Mike Myers lives in West Lafayette, Indiana and is a lifelong Hoosier. He is currently a high school social studies teacher and previously worked in middle schools as a teacher and administrator. Mike and host Michael Whidden were connected by Dustin McKinney, the guest from podcast episode 51 . Our discussion covers, among other things: *the reasons he enjoys teaching *how history may not repeat itself, but it rhymes *balancing, in a democracy, patience vs flexibility and loud voices vs quiet v...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Claire Bishop lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area and is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of American Public Square, a nonpartisan not-for-profit seeking to change the tone and quality of public discourse in our country. Our discussion covers, among other things: *Kansas City’s many attractions, including its arts and culinary scenes *the difference between Kansas City, in the west of Missouri, and St. Louis, in the east *contempt, curiosity and connection *American Public ...
Jun 23, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Maryellen Feerhery Hank lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been an attorney for almost twenty-five years, with a specialty in patent law. She and host Michael Whidden know each other from when they were classmates at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1990s. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how a trip to Russia in 1992 impacted her perspective on the United States *rewards, incentives and innovation and how they benefit society *the importance of learn...
Jun 16, 2023•53 min
Matt Smith lives in southern New Jersey, where he retired as a Commander after 22 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard . While continuing work with the USCG as a civilian he has also been pursuing flight training and recently earned his Private Pilot certificate to fly under Visual Flight Rules. Matt and host Michael Whidden know each other from when they attended high school together on Long Island. Our discussion covers, among other things: *his Coast Guard experiences, ranging from Alaska...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 60
Zedora Teton Enos is an elder of the Eastern Shoshone people and lives on the Wind River Indian Reservation in west-central Wyoming. She is currently Director of the Eastern Shoshone Cultural Center , which champions Shoshone culture, language revitalization and preservation of traditions. She is the great-granddaughter of the legendary Chief Washakie , who lived across almost the entire 19th century and is renowned for his prowess in both diplomacy and combat. Zedora was connected to the podcas...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Jessica Lauren Walton lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC and recently completed a memoir about her years overseas when she sought admission to the highest echelons of the Israeli intelligence community. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how a Mormon friend sparked her curiosity about her Judaic roots *the Torah and secular knowledge as dual sources of wisdom which are not mutually exclusive *her journey from Montgomery County police internship to Bar-Ilan University outside...
May 19, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Jeremy Parzen lives in Houston TX with his wife and two children. His life started in Chicago, but he grew up in La Jolla CA. He then attended UCLA and worked in New York City before moving to H-Town approximately fifteen years ago. With a PhD in Italian literature, Jeremy has spent significant time in Italy and is a widely-respected expert in Italian wine, but his appearance on the podcast is not necessarily related to wine but to his life as a Texan. Our discussion covers, among other things: ...
May 11, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 56
John Ceriello lives in Brooklyn NY and is the Captain of the FDNY ’s Rescue Company 1 – which is the department’s “rolling tool” kit, equipped with equipment necessary for “technical rescue” that might require getting through walls, lifting things and extractions – in Manhattan. He grew up on Long Island, where his father owned a service station, and became a FDNY firefighter in February 1988. Our discussion covers, among other things: *a routine day for his company, which includes a lot more th...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Mary Slone lives in Doty Creek, Kentucky, in the eastern portion of the state, and is a veteran educator at Floyd Central High School who loves and lives the power of storytelling. In 2021, Mary received a “ High School Teacher Achievement Award ” from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the power of story exchange and the program of Narrative4 *how a slice of pizza formed the bridge between eastern Kentucky and Bronx students *the Slone family’s “ Squirrel ...
Apr 28, 2023•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 54
Seth David Radwell lives in New York and Los Angeles and wrote the earnest, insightful and wonderfully thought-provoking “ American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation ”. Before working on the book, Seth had an extensive, successful corporate career in publishing, skincare, cosmetics, technology and consulting. Our discussion covers, among other things: *his motivation for leaving corporate America to help repair our civil discourse *the impact of the printin...
Apr 21, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Tim Steckler lives in Brooklyn, New York and is an is an educator, theater artist, and researcher who uses theater and storytelling to promote civic engagement and bridge cultural divides. Tim has facilitated theater workshops in Jordan, Palestine, Germany and the United States. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the relationship between politics and theater *Kentucky and Massachusetts communities bonding over bluegrass and Dominican music *theater and cinema subject matter successes (e...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Dustin McKinney lives outside Indianapolis, Indiana and is the community pastor at Calvary Chapel in the town of Danville . Prior to his work in the ministry, he was an educator and school principal. Our discussion covers, among other things: *his responsibilities and routine as a community pastor *the importance of engagement, conversation and humility *history and the Bible *Take Your Tractor to School Day, corn, hoops and other elements of Indiana *comparing and contrasting Indiana and New Yo...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Cody Shaklee lives in Longmont, Colorado, a few miles northeast of Boulder. He’s a rare Colorodan who was not only born in the state but whose family has been there for multiple generations. Cody moved to New York City for film school and ended up working in restaurants for about a decade before moving back in 2014. He now owns a chain of laundromats in the Boulder area. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the hard work of owning laundromats (it’s not passive income!) *his adjustments to...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Savana Maxon lives in Meridian, Idaho, near Boise in the southeast part of the state, and is the head of operations for Lucro , a boutique consulting firm for the financial services industry. We were connected by a mutual friend, Nic Adams who appeared on Episode 25 of the podcast. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how technology has impacted Idaho *Idaho’s important role in refugee assistance *her belief in getting up, showing up and being present to help others *a deep dive into embr...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Pam Jones Manocchio lives in Wilmington, DE, and is the executive director of the city’s Grand Opera House , where she has worked since 2006 and which offers a wide range of musical performances, comedy acts and Broadway shows. Pam and host Michael Whidden were classmates at Smithtown High School East on Long Island, NY. Our discussion covers, among other things; *the urban yet small town feel of Wilmington and the State of Delaware itself *Pam’s education and career path into performing arts ma...
Mar 09, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Podcast host Michael Whidden marks the one year anniversary of the show (the first episodes were uploaded on March 8, 2022) by expressing gratitude to guests, listeners and viewers...and especially his family. He shares what gives him hope: the power of conversation, especially in giving someone the respect of listening.
Mar 08, 2023•4 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Kepler Knott lives in Raleigh, NC, where he has founded an organization, Community Corps, to promote a bottoms-up approach to universal service through localized summer citizenship boot camps. Host Michael Whidden and Kepler are each members of the organization Braver Angels, the country’s largest organization building bridges across the political divide. Our discussion covers, among other things: *democracy’s tandem of personal freedom and personal responsibility *the genesis of Community Corps...
Mar 02, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Sergeant Major Rickey Jackson lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and is currently the 32nd commandant of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson. He grew up in North Philadelphia until his high school Junior ROTC Program inspired him to enlist in 1995. Since then, he has served in locations across the world, including Texas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Kansas, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Poland and Latvia. Our discussion covers, among other things: *the classic “shark att...
Feb 17, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 46
RaGina Scott Saunders lives on James Island outside of Charleston, SC, where she owns and operates Destiny Community Cafe , which makes food available to her local community on a pay-what-you-can basis through two food trucks, and a catering service. The cuisine she offers is Gullah Geechee, reflecting the heritage of her enslaved ancestors and their West African origins. RaGina has been recognized by local NBC affiliate WCBD as one of the “ Lowcountry’s Remarkable Women ”. Our discussion covers...
Feb 10, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Michael Gordon grew up and currently lives in Milwaukee, WI, where he practices orthopedic surgery and sports medicine and has been team orthopedic physician for Marquette University since 2005. He was also a team orthopedic physician for the Milwaukee Bucks, from 2005 to 2015. Along with being a proud booster of the Badger State, Michael is a proud stockholder of the publicly-owned Green Bay Packers. Our discussion covers, among other things: *what exactly orthopedic surgery is as a specialty c...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Michael Drewry lives in southeast Virginia, between Norfolk and Richmond and across the river from historic Jamestown. His local roots go back to the 1600s. Michael describes himself as a farmer with a law degree and divides time between operating his family’s property Drewry Farms (which includes lodging at the historic Palmyra Inn ) and advising local governments on land use. He’s even pursued local elected office . Our discussion covers, among other things: *the local peanut industry *the dif...
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Kirk Benshoff lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he works in publishing and has been doing graphic design for more than twenty years. He is currently Associate Creative Director at First Second Books , a graphic novel publisher located in New York City. Kirk also designed the super-cool logo for the podcast's related project, American Tributaries Travel . Our discussion covers, among other things: *his career path into graphic design and publishing *nostalgic discussion about comic books *graphic nove...
Jan 13, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 42
John McCafferty lives in central Montana where he owns and operates his family’s large cattle ranch. His family first settled in Montana to raise cattle in the 1870s. John and host Michael Whidden were connected by Njekwa Beasnael, who is John’s son-in-law and who was a guest of the podcast on Episode 10 . Our discussion covers, among other things: *cattle herding *the benefits of barbed wire *beef production *prices for bulls and cows *his expectations for and reactions to New York City *the po...
Jan 06, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Brian Abate lives in Brooklyn, NY, and is a journalist for local newspaper The Red Hook Star-Revue , which publishes each month 9,000 copies for the Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, the Columbia Waterfront District, and Gowanus neighborhoods. In a contemporary media landscape which neglects local coverage – to the detriment of our sense of community and the health of our democracy – Brian’s experience and insights are worth attention. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how he got involved wit...
Dec 30, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 40
A compilation of what gives American Tributaries podcast guests hope, from episodes 1 through 40.
Dec 23, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Brandon Erny (“Erny”) lives in northeastern Vermont but spends the holiday season in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn selling Christmas trees for Windswept Farm of Barton, VT. Host Michael Whidden and his family purchased their tree from Erny for the current holiday season and it presented an opportunity to learn more about Christmas trees and, more importantly, the folks who ensure celebrants get their Christmas magic centerpiece each year. Our discussion covers, among other things: *how many trees a loca...
Dec 19, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Mónica Guzmán lives in Seattle, Washington, and wears many hats, including: as a career journalist; as the Director of Digital and Storytelling at Braver Angels (the largest cross-partisan, not-for-profit organization dedicated to depolarizing America); and as the author of “ I Never Thought of It That Way ” (a definite handbook on civil, civic engagement). Our discussion covers, among other things: *her career journey into bridge-building *expanding the notion of diversity *why Americans have l...
Dec 15, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Ebenezer Akakpo lives in Maine, where he operates two businesses. The first is Akakpo & Co. , which designs uniquely attractive and captivating jewelry and housewares adorned with patterns based on traditional symbols – called Adinkra – from his native Ghana. The second is Maine Culture which designs products which celebrate the natural beauty of Maine. He pursues his craft on the side when he’s not engaged with his full-time job in information technology for the Maine Turnpike Authority. Of...
Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Sergeant Major Philson Tavernier lives in South Carolina and is currently Post Command Sergeant Major for the U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson in the state capitol of Columbia. PCSM Tavernier, who originally hails from New York City, has been serving for 27 years, which included a peacekeeping tour in Kosovo, two combat tours in Iraq and assignments in German and South Korea. PCSM Tavernier and host Michael Whidden were connected by a mutual friend, Thomas Byrd, who is the Public Affai...
Dec 02, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Ivelisse Porroa-García lives in Virginia and worked on Capitol Hill for approximately six years, during which she was a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz and worked for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, before becoming director of government affairs for Ferox Strategies, a consulting firm, in October 2021. Ivelisse and host Michael Whidden were connected by a mutual friend, Nic Adams, who was also a guest on the podcast in Episode 25 . Our discussion covers, among other things: *...
Nov 22, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 35
