The Juice with Jeff’s Podcast

The Juice with Jeff #129

On this episode of the podcast, Ann LoBue conducts/co-produces a fantastic and excellent interview with me thru Zoom. This is Ann's third time and on the show.

After we give our introductions, Ann asks me to talk about the following topics:

1.  How my work journey has gone over the last 23 or so years since I graduated from Drake and how I'm enjoying my current job. During this part of the show, I talk with Ann about a massive two bulletin board collage that I display in my office at work called the "Wall of Friends". 

2.  Ann makes a sales pitch that is meant to promote and encourage more friends to conduct and co-produce the interviews with me for future episodes of these podcasts.

3.  And then I discuss with Ann various tidbits concerning these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, including how the interviews have gone over the last year or two.

4.  Ann asks me if I have any pets, and I share some fun things about my two dogs Scandi and Lissie.

5.  When I tell Ann about how my two dogs frequently "sing" and how I refer to them as the "Havenese Tabernacle Choir", she then asks me to talk about what types/genres of music I enjoy and other music related questions. After I tell Ann about how one genre of music I enjoy is known as Space/Ambient/New Age, I then perform my Stephen Hill impersonation (complete with the reverb effect). Stephen Hill is the longtime host of the public radio program "Music From The Hearts of Space" and I tell Ann a little bit about that program.

6. Ann then asks me if I can do a Steve Inskeep (one of the co-hosts on NPR's Morning Edition)) impersonation and not only do I do Inskeep's voice, but I also perform the following other NPR voices: Korva Coleman, Lakshmi Singh, Jack Speer, Dwane Brown, Teri Gross, and Susan Stamberg. Ann asks me how I have learned to do all of those 100+ voice impersonations and then I end that part of the podcast with a Yogi Bear and Boo Boo impersonation.

7. Ann asks me what my favorite spots in Des Moines are. I go into detail on this and talk about how Des Moines has changed significantly in several ways with population growth and the higher number of business and residential areas. We also mention some local restaurants that have been around in the DSM area for quite a long time.

8. We then end the podcast with Ann talking about how she feels moving back in her home state of Minnesota (where she was born and raised). Ann was living in the LA area and she just relocated to near the Twin Cities area.

This episode was produced and recorded on Wednesday August 10, 2022 and runs around 1 hour and 13 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 #128

On this episode of the podcast, Melanie Wehrmacher conducts/co-produces a fantastic and really fun interview with me thru Zoom. This is Melanie's first time and debut on the show.

 

Melanie and I basically had a fun and really entertaining two way conversation on subjects such as: Experiences and memories that Melanie and I had during our Drake University days during the 1990's and some of the courses we took (Melanie majored in musical theater/theater arts and I majored in Radio/TV Production), my love and appreciation for music and the arts, our favorite musicals, values that Melanie and I have in common, how Melanie is professionally involved in musical theater/voiceover work/the arts today, videos that Melanie periodically produces on YouTube called Adventures in Hostessville, and my talking a little bit about Neurodiversity.

 

This episode was produced and recorded on Monday August 8, 2022 and runs around 1 hour and 5 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 #127

On this episode of the podcast, Ann Morris conducts/co-produces a fantastic and excellent interview with me in person. This is Ann's third time on the show.

 

Ann and I had an informal and meaningful two way conversation where we discussed several different topics such as: what my earliest memory is, our values, parodies and puns type of humor and examples of movies that make heavy use of puns/parodies/satire (e.g. Spaceballs, the two Airplane! movies), the close longtime friendship that Ann and I have, and stuff related to these podcasts. During the last few minutes of the podcast, Ann makes a plea and sales pitch encouraging as many friends (and listeners to this podcast) as possible to join The Juice with Jeff family and conduct more of these interviews with me.

 

We recorded this episode of the show on Friday July 29, 2022 at American Legion Park in West Des Moines and it runs 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 #126

On this episode of the podcast, Lila Starr conducts/co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me in person. This is Lila's first time on the show. 

 

Here are the topics/questions that Lila and talked about during the podcast and that we had a deep and meaningful two way conversation on:

 

1. Things both past and present about the neighborhood that Lila and I live in and how long we've lived in the Clive area of Des Moines.

 

2. Then Lila asked me to talk about more about how I'm a really strong advocate for people with disabilities, and how I'm really passionate about Neurodiversity. I talked about with Lila about what my education was like during my Crossroads Park Elementary, Indian Hills Jr High, and Valley High School years, how the West Des Moines School District both worked with and dealt with my being autistic, the importance of Autism ACCEPTANCE (not Autism AWARENESS), and how I firmly believe that we need to accept people as they are for who they are.

 

3. Then Lila asks me to talk about what I majored in during my 4-1/2 years at Drake University and I gave a summary of what my years in the J-School there were like. And then I tell her about how I've been working in medical clinics for the last 23 years and how I work nowadays at DSM Sleep Specialists as their Chief Medical Records Scanner. During this part of the podcast, I talked with Lila about how I majored in Radio/TV Production in the J-School at Drake, and how during my junior & senior years at Valley High School I was an on-air personality and active part of the KWDM radio family.

 

4. We then conclude the podcast with me asking Lila to talk about how she's really active with local and state Democratic political organizations.

 

We recorded this episode of the show on Sunday July 24, 2022 in Lila's back yard and it runs 42 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 #125

On this episode of the podcast, Ali Harms conducts/co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me in person. This is Ali's third time on the show and her second time doing the interview with me in person.

 

Here are the topics/questions that Ali asked me to talk about and that we had a deep and meaningful two way conversation on:

1. Ali asked me what my plans are for the 4th of July weekend. In addition to my answering Ali's question on great detail, Ali herself shared what her plans are for the extended holiday weekend. Then Ali asked me to share what my favorite holidays are, and I respond to her question by mentioning the weekly Shabbat and other major Jewish festivals/holy days that I very much enjoy. Part of this discussion also addresses how I and my two doggies (especially the younger of the two dogs) are not thrilled with fireworks and other similar loud sounds. 

 

2. Then Ali asked me to talk about the history on how these The Juice with Jeff podcasts began, and I gave her the whole story; along with the goals of these podcasts, favorite moments from the show, and experiences I've had earlier in life (e.g. the messages and memories on audio cassettes or videotapes that friends left me at the end of the summers during the 1990's that I went to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin) which eventually led to the podcasts. Ali shares her thoughts on these podcasts and what she likes about them. And then we talk a little bit about our longtime close friendship.

3. We then conclude the podcast recording session with me performing another round of the following voice impersonations: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Audrey II from "The Little Shop of Horrors", Barry White o.b.m., Robin Leach o.b.m., Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Dr. Fauci, Terry Gross from NPR's Fresh Air, NPR newscasters Lakshmi Singh and Jack Speer, and my powerful Jim Morrison voice singing the Toys R Us jingle as only The Doors could do it.

 

We recorded this episode at Gray's Lake Park in Des Moines on Thursday June 30, 2022, and it runs around 1 hour and 6 minutes. 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 #124

On this episode of the podcast, Lori VanLo conducts/co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me and another friend named Lisa Earles in person. This is the very first episode in the whole podcast series where there are TWO interviewees and this is Lori and Lisa's first time on the show.

 

 

During most of the podcast, we do a three way conversation where all three of us answer the questions that Lori asked (with Lisa asking one of the questions). The ideas for four of the questions comes from Micole Van Walbeek and her mom Carrie England.

 

 

Here are the topics/questions that were asked and that the three of us had a deep and meaningful conversation on:

 

 

1. Given the crazy week that everyone's been having, how are you doing?

 

 

2. Since I mentioned that I am thankful for all of the friends that I have worldwide, Lori asked me where the large number of friends I have throughout the world live? This is the one sole question where I'm the only one that answers.

 

 

3. What are the things that give you a reprieve from the stressful things that are going on in society and what things de-stress you/reduce your stress level? Lisa came up with this question.

 

 

4. If you were a superhero, what powers would you like to have?

 

 

5. If you could eat only one specific type of meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

 

 

6. If you were the ruler of your own country or nation, what is/are the first law(s) you would introduce right away? On this particular question and the next one, there are a whole bunch of issues that the three of us discuss.

 

 

7. Now that SCOTUS has overturned Roe Vs. Wade, do you think that reversing or gutting the LGBTQ+ rights, same sex marriage, etc... are next?

 

 

And we end the podcast with the three of us talking a little bit about ourselves in terms of what we do for work and in our daily lives.

 

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Campbell Recreation Area in Clive, IA on Sunday June 26, 2022 and this episode of the show runs 1 hour and 13 minutes. 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 #123

On this episode of the podcast, Sandy Henry conducts/co-produces a fantastic, superb, and outstanding interview with me in person. This is Sandy's second time on the podcast since the whole series began in June 2017.

 

The last time I saw Sandy in person was way back when I graduated from Drake University in December 1998, so the podcast recording session on 6/24/2022 is the first time in 23.5 years that I've had the opportunity to get together, catch up, and have a real time conversation with Sandy in person!!

 

There were several topics that Sandy asked me to talk during the podcast including:

 

1. The history of the podcast, the entire process on how each of these podcasts are put together, and my goals for the podcast.

 

2. How I am a really strong advocate for Autism Acceptance, Neurodiversity, and the importance of us accepting, embracing, and loving people as they are for who they are.

 

3. Sandy and I share some more memories from our years in the J-School at Drake and especially in the basement of Meredith Hall and our thoughts on being part of the Basement Dwellers culture.  Meredith's basement is where the TV studio and audio/video production facilities are that are operated as part of the Radio/TV, multimedia, and Broadcast News programs at Drake. I also talked with Sandy during this segment about what my favorite classes were at Drake both within the J School and also the several music and drama courses that I took for my Fine Arts Area of Concentration; as well as my love for music and public radio.

 

During the second half of the podcast recording session, we did several fun and really entertaining things.

 

a. For the first time ever on these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, we did a mixture of both an in person interview and a Zoom based connection at the same time. Thru Zoom, Todd Evans joined Sandy and I for a portion of the podcast recording session and the three of us did a segment in "The Newlywed Game" style where I played the role of Bob Eubanks (and yes, I did my Bob Eubanks voice impersonation during the entire segment!!) asking Sandy and Todd five really fun and hilarious "Would you rather" type questions!!

 

b. After our Newlywed Game style segment and Todd's Zoom guest appearance ended, I gave a really powerful performance for Sandy of my following voice impersonations: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Michael Buffer/the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer, the speaking version of singer/songwriter Barry White o.b.m., Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Dr. Fauci, Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Chuck Schumer, 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, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Tiger, and Lady Elaine Fairchilde).

 

c. Since Sandy and I both love to sing and since Sandy has been in some musical theatre productions at our local community theatre venue called The Playhouse, we ended the podcast with Sandy and I performing an excerpt from a favorite musical. I performed "Feed Me Seymour" in my Audrey II/Levi Stubb's voice from Little Shop of Horrors, and Sandy performed "I Got Rhythm" from the Gershwin musical Crazy For You.

 

We recorded our podcast at a photography studio and small group event venue that a very close friend of mine owns called The Studio in Windsor Heights. It was a perfectly quiet place to record our podcast with just Sandy and me there and no one else around. This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday June 24, 2022 and it's FEATURE LENGTH running at 1 hour 27 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 #122

On this episode of the podcast, Micole Van Walbeek and her mom Carrie England conduct/co-produce a fantastic and superb interview with me in person. This is Micole's fourth time conducting the interview with me for these podcasts (second time in person) and Carrie's second time conducting the interview with me (first time in person).

 

Micole, Carrie, and I had quite a bit two way conversation throughout the podcast. For the very first time on these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, Micole and Carrie came up with ten random questions and asked me to choose a number (between one and ten); I was asked to choose a number several times and here are the questions they asked me. There are times where Micole and Carrie share their responses to these same questions)

 

What are you looking forward to this summer?

 

Do you have any tips for getting along with people you don't like?

 

What is your favorite zoo animal and why?

 

Dolly Parton was nominated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even though she declined to be inducted (since she specializes in Country/Western music), they still voted her into the Rock and Hall of Fame. What do you think about the fact that Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame and do you think a Country/Western performer has any business being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

 

Recently, the entrances to Yellowstone National Park were closed due to Flash Flooding and the extreme flooding they're dealing with. Do you believe that it's necessary for us to preserve our National Parks and the like?

 

Micole and Carrie share their responses to a couple of these same questions.

 

Micole also asks me two other questions:

 

Have you ever just gone and played on a playground? Have you been swinging lately or gone on a roller coaster ride in an amusement park?

 

What do you see as the future of The Juice with Jeff and what would you like it to evolve into? And it's during this part that I talk with Micole and her mom about the goals/mission of these podcasts along with a few other tidbits about the show.

 

Then I ask Micole and Carrie to share a few unique, interesting, and fun things about themselves.

 

Toward the end of the podcast recording session, I give a powerful performance for Micole and Carrie of the following voice impersonations: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer/the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer, the Audrey II plant on "Little Shop of Horrors", 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), former President Trump, former President Obama, and the Fred Rogers Medley (Mister Rogers, X the Owl, King Friday, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Tiger, and Lady Elaine Fairchilde).

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors in an open air gazebo at Campbell Park Recreational Area in Clive. This episode of the podcast runs around 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 #121

On this episode of the podcast, Shira (Frailich) Goldman conducts/co-produces an awesome interview with me thru Zoom.

 

During the 40 minute recording session, Shira and I basically had a two way conversation on the following subjects: A summary of what we've been up to since our Camp Ramah in Wisconsin days, a little bit more about these "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, and a few memories we both have from the days that Shira and I were campers and staff members at Ramah Wisconsin (during the 1990's).

 

This episode of the podcast runs 35 minutes long and it was recorded on June 20, 2022. 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 #120

On this episode of the podcast, Todd Evans conducts/co-produces an excellent interview with me thru Zoom.

 

After we give our introductions, Todd and I proceed to have a two way conversation on two subjects: 

 

During the first few minutes of the show, we talk a little more about these "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts. But for the vast majority of the podcast, we talk in depth about various experiences and special memories that Todd and I had in the Electronic Media wing of the J-School at Drake University. I was a student there between August 1994 and December 1998; and Todd was a professor/faculty member there between the early to mid 1980's thru May 2020. Todd was one of the many professors/teachers that I had for my classes in Drake's School of Journalism and Mass Communication

 

Throughout the podcast, we use the word "Basement" and "Basement Dwellers", and this is because most of the Broadcast News and Radio/TV Production courses are taught in the basement/underground level at Meredith Hall on the Drake campus; and the basement level of Meredith Hall is where the TV/video production studio, studio control, audio production bays, and main on air studio for Drake's campus radio station (now called KDRA "The Dog") are located. We talk quite a bit about the "Basement Dwellers" culture and how it was and still is a special part of someone who is either a student or faculty member in the Electronic Media wing of the J-School at Drake.

 

This episode of the podcast runs 37 minutes long and it was recorded on June 17, 2022. 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!!