Shows / Doug Has Questions
Doug Has Questions
Doug Has Questions is a podcast dedicated to thoughtful conversation that leads to better understanding, connection, and inspiration. Host Douglas Olerud draws on his life experience to explore the stories of the people he’s met along the way.
Episodes
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 49: Glen Jacobson; Building a Business on the Water - The Mistakes, Risks, and Persistence
Send us Fan Mail A single wrong boat can sink your plan before it starts, and a single good partnership can save it. I sit down with Glen Jacobson, one of the…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 48: Sandy Corbari; Finding Family After Six Decades of Questions
Send us Fan Mail A passport application shouldn’t rewrite your life, but that’s exactly where Sandy Corbari’s adoption story starts. When she requests her…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 47: Kay Dunning; A Small Town Life Can Hold A Big Story
Send us Fan Mail A small town can make your life feel straightforward, right up until you zoom out and realize how many unlikely turns it contains. Kay (Haas)…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 46: Susie McCartney; From A Deadhead to Chilkat Guide to Hypnotherapy
Send us Fan Mail You can hear the exact moment a life story turns into a healing practice. Susie McCartney grew up outside Philadelphia in a family shaped by…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 45: Nicole Holm; Hard To Kill! What Does Resilience Look Like!
Send us Fan Mail A nine-year-old gets hit by a stray bullet while playing second base. A 30-year-old nursing student hears the words “you have cancer” and…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 44: Matt Jones; From Kansas Prairie To Coast Guard Storms
Send us Fan Mail A kid from flat Kansas farm country ends up on the open ocean, clinging to a mast in a storm and wondering if he will make it back down. That…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 43: Jim Stanford; A Life Built On Hard Work
Send us Fan Mail One minute Jim Stanford is a farm-country kid outside Cleveland pushing a mower across five-acre lawns. The next he’s caddying at a U.S. Open…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 42: Shelby Steiner; How A Fashion Designer Builds Gear That Works
Send us Fan Mail A great-looking jacket is the end of a very long chain of decisions and most people never see the chain. We talk with fashion designer Shelby…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 41: Randy Simmons; What Would David Do When Life Breaks
Send us Fan Mail Click here to watch this Interview on YouTube. Click this link for more information on David Simmon's book, "50 Countries, 50 Stories." We’re…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 40: Christine La Vonna; How A Cruise Ship Creator Built Her Global Travel Community
Send us Fan Mail A cruise ship can be a vacation, a workplace, and sometimes a lifeline. From a room next to an aeroponics grow at Skagway Brewing Company, we…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 39: Kim Clune; What If Being Here Is The Lesson?
Send us Fan Mail A last minute email pulls Kim Clune from a normal life and drops her into Haines, Alaska, guiding photography tours through bears, whales…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 38: Kim LeDuc; Spam, Cockroaches, And A Call From God
Send us Fan Mail A sore tongue that wouldn’t heal turns into a cancer diagnosis. A small-town Minnesota kid winds up leading in Mongolia. A long-distance…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 37: Scott Rossman; What It Really Takes To Keep A Town Warm in Alaska
Send us Fan Mail A lot of people talk about “ending up” in Alaska. Scott Rossman actually did it, and the reason is almost ridiculous: a roadside lunch stop, a…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 36: Nicole Bringsli; When People Stop Hiding Their Pain Change Starts
Send us Fan Mail The hardest part about trauma is not always the moment itself. It is what happens after, when we go quiet, try to “be fine,” and carry the…
Doug Has QuestionsEpisode 35: Craig Parry; Kissing Frogs For Copper And Finding Epidote
Send us Fan Mail Copper is the metal that makes modern life work, yet new supply can take nearly two decades to bring online. That mismatch is why I wanted to…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 34: Michael George; What If Listening Is The Real Medicine
Send us Fan Mail He grows up between Montana and Germany, studies volcanoes and geology in Europe, and then hits a breaking point: the “right” path feels like…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 33: Shannon McPhetres; How Volunteer Hospice Helps Families Through The Hardest Days
Send us Fan Mail Hospice can sound like a single frightening word, but what we’ve learned is that it’s really a promise: you don’t have to do the hardest part…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 32: Charlie DeWitt; A Life Built In Alaska
Send us Fan Mail You can hear a whole era of Southeast Alaska in Charlie DeWitt’s voice: Salvation Army roots, moving from post to post, then landing in Haines…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 31: Lee Robinson; What If Your Detours Are The Point
Send us Fan Mail Dropping a signed contract into a FedEx box and immediately searching “how to recall a package” is a special kind of panic, and it’s exactly…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 30: Mike Machowiak; What Survival Teaches About Love And Faith
Send us Fan Mail A home birth in a ham radio room on a Fairbanks-area homestead is only the opening scene of Mike Machowiak’s life, and it explains more than…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 29: Harriet Brouillette; From Boarding Schools To Tribal Leadership In Southeast Alaska
Send us Fan Mail A family story can be entertaining, but it can also explain why a community looks the way it does. Sitting down with Harriet Brouillette…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 28: Tod Sebens; What If You Treated Your Life Like A List
Send us Fan Mail Something is off about a guy who can casually mention getting lifted by a humpback whale and then move right along to the next story. Tod…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 27: John Svenson; A Mountaineer Artist Explains How Adventure Becomes A Life In Art
Send us Fan Mail Denali is the easy part compared to the people. That’s one of the clearest lessons we pull from our conversation with John Svenson, a Haines…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 26: Lee Heinmiller; A Lifelong Haines Local Explains How A Community Gets Built
Send us Fan Mail A town can start with a big dream, but it survives on unglamorous details: heat that actually works, water that keeps running, and neighbors…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 25: Sean Brownell; From Ski Bum To Heli Ski Pioneer In Southeast Alaska
Send us Fan Mail A fishing boat flips in the dark in a 60-mph blow, and a 23-year-old stays calm enough to get everyone into a life raft. That same steady…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 24: Stuart DeWitt; From Trapping Lines To Fishing Grounds In Southeast Alaska
Send us Fan Mail He grew up in Haines, Alaska with a bike, a beach, and more wilderness than rules and it shaped everything that came after. My guest, longtime…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 23: Kim Larson; Eight Kids, Nine Hours, Zero Quiet
Send us Fan Mail A licensed daycare in a small town sounds simple until you hear what it actually demands: nine-hour days, strict ratios, constant trust from…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 22: Thom Andriesen; What Does A Small Town Owe Its Volunteers?
Send us Fan Mail A Disney crew, a Gold Rush story, and a tiny Alaska town that had to pull off big-league logistics in the dead of winter. We’re joined by…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 21: Michael Marks; From Woodstock To Haines
Send us Fan Mail A kid in Queens watches planes at LaGuardia, runs a small-time “slug” hustle on coin machines, and then gets stopped cold by a store owner and…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 20: Charlotte Olerud; What We Owe The People Who Stay
Send us Fan Mail One decision, one returned phone call, one job opening in a tiny Southeast Alaska town and a whole family history gets rerouted. I’m sitting…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 19: Aaron Davidman; A Director Explains Why American Solitaire Is About Community Over Fear
Send us Fan Mail A gun store in Alaska. A filmmaker from Berkeley. A quiet movie about a noisy country. We talk with director writer producer Aaron Davidman…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 18: Jimmy Yoakum; What If Policing Started With Grace Instead Of Force
Send us Fan Mail A police chief doesn’t just arrive in a town like Haines, Alaska with a clean slate. Every choice gets remembered, every interaction becomes…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 17: Rashah McChesney; From Texas To Alaska: Building Trust Through Local Journalism
Send us Fan Mail A local newspaper can feel quaint until you see the bill: thousands per month just to print, plus a supply chain that depends on flights…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 16: Tom Wayes; Chasing Lines, Building Gear, Racing Rocks: The Relentless Pursuit Of Flow
Send us Fan Mail A 400-foot ski hill in Pennsylvania shouldn’t produce a heli-ski guide who opens Alaskan lines, designs technical gear, and races a 900-horse…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 15: Al Badgley; From Baytown To Haines: A Life Of Service
Send us Fan Mail A cabin burns to the ground on a winter night without phones. A young volunteer watches a ragtag crew of neighbors save what they can and…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 14: Travis Kukull; What If A Restaurant Could Feed A Town’s Soul?
Send us Fan Mail A slice of fresh bread on a Sunday night can shape a life. Travis joins us to share how those early kitchen memories, a scientist father’s…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 13: Reba Hylton; How A Tourism Director Balances Growth, Wildlife, And Community Needs
Send us Fan Mail A love story to place doesn’t always start pretty. For Reba Hylton, it began with a mother who worked fields and fought racism, a softball…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 12: Dr. Marnie Hartman; What If Your Hardest Struggles Become Your Superpower?
Send us Fan Mail What if the hardest things you’ve lived through could become your superpower? We sit down with Dr. Marnie Hartman—physical therapist, yoga…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 11: Bill Thomas; A Veteran’s Journey Through Alaska, War, And Public Service
Send us Fan Mail A life can hold multitudes, and Bill Thomas’ story proves it. Born and raised in Haines with deep Tlingit roots, Bill carries us from Main…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 10 Lilly Boron; From Off-Grid Alaska To The Superintendent’s Office
Send us Fan Mail A World War II tent. A Yamaha piano hauled off a swaying dock. Five bears on the playground. A cancer diagnosis delivered in a plastic-lined…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 9: Joe Hamilton; Hard Work, Human Connection, And A Warranty That Built A Brand
Send us Fan Mail What turns a humble birding shop into a global optics leader? A leap of faith, a relentless work ethic, and a belief that service beats…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 8: Cesre McQuaid: A Counselor’s Journey Through Trauma, Faith, And Community Healing
Send us Fan Mail What if healing starts with a simple truth: your body already knows the way? Licensed counselor Cesre McQuaid joins us to share how a…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 7: Vince Hansen; What Does It Mean To Have Enough?
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a life anchored in service, humility, and real hope? We sit down with Vince Hansen—former city administrator and…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 6: Gershon Cohen; From Philly To The Fjords
Send us Fan Mail A broken engine, a borrowed wheel, and a room packed with glossed-over facts—sometimes the biggest turns come from the smallest moments. We…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 5: Andrew Cremata; How A Bread Route, Big Fish, And A Pandemic Shaped A Small-Town Mayor
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a saltwater-obsessed kid from Tampa grows up on Cuban bread routes, learns to fish for dinner, and then moves to Alaska to…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 4: Harry Rietze; From Smokehouse Dreams To 4 Million Pounds
Send us Fan Mail A plywood smokehouse recipe, two commercial smokers, and a head full of cannery memories—that’s where Harry Rietze started. What followed was…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 3: Rick Dunning; Saying No Can Save Lives: A Pilot’s Lessons From LAB To Major Airlines
Send us Fan Mail The sky rarely hands out straight lines. Rick Dunning’s journey proves it—line boy in Indiana, a bruising exit from Embry‑Riddle, and a leap…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 2: Bart Henderson; A Guide’s Life That Shaped A Community And An Industry
Send us Fan Mail A river can teach you how to build a life—and a town. We sit down with legendary boatman and entrepreneur Bart Henderson to chart the line…
- Doug Has Questions
Episode 1: Duck Hess; How A Bear Attack, A Business Battle, And A River Built A Legacy
Send us Fan Mail A brown bear mauling, a river business built from nothing, and a small Alaska town trying to find its future—our conversation with longtime…