michael Hingson ** 34:53 Well, I would say if you had chosen the pastoral approach, you would have been working just. Just hard as a doctor. Oh, very much. So, yeah, but I guess I would also ask this whole issue of not working as hard given what you do today, how's that working out for you? Well,   John D Marvin ** 35:14 those were words of a very naive young guy. Yeah, because I didn't take I didn't understand the fact that if you're going to accomplish anything, it's going to require hard work, and you need a family that understands what your what your passion is, and what you've decided to do, and because it is, I mean, no one builds a career by themselves. They they build a career with the involvement and support of other people, and if, if they, if those beliefs aren't aligned, then you're going to end up in conflict and be constantly be torn between what it is you believe you're wanting to do with your life, versus your obligations, your other obligations. And put it   Michael Hingson ** 36:04 that way, well, you've been involved in the whole mindset and activity of being a business leader for a long time. What kind of key lessons have you learned along the way about personal growth?   John D Marvin ** 36:21 I think the thank you for that question. I think the one thing that I have learned, that I've tried to pass on to people is start, begin we I think that we naturally have this reluctance to take risk, because we don't want to fail at anything and and so we kind of take the approach that, well, if I want to pursue something, whether it be personal development or growth or even some profession, I need to know everything there is to know about it before I start it. And that is just not true. The only way you learn is by starting I have a friend and acquaintance who his career and his profession is leading people on climbs of Mount Everest. So that's his job. If you want to climb Mount Everest, I can hook you up with a guy that will help you do it. And it's a fascinating profession that he's in. And I asked him one time, how do you learn how to climb mountains. You know, how do you learn this? He said the only way to learn how to climb mountains is by climbing   Michael Hingson ** 37:46 mountains. I was gonna say, to do it, yes. And   John D Marvin ** 37:49 so I think the number one thing is to start. And if you're committed to it and you start, you'll figure it out. The rest of it, because there are no failures, there's maybe a setback or two, but as long as you keep focused on where you want to be and moving forward and getting better and learning, you'll figure things out. And I think so personal growth is really a decision and a commitment to continual learning, continual improvement and and you're never too late to get started. It's never too late, even if you're at 80 some years of age and maybe limited health wise, you can still start because there's so much, there's so many different resources today that are available to people. I mean, I got an iPad Mike, that's, I bet you I've got three 400 books on it. And, you know, used to be you couldn't have three or 400 books without a library in your house. Now you can have one iPad on a memory card. And I was just, I had a doctor's appointment earlier today, and while I was waiting in the reception, I pulled out my phone and I started reading a book that I'm reading, you know, and I had, didn't have to carry the book The lot of people do, lot of people have, but I was able to do that. And then there's what's available in terms of resources, of books to read are just unlimited. So I think that there's, there's all sorts of opportunities, just a matter of getting started and doing it. Second is consistency. Everybody can start. Few people can be consistent, or few people are consistent. We all know the classic, never if you're if you're someone who goes to a gym and works out, you know. Avoid that gem the first month of the year in January, because it is overrun with people who are starting their new year, and then by February, you also know that you're back to normal, because most people don't stay consistent. So starting and then becoming consistent are the two things that are probably most important, that I've learned   Michael Hingson ** 40:25 well, and that kind of leads to something I was thinking about, and that is the connection between mindset and long term achievement. Because it would seem to me that, as you point out with the gym, the people who create the mindset that I'm going to do this and really decide that that's what they're going to do, are more likely to have analyzed it and made that decision intelligently and then we'll stick with it, than people who just go off and say, I'm going to do it, but really haven't established A mindset, right?   John D Marvin ** 40:59 That's exactly true. And you know, people tend to focus on volume as opposed to continuity. And what I mean by that is people go to the gym and they they put all this intensity into the first day they haven't worked out in weeks or months, or even maybe a few years, and then the next day they're so sore they can't get out of bed and they can't so they decide they're going to take the next day off rest, and then that turns into a week off. And I'm a student of John Maxwell, the author, and he talks about what he calls the rule of five, and he illustrates it by saying that if you have a tree in your backyard that you're wanting to take out, you can take an ax and you can go out there and you can swing that Ax five times, and put down the ax and come back tomorrow morning, hit it five times. Come back tomorrow morning, hit it five times. And over a period of time, that tree will come down, or you can go out there and just try to chop and chop and chop, and that tree will defeat you, because you will run out of energy and you'll be too tired to finish it, but if you'll just be consistent over a time with the rule of five, and he talks about it in any profession, if you want to get good at it, figure out what are the five things you need to do every single day to grow in that direction and to accomplish what you need to accomplish. And so I think that you're right that over a period of time, long term success is not done through intensity. It's done through consistency. And he also says, you know, you're never going to change anything in your life until you change what you do daily? And that is very, very true.   Michael Hingson ** 43:09 I know I haven't really been the greatest at doing a lot of exercising and so on, and a lot of walking, and especially here in the winter, it gets really cold, and so I tend not to do it. But what I figured out, actually, a couple of years ago was we have a wonderful, great room with an island in the middle of it, and I will just put on a book and listen to it and do laps around the bar, and I'll get up to 10 and 15,000 steps a day just walking around the bar. Now it's not going uphill and downhill, but still a lot of good exercise. And I find that not only does that work, but I enjoy it, because I get to read at the same time or do other things. Of course, my dog probably thinks I'm nuts, and my cat, my cat avoids me. But by the same token, you know, it is exercise, and I found that I have no problem really doing that every day, absolutely.   John D Marvin ** 44:12 And you know, we we live in a gym, yeah, and whether it's your room, your great room with an island, or whether it's a backyard or your neighborhood, we lived in a gym. I think that was illustrated in one of the Rocky movies really well when he was held up in northern Russia and just worked out using the materials that were with him. And so there really is no excuse to doing something, and doing something is better than doing nothing at all, and doing something every day will deliver unbelievable results over time.   Michael Hingson ** 44:59 It's a. All about establishing the mindset. Yes, it is. Well, you know, you've done this work for a long time. What kind of advice would you give to people starting out to help them get the mindset and achieve what they want to do with their goals?   John D Marvin ** 45:19 Well, first of all, I think developing and writing a personal growth plan, and I mean writing, setting down and starting, for instance, I made a decision several years ago that I wanted to get better at communication. So that was a decision. And the side of all the things that I wanted to try to commit to developing or growing in or learning, I picked communication. Why did you want as one of it? Because I felt like it was extremely important that you never accomplish, or I didn't believe that I was going to accomplish what I wanted to in life without the ability to communicate well with others, whether that be my spouse or whether it be the people I work with the customers I serve. I wanted to be good at communicating. I wanted to become good at that. I also had a friend tell me one time said, you know, if you will read five books on any subject, you'll know more about that subject than 99% of the people. And so I decided, Okay, I'm going to find five books on communication, and I'm going to commit myself to reading those over the course of the next year. And I just, you know, went out and started trying to determine what are really good books about communication. Some of them I kind of knew, like How to Win Friends and Influence People. That was one that I knew. Okay, I'm going to put that one on the list. Now I need four more, and one of them I knew that John Maxwell had written. So I you know, everybody communicates, but few people connect, and I said, Okay, I'm going to be another one. So I just kind of put together my little library of five books, and I started so I had developed very narrow and limited, but I had developed my own personal growth plan as relates to communication. So as I would tell my grandson, or I would tell a friend, if you want to start on developing a mindset and developing personal growth, sit down and make a plan for what you're going to do. And it's interesting, because if you'll ask people, tell me about your and I do this with people who work for me, and when I'm hiring, tell me about your personal growth plan. What is your personal growth plan? And you know, most people don't even know what I'm talking about, so they start making stuff up, and it becomes real obvious that they don't have one. From my employees, I require that as a part of their job and their annual performance review, we go over their personal growth plan. I want them to become more valuable over the course of this next year, because to themselves, because if they do, then they become more valuable to the company, right? And so I would instruct somebody to sit down and start and make a plan and identify something you want to be better at and and start growing in those areas that that described as starting with communication, has grown now to seven different areas in my life, and I've got at least five, in some cases, more books in each of those areas. And so I've got a very busy personal growth plan that I I work on each year.   Michael Hingson ** 49:12 Do you find that, as you read books on these subjects, as you're dealing with your personal growth, that in reality, you know a lot of the stuff already, at least to a degree. But by the same token, reading what others have written tends to drive the point home a whole lot more. And I ask that from the standpoint of common sense.   John D Marvin ** 49:40 Well, I think so. I mean how to win, which   Michael Hingson ** 49:42 doesn't mean that you don't learn things from the books, but, but a lot of it is, is stuff that you Intuit   John D Marvin ** 49:50 Yeah, I think that you know, a great example that comes to mind is How to Win Friends And yes, people that book, if you read it, it's like, well, yeah, naturally. Of course, but if you read it and you focus, you know, if you read it with the attitude, I want to learn something from this, then you begin to internalize what you're reading. And as you internalize it, you develop more cognitive, a cognitive awareness of it. And what I find super interesting is that book is on my list every year, so I commit myself to read that book every year. So now you know, this year will be probably my 15th, 16th time reading it. What I find fascinating is, I'll read the same chapter I've read, and I'll learn something new, something new, yeah, each time. Because, much like the saying about you can't step in the same stream twice, because it's not the same stream and you're not the same person. Same goes with reading material. You can read that book a second time, and you'll get something out of it, because you're not the same person that you were the first time you read it. And as you mature in your understanding, you get more knowledge out of the reading. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 51:17 Which? Which makes perfect sense, which also says a lot about the quality of the author. But you're right. You will always, if you look for new things to learn, you'll find new things to learn absolutely, which is what makes it so cool. And I I tell people all the time, and I'm not sure they always understand it. If I'm not learning at least as much as anybody else by being involved in this podcast, then I'm not doing my job. Because I believe every episode gives me as much, if not more, of an opportunity to learn as guests or all the people who listen, which is why I think it's so much fun, because I think that learning is as fun as it gets.   John D Marvin ** 52:05 It is, I mean, you're absolutely right, you know, they also, there's a you never learn anything quite as well as when you have to teach it, yeah, you know. And in a way, by hosting a podcast, your your preparation for it, you're setting down, your concentration on it forces you to absorb from every interview that you do, and you can't help but walk away with being different than it was when you sat down to start it. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 52:42 one of my favorite books is a science fiction book written by Robert Heinlein. It's called the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. And I don't know whether you read my science fiction. I   John D Marvin ** 52:52 don't, but that sounds interesting. So   Michael Hingson ** 52:54 the basic premise is, it takes place in 2075 there's a hint, and it's all about the moon, which is being controlled by the lunar authority on earth. And it really parallels the American Revolution. The difference is that a computer on the moon, as they put it, wakes up and helps in doing the revolution that eventually gets Moon free from the earth, but one of the major characters is Professor Bernardo dela Paz, who is a teacher. And one of the things that the that the storyteller describes on a regular basis is how Professor dela Paz can teach on basically any subject, as long as he stays at least one lesson ahead of the people who he's teaching, which often does. So he teaches so many different things, but all he does is works to stay just a little bit ahead of the people that he's teaching, so that he can go back and teach it, and of course, as as you and I would say when he's teaching it, he also learns a whole lot more. But I think it's such a clever book.   John D Marvin ** 54:11 It sounds like it science fiction, but if I if that, when that strikes me that'll be one I put down to read.   Michael Hingson ** 54:23 I think it's the I believe it's high lines better. His best book. A lot of people talk about another one called Stranger in a Strange Land, which is about Mars and the earth. But I think that the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Was his best book, most imaginative book, which is kind of fun, yeah, but you know, it's, it's, it's just one of those things that I've just it's always stuck with me that dela Paz did that well. So over the time, being the president and CEO of Texas State Optical, i. Uhm, how has that shaped or changed your your views on leadership? Because I'm sure you've, you've had lots to do and lots to think about. I'm sure it's had an effect on you.   John D Marvin ** 55:12 Yeah, I, I think the biggest impact has been it's, it's of what it's required of me in in developing my leadership abilities and deep and making those abilities effective towards an outcome. And let me try to shed on that I mentioned earlier. I'm a student of Maxwell, and Maxwell has a definition of leadership is influence, and and he said leadership is is influence. It's nothing more than that. And, and so at first I didn't know what that meant. And then, as he goes on to explain, and it makes sense, oftentimes, you will, the leadership is not a matter of title. It's not a matter of position. Leadership is influence and the ability to influence. And you can walk into a room and you will observe the group, and in one corner, maybe somebody that is obviously the focus of the attention of the others, and that person is exerting leadership influence. They may not be the may not have title, and they may not be in any position of authority over the others, but the others will follow that person, because that person has influence on them. And so I've in my understanding of that, and then trying to live that I've seen that develop in my own ability. And then I have to sit down and say, okay, if I'm going to be a leader of my team, my executives that will report to me, how am I going to provide that influence. And so you begin to break that down and try to figure out because everyone's different. I mean, I I have four people that report to me, each one of them, I will have to affect and influence those people differently. And it starts with understanding them. And so what it's done is it's helped me to really understand that principle that offered by Maxwell, and then how to incorporate that into my life, so that I feel now confident in my ability to be a leader of any group or situation I find myself in, and I've just agreed to accept a new responsibility in a trade association, and I have confidence that I can provide a strong level of leadership, not because I'm the smartest person in the room, but because I have the ability of providing influence over that organization or in that group through better understanding of others that I Have a position over, so to speak. But you know, it's like the best arenas to develop leadership is a volunteer organization, because that's the only way you're going to get anything done, is to have influence, because these people don't have to do anything that you say. And so oftentimes, if you have the authority, you misuse it, and you provide nothing in the way of leadership to a group. That happens all the time.   Michael Hingson ** 59:13 I think that too many, and I use the term in quotes, leaders, think that the whole idea is that they're the boss. Well, bosses are not necessarily leaders, and you're right. Leaders are not necessarily bosses. Directly. It is all about influence. And unfortunately, all too often, the people who have influence may not be the designated leader, but then the leaders or bosses get jealous of those people, which is also extremely unfortunate they don't get it.   John D Marvin ** 59:45 It's a it can be threatening if you're a boss and you've got people that are supposed to report to you and they're listening or being influenced by someone else who may not be. Intentionally trying to subvert the boss. It's just they, they're more effective in that and so that's threatening. And so oftentimes, given that authority, they misuse it. And   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:15 the good leaders, however, when they see that happening, will try to go and understand from in part, the person who's the real influencer, what it is that they need to improve on to be able to be more effective. But that happens so rarely, by comparison to the number of people who are out there.   John D Marvin ** 1:00:38 Yeah, it's too often politics, and I don't mean that in the government sense, but corporate politics determines positions of authority, and you end up with a bunch of very ill equipped people with an awful lot of leadership responsibilities, but lacking in any kind of real leadership skill,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:02 yeah, which is something that we need to devote more time to teaching, but people also need to be willing to learn it, and that gets to be a challenge. Well, I have to tell you, this has been fun, and I know you have other things to do in the course of the day and enjoying the weather down there, so I want to let you go, but I really have enjoyed having you on and I've enjoyed all the different insights that you've brought. So I really appreciate you being here to do all of that. So maybe we'll have it again. That would be kind of fun.   John D Marvin ** 1:01:41 Well, my I've thoroughly enjoyed this as I mean, you make it so easy to visit. You're You're a tremendous host and good interviewer, good questions. You threw a couple at me there that I had to really stop and think about. And so anytime you'd be willing to have me back. I'd love to join you again sometime.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:02 Well, I want to thank you, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching us today. We really appreciate you being here. I'd love to hear your thoughts on today and what we've talked about. You're welcome to email me. It's easy. It's Michael, M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I, at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I V, e.com, or go to our podcast page, which is at www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and Michael hingson is spelled M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S O, n.com/podcast, if you know anyone else who you think ought to be a guest on our podcast, love to hear from you. We're always looking for more people to chat with. And in part, my motivation is I want to learn too. But the more people who come on, the more people we get to learn about who themselves are unstoppable. So please don't hesitate to refer people to it. And you know, John, you as well. We really value that wherever you listening, give us a five star rating. We value that. We appreciate your ratings and and love them. But once again, John, I want to thank you. This has been absolutely fun, and I'm glad you came   John D Marvin ** 1:03:13 well. Thank you. Thank you very much.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:20 you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Paul Murray kicks off a special episode of Our Town from Cairns, exploring the Great Barrier Reef, getting up close with crocs, and hearing from the locals. Plus, the countdown is on to the State of Origin opener on Wednesday.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This podcast puts you inside the mind of the actor to help other actors feel less alone and to educate actors and non-actors alike about the artistic process and expression of acting.Terry Martin served 17 seasons as Producing Artistic Director of the award-winning WaterTower Theatre in Addison, Texas, where he directed or oversaw more than 150 productions. Under his leadership, WTT grew from a small local theatre company to one of the leading regional theatres in Texas. Before moving to Dallas from NYC, in 1992, he worked in theatre, television, and film both as an actor and director. He directed and acted at The Village Theatre Company, Carnegie Hall Studios, and Theatre at St. Marks, as well as television appearances on ABC's One Life to Live and NBC's To Serve and Protect and in the feature film Tin Men.He trained professionally with Sanford Meisner, Fred Kareman, Wynn Handman, Bill Esper, Sally Johnson, and Lehmann Byck. Prior to his move to Dallas, Terry started his own studio in 1990, and he has continued to teach ongoing professional acting classes and workshops in the Sanford Meisner Technique. He holds a BA from the University of Alabama and presently serves as the Head of Fine Arts at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas.His most recent acting performance on screen is in Wayward Kin (2025) where he plays Judge Burgess and on stage as Big Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof for The Classical Theatre Project (2022) and in The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey at Uptown Players Gay History Month Festival (2018). In addition, he appeared on stage at the Dallas Theater Center in Next Fall (2012) and WTT in All My Sons (2015) and Our Town (2010).  In 2008, Terry won a Dallas Fort Worth Theatre Critics' Forum Award as Best Actor for the play Blackbird.  His other WTT acting credits include The Woman in Black, Dinner with Friends, The Guys, Bash: Latter-day Plays, and The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me… (1998 Leon Rabin Award – Actor in a Play, 1998 Dallas Theater Critics Forum Award). FIND TERRY ONLINE: https://www.terrymartinact.net/Subscribe for more!FOLLOW ANYTOWNTikTok Instagram WEBSITE: https://www.anytownactorslab.com

Monday's show featured John Leahy on the weekend sports scene and a preview of this weekend's production of the Thornton Wilder classic “Our Town” at the Concord Auditorium. Joining us in studio were the director of the show Cindy Dickinson and cast members Hannah McCauley who is playing the role of Emily and Jeremy Lent who will portray George. For more info it's communityplayersofconcord.org.

Join Paul Murray for this month’s special edition of Our Town in Kalgoorlie, a hung parliament could be on the horizon, according to the latest Newspoll. Plus, is a Dutton victory still within reach?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julie Stevens shares her extensive background in theater, revealing her journey as both an actress and producer. She discusses her roles as a board member at Deerfield Theater and her return to acting after a 20-year hiatus, during which she built a successful career in senior living. Julie highlights her contributions to the local theater scene, her experiences overcoming pandemic-related challenges, and the excitement around producing Our Town, emphasizing its relevance and emotional impact. Additionally, she reflects on the new dynamics following the merger of Deerfield Family Theater and Theater D boards and her enthusiasm for bringing the community together through live theater.Performances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Sarah Canon is an experienced performer and choreographer deeply involved with Deerfield Theater. Sarah, who has been both on stage and behind the scenes, discusses her notable roles and contributions, including performing in "Annie" and choreographing productions like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." She shares her excitement about her current role as Emily Webb in the upcoming production of "Our Town," calling it a dream role. Sarah also reflects on her pandemic experiences, the unique dynamic of working with her husband, Matt Canon, who is also involved in Deerfield Theater, and offers insights into auditioning and the importance of community in theater.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

In a special bonus episode, Alex Wood has a chat with the Welsh National Theatre's artistic director - none other than stage and screen legend Michael Sheen. Sheen will kick off the company's programming with a new, relocated production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town - joined by the award-winning Doctor Who show runner and creative associate Russell T Davies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kimberly Parsons-Whitaker and Michelle Eifes join the show to discuss OUR TOWN, the classic play being presented by Landmark Community Theater.

There’s something kind of special about the experience of a really great, really bad movie. Think Red Dawn or Under Siege. Snakes on a Plane or Batman & Robin. Independence Day is nearly perfect and so rewatchable — and also terrible. This hour, a Nose-ish look at the joy of bad movies. GUESTS: Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications Alicia di Leo: A para-educator in the integrated preschool program in the Manchester school system David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic Severn Sandt: Associate director of strategic partnerships and outreach at Trinity College in Hartford Howard Sherman: A theater administrator, writer, and advocate; he is the U.S. columnist for The Stage newspaper of London and the author of Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired August 2, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the album's reduced commercial clout and declining role in music consumption, a dilemma crops up for all long-established bands involved in the endeavour of making a new LP record. Put simply, why bother? Why toil for four years on a body of work that distils 100 song ideas into ten tracks, spending a fortune in the process, only to see it flash across the charts and then evaporate into the mesh of 100 million songs? It's an existential question for Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue, who told me:“It's sort of madness really, when all the good songs and books have already been written. Who wants to hear what's in my head or what we've created as a band? Does anyone even sit down and listen to an album now? But I think of it in the same way as poets, novelists and filmmakers. It's still worth doing if you feel you can do it well”. Arguably, new albums have been especially challenging for Deacon Blue in part because the band made one of the most accomplished debuts ever, 1987's Raintown. With its themes of growing up in Glasgow, work, money, expectations and dreams, Raintown is as universal a concept as any record and yet it is fundamentally a musical tribute to Glasgow that most Scots are really proud of. It set a high bar for Deacon Blue, and yet the band went on to have acute commercial success with the four albums that followed between 1989 and 1994, rounding the period off with a Greatest Hits compilation (remember them!) Our Town, in 1994. The band then split, and you can't say they didn't quit while they were ahead. They each went on to have their own multi-media career ventures, acting, writing and presenting, effectively avoiding the inevitable mid-career slump of many of their contemporaries. Alas, they came back together in 1999 and the second act has been a classic post limelight affair. A string of lower key albums placed them firmly in the ‘for fans only' vortex of music careers - perfectly sustainable and yet largely forgotten by the mainstream. It hasn't stopped the band hitting creative highs with albums though, notably 2014's A New House  and the outstanding City of Love in 2020. But when the journey continues, where do you go next? The answer seems to be ‘full circle, then forward'. New album The Great Western Road arrives on a momentous anniversary for Deacon Blue, it is 40 years since songwriter and frontman Ricky Ross and drummer Dougie Vipond created the group's first incarnation. With the opening title track set in Glasgow, it's more than a nod to their debut (indeed, the title track echoes Raintown's opener Born In A Storm, a ‘Gershwin meets Glasgow' classic). The band reunited with Raintown recording engineer Matt Butler and so were clearly ready to revisit their origins. But as the new album unfolds, so does the metaphor of the band stretching out further and further. The result is a bunch of songs that reflect the sense of expectation of their early work with reflection, perspective and a contented resignation. Classic country songs How We Remember It and Curve of the Line are particular highlights of a mature, grown up pop record. Support the showGet more related content at: https://www.songsommelier.com/

Geoff Isaac will be performing the role of the stage manager in the play, Our Town. Isaac discusses his extensive background in theater, his thoughts on the significance of Our Town as one of America's greatest plays, and the unique role of the stage manager who narrates and guides the audience through the story. Isaac shares his thoughts on the beauty of live theater, particularly after the pandemic, the versatility of Deerfield Theater's productions, and the importance of communal experiences in appreciating the arts. Isaac emphasizes the timeless and moving nature of Our Town, encouraging listeners to attend the performance to fully grasp its depth and emotional impact. Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Send your questions or provocations to Adam or Budi here!In this episode Adam and Budi continue their conversation on Theatre as a Way of Life - this time taking an in-depth look at the Actor as a Shaman. Support the showIf you enjoyed this week´s podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. To submit a question: Voice- http://www.speakpipe.com/theatreofothers Email- podcast@theatreofothers.com Show Credits Co-Hosts: Adam Marple & Budi MillerProducer: Jack BurmeisterMusic: (Intro) Jack Burmeister, (Outro) https://www.purple-planet.comAdditional compositions by @jack_burmeister

From Amy:My junior year in high school, we read Thornton Wilder's play Our Town in English class. My senior year, that same English teacher, Carol Ottoson, directed the play and cast me as the Stage Manager. That role, which spends so much time reflecting on details in life and their meaning, had a huge influence on how I see the world, and I'm certain that's rubbed off on me as a writer of creative nonfiction: how I make sense of small details, the things that matter, the people around me, and how they all connect to each other. It seems to me that I would be a different person if not for that experience, and the understanding that I had a voice that carries, and that I can use it for good in the world.So when I went with my husband to a recent production of Our Town at a neighboring high school, I was delighted to run into my old castmate (and previous podcast guest) Cory Busse, himself a writer, whose daughter was now in the show. We both agreed that this play was something special, something that had a huge impact on both of us, and something that holds up across time. So I reached out to our former English teacher, Carol Ottoson, and the three of us recorded a reunion conversation. It's the perfect introduction to my latest podcast season.I am reminded all the time that story is powerful. Connection to each other is powerful. And we have no idea the impact that stories will have on us until long after they're told. Some stories have our attention a moment. But some stories—and some people—make an indelible mark.And if that's not a worthy reason to make our artwork and write our stories and engage in creative play with each other, I'm not sure what is. Carol Ottoson (Otto) retired from teaching, coaching, and directing after 36 years in the classroom, including 24 in the Prior Lake Savage (MN) School District. She continues to sub in the district. She directed theater for thirty years and coached speech for 34 years. Carol and her husband Keith have been married for over 51 years and have two adult children, Heather and Andy, two sons-in-law, Collan and Branden, and two grandsons, Zach and Jameson. Carol and her husband enjoy traveling and are frequently on the road somewhere. Carol also occasionally preaches at her local church (htumc.org). They are a reconciling congregation, and promote inclusivity.Follow Carol on Facebook  or email her directly at ottoem50@aol.com.  Cory Busse was once voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by Cory Busse Magazine whose audience boasts more than zero Cory Busses.Follow "Tales from the Christmas Village," a way to keep the spirit of snark alive in your heart all year long.   Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. Get Amy's Books and AudiobooksLearn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life WritersWork with Amy 1:1

Chuck Quinn III and Chuck Quinn IV, a father and son duo, are performing together in Deerfield Theater's upcoming production of Our Town. They share their unique experiences of working together on stage, the deep bond it forms, and how their real-life relationship influences their portrayal of their characters in the play, and vice versa. They reflect on the significance of the play's themes of cherishing everyday moments, especially poignant after the pandemic. Both Chucks describe their journey in theater and offer insights into how performing arts have impacted their lives. They encourage audiences to see Our Town, highlighting its timeless message and the joy of live theater.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Ryan Bond, an experienced performer and executive producer, discusses his journey from stage production to acting, highlighting his extensive background in digital marketing, software, and game development. Ryan shares his joy in expanding his theatrical footprint in the Chicagoland area, particularly with Deerfield Theater's production of Our Town, where he plays Simon Stimson. He reflects on the impact of the pandemic on theater, his transition from production to performance, and his involvement in various TV shows such as Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. Ryan also emphasizes the value of community theater and encourages aspiring performers to seek out opportunities, underscoring the significance of live theater and the arts in enriching lives and communities.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Dana Pepowski, a dramaturg and arts administrator, joins the Deerfield Theater Podcast to discuss her role in the upcoming production of Our Town. Dana, a Northwestern graduate who has worked as an artist in Chicago, elaborates on the duties of a dramaturg, which range from providing historical context to facilitating audience engagement through lobby displays and talkbacks. She highlights her involvement in creating a comprehensive research packet for the cast and her ongoing efforts to design a lobby display and lead post-performance discussions. Dana also reflects on how the pandemic shaped her career and shares insights for aspiring dramaturgs. Her passion for theater and detailed research enhance the production and audience experience, making Our Town a deeply engaging performance.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Dan Taube, the Director of the Deerfield Theater's upcoming production of Our Town, shares his extensive experience in theater, spanning from acting to directing and playwriting. He discusses his journey, which began at age 12, evolving through education at NYU and DePaul, and his varied career in community and professional theater. Dan highlights his transition to playwriting and the collaborative nature of theater, emphasizing the importance of life lessons learned through theater experiences. He reflects on the impact of the pandemic on his work and expresses his enthusiasm for returning to live theater. Dan also shares memorable productions he's been involved in and encourages audiences to attend Our Town, underscoring its universal themes and timeless relevance.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

Susie Mason, co-president of the Deerfield Theater board, shares her deep connection with the theater and her journey with Theater D's latest production, Our Town. Initially skeptical about the choice of the play, Susie found herself falling in love with it during her research, appreciating its profound message about cherishing everyday moments. Her experience with the production extended beyond graphic design as she decided to audition and became part of the ensemble. Susie emphasizes the significance of the play's themes in today's fast-paced world, encouraging audiences to notice and appreciate the simple, yet beautiful aspects of life.Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

In this episode, I discuss the work of Director, Producer and actor Sam Wood.Directed eight Oscar Best Picture nominees: The Good Earth (1937) (uncredited), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939) (uncredited), Our Town (1940), Kitty Foyle (1940), Kings Row (1942), The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943).

Send us a textIn this episode of Treasures of Our Town, hosts Joshua and Craig explore the unique and charming towns across the USA, focusing on the oldest active geocaches. They share their experiences from the recent BamaRama mega event, discuss the significance of geocaching, and highlight the hidden gems surrounding these historical caches. The conversation is filled with personal anecdotes, travel tips, and insights into the geocaching community. In this conversation, Joshua and Craig explore various geocaching locations across the United States, sharing personal experiences and insights about the unique challenges and rewards of each site. They discuss the beauty of Oregon's wilderness, the historical significance of caches in Illinois, and the vibrant culture of Chicago. The conversation also delves into spooky adventures in New York and the unique charm of Kansas City, culminating in a thrilling tale of swimming in a snowy pond during a geocaching trip. In this episode, Joshua and Craig discuss their experiences with hiking, geocaching, and exploring unique roadside attractions across the United States. They share stories about high-altitude hikes, local museums, and the thrill of finding hidden caches. The conversation also delves into local legends like the Mogollon Monster, the quirky UFO Watchtower, and the impressive Bishop's Castle. Listeners are encouraged to explore these hidden gems and enjoy the beauty of nature and adventure.ShowNotes Support the showFacebookInstagramXYoutube

For our Valentine's Day 2025 episode, we plunge deep into the nature of relationships by discussing two films whose romantic pairings are arguably not relationships at all: Spike Jonze's Her (2013) and his sometime collaborator, Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). Isolation, loss, misogyny, male fantasies, hope and despair: we've got all of the Valentine's goodness for you. And it continues with our Fear and Moviegoing discussion of Mike Leigh's Hard Truths (2024).  Time Codes: 0h 00m 25s:    HER (2013) [dir. Spike Jonze] 0h 54m 53s:    I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020) [dir. Charlie Kaufman] 1h 30m 24s:    Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto: Mike Leigh's Hard Truths (2024) Related content: ·       Our immensely long and under-edited discussion of Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Our Town (1940) ·       Our second ever podcast: Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2003) +++ * Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's piece on Gangs of New York – “Making America Strange Again” * Check out Dave's Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join! 

Fans and friends of family theater from all over, but especially Deerfield, we have a special announcement for you on a ticket discount promotion for the upcoming show: Our Town!From February 14th to February 20th, if you use the discount code, VALDAY5, you will receive $5 off your ticket.So get that $5 off and get your ticket to see Our Town performances, March 28th through April 13th. We'll see you at the theater!Theater D Presents: Our TownPerformances at Caruso Auditorium, 1801 Montgomery Rd., Deerfield on:* Fridays, March 28, 4, and 11 at 7:30pm* Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and 12 at 7:30pm* Sundays, March 30, April 6 and 13 at 2:00pmDeerfield TheaterPurchase Tickets This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deerfieldtheater.substack.com

"Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Careyand special guestDavid Dorfman.In this episode of"Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey interviewsDavid Dorfman, the Artistic Director of the David Dorfman Dance Company. They discuss David's journey into dance, his influences, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career. David shares insights into his teaching philosophy, the importance of improvisation, and the collaborative nature of dance. He emphasizes the significance of presence in performance and the joy of mentorship in his role as a professor at Connecticut College. In this engaging conversation, David Dorfman shares his insights on the art of partner dancing, the themes of surrender and connection in his work, and the intersection of dance and war. He discusses the transformative power of dance, the importance of legacy, and how revisiting old works can be a journey through time. Dorfman emphasizes the role of dance in healing and connection, advocating for a world where everyone dances as a path to peace.Upcoming performance: Downtown to Uptown, Past to Forward.David Dorfman is the Artistic Director and Founder of David Dorfman Dance (1987), has been Professor of Dance at Connecticut College since 2004. Dorfman received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005 to continue his research and choreography in the topics of power and powerlessness, including activism, dissidence, and underground movements. DD has been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer's Award, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard, and a New York Dance & Performance “Bessie” Award.David was a 2019 United States Artists Fellow in Dance. His work has been commissioned widely in the U.S. and in Europe, by Dancing Wheels (Cleveland), AXIS Dance Company (Oakland), and Bedlam Dance Company (London). His forays into theater include choreography for the Tony Award-winning play,Indecent, by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, for which DD received a Lucille Lortel Award and Chita Rivera Nomination for best choreography for the play's Off-Broadway run. David traveled to London in March 2020 to set choreography forIndecent's UK premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In addition, David has contributed his choreography for the upcomingWhisper House, a new musical by Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow, Ibsen'sAn Enemy of the People at Yale Rep;Our Town, a co-production of Deaf West and Pasadena Playhouse;Assassins at Yale Rep; and the original musicalGreen Violin at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia, for which he won a 2003 Barrymore Award for best choreography. Dorfman tours an evening of solos and duets,Live Sax Acts, with dear friend and collaborator Dan Froot, most recently in New York City and at the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe.  As a performer, he toured internationally with Kei Takei's Moving Earth and Susan Marshall & Co.DD hails from Chicago and holds a BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis (1977). He appeared on several episodes of A Chance to Dance, a reality show on OvationTV starring Dorfman's pals, the BalletBoyz .DD continually thanks Martha Myers and the late Daniel Nagrin, for being his dance mom and dad; his late parents, Oscar and Jeanette, for inspiring him to dance to heal and instilling the importance of a good joke; and his in-house “family project”, Lisa and Samson, for sharing with him the practice of unconditional love.Info About Upcoming Performanceshttps://www.daviddorfmandance.org/calendar“Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Careywherever you listen to your podcasts. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dancetalkwithjoannecarey.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Joanne on Instagram @westfieldschoolofdance Tune in. Follow. Like us. And Share. Please leave a review! “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey"Where the Dance World Connects, the Conversations Inspire, and Where We Are Keeping Them Real."

Happy New Year! We made it to 2025. And if the first few weeks are any indication, it looks like we might be in for a bit of a bumpy ride.Which is why I open this month's “Good Enough Parenting” episode with the reminder that tapping into things that bring us joy is not a luxury as parents – it's a necessity for your family's well-being. Whether it's catching a movie, meeting up with a friend or simply savoring a quiet coffee, prioritizing things that fill your cup isn't selfish; it's essential.To start my year, I indulged in a favorite tradition: seeing a Broadway show solo. This time, it was Our Town—front row and close enough to get spit on by Jim Parsons (yes, it was worth it).Watching those turn-of-the-century moms yell for their kids to come to breakfast reminded me of something important:Some parenting struggles are timeless (like kids not listening the first, second, or third time).And parents losing their cool? Yeah, that hasn't changed in 125 years either.In this month's episode, we're diving into: ✨ How to stop “shoulding” all over yourself and your kids. 

The boys are talking about those very special episodes that TV sitcoms through at us in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Those very special episodes that dealt with drugs, inappropriate adult behavior and getting stuck in refrigerators. Everything from the Golden Girls to Punky Brewster. Remember that time Mike Seaver told us not to do cocaine, even if it means getting into a hot tub with Kristy Swanson? Or the time Alex P. Keaton saw a psychiatrist, like he was on stage doing Our Town. There here, and R-Town does their best to break them down for us. you can **Watch** this episode on http://youtube.rtownpod.com Follow/Like our Socials ⁠http://linktr.ee/rtownpod to check out the Top 5 go to http://patreon.com/rtownpodcast

More than 200 years ago, Jamestown, R.I., had the largest percentage of enslaved people in the state. What happened to the Black community there? A local historian has been working to bring that history to light. That's just one segment in the most recent episode of the "Our Town" series on Rhode Island PBS. RI PBS Arts and Culture Producer Ross Lippman joins our host, Ed Fitzpatrick, to talk more about the series. Tips and ideas? Email us at rinews@globe.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the season finale of Gays Reading, host Jason Blitman sits down with Ann Patchett to discuss the annotated edition of her acclaimed novel Bel Canto. They explore the power of memory, the key to learning and appreciating opera, and much more. Ann shares stories about meeting Jim Parsons at Our Town on Broadway, attending the only baseball game of her life, and what she would say to her younger self who wrote Bel Canto. Tune in for Ann's holiday book recommendations and Jason's most memorable reads of the year.Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.The list of books from the episode can be found HERE. Check out the Bel Canto Spotify PlaylistBOOK CLUB!Use code GAYSREADING at checkout to get first book for only $4 + free shipping! Restrictions apply.http://aardvarkbookclub.comWATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreadingBOOKS!Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading MERCH!Purchase your Gays Reading podcast merchandise HERE! https://gaysreading.myspreadshop.com/ FOLLOW!@gaysreading | @jasonblitman CONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Welcome back listeners! In this episode, Jen and Lane dive deep into Thornton Wilder's timeless play Our Town. Together, they explore its themes of life, death, and the beauty of everyday moments. Tune in for an engaging conversation about this classic piece of American theater, its lasting impact, and the lessons it offers for modern audiences. Episode Links: Referred to in the episode: Our Town (2003) (IMDb Link) “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett (Bookshop.org paperback) A Psalm for the Wild-Built: A Monk and Robot Book (Bookshop.org hardcover) Buy the book: Our Town: A Play in Three Acts (Bookshop.org paperback) Thornton Wilder: Our Town, The Bridge of San Luis Rey & More (Libro.fm audiobook) Show Links: Bards Alley Bookshop Website⁠⁠

Send us a textWhat happens when a mini-bank cache needs a car battery, and how does an Alaskan cruise tie into geocaching? These are just a couple of intriguing tales from our latest journey on Treasures of Our Town. Join us for a delightful conversation of our part 2 of the Potpourri series, where we answer your questions and share our travel dreams. We're buzzing with excitement about our upcoming adventure at the Texas Challenge Mega Event, a highlight in the geocaching world, and can't wait to bring you along through our stories and plans for the event.Our exploration continues as we navigate the creative geocaching landscapes of West Virginia, marveling at the genius of West Virginia Tim's caches. From mini-banks to breathtaking views at Cache Across America, the journey is filled with adventure and surprise. We also take you on a non-geocaching tour, sharing our experiences with movie location pilgrimages and food and drink trails, all while intertwining these with our geocaching escapades. Ever thought of a geocaching-themed cruise? We brainstorm this exciting possibility and dream of sharing the adventure with you.As we wrap up, we share the thrill of geocaching challenges that push our limits, highlighting cross-country quests and the camaraderie they inspire. Our heartfelt Thanksgiving tradition of watching "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" adds a personal touch to our episode, celebrating community pride and shared passions. Whether you're a geocaching enthusiast or love cinematic adventures, this episode promises a blend of excitement, nostalgia, and anticipation, inviting you to explore the treasures of our town and beyond.LINK to ShownotesSupport the showFacebookInstagramXYoutube

As Asia prepares for a whole new America under Donald Trump, Christiane speaks with US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. Plus, no women in combat and ditching diversity issues. Is this the future under Trump's unconventional defense pick? We dig into the real-world impact with former US Defense Secretary William Cohen. And as the great American play "Our Town" returns to Broadway, Michel Martin speaks with Director Kenny Leon and stars Katie Holmes and Jim Parsons.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hoda and Jenna share their opinions on some listeners' tricky social situations. Also, Zoey Deutch joins to discuss making her Broadway debut in Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ‘Our Town.' Plus, Jessica Seinfeld bakes crispy peanut butter bars that are both healthy and delicious. And, celebrity makeup artist Neil Scibelli shares a few supermodel beauty secrets anyone can use.

About this episode: A new documentary, “Shot in the Arm,” looks at the modern anti-vaccine movement from its opposition to the measles vaccine in 2019 through the pandemic and its opposition to COVID vaccination. Filmmaker Scott Kennedy joins the podcast to talk about about the five-year project of creating the film, including details from his hour-long interview with a leading voice in the movement, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Guest: Scott Kennedy is an Academy Award nominated writer, director, producer, and documentarian. He is known for films such as The Garden and Our Town. Shot in the Arm is his most recent film. Host: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. Show links and related content:   Shot in the Arm—PBS Deadly measles outbreak hits children in Samoa after anti-vaccine fears—Washington Post Once struggling, antivaccine groups have enjoyed a pandemic windfall—NBC News 7 things about vaccines and autism that the movie ‘Vaxxed' won't tell you—Washington Post Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs cover The X-Files one episode at a time. Though we are discussing "Our Town" today, it is decidedly NOT the play by Thornton Wilder but rather an episode of The X-Files in which the townsfolk are dining on... other townsfolk! Cannibalism: the other red meat?? Producer LaToya Ferguson gives this episode a scary ranking of 1/5 Outsiders We Have To Deal With IN EPISODE LINKS https://indianpueblo.org/what-does-anasazi-mean-and-why-is-it-controversial/ SCOOP THE NEW MERCH!!! bufferingthevampireslayer.com/shop OUR BOOK! OUR BOOK! OUR BOOK IS UP FOR PRE ORDER! bufferingcast.com/book LOCATE YOUR HOSTS UPON THE INTERNET Jenny Owen Youngs | @jennyowenyoungs; jennyowenyoungs.com Kristin Russo | @kristinnoeline; kristinnoeline.com Buffering: A Rewatch Adventure | @bufferingcast on socials MUSIC | Theme song and jingles composed and performed by Jenny Owen Youngs | bufferingcast.com/music PATREON | patreon.com/bufferingcast MERCH | bufferingthevampireslayer.com/shop X-FILES ABACUS | bufferingcast.com/abacus PODCAST SCHEDULE | bufferingcast.com/jennycalendar Produced by: Kristin Russo, Jenny Owen Youngs, and LaToya Ferguson Edited & Mixed by: John Mark Nelson and Kristin Russo Logo: Devan Power We acknowledge that we and our team are occupying unceded and stolen lands and territories. Kristin occupies the Lenape territories of the Esopus Lenape Peoples. Jenny occupies the Wabanahkik territory of the Abenaki and Pennacook Peoples. Learn more about Land Acknowledgments + our continued anti-racist efforts at bufferingthevampireslayer.com/justkeepfighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs cover The X-Files one episode at a time. Though we are discussing "Our Town" today, it is decidedly NOT the play by Thornton Wilder but rather an episode of The X-Files in which the townsfolk are dining on... other townsfolk! Cannibalism: the other red meat?? Producer LaToya Ferguson gives this episode a scary ranking of 1/5 Outsiders We Have To Deal With IN EPISODE LINKS https://indianpueblo.org/what-does-anasazi-mean-and-why-is-it-controversial/ SCOOP THE NEW MERCH!!! bufferingthevampireslayer.com/shop OUR BOOK! OUR BOOK! OUR BOOK IS UP FOR PRE ORDER! bufferingcast.com/book LOCATE YOUR HOSTS UPON THE INTERNET Jenny Owen Youngs | @jennyowenyoungs; jennyowenyoungs.com Kristin Russo | @kristinnoeline; kristinnoeline.com Buffering: A Rewatch Adventure | @bufferingcast on socials MUSIC | Theme song and jingles composed and performed by Jenny Owen Youngs | bufferingcast.com/music PATREON | patreon.com/bufferingcast MERCH | bufferingthevampireslayer.com/shop X-FILES ABACUS | bufferingcast.com/abacus PODCAST SCHEDULE | bufferingcast.com/jennycalendar Produced by: Kristin Russo, Jenny Owen Youngs, and LaToya Ferguson Edited & Mixed by: John Mark Nelson and Kristin Russo Logo: Devan Power We acknowledge that we and our team are occupying unceded and stolen lands and territories. Kristin occupies the Lenape territories of the Esopus Lenape Peoples. Jenny occupies the Wabanahkik territory of the Abenaki and Pennacook Peoples. Learn more about Land Acknowledgments + our continued anti-racist efforts at bufferingthevampireslayer.com/justkeepfighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth takes a closer look at the progressive political world pointing fingers over Trump's victory, with Bernie Sanders saying Democrats abandoned the working class and pundits saying Democrats were too woke. Jim Parsons talks about the decision to grow out his beard, performing in two Broadway shows in a row and never having seen Our Town before being cast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

✨ "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?" ✨ This week, we're talking about embracing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Inspired by the movies About Time, Our Town and our own brushes with being saved, this episode explores the profound impact of living fully present and the life-changing power of gratitude. We dive into the idea of reliving an ordinary day with fresh eyes, with appreciation for the little details. Open your heart to savor the simple joys, and shift into a more blissful existence through gratitude. Don't wait for big moments to feel grateful—life's beauty is right here, every day.For the Meditation Collections click here!Connect with Mesha Find Mesha on Instagram Check out Mesha's website Click here for a free mini meditation course with Mesha Click here for The Heart Sync Course with Mesha (where you learn heart coherence) Click here for a free heart meditation with Mesha Click here to learn about the power of your heart And you can always email Mesha at hello@myfriendmesha.com

Connor and Dylan are coming at you again with an all-new TWIN TALK! The fellas give you a little mix of all things theatre, pop culture, love, and life in this episode. Listen in for some discourse surrounding Drag Race Global All Stars and UK6, We Live in Time starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, and everything under the sun. Connor and Dylan take another moment to reflect on the passing of the extraordinary Gavin Creel, as well as the shocking loss of Liam Payne, which instantly inspires some One Direction reflections in this episode. Then, it's Broadway recap time! The twins took in Our, Mary!, Sunset Boulevard, Drag the Musical, Romeo + Juliet, The Hills of California, Our Town, and Once Upon a Mattress. They're some gagging over Shakespeare's legendary lines in R&J, as well as raves about the stars of this revival: Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler. They gag over friends of the pod James Scully, Tom Francis, Nick Adams, Jan Sport, and more in this jam-packed romp of an episode. Don't forget to VOTE, and early vote if ya nasty.Follow DRAMA. on Twitter & Instagram & TiktokFollow Connor MacDowell on Twitter & InstagramFollow Dylan MacDowell on Twitter & InstagramSubscribe to our show on iHeartRadio Broadway!Support the podcast by subscribing to DRAMA+, which also includes bonus episodes, Instagram Close Friends content, and more!

The latest Broadway revival of the Thornton Wilder classic "Our Town" is both familiar and modern, under the direction of Kenny Leon. Leon joins us to discuss alongside actor Zoey Deutch, who stars as Emily. "Our Town" is running now at the Barrymore Theatre through January 19.

“There is a CULT behind our radical culture shift and their name is THE EVOLUTIONARY LEADERS,” writes Lisa Logan. “Based upon a world religion called New Thought, they've gotten their Gnostic ideas into society through one of THE MOST influential & widely watched people in the media…” Get tickets to REAGAN at https://reagan.movie Penelope Ann Miller is an award-winning actress who has starred alongside Hollywood legends in acclaimed films such as “The Freshman” and “Awakenings.” She has played two iconic first ladies of the White House: Mary Todd Lincoln in the film “Saving Lincoln” and now Nancy Reagan in the new film “Reagan”. Miller received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in “Carlito's Way” and was part of the cast of “The Artist,” which won five Academy Awards. She has worked with all three Godfathers: Marlon Brando in “The Freshman”; Robert De Niro in Penny Marshall's “Awakenings”; and Al Pacino in director Brian de Palma's “Carlito's Way”, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Miller also earned a Tony Award nomination for her Broadway performance in “Our Town.” Follow her at https://x.com/PenelopeAMiller Lisa Logan is the host of the YouTube channel “Parents of Patriots” and author of the Substack “Education Manifesto.” As a researcher and speaker, she focuses on educational programs and their impact on First Amendment rights. Follow Lisa at https://x.com/IAmLisaLogan 「 SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 」 Find out more about the brands that make this show possible and get special discounts on Dr. Drew's favorite products at https://drdrew.com/sponsors  • FATTY15 – The future of essential fatty acids is here! Strengthen your cells against age-related breakdown with Fatty15. Get 15% off a 90-day Starter Kit Subscription at https://drdrew.com/fatty15 • CAPSADYN - Get pain relief with the power of capsaicin from chili peppers – without the burning! Capsadyn's proprietary formulation for joint & muscle pain contains no NSAIDs, opioids, anesthetics, or steroids. Try it for 15% off at https://drdrew.com/capsadyn • PALEOVALLEY - "Paleovalley has a wide variety of extraordinary products that are both healthful and delicious,” says Dr. Drew. "I am a huge fan of this brand and know you'll love it too!” Get 15% off your first order at https://drdrew.com/paleovalley • THE WELLNESS COMPANY - Counteract harmful spike proteins with TWC's Signature Series Spike Support Formula containing nattokinase and selenium. Learn more about TWC's supplements at https://twc.health/drew 「 MEDICAL NOTE 」 Portions of this program may examine countervailing views on important medical issues. Always consult your physician before making any decisions about your health. 「 ABOUT THE SHOW 」 Ask Dr. Drew is produced by Kaleb Nation (https://kalebnation.com) and Susan Pinsky (https://twitter.com/firstladyoflove). This show is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What's it like to live here, in a town left for dead? They buy a house and stay – for three years. They get caught up in an election cycle and a web of scandals. It's democracy in action on the smallest scale. It's Our Town for our time. And it's all real. Cement City is an Audacy original in partnership with Cement City Productions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What's it like to live here, in a town left for dead? They buy a house and stay – for three years. They get caught up in an election cycle and a web of scandals. It's democracy in action on the smallest scale. It's Our Town for our time. And it's all real. Cement City is an Audacy original in partnership with Cement City Productions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What's it like to live here, in a town left for dead? They buy a house and stay – for three years. They get caught up in an election cycle and a web of scandals. It's democracy in action on the smallest scale. It's Our Town for our time. And it's all real. Cement City is an Audacy original in partnership with Cement City Productions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What's it like to live here, in a town left for dead? They buy a house and stay – for three years. They get caught up in an election cycle and a web of scandals. It's democracy in action on the smallest scale. It's Our Town for our time. And it's all real. Cement City is an Audacy original in partnership with Cement City Productions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What's it like to live here, in a town left for dead? They buy a house and stay – for three years. They get caught up in an election cycle and a web of scandals. It's democracy in action on the smallest scale. It's Our Town for our time. And it's all real. Cement City is an Audacy original in partnership with Cement City Productions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the candidates prepare for Tuesday's presidential debate, former VP Dick Cheney offered a surprise endorsement for Kamala Harris, Donald Trump announced that Stephen Colbert is on his list of enemies, and Flavortown mayor Guy Fieri shared what happened to him at Sylvester Stallone's house. Jim Parsons talks to Stephen about the life-affirming themes in the play “Our Town,” which is considered one of the great works of American theater. Jim's production of “Our Town” opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 17th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices