Shows / Stories from the Center of the Universe
Episodes
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 92: Jay Strath
Jay Strath joins the podcast thanks to a connection with guest host Kevin Flippen … they married into the same family! Paul, Kevin and Jay started off by…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 91: Dave Thach
David Thach (pronounced Tot) joins the podcast because of his relationship with Paul. Dave has been Paul’s barber for over a decade. Dave grew up in Maryland…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 90: Frederick James Koch
Joining us from Australia is Frederick James ‘Jimmy’ Koch. Jimmy and Paul were connected through John Watts who was the guest on Episode 50 of the podcast…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 89: Mila Liakhovitser
Mila Liakhovitser comes to the podcast by virtue of working together with Paul. Mila was born and raised in New York City, and though she was born on Long…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 88: Andrew Slater
Andrew Slater joins us for the podcast today. Andrew is the Head Baseball Coach at The Collegiate School. Paul and Andrew have known each other since they were…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 87: Trip Chalkley
Trip Chalkley is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Hanover County, Virginia. Trip has known Paul since he was a kid through Paul’s dad Larry. Both Larry and Trip…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 86: Lynne Hughes
Lynne Hughes joins us this week. Lynne , with the help of others, runs Comfort Zone Camps. CZC is a camp for people who are grieving. It started out for kids…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 85: Kevin Flippen
On this episode, we have Kevin Flippen who is a previous guest (Episode 32 with Al Lester) and now doubles as an occasional guest host. Kevin aka Flip, and…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 84: Chase Miffleton
This week we welcome Chase Miffleton. Chase grew up in Powhatan and played baseball and also competed in cross country and track. Chase gets his running genes…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 83:Ilona Levine
This week’s story is told by Ilona Levine. Ilona was born and raised in the Moldovan part of the Soviet Union. When Ilona was 13 years old, the Soviet Union…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 82: DJ Oso Fresh
Bobby Alirezai, AKA DJ Oso Fresh, fled his native Tehran as a child when the Shah of Iran was exiled in 1979. In this conversation, he tells us about his story…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 81: Lionel Bacon
Lionel Bacon is our guest this week. He is a former VCU basketball player and the youngest of twelve children. Lionel discusses his childhood and growing up in…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 80: Kevin Eastman
Kevin T. Eastman is the former assistant coach and VP for Basketball Operations of the Los Angeles Clippers. He also served as head coach and assistant coach…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 79: Kenny Wingle
Kenny Wingle is a stand-up comedian and producer of the upcoming ROFL Comedy Series in Richmond VA. Kenny is a Detroit native, born to a Native American mother…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 78: Cla Meredith
Cla Meredith is a former MLB pitcher who played for the Red Sox, Padres, and Orioles. This episode he tells us about his Richmond roots, the origin of his…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 77: Intentionality
Boomer Muth is a musician, entrepreneur, and soon-to-be father, and this episode we heard his story. At the tender age of 5, Boomer learned the truth about…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 76: Travis Herman
Travis Herman is a brewmaster and co-founder of Scofflaw Brewery, an Atlanta based brewery founded in 2015. Scofflaw experienced phenomenal growth, clocking in…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 75: DuBois Miller
DuBois Miller is an author and former correctional educator of 32 years. He grew up in Lynchburg VA, going to segregated schools and living in a house without…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 74: Justin Addison
Justin Addison is a US Army Veteran, Jets fan, and Executive Chef at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He enlisted on 9/11, and was later deployed to…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 73: Caroline Slaughter
Caroline Slaughter is a voiceover actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. You have probably heard her before as the voice for brands like Subway, Ford, and Holiday…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 72: Wali Rainer
Wali Rainer is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Detroit Lions. In our conversation, Wali told us…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 71: Coach Rolando Lamb
Rolando Lamb is a VCU Hall of Fame basketball player, Coach, pastor, and motivational speaker. In our conversation we discuss Rolando's upbringing in…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 70: Dr Brandon Nunnally
Brandon Nunnally is an Emergency Room Doctor. In our conversation we discuss Brandon's med school experience - the insane amount of work required, the…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 69: Tim Clark
Tim Clark is the Chief Digital Officer at NASCAR. He is a Mechanicsville native, US Army veteran, and a great lover of sports. This episode, Tim talks to us…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 68: Thoughts on Myanmar with Pete Silvester
Pete Silvester is a social scientist, entrepreneur, and proud Territorian who has traveled the world by virtue of a career in International Aid and…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 67: Amanda Ripley
Amanda Ripley is a journalist and author whose work has been featured in Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 66: Dan Crain
Dan Crain is the director of groups and mobilization at OneRace, an organization dedicated to addressing racism and racial division through faith, in Atlanta…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 65: Garrison Coward
Garrison Coward is a proud Virginian and a former Republican candidate for the 2019 Virginia House of Delegates, a race which he lost narrowly. He is currently…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 64: Vincent Hill
Vincent Hill is a veteran, former police officer, author, and now a news anchor serving Tulsa, OK. He was born in Germany to a military family, grew up moving…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 63: Thomas Leachman
Thomas Leachman has an affinity for doing things a little differently, be it from his days barefoot kicking on his college football team, to being one of the…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 62: God Grew Tired of Us
"As one of the 27,000 “Lost Boys of Sudan”, John Dau has experienced challenges that most people could never imagine. As a young man, he fled his home during…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 61: McB
Darren McBurnett AKA McB is a former Navy SEAL and author of Uncommon Grit, a photography book documenting the famous and notoriously difficult Basic…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 60: Zachariah Hani Jambo
Zachariah Hani Jambo is currently a student at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda. He was born in Khartoum, Sudan, although he is of South…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 59: Belfast to Bama
Jamie Malaugh is a Northern Irishman from England who, in a serious culture change, ended up moving to Alabama as a teenager. He realized he was pretty good at…
- Stories from the Center of the Universe
Episode 58: The First 50 Lookback
This is a lookback on the first 50 episodes that we recorded and ideas for the future, along with some general conversation. Featuring Katy De Koning and Roger…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 57: Cheron Smalls
This episode we have Cheron Smalls on the show to share her refreshingly positive perspectives on things. Having led a 20+ year career in HR, she talks about…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 56: Tim Malamphy
Tim Malamphy is a pinball lover and statistics enthusiast who enjoys the thrill of casinos, horse races, and odds games. Tim is also a volunteer mentor at…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 55:Kyle Stephenson
Kyle Stephenson is a real estate entrepreneur and former football player for the University of Pennsylvania. This episode we talk about Kyle’s origins as a…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 54: Mohammed Saeed
Mohammed Saeed served as an interpreter for the US Army for 7.5 years throughout the Iraq war. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Mohammed moved around the country during…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 53: Anna Auguste Wolf
When she was just a child, Anne Loeb and her family had to flee Nazi Germany, first to France, then to New York City in 1939 via the SS De Grasse. This…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 52: Steve Dunfee
Steve Dunfee is a Green Beret, a 33-year Army Veteran, and now a law enforcement officer of 20+ years. This conversation, we discuss his Ashland origins, his…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 51: A Creative Life
Courtney Ferrell is a speaker, writer, poet, (and as of this podcast, a singer) with boundless energy, infectious positivity, and an inspiring willingness to…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 50: Zen and the Art of Lawn Care
John Watts is an Australian-born veteran of both the Australian Army and Virginia Army National Guard, and he now works as a national security analyst and…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 49: Shawn Peterson
Shawn Peterson is a native of Hanover, VA, now residing in Atlanta. This conversation, we talked about Shawn's hobby of composing and producing music, his…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 48: A Different Point of View
Davis Burnett knew early on that he wanted to be a police officer. He decided to leave his native California and join the Marine Corps just after high school…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 47: Superfan
Roger Lee is Pod So 1's #1 super fan. He's the only listener we know of to have listened through every minute of our podcast, an undertaking which Paul and I…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 46: I ❤️ Ashland
Brenda Gilman, AKA Paul's mother, is a lifelong educator, first of Kindergarteners, then of college students (though what's the difference really). No stranger…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 45: One Tough School
Mason New is a writer, teacher, business owner, and US Marine Corps veteran. As a kid, Mason was afforded an excellent education, attending a private boarding…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 44: Mama Lantz
This special episode we have Amelia Lantz (AKA Daniel's mother) on to tell us about her Galveston, TX origins, meeting Daniel's dad, and her adventures in…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 43: Stout
Chris Stout is a reputed engineer, architect, and leader in the Central VA tech scene. He joined us for an episode to talk about his origins, his time at…
- Stories from the Center of the Universe
Episode 42: Aaron & Sarah
This week we've got a slightly different episode for you, featuring two guests we've already had on (Sarah Wall from episode 17 and Aaron Albrecht from episode…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 41: The Rat-Daddy Accountant
This week, Gray Lane is on to tell us about his experience at Virginia Military Institute - he got in touch with us after hearing Al Lester's episode…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 40: Andrew Ting
Andrew Ting is a Malaysian Chinese Canadian American jack-of-all-trades but still master of a few. Over the course of his life, he's had the titles of art…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 39: I Love Rowing
This week we’ve got Njeri Kershaw to tell us about her years of gymnastics as a kid, and her unexpected pivot into college rowing. We also hear about the…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 38: RVA Works
Dale Fickett is the president and co-founder of RVA Works, a Richmond-based nonprofit that equips aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools they need…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 37: CSM Carl Holcomb
Over his 33-year Army National Guard career, Command Sergeant Major Carl Holcomb rose to become the State Command Sergeant Major, the highest ranking enlisted…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 36: We're Going to Mardi Gras
This week we have Anne Kiefer, who joined us to speak poetically on her beloved city of New Orleans, and how the its festive spirits have been sadly dampened…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 35: Pain With Purpose
Rachel Adcock is a survivor of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and the author of the book "Pain with Purpose." Her experience with cancer, as well as a few other twists and…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 34: Hammer and Hockey
Mark Hammerstrom (AKA Hammer) spent the first 18 years of his life in Metro Chicago with Summer trips to Florida to spend time with his grandparents. His…
Stories from the Center of the UniverseEpisode 33: My Sailor Dad
Ross H Mackenzie is a helicopter pilot, published author and a retired Navy man. He also happens to be Paul's brother-in-law. During his 20 year US Navy…