The Juice with Jeff

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!!

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!!