The Juice with Jeff’s Podcast

The Juice with Jeff #110

On this episode of the podcast, Jennifer Foy Fane and I have a chat where we reminisce about the dozen years that we went to the same elementary, junior high, and high schools together during the 1980's and the first part of the 1990's.

 

We recorded this podcast right outside of Indian Hills Jr. High School in the Clive part of the Des Moines area. This interview was recorded on April 10, 2022, and it lasts for nearly 24 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 #108

On this episode of the podcast, Karen Christiansen and Sophie Homonoff conduct and co-produce a fantastic and outstanding interview with me in person.

 

We start off the interview with about five minutes worth of our introductions. And then Karen and Sophie proceed to ask me the following questions during most of the podcast:

 

If you could travel in time, where would you like to go back in time?

Where would you like to travel to/magically transported to if money, being on standby for elderly family members, etc... were not an issue?

What is your favorite dessert?

Do you most often follow your heart, or your head?

If you could have a super power, what would you choose?

What do you think your best quality is?

What qualities do you look for in a friend?

Who would you consider your favorite teachers from the Valley High School days? Your favorite professors from the Drake University days?

What has been your favorite concert that you've gone to and/or what would be your dream concert you would want to go to?

Do you miss being a kid?

Do you have a bucket list of things you want to do?

What was a moment when you have felt most proud?

Do you believe in aliens?

 

After an hour where the three of us have a two way conversation on all of the above questions, we wrap up the last ten minutes of the podcast with me doing the following voice impersonations: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer (the Let's Get Ready to Rumble announcer), singer/songwriter Barry White o.b.m, Audrey II from The Little Shop of Horrors, the late Jim Morrison doing the Toys R Us jingle in a way only The Doors can do it, Iowa's Governor Kim Reynolds, Dr. Fauci, Fred Rogers o.b.m., King Friday, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Daniel Tiger, X the Owl, and Henrietta Pussycat.

 

We recorded this podcast at Sophie's place. This interview was recorded on April 7, 2022, and it lasts for 64 minutes/1 hour 4 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 #107

On this episode of the podcast, Jana Foley conducts and co-produces a fantastic interview with me in person.

 

We start off the interview with our introductions, and then Jana spends a couple minutes or so bringing up a memory or two of what I was like during my Crossroads Park years.

 

Then during the overwhelming majority of the podcast, Jana asked me to follow up on and go further in depth about the subject of about the subject of ROMANTIC LOVE (that Stephanie Toms asked me to talk about during the interview she did with me during Episode #103 of this podcast) and narrowing down the perfect spouse. So Jana asked me a whole bunch of questions on what qualities I would want in a spouse for when/if the time comes where I do find a soulmate and then get married to/live with that soulmate.

 

The questions Jana asked me include:

What qualities am I looking for with the perfect spouse?

What are you looking for; friendship, love, or both?

What kind of match would I prefer: Men, Women, or Non-Binary?

Do I have any stims (A.K.A. Stimming)?

What T.V. Character would I like to be or personify in a marriage?

Can I think of a character that I would like to have my partner personify?

If I met the perfect woman and we decided to get married, would I want that person in a. question to teach me about sex/b. should I teach her about sex/c. learn about sex together/d. none of the above or different answer?

Would I prefer a Jewish partner, or could I accept a partner of another religious faith?

What if whoever I decided to marry already has children, would I be willing to have that person's children move in with me?

Would I prefer a listener or a talker?

Would I be into cuddles or no cuddles?

If me and whoever I marry have our dream jobs and we both get the same days off, what would be do on those days off?

Would we have pets?

Which one of us in the relationship would do the cooking?

 

And then during the last few minutes of the show, I performed a handful of my voice impersonations for Jana.

 

We had lots of two way conversation throughout the interview, and we actually recorded it outside of the elementary school that I went to between 1982-1988. This interview was recorded on March 20, 2022, and it lasts for around 37 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 #106

On this episode of the podcast, Dana (Ellison) Mitchell conducts and co-produces an excellent interview with me thru Zoom.

 

After Dana and I give our introductions and express our excitement at being able to hear each other's voices in real time for the first time in 26 years, we proceed with this episode of the show as follows:

 

During the podcast interview, Dana asked me the following questions on several topics:

1.  What's something that you still carry with you from our Camp Ramah in Wisconsin days? I spend around 10 minutes or so discussing my thoughts on this.

 

2.  Do you think that the fact Ramah was a Jewish camp and that we did have regular meaningful discussion about ethics or religion, do you believe that helped facilitate really close friendships because we were talking about such deep things together?

 

3.  After you made the decision to become a religiously observant Jew, did you have any challenges in terms of trying to become more observant in your life?

 

4.  What have you been doing to still feel like a member of your synagogue during the earlier portions of the Covid-19 pandemic?

 

5.  Dana asked me to talk more about my Mister Rogers wardrobe and also about how I became more intensely interested in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and everything related to Fred Rogers o.b.m.? I spent about 8 minutes talking with Dana about this. 

6  Where can one get great Hamantaschen in the Des Moines, IA area? Hamantaschen are these special triangular shaped cookies with certain fillings in the middle that are traditionally served on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

 

7.  What's something you want to do or want to learn more about?

 

8.  What did you do over this past Shabbat (Friday nights at sunset thru Saturday nights at dusk)?

 

9. After the first 45 minutes of the podcast were spent answering these questions and our having plenty of two way conversation on all these topics, Dana and I spent the remaining 30 minutes of the show sharing memories and our favorite moments from our Ramah Wisconsin days, and I also share with Dana a couple tidbits/trivia items about the history of Ramah Wisconsin's buildings and the roads which led to camp.

We had plenty of two way conversation throughout the interview. This interview was recorded on March 13, 2022, and it lasts for around 1 hour 18 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 #39: The Transition to Pandemic Episode

On this episode of the podcast, Cheri Lyon and I have a really informal conversation about several topics:  An awesome dinner we had at Cool Basil Restaurant in Clive, IA; my thoughts on how Covid-19 has been declared a pandemic and just became widespread in the community on the night we recorded this podcast; spring being around the corner, my dogs and Cheri's chickens, any concerts planned, the two photo shoots I did with me dressed up in my Mister Rogers wardrobe (complete with red cardigan sweater and Sperry Top Sider laced shoes), and an abbreviated version of my story about how I got intensely into Mister Rogers Neighborhood and everything related to Fred Rogers o.b.m.

 

To wrap up the chat, I also performed about a dozen more of my voice impersonations for Cheri. This episode of the podcast is historic because it marks the transition to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it would be the last time I'd be able to have these podcasts produced/recorded in person for a 13 month period. To emphasize the transition that was taking place with the pandemic and uncertainty we would be dealing with in our lives, I have kept this episode almost totally raw and unfiltered as it was recorded that night, with the exception of adding the funding credits at the beginning and reducing the length of my monologue to Cheri about Mister Rogers.

 

This episode of the podcast was recorded on March 12, 2020, and it lasts for around 20 minutes. As is the case with all of the "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #105

On this episode of the podcast, Kelly Flynn conducts and co-produces an outstanding interview with me thru Zoom.

 

After Kelly and I give our introductions, we proceed with this episode of the podcast as follows:

 

During the first 18 minutes or so of the podcast, Kelly asks me to talk about how I've been doing with everything over the last couple years, where we are in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic, how we can stress the importance of mental health and living life with a healthy balance, and how I think that social media impacts our mental health.

 

Then 19 minutes into the podcast, we proceed to spend the rest of the podcast talking about several really fun topics. Kelly asks me to discuss what I would do if I won ten million dollars. We then proceed to talk about where are my favorite places that I have traveled to are, and I talk about travel experiences I've had in places like Sioux City, Iowa; Richmond, Virginia; the land of Israel; spending 7-1/2 summers in northern Wisconsin to be a camper or staff member at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin; and a 4 day 3 night cruise I once took on the Monarch of the Seas Cruise line. The "What would I do if I had 10 million dollars" and traveling segments take around 35 minutes of the podcast.

 

And then Kelly and I spend the last 15 minutes of the podcast reminiscing about our Valley High School (West Des Moines, Iowa) days.

 

We had plenty of two way conversation throughout the interview. This interview was recorded on March 6, 2022, and it lasts for around 1 hour 11 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 #104

On this episode of the podcast, Stephanie Toms conducts a fantastic and outstanding interview with me thru Zoom.  This will be the 2nd time that Stephanie has been on the podcast with me.

During the podcast interview, Stephanie asked me a whole bunch of questions focusing on ROMANTIC LOVE and how this topic would affect people like me who are autistic.  She asks me questions such as:

 

Have you ever felt romantic love, a crush or wanted more than friendship from another person?

 

How did the experience of romantic love go and how is this different for you from a friendship with someone?

 

Are you still open to romantic love still?

 

Is there any type of community groups in the Des Moines area for people who are autistic to go to for meeting other people for romantic love, deepening friendships, get togethers, etc....

 

How would that (romantic love, going steady with someone, etc...) look to you and how would you incorporate that into your current living situation, life?

 

Would you get married?

 

At various points of the show, I also bring up Autism Acceptance and how  extremely important it is for us to accept everyone as they are for who they are. And at the end of the podcast, I did my Audrey II (from the Little Shop of Horrors musical and movie) voice impersonation for Stephanie!! After the Audrey II, we talk for a few minutes about the Little Shop of Horrors movie.

 

Stephanie and I had lots of two way conversation throughout the interview along with quite a bit of laughter. This interview was recorded on January 28, 2022, and it lasts for around 37 minutes. As is the case with all of the "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts, funding for this podcast is provided by Realty With Ahart and RandomKid. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #103

On this episode of the podcast, Micole Van Walbeek, Micole's daughter Ava, and Micole's mom Carrie England conduct and co-produce a fantastic and superb interview with me thru Zoom.

 

After we give our introductions; Micole, Ava, and Carrie then ask me the following questions:

 

a. Have you ever done an interview with three people at once (let alone three generations?

b. What were you like as a child?

c. Who in your family are you most like and why?

d. Have you ever interviewed anyone from your family for the podcast?

e. If you had "all the money in the world", what would you do with it?

f. What are three qualities that you like about yourself?

g. Did your mom ever tell you to make sure that you always wear clean underwear in case you're ever in a car accident?

h. What are your favorite things to own?

i. Are you familiar with the TV show "Love on the Spectrum"?

j. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

 

I discuss and share my thoughts on all of these topics with Micole, Ava, and Carrie; we had plenty of two way conversation throughout the interview. This interview was recorded on January 16, 2022, and it lasts for around 35 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 #102

On this episode of the podcast, Lauren Campbell conducts and co-produces a fantastic interview with me thru Zoom.

 

After Lauren and I give our introductions, we proceed to talk about the following topics: my love for the Iowa State Fair, various things concerning where we are in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic, hobbies or interests I've developed since the pandemic began including how I've learned how to use and master Zoom, some tidbits about these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, how I handle cooking, the job I have at DSM Sleep Specialists, how I keep Judaism's dietary laws called Kashrut/Kosher and how I handle eating out at restaurants, supporting local restaurants whenever possible, and what things I'm planning on looking forward to during 2022.

 

There is lots of two way conversation throughout the podcast. This interview was recorded on January 14, 2022, and it lasts for 1 hour and 10 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 #101

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

 

After Rachel and I give our introductions, we start the podcast off by spending around 12 minutes talking about various things that are related to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Then I talk with Rachel about the two animated spin-offs of Gilligan's Island called The New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan's Planet, tidbits about a company that made cartoons for several decades called Filmation, and then Rachel and I have a discussion about cartoons and what our favorite Saturday morning TV shows were during the 1980's when we were kids. We spend about 15 minutes of the podcast talking about cartoons and TV nostalgia.

 

Then I spend several minutes talking with Rachel about my favorite books and what I enjoy reading, such as the entire Harry Potter 8 book series, and Rachel shares her thoughts on the Harry Potter series.

 

And then starting at around the 34 minute mark, Rachel and I spend the vast majority of the rest of the podcast sharing our memories from the days we were at Crossroads Park Elementary and Indian Hills Jr. High School together; I do bring up other topics off and on at various points such as my being Autistic, the times we were at Springbrook State Park in Iowa, and our really close friendship.

 

There is lots of two way conversation throughout the podcast. This interview was recorded on December 9, 2021, and it lasts for 1 hour and 16 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!!