1) What does Kennedy Center debacle suggest about leadership in the arts? 2) Renee Fleming (has performed at GMC), among others, cancelled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center - was she right to do so? 3) Role of the Board in steering the direction of the Green Music Center?, 4) How you have changed the direction or content of thew Green Music Center since you assumed the ED role?, 5) What are measures of success: audience number, ticket sales, number of performances?, 6) Re: University ...
May 12, 2026•53 min
What we’ll talk about: 1. How did you feel when Alden Capital showed itself as a likely buyer of Sonoma Media Investments?, 2. How differently was the PD run vs. other newspapers you’d worked with (Omaha World Herald, the Oklahoman, Birmingham News, Arizona Republic)?, 3. Why nonprofit digital news vs. alternative publication like Sonoma Valley Sun?, 4. Why go nonprofit instead of a low-cost, for-profit digital startup?, 5. 5. How has find raising gone thus far - how have you been received?, 6. ...
May 07, 2026•50 min
What we will talk about: 1. Why the book thesis and project?, 2. Why is ‘financialization’ a dirty word?, 3. Financing vs. financialization - the difference?, 4. Did ‘Hollywood accounting’ draw scrutiny from ‘financial actors?, 5. Was operating record of studios, broadcasting companies and labels subpar, on average, drawing attention of activist investors?, 6. What was returns record of studios, broadcasting companies and labels before financialization?, 7. From tax shelters, conglomeration in t...
May 04, 2026•52 min
1. Has the store experienced an incarnation with each new family owner over the past 111 years?, 2. You’ve said that as you were growing up, you always knew you wanted to run the store (family business)- why?, 3. How big a burden is ‘legacy’ in managing a family business?, 4. How big a burden is ‘longevity’ in managing a family business?, 5. Changes you’ve made over the last 34 years?, 6. You pride yourself on ‘old fashioned service’ - what does that mean?, 7. Which products sell best?, 8. Which...
Apr 22, 2026•51 min
What We’ll talk about: 1) Why write the book now? 2) What have been, or should have been, the obvious economic lessons from inflationary periods post WW I, post WW II and OPEC oil crisis in the 1970s?, 3) Why 40 years of ‘manageable’ inflation?, 4) 2008 - deflation - aggregate demand shock, liquidity trap, interest rates lowered to 0 - still trouble reviving demand = colossal economic aberration brought on by loosening of credit requirements and reckless use of leverage?, 5) Current structure of...
Apr 07, 2026•51 min
We will talk about: 1) Why the move into wealth management in 2003 after 18 years as a tax accountant?, 2) What constitutes ’high net worth’?, 3) How liquid are the assets of high net worth individuals?, 4) Do you find that clients have historically overpaid their taxes?, 5) How well do clients understand the ‘structure’ of their finances when they come to you?, 6) What kind of restructuring of finances may be required?, 7) How do investing objectives differ with age, gender, income?, 8) Primary...
Mar 24, 2026•52 min
1) Many ‘job changes’ - which taught you the most about organizational leadership and performance?, 2) You’ve said your career path was ‘serendipitous’ - what do you mean?, 3) How do you recommend that a person become more risk-oriented in his career?, 4) You’ve written humorous books on corporate ‘wisdom’ - why humorous?, 5) Why ‘bullet books’ on business vs. ‘treatises’ on management and workplace issues?, 6) How does organizational behavior differ from corporate culture?, how has the discipli...
Mar 17, 2026•51 min
We will talk about: Your almost 30 years in information technology - amazing changes?, Is AI in its infancy or is it maturing quickly?, Is AI a productivity enhancer or cost reducer? How well do you think the public understands the promises and the perils of AI?, Is Sonoma County a model of AI governance?, why?, What constitutes responsible AI use, data protection, and efficiency?, What are the biggest risks to AI use?, What guidelines or ethical boundaries affect AI adoption or application in t...
Mar 10, 2026•51 min
We will talk about: You opened a pottery school (1967) a year after taking your first pottery class - why?, what potential did you see or anticipate?, did you learn pottery on a kick wheel?, You never claimed to be a fine ceramics artist - did you want to be?, Lacking enough money to buy wheels, you made your own wheels (with help from an uncle who was an engineer) - what did you want from a wheel?, Electronic variable speed control wheels - ‘world’s most operator-friendly electric potter’s whee...
Mar 03, 2026•52 min
We will talk about: 1) your role as President and CEO of the NBBCC, 2) the efforts of the Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow Foundation, 3) how and why you got started in the NBBCC, 4) competitive factors which have affected black entrepreneurship in Sonoma County, 5) the services and support offered by the NBBCC, 6) industries in which most black-owned businesses in Sonoma County compete, 7) how black entrepreneurship has changed/grown over the years, 8) the important contribution NBBCC has made to the ...
Feb 24, 2026•53 min
We will talk about: How did you learn to restore furniture? How has technology changed furniture restoration? What is the difference between restoration and refinishing? Does refinishing or repair harm my antique’s value? How do you determine what to charge for furniture restoration: size of the piece, age/fragility of the piece, time required to restore?, Did Antiques Roadshow, first on PBS in 1997 in an American version (BBC version debuted in February 1979) have any impact on your business?, ...
Feb 20, 2026•52 min
We will talk about: What the advertising industry was like when you started?, Why you started your own agencies, What constitutes an effective ad?, How advertising has changed over the years, The mechanics of creating an advertisement for a client, How much time it takes to create an advertisement, from commission to completion, What is the ‘shelf life’ of an advertisement (how long will a client use it)?, Your perspective on the use of ‘personalities’ in advertisements today (Allstate, Geico, P...
Feb 04, 2026•50 min
We will talk about: Your 33 years at Sports illustrated (1984-2017, eventually senior writer covering NFL, college football and the Tour de France) - how did coverage of sports change over those years, how did access to athletes change, how did you change?, How did your coverage of sports evolve - the ‘angle’, the depth/length of stories, the challenge vs. the outcome?, What did you want your sports stories to tell readers?, You had about 140 SI cover stories - how were those stories selected: p...
Feb 02, 2026•52 min
What we will talk about: Jim, a computer expert, will bring us up to date on scams (Internet, AI, etc.) and ways to protect our identity, privacy and possessions online and offline. Guest URL: http://cafemac.net/
Jan 21, 2026•52 min
Guest: Serafina Polandech, ED - Sebastopol Center for the Arts (Art Trails) We will talk about: How Art Trails got started, What were its original objectives?, How has it changed/grown over the years?, Why you sold your interstate in Hip Chick Farms in 2018, Why you switched from food to art, How you found your way to the Sebastopol Center for the Arts?, Why Sebastopol Center for the Arts took over Art Trails in 2014, Condition of Art Trails when you arrived at SebARTS in 2023, How Art Trails ‘s...
Jan 13, 2026•48 min
We will talk about: Why you got interested in avocados as a topic to write about, How far back does California’s involvement with avocados go?, How big is U.S. avocado production vs. Mexico? Why were Mexican avocados banned until 1997 (ending an 83-year-old import prohibition), Why was there a major shift in consumer preference starting in the early 2000s?, How many varieties of avocados, how do they differ, How did the U. S. avocado industry surge past 3 billion pounds - more growers, more acre...
Jan 06, 2026•49 min
We would ask you about: Your 40 years in the book business: how it has changed, how you have changed? Your 13 years at Copperfield’s - what has changed?, How have readers’ tastes changed over that time?, Do readers’ tastes vary with store location at Copperfields? How do you work with publishers for display purposes in Bookstores? How important is book display to book sales?, How long do recent releases stay on display at Copperfields?, How do you work with authors for book presentations?, Is cu...
Jan 06, 2026•51 min
Guest: Daniel Casabonne, Award Winning Wine Country Realtor We will talk about: Why you decided on a career in real estate, How your ‘production’ evolved over the years as you rose to #11 of all Sotheby’s agents in the U.S., What the Sonoma real estate market was like when you began, How has the market changed over the years, Is the value of annual real estate sales in Sonoma County a reflection of more units sold or higher prices per sale, Was 2025 a tough year for sellers (we saw notice of man...
Dec 16, 2025•47 min
We will discuss: Why you started Trellus almost 5 years ago, why so passionate about small businesses solutions?, Why start Trellus in Marin & Sonoma counties (long way from NY) - demographics?, Do you work with local Chambers of Commerce, Merchant participation expectations?, Main selling point for merchants - Logistics on demand?, Foot traffic vs. phone traffic - destination vs. impulse buying?, Locals can only buy from local merchants who post their website to Trellus platform?, what abou...
Dec 09, 2025•51 min
1) when you first visited the village in the Andes at 14,000 feet = essentially half-way up Mt. Everest, 2) what you found when you got there, 3) how difficult was it for you to assimilate with the women artisans there?, 4) what the Peruvian women artisans were making with alpaca before you got there, 5) when you realized there was a market opportunity for their work, 6) did you have to convince them of your vision for their expanded selling opportunity?, 7) did you have an opinion on what sort ...
Dec 02, 2025•49 min
We will talk about: 3 generations of the Codding family in Sonoma County real estate, How each generation has influenced management of the family business, From origins in home building to shopping center development to real estate acquisitions to mixed-use development - where next for the family’s growth efforts?, 63-year history of management of suburban open-air Coddingtown Mall, Why Coddingtown was enclosed in 1979, Does the mall compete for customers or is that left to the mall tenants?, Ho...
Nov 24, 2025•49 min
We would talk with you about: How you found your way to Sonoma County Farm Trails, How are the Gravenstein Apple Fair has changed over 52 years, How the number or composition of participants in the Fair has changed over the years, How did Sonoma County Farm Trails first to get involved in producing the Gravenstein Apple Fair in 1973, As SCFT‘s primary annual fundraising event, how much do you hope to raise this year and how might that compare to prior years, How many farmers and producers are re...
Nov 05, 2025•54 min
Guest: Jim Groverman, Owner, Petaluma Pumkin Patch We will talk about: How pumpkins became associated with Halloween How pumpkins are grown in quantity How are some people able to grow giant pumpkins into the 1000’s of pounds How did you get into the pumpkin patch business? When did pumpkin patches become a thing? Are some pumpkins better suited to carving, to eating, or are they all the same? How do you set up the corn maze? Have you ever gotten yourself lost in the maze? Other related topics G...
Oct 31, 2025•50 min
Guest: Debra Michals professor and author of the 2025 book: “She's the Boss: The Rise of Women’s Entrepreneurship Since World War II” We will talk about: When you realized this theme would be your book, How you began your research, Any pre-conceived notions about women’s entrepreneurship before you began?, ‘intersection of women's personal choices within changing social, political, and economic factors’ = huge intersection, Influence of government: Jane Todd…other women in government over the ye...
Oct 27, 2025•52 min
Guest: Shawn Tully - one of two Senior Editors-at-Large at Fortune Magazine (45 years at the magazine) We will talk about: How different is Fortune today than when you started (editorial policy, company coverage, depth of pieces, length of time to research? etc.), The biggest stories you’ve covered over your career, How you keep track of trends and developments across industries to identify ‘big’ stories, Biggest trends in business, finance, human resources today, How willing are subjects of art...
Oct 15, 2025•51 min
Guest: Dr. Angélica Garcia, 6th Superintendent/President of Santa Rosa Junior College SRJC We will talk about: 1. Your reaction to political attacks on colleges and universities, 2. Your perspective on anti-semitism on college campuses - real or conjured conflict, 3. Your opinion on university administration response to political attacks, 4. Any alternatives to threat of withholding research grants, 5. The effect of university response on future university administrators, 6. Bending to the will ...
Oct 07, 2025•52 min
Guest: Karen Wise, Executive Director of the Museum of Sonoma County We will talk about: Your reaction to the denigrating of the Smithsonian, Context into which you might place these attacks, Is criticism of Smithsonian justified, Do you expect the ‘mission of the Museum of Sonoma County’ to be challenged or changed, How exhibits are chosen, Who determines whether exhibitions, collections and public programs are inclusive, educational and relevant’, Inclusive of whom? Relevant to what?, How exhi...
Sep 30, 2025•51 min
Guest: Dave Fazzio, Owner, Sonoma Mission Gardens We will talk about: 1. Why you entered the field of landscape architecture/gardening?, 2. How the industry has changed over your 35 years in it, 3. How well do homeowners understand the value of landscape gardening?, 4. Do internal houseplants versus external landscaping add value to a home?, 5. Why you started Sonoma Mission Gardens, 6. How consumer tastes for plants have changed over the years, 7. Which plants sell best, 8. Do consumers show pr...
Sep 23, 2025•51 min
Guest: Jeff Menashe, Founder, CEQ, Demeter Advisory We would discuss: 1) why you started the business 22 years ago, 2) why you focused on the adult beverage industry, 3) what constitutes a ‘premium’ adult beverage M&A transaction, 4) have premiums expanded more in ‘spirits’ than in wine in recent years, 5) changing economics of the traditional wine industry: asset rich, cash flow poor, wholesale distribution reliance, pricing inflexibility, squeezed margins, 6) shifts in consumer demand - Re...
Sep 09, 2025•55 min
Skip Brand - CEO, Healdsburg Running Company We will talk about: 1. your 10 years in the ‘specialty retail’ business, 2. why you made a career change from digital marketing to specialty retail, how you decided to make the move after 8 years, 3. why you founded Healdsburg Running Company…in Healdsburg, 4. how you focused on the three C’s - purpose and passion?, 5. How you selected the 66 brands you sell 6. how you compete with ‘big box’ sports stores - price, service, selection, product knowledge...
Sep 02, 2025•50 min
