The Juice with Jeff’s Podcast

The Juice with Jeff #139

On this episode of the podcast, Becky Schmooke conducts and co-produces an excellent interview with me thru Zoom. This is the very first time that Becky has been on the podcast.

 

We started the podcast where I talk about how I met Becky thru Facebook and thru listening to an episode of the Iowa Public Radio show "Talk of Iowa", my doing a voice impersonation of Iowa Public Radio and Iowa PBS on air personality named Charity Nebbe, and my commenting on how I very much like an organization Becky runs called Becky's Mindful Kitchen.
After my comments and our intros, Becky asked me the following questions:

 

1. Is there a song that when you listen to it, it makes you happy inside? The song has the ability to change your mood when you hear it.

2. Have you ever been surprised by the lyrics of a song where you thought the lyrics of a song were one thing but the actual lyrics turn out to be something else?

3. What kind of role does music have in your life?

4. Do you connect a song or artist/group from the 1970's with memories, times, or stories in your life?

5. Is there a smell that connects you to a positive memory of your childhood?

6. Do you like appetizers? If so, what are your favorite appetizers?

7.  Do you like decision making?

8. When it comes to friendships, are you somebody who has friends you've kept in touch with and have known your entire life since childhood or are you somebody who loves friends but cycles thru them as different parts of your life come up?

9. Do you enjoy having friendships with people who have different opinions and/or core values? On this question, I do get kind of headstrong and firm in addressing my answer to Becky's question.

10. How do differentiate between being nice and being kind?

11. When you started this podcast, did you have a plan for where you wanted to go, and if so it is going in that direction or did you just start it and just let go, and let it become what it is?

 

We recorded our podcast on Friday October 14, 2022 and it's around 37 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #138

On this episode of the podcast, Kate Walton conducts and co-produces a fantastic and excellent interview with me in person. This is the very first time that Kate has been on the podcast.

 

Kate and I had quite a bit of two way conversation and we basically bring up several topics.

 

1. Kate and I talk about the time where we worked together on former Senator Tom Harkin's re-election campaign. I helped out the Harkin campaign during some of my free time in the Spring and Fall months of 1996. Kate asked me questions about the role I had with the Harkin campaign doing various behind the scenes tasks.

 

2. Then Kate asks me to talk about any involvement I have with politics nowadays. Then we both discuss what our favorite foods to cook are and also what our favorite restaurants to eat out at or pick up from are. And then both of us share what things we like to do for relaxation or winding down.

3. Then I ask Kate to talk about the role she has nowadays with politics and lobbying, along with a couple other things about herself. And we end with me talking about Neurodiversity, Autism Acceptance, and how crucial it is to accept/respect people as they are for who they are.

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Greenwood Park in Des Moines on Sunday October 2, 2022 and it's 51 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #137

On this episode of the podcast, Spencer and Stephanie Cox conduct and co-produce a fantastic interview with me in person. This is the second time that Spencer and Stephanie have been on the podcast.

Spencer began the podcast by commenting on how both of us have great hair and he asks me the question: "How often do you get a haircut, what hair care products do you use, and how do you style your hair? We then have a four minute discussion on hair care.

Then Spencer and I talk about music for about six minutes, and he asks me the question "What band(s) or musician/singer(s) is/are the most influential in your life and why?"

Then Stephanie conducts the remainder of the interview and she starts off her segment by asking me to talk about my interest and knowledge with meteorology and weather. I spent two minutes talking about my taking weather seriously as a hobby.

Stephanie then comments on how she loves looking at the pics I post of when I prepare yummy recipes and she asks me "What is your favorite thing to cook and if you were to have Spencer and I over, what would you cook for us?". I spend just under two minutes answering Stephanie's question.

And then Stephanie asks me to talk about "How do you decide who makes the Wall of Fame" in terms of the podcasts. I spend four minutes talking with Stephanie about this, the importance of our The Juice with Jeff Inc. Board of Directors/Advisory Committee giving me advice and suggestions in terms of the podcasts and how they help me/give me recommendations in terms of which five people should win the Best In Person Interview, Best Zoom/Internet Based Interview, and Funniest/Most Entertaining Interview Awards and on the one or two people who should be declared the winners for each of those three awards.

Stephanie then asks "Out of all the 138 episodes you've done, is there any question that you're surprised that it has not been asked and that you want to talk about?" And then Stephanie asks me "Talk a little bit about your job. I find it fascinating how it's evolved and how you have your own office now. I want to share that with people and talk about how it's evolved and how you've grown in your role." I spend five minutes discussing this with Stephanie, what I enjoy about having my own office, and about the Wall of Friends Collage that I have on one wall in my office at work.

Stephanie then asks me to talk about my two Havenese dogs and both of us spend several minutes talking about our dogs. The last thing we bring up during the podcast is that I ask both Stephanie and Spencer what they think about how Spencer happens to be named after the current Republican/GOP Governor in Utah who is also named Spencer Cox.

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Linnan Park in Clive on Monday September 30, 2022 and it's 30 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #136

On this episode of the podcast, Bridget Carberry Montgomery conducts and co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me in person. This is the first time that Bridget has been on the show.

 

Bridget and I had quite a lot of two way conversation with both of our voices being heard at equally long lengths. Bridget started off the recording session by asking me a question or two about Rosh Hashanah and my Jewish faith. Then we both had intense discussions on topics like the COVID-19 pandemic, the political issues we are dealing with and how U.S. Democracy is on the line these days, the importance of everyone 18 and older being allowed to vote and participate in the election process, the importance of quality over quantity in terms of friendships, and Autism Advocacy. 

Then Bridget and I talked about some lighter topics related to how our childhood and teenage years occurred during the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's. In relation to this, we each shared what our favorite movies and video games are from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I even tell Bridget about how I have an Atari Flashback video gaming system that is preloaded with quite a few of the Atari games from the 80's and how I still use it periodically these days.

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Campbell Recreational Area in Clive on Monday September 26, 2022 and it runs at a feature length 1 hour and 19 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #135

On this episode of the podcast Sarah Barber McCurdy conducts and co-produces an excellent interview with me thru Zoom, and this is Sarah's second time on the show.

During our chat, Sarah and I basically have a free form chat on various topics such as: How we've been over the last 2-1/2 years, where we are with the pandemic part of Covid-19, the state of Democracy in the U.S., and various issues in society.

Then Sarah asks me to talk about Rosh Hashanah, as this episode was recorded a couple days before that particular festival. I explained to Sarah the basics about the Jewish festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret.

At the end of the podcast, I perform my Dr. Anthony Fauci, Jim Morrison, and Fred Rogers voice impersonations for Sarah.

This episode of the show was recorded on Friday September 23, 2022 and it runs at 1 hour and 12 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #134

On this episode of the podcast, Skye Giordano conducts and co-produces a fantastic and entertaining interview with me thru Google Meet. This is Skye's very first time on the show.

 

After we give our introductions, Skye and I basically have a very entertaining and free form two way conversation that focuses primarily on memories we have of the several years that we were Radio/TV Production students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Drake University together during the mid to late 1990's. I also talked with Skye about how I have been involved with video and especially audio production as a hobby; and also how I got hooked on audio production and equipment as early as my teenage years.

 

During the last few minutes of the podcast, Skye asks me two funny questions:

 

1.  In the form of a Jeopardy Game style answer, Skye asks me "Also meaning to turn something along its axis, this one word instruction was a favorite of Former Drake J-School Professor David Wright. (The answer is: What is Rotate?)

 

2.  The other question that Skye asked me at the end of the show is "Scott and Heidi Gojkovich (both of whom were also in the Drake J-School with me and Skye) both went on to very successful media careers in Des Moines. Which one of those two is the more likely future Mayor of Des Moines? Scott or Heidi?"

 

This episode of the show was recorded on Sunday September 18, 2022 and it runs at 1 hour and 12 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #133

On this episode of the podcast, Lauren Campbell conducts and co-produces a fantastic and excellent interview with me in person. This is Lauren's third time on the podcast (and second time doing the interview in person).

 

 

Lauren and I had quite a bit of two way conversation and we basically talked about what favorite things we like to do during the fall and winter months.

 

 

During the Fall portion of the show, Halloween is brought up along with a couple other things associated with the fall. I talked with Lauren about what kinds of scary things I can tolerate and actually enjoy and what kinds of scary things that are unbearable and I cannot handle at all. I brought up a little bit about how the Jewish calendar works and the several major Jewish holy days that occur during the fall months.

 

 

When Lauren asked me what my favorite things are about the winter months, I did talk about the Jewish festival of Hanukkah and also about the eight years (prior to Covid-19/SARS COV-2 becoming a pandemic) that I provided the karaoke for a big Hanukkah event that Lilianna and Jarad Bernstein did on one of the nights of Hanukkah.

 

 

For about a few minutes during the podcast, Lauren's son Andrew makes a guest appearance on the show. And for the last segment of the podcast, Lauren talks about the annual Windsor Heights Fall Festival that will be coming up this weekend. Lauren is one of the co-chairs for the whole event and she spends several minutes talking about and promoting the event.

 

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Centennial Park in Waukee on Sunday September 11, 2022 and it runs around 47 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #132

On this episode of the podcast, Laura Grisamore conducts and co-produces a fantastic, superb, and very entertaining interview with me thru Zoom. This is her fourth time on the show.

 

After we give our introductions, Laura and I then proceed to have a very entertaining and free form two way conversation on several different subjects. The vast majority of the podcast is spent with both of us discussing:

 

1.  Various things related to these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, including on how the interviews that were produced so far during 2022 have been going.

 

2.  How our summers have been going.

 

3.  Multiple things concerning the Iowa State Fair, the memories that Laura and I both have from previous Iowa State Fairs we've gone to in the past, some historical tidbits I share about the fair, how I unfortunately still have to avoid events like the Iowa State Fair nowadays because of the significantly high transmission levels still going on with Covid-19, and some other things about the fair.

 

This episode of the show was recorded on Wednesday August 17, 2022 and it runs at a FEATURE LENGTH 1 hour and 45 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #131

On this episode of the podcast, Lilianna and Jarad Bernstein conduct and co-produce a fantastic, superb, and outstanding interview with me in person. This is Lil's fourth time and Jarad's second time on the podcast.

 

 

After we give our introductions, the three of us have a two way conversation where we talked about several different topics.

 

 

The first topic that Lil and I talk about is what it's like to be around babies/infants. Lil asks me to discuss a few memories I have from my childhood years. Lil brings up the subject of going to Adventureland Park (an amusement park and entertainment center in the Altoona suburb of the Des Moines area) and the Blank Park Zoo, and I bring up an experience I had in March 1997 where I got to meet the Israeli actor and singer named Topol at Adventureland Park, Topol played Tevye in the 1971 movie version of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Lil asks me for advice and suggestions for how to educate Flora about music, musical theater, and plays. We also happen to talk about various kinds of animals during this segment such as Canadian Geese and Mallard Ducks.

 

 

Then Jarad asks me to discuss what things were like on the Drake University campus and the neighborhood surrounding it physically when I was a student between Fall 1994 and the end of 1998; versus what things are physically like on and near the Drake campus nowadays. And I do share with Jarad several times I've been back on campus since I graduated from Drake almost 24 years ago, along with how things have been going with these podcasts over the last year or so. Jarad also asks me to talk the meals that I've either made myself or times that I have been able to enjoy food from a local restaurant (via curbside pickup or takeout) over the last year.

 

 

Then Lil asks me to share the significant amount of knowledge and experiences I have from the 6 summers that I attended the Iowa State Fair prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and what special things I'll do when I hopefully return to the Iowa State Fair someday (when we get to a day where Covid gets under much better control, the virus truly becomes endemic, and the transmission levels, etc.... significantly go down and get reduced). I also talk about two books that I have which go into the history behind the Iowa State Fair, the Blue Ribbon Foundation, and how Bill Riley Sr. o.b.m. was actively involved with the fair for several decades.

 

 

And toward the end of the podcast recording session, Lil asks me to give Flora a small sample of my voice impersonations. I perform the following voice impersonations for the Bernsteins: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer/the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer, Forrest Gump, Tom Bodett, a local advertising/marketing guru and accordion player named Abe Goldstein, and Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors".

 

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors in the Bernsteins' back yard on Sunday August 14, 2022 and it runs 1 hour and 4 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #130

On this episode of the podcast, Maura Koenig Kenworthy conducts and co-produces a fantastic, superb, and outstanding interview with me in person, and this is Maura's very first time on the podcast.

 

After we give our introductions, Maura and I had quite a bit two way conversation where we talked about several different topics during the podcast including:

 

I talked about at great length my longtime and intense interest with electronics, audio and video production/equipment, and how I've utilized that interest thru playing with electronics and sound equipment as a child and teenager, being part of the KWDM radio family during our junior and senior years at VHS during the early 1990's, and the 4-1/2 years that I went to Drake University and did a wide variety of audio and TV production work as part of being a Radio/TV Production major in their J School during the mid to late 1990's.

 

I talked with Maura quite a bit about the history of these podcasts and various tidbits about the whole thing.

 

Maura and I talk in depth about our VHS days and share quite a few memories from our years together there.

 

Maura asks me to share what my values are, the things that I do to reduce stress and that boost my mental health, and a couple other things.

 

There is a moment during the show where we talk a little bit about nature and a few animals we saw at the location we recorded this podcast at.

 

And toward the end of the podcast recording session, I give a powerful performance for Maura of the following voice impersonations: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Michael Buffer/the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer, Barry White o.b.m., the Audrey II plant on "Little Shop of Horrors", Forrest Gump, Tom Bodett as the Motel 6 Spokesperson, Robin Leach o.b.m., Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Trump, Obama, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, the late Jim Morrison singing the Toys R' Us jingle in The Doors' Style (i.e. a mix of a "When the Music's Over and "The End" kind of sound), and the Fred Rogers Medley (Mister Rogers, X the Owl, King Friday, Queen Sara, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, and Mister McFeeley).

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Walnut Woods State Park just south of the West Des Moines area on Friday August 12, 2022 and it runs at a FEATURE LENGTH 1 hour and 23 minutes long. As is the case with all of "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!