The Juice with Jeff

The Juice with Jeff #144

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

 

During the podcast recording session for this episode, Caroline and I had lots of conversation on the following topics: several favorite things about the years that I was part of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and about how Shabbat observance is one of the most unique things about the Ramah camps, how being part of Ramah Wisconsin has changed my life in two or three really important ways, and the history of these The Juice with Jeff podcasts. Toward the end of the show, Caroline did talk a bit about what she does these days in her professional life and in Chicago where she lives.

 

We recorded our podcast on Sunday January 15, 2023 and it's 1 hour and 11 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 #143

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

 

Natalie and I had lots of two way conversation on the following topics: the history of these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, how my practicing Judaism and trying my best to be an observant Jew plays a significant role in my daily life, what people have influenced me in terms of how I live my life, what kinds of music we both enjoy and some trivia about several Rock/Pop/R&B bands and artists.

 

We recorded our podcast on Wednesday December 21, 2022 and it's 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 #142

On this episode of the podcast, Genesis St. Clair conducts and co-produces a fantastic and excellent interview with me thru Zoom. This is the very first time that Genesis has been on the podcast.

 

During the podcast recording session for this episode, Genesis and I had lots of two way conversation on the following topics: the history of these The Juice with Jeff podcasts, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, what Genesis and I both do in our daily lives, politics and our core values, and we both shared our favorite moments and special highlights from the years we went to VHS.

 

We recorded our podcast on Monday November 28, 2022 and it's around 1 hour and 11 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 #141

On this episode of the podcast, Allison Prouty conducts and co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me thru Zoom. This is the very first time that Allison has been on the podcast.

 

During the podcast recording session for this episode, Allison and I had lots of two way conversation on the following topics: The core beliefs that Allison and I share, politics, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, traveling, a production/consulting/management company that Allison is the owner/founder/executive producer of called Second Bolt, our favorite movies and TV shows, and we end the podcast by sharing favorite memories from the years we went to Valley High School.

 

We recorded our podcast on Monday November 21, 2022 and it's 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 #140

On this episode of the podcast, Alison Hoeman and Sophie Homonoff conduct and co-produce an excellent and fun interview with me in person. This is Alison's second time and Sophie's fourth time on the podcast.

Alison and Sophie ask me questions (with some suggestions coming from Hailey and Lester) and there are several topics we discuss. Alison holds the mic and is in charge of the interview during the vast majority of the show. 

Here are the topics we discuss and I share my thoughts on the questions that are asked:

What is your favorite sport? 

Would you consider returning to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and what memories could you share from your Ramah Wisconsin days with Lester and Hailey?

Then we talk about birthdays and I share memories from some of the birthdays I've had.

During the last four minutes of the podcast, Sophie holds the mic and asks me to talk about what my favorite local restaurants in the Des Moines/central Iowa are, followed by me making a few comments on these podcasts.

We recorded our podcast outdoors at Sophie's backyard in West Des Moines on Thursday October 27, 2022 and it's around 35 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 #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!!