Leftbrainrightbrain Marketing Podcasts

I woke up, went off to the gym, then to work, like any other day. I imagine for a lady named Valsa Raju out in Yonkers, New York, her day started in an ordinary way. September 11, 2001 would not be just another day. I recently visited the 9/11 Memorial and it was as moving as you might expect. I met someone there. Someone who, I also imagine, was a…

When fire strikes, here's what you need to know... My sister, Amy Wagner, lost her family home of nearly 30 years to a fire in the spring of 2020. She's sharing her story of loss, community support, and rebuilding, and how that experience drove her to pay it forward by founding The Wagner Family Fire Fund. The Fire Fund is a non-profit supporting f…

I recently visited both The National Baseball Hall of Fame and The Pro Football Hall of Fame. The difference in the feel of them was like going to a family reunion versus a corporate Powerpoint presentation… I'll tell you why. Links The National Baseball Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryan…

I'm past being tired of gun violence. So much that I'm also past being on board with the 2nd Amendment. In this episode I'm laying down facts and data on the most common arguments gun owners make in defense of their guns. But that's not all, I'm also providing what I believe are logical solutions that might allow a gun owner to have a shootin' iron…

Keep the episodes coming! Support YDS today: Support on Venmo l Support on Paypal This Episode Sponsored by: Squarespace – LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing – Constant Contact Mark Wicks grew up in the same neighborhood as the Grimes sisters. As a former investigator, when he started to look at the details of the case, an inconsistency in a person of i…

A journey of nearly 80 years leads Elizabeth, a transgender woman, to finally being comfortable in her skin and welcoming people into her truth. Links National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Transgender Resources The Trevor Project Trans Lifeline Who Is Lia Thomas? Trans Swimmer Breaking College Records Sparks Debate Amid trans athlete debate, Penn’s …

If Muhammad Ali lived in these times, he would be canceled… which would deny us his greatest gift. Canceling people who dissent or drop vile comments and perspectives doesn’t solve anything. Maybe it’s time to cancel cancel-culture. Links Gruden’s Emails Were Collateral Damage in Washington Football Inquiry - New York Times, 10.12.21 Jon Gruden ema…

Once upon a time a kid opened a gallery in her parents’ garage. Her neighborhood supported her by buying her work and encouraging her. Now she’s returning the favor by leading the way to support and foster the arts in her own back yard. Links Raziah Roushan Website Tualatin Valley Creates (TVC) TVC ArtPass (launching 9/20/2021) Nonprofit Associatio…

I recently re-discovered Strat-O-Matic baseball, after nearly 40 years. The game – and the one played on The Field of Dreams - has reignited my love for baseball. It’s also made me realize that the one constant through all the years really is baseball. Links Strat-O-Matic Baseball Terence Mann…the one constant, Field of Dreams speech Shoeless Joe b…

We have a compulsion… getting more stuff. Now we pay for stuff, and we don’t even care what’s in the box. I’ve got a better idea! Plus, an update on my new dog, Lucy! Links George Carlin on Stuff Wisdom Panel Doggie DNA Testing Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley Submit Your Story Idea! This Episode Sponsored by: Squarespace (SAVE 10% on your fir…

When losing a loved one, whether a pet or person, there’s no such thing a closure. I recently lost my dog, Nub, to cancer. It came quick and wasn’t expected. I’m sharing my thoughts on that experience and working through that grief and loss. But there’s hope and Nub’s example reminded me how to cope with it. Links 20 Keys to Heal After the Loss of …

I’m talking with a former Catholic nun, my aunt, Reneta Webb, about her own story and the source of faith in a messy world. Organized religions are empty corporate entities. For most of my life I’ve not had any faith in them. My aunt, a former nun, and I talk about that. We also talk about her journey, going into the convent at 13, then leaving the…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about where we live, and I’ll bet you’re wondering about this place too. I’ve always been patriotic, which is why I’ve been doing a lot of wondering about our country over, well, the last couple decades, and specifically the last few years. I just don’t know about us anymore… is it time to turn over the keys? And, …

Sensei Miwako Sakabayashi helps young minds blossom by teaching the abacus. In1992, an immigrant comes to America from Japan. She could read and write, but not really speak the language. So, what happens next? In 2000 she launches a Japanese Abacus school of course. Today Sensei Miwako Sakabayashi has made a huge impact in the lives of hundreds of …

Detective Jim Sherlock chases down a 40-plus-year-old cold case In January 2021 the book, Murder in Canaryville was released. It’s the story of the murder of teenager John Hughes in the spring of 1976. The murder was covered up by Chicago Police, politicians, and judges. I’m talking with Detective Jim Sherlock who’s investigated the cold case for y…

A reformed attorney prosecutes a crusade for better coffee and finding forever homes for dogs Claudia McMullen was burned out… on New York, on being a lawyer, on burnt coffee and on dogs not being able to find forever homes. So what’s a girl to do? She moved to Utah and started Hugo Coffee. Now she’s making great coffee and helping to support dog a…

Digital media and social networks are programming us exactly how we want to be programmed... You know that person who goes on about crazy conspiracies and fake news? They probably think you’re as crazy as you think they are. And worse, it leads us to cancel each other out, regardless of the bonds we might have. How does it happen? The truth is, we’…

It’s at the root of almost everything we count on... There’s a word that most Americans consider dirtier than all others. We’re either on one side of it or another. And even those who are on its side are terrified to drop it. As usual, the word has a whole lot more nuance to it. And nuance isn’t what Americans want these days. Let’s explore, shall …

There’s plenty of ugliness to find in a team’s name if you look hard enough and want to see it. This week I’m sharing my own thoughts on the sports team renaming controversy, starting with the Redskins. To my reading of history, there are plenty of team names, that when you dig into them, are out of bounds when it comes to political correctness. So…

Dr. Katherine Ramsland Unpacks Serial Killer Dennis Rader By all accounts, Dennis Rader was an ordinary guy in the neighborhood. He could be the person living across the street from any of us. Yet over a 30 year span he left a trail of murder victims, where he used his trademark of binding, torturing and killing them by strangulation. Dr. Katherine…

You can’t just leave your emotions at the door of the scene First responders bear a heavy toll. Not just physically, but emotionally. They see and experience things the rest of us can’t even imagine. Especially Crime Scene Investigators. They witness, first hand, the horrors and havoc that people can inflict on one another. Frank Gyondla served as …

Spirits that Will Make Any Season Brighter Making the season bright… there’s a lot of things that will do the trick. But there’s nothing quite like brandies, liquers and whiskies. Especially if they come from a magical stone barn. Sebastian and Erika Degens of Stone Barn Brandyworks are sharing the magic behind the other-worldly spirits they produc…

Giving the gift of service to the homeless… For most of us, the holidays mean home. For more than a half million homeless Americans, it’s a gift they only wish for. Fortunately, people like Kim Marshall of Project Homeless Connect have dedicated their lives to making sure they have a place to call home and a friend who is there to help. Here’s her …

The Long and Winding road of George Azcárate George Azcárate has lived many lives. Firefighter, nurse, traveling performer, teacher, Doctoral candidate in Romance Languages. While on a break from studies he was visiting his girlfriend in New York, the city went into lockdown. He came to another crossroad in his life. He chose the harder path and wa…

A Student’s Perspective on Remote Learning We’ve talked with a teacher (Ep. 20) and a learning specialist (Ep. 29)… Now we’re going to where the rubber meets the road for remote learning. I’m talking with 8th grade student, Quinn C. about her thoughts on that and more. She’s a bright young lady and her outlook will give you hope for the future! Lin…

On Alchemy and Respecting the Grain... When your dad and grandfather build you a still, there’s really only one path to follow. Alan Bishop grew up in a family of moonshiners and made that his vocation. The Master Alchemist of Spirits of French Lick is talking about what the distillery has in the works, pouring out a couple fingers of wisdom on spi…

Pulling Back the Curtain at the Funeral Home... Nobody wants to think about dealing with a mortician. But when you need one, you want one with a human touch. Not someone that’s more like Lerch from the Addams Family, or a used car salesman. Ron & Deborah Threadgill bring an uncommon personal touch and a unique approach to the services they render. …

WildCat Ridge Sanctuary Comes to the Rescue The Netflix documentary Tiger King presented us a cast of unsavory characters who were big cat exploiters. The animals that were kept at Joe’s “zoo” were mistreated, sickly and suffered from deformities from inbreeding. The folks at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary, and others, stepped in to rescue them and provid…

Tomorrow is election day when we all go out and exercise our right to vote. But we didn’t always have that right. And since the very beginning of America, voter suppression has been an issue. I watched a new documentary on Netflix – Whose Vote Counts, Explained. It’s fantastic. The first episode lays out the evolution of voting rights and suppressi…

Who doesn’t like a little spooky this time of year? I’m talking with Lindsey Charlick and Amanda Mednansky, hosts of the new podcast, True Creeps about ghosts and the history of Halloween. We’ll get into the details on hauntings and our own experiences, then jump into the harrowing holiday and hear about the origins of Halloween and its ghastly tra…

Having survived the Holocaust and escaped the yoke of Communism, Les and Eva Aigner's history provides insights and perspective on what we’re witnessing today and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Their son Rob Aigner, host of the podcast Clear Choices, shares his parent’s history and discusses how it shaped him, and enabled him to…

Remote learning requires a parent-child partnership. As we muddle through this pandemic, parents are faced with the issue of keeping kids engaged in their schoolwork. What was once an entertainment device, is now a tool for learning. So how to keep your child engaged in a remote learning environment? Get physical. Nicole Drieske, Executive Director…

Picture yourself waiting to board a plane. Then, suddenly, you’re being escorted to a cell, informed that you’re wanted by Interpol. That’s exactly what happened to Marek Zmysłowski, a high-tech entrepreneur who was on his way back to Nigeria, where his business was. Marek found himself in the crosshairs of a nasty guy who was an investor in his co…

The cavepeople had it right. Volumetrics, Keto, Paleo, Flexitarian, Raw Food, Intermittent Fasting… there are more fad diets than you can shake a stick at. And every time we turn around somebody is pushing a new “miracle” way to shed pounds. But it’s almost inevitable that after doing one of these diets, we gain back all the pounds, and more often …

Looking at our world today can leave you feeling hopeless… so where can you find hope for the future? There’s so much out there to make us believe we live in hopeless times. But hope is out there. It really is. We just need to look harder to get past everything that’s happening to see it. For me and my guest, David Fields, our faith informs how we …

About 19 million people in the U.S. live more than a mile from a grocery store. These areas have been called food deserts by the folks who create names for such things. But more recently they’re being referred to as areas of food inequality, and some are beginning to call this condition, food apartheid. It’s a big problem. Fortunately, there are a …

Here are the facts on the things we heard from both voters… Mary and Mark had a lot to say, respectively, about Joe Biden and President Trump. In this episode we dig into their comments on all the topics we covered and have presented a fact check on their information. Whatever your political stripe, I hope that what both guests had to say and the i…

Hear from two fellow citizens on why Joe Biden is wrong and right for our country. In our last episode, we peeled back the layers on President Trump. Today we’re giving Joe Biden the once over. As in the last episode, we’ll begin with our guest Mark on why he’s not the guy to move our country forward. Then we’ll give the floor to Mary to hear the r…

Hear from two fellow citizens on why Trump is wrong and right for our country. We hear it every four years… “this is the most consequential election in our lives/history.” My personal opinion is that the 2020 election might be just that. Our political discourse is more divisive than ever. When people hear beliefs or opinions about politics or socia…

In difficult times, the simplest steps can feel like the hardest steps. There’s no questioning the fact that we live in divisive times. People are becoming increasingly hard-wired to reject ideas that run contrary to their own. So much so, that even beginning a dialogue can feel next to impossible. But once you make a habit of opening yourself up t…

The risks in beginning the 2020 fall term aren’t limited to contracting COVID. As schools start the fall 2020 semester during a pandemic there’s no consistent plan on how to get the year rolling without risk to both teachers and students. And that’s not just in terms of contracting COVID-19. Younger students will certainly suffer in terms of their …

In a stressful world, any advice on how to find some calm is a welcome thing. So where to turn to for that advice? Plants, of course! That’s right. When we tune into plants, their music – yes, they are musical - and connectedness can help us find our center and get our feet back on the ground. Tigrilla Gardenia (Masters in Futuro Vegetale, Univ. of…

Most folks are familiar with the character Forrest Gump. A guy who lived a remarkable life that intersected with Presidents, legendary coaches, international affairs and so much more. Sounds like a pretty good story, and it was. But there are folks out there who aren’t that far off the Forrest Gump mark. David Mucci is just such a person. His Gumpi…

If you’ve ever been through or alongside someone in a fight with cancer, you know how brutal that battle is, and how much a support circle can make a difference. So many people face that fight alone and many of them may not have the resources – medical, financial, family – to help them navigate the journey. Dianne Danowski-Smith, Founder of Answer2…

We are living in unprecedented times. How do the leaders of our cities cope with what’s happening while continuing with the programs and initiatives that were underway prior to the pandemic and the cries for social justice and racial equality? And then, in an election year, how do those leaders keep their campaign moving ahead? Why not ask someone …

I’ve been a dog lover my whole life. In fact, I can think of only maybe 2 or 3 years that I didn’t have a furry pal in my life. Can’t image life without one. If you’re like me and always want a dog as part of your family, a rescue agency is a good way to go, provided they’re doing it right. Must Love Dogs NW is a rescue/fostering agency that absolu…

As we celebrate Independence Day and look at the state of affairs in our country, we may struggle to see much of a reason to celebrate. Certainly, we don’t appear to have realized the self-evident truths that the Declaration of Independence refers to. Taking a read of it will help to bring us back to the reasons for the founding of our country. And…

Mass shootings, unfortunately, have become normalized in our country. They can happen anywhere, anytime – on a crowded street, at work, in a store, in schools at every level, even in places of worship. There’s no place that any of us is truly safe as we go about our lives. So, what should you expect from first responders and what should you do, if,…

Our Declaration of Independence doesn’t bury the lead. It starts with the core element of what this country is supposed to be about: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Unfortu…

A story of life on the road and the guy who helps to make it pay off. Think about the last time you went to the grocery store. There are fruit and veggies in the produce section. The are plenty of meat and deli products. And the shelves are well stocked. That doesn’t magically happen. There’s a whole string of people who work to get these products …