I’ve spent one night every week for the last 3 years chatting with people of various backgrounds and experiences on my podcast, Stories from the Center of the Universe. This journey began when a couple of co-workers independently suggested that I start a podcast. I knew that podcasts existed but candidly knew little else. One of my co-workers was much more technically savvy than I could ever dream to be. Without him, we couldn’t have started. We began the journey together in December 2019 without really knowing what the podcast would focus on. Chatting with people in a low key, conversational way appealed to both of us at the beginning. This appeal has endured for me. What I quickly realized is that I deeply enjoyed two aspects of what we were doing: 1) the chase of landing a guest and 2) the actual, guest focused conversation. The technical stuff (recording, editing, publishing) is a tax I pay each week to have the opportunity to talk to very interesting people.

As I look back on the first 190+ episodes, I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been to chat with this collection of veterans, athletes, authors, doctors, entrepreneurs, law enforcement officers, artists, family, friends, a Sudanese Lost Boy, an Iraqi interpreter and a recovering heroin addict. This blog is an attempt to help get the word out about my podcast, and more importantly, get these guests’ stories exposed to a larger audience.