The Juice with Jeff

The Juice with Jeff #112

On this episode of the podcast, Sarah Trone Garriott conducts/co-produces an excellent interview with me in person.

 

Sarah and I had a very free flowing chat which was filled with lots of two-way conversation throughout the podcast. Here are the topics which Sarah and I brought up during this episode:

 

Sarah starts the podcast with her intro and welcoming everyone to the show.

 

Sarah and I then have a short discussion on how the weather in Iowa during March/April/May can be like a roller coaster.

 

Then Sarah talks about the several jobs and roles that she has in the Des Moines and central Iowa community.

 

Sarah and I talk in more detail about the goals and purposes of these The Juice with Jeff podcasts.

 

Sarah brings up the subject of using improv comedy as part of faith and community outreach, and I share with her how Judaism believes that the use of clean humor does have a valuable and important place in Jewish practice and tradition.

 

I talk with Sarah about how Judaism and Jewish tradition believe in the importance of following the middle path and also on how Judaism considers having excellent character traits to be extremely important and essential.

 

One way I share with Sarah the importance of following "the middle path" is how on one hand, there are times where mourning is proper and important, but at the same time we should not be mourning excessively or more than necessary.

 

I share with Sarah my thoughts on what values I consider critical and essential, and I also talk with her about how I've been handling the Covid-19 pandemic both during its earlier phases and how I'm handling it now.

 

Both Sarah and I bring up the importance of having that delicate balance with practicing both self care and also about how important it is for us to care about others.

 

Then Sarah asks me to share my thoughts on how my synagogue has been using creativity in operating during the pandemic. I share with her how I'm not able to go to synagogue much (pandemic or not) since I do not live within walking distance of my synagogue and I try my best to be Shomer Shabbat (fully observant of what the Torah, Hazal/the Talmudic sages, and Jewish Law requires in terms of the do's and do not's of keeping Shabbat).

 

I share with her how in mid-March 2022 (for the first time in two years), I was able to go inside my synagogue for their Purim festivities and how I dressed up as Fred Rogers, o.b.m. I offered a "Reader's Digest" version on how I became passionate and more interested in everything related to Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and how another really good friend named Jami Bassman Ahart helped me put together the Mister Rogers Wardrobe that I have for whenever I feel like dressing up like Fred Rogers.

 

There is one point during the conversation where I was able to sneak in my voice impersonation of Iowa governor Kim Reynolds.

 

We recorded our podcast outdoors at the Campbell Park Recreational Area in Clive. It was a pretty windy day outside, so there are times where it will sound windy during the podcast.

 

This episode of the podcast runs around 43 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 #111

On this episode of the podcast, Renee (VanAmber) Whisnant conducts a really good audio interview with me thru Zoom; and this is her 2nd time on The Juice with Jeff.

 

Renee does ask me to talk about several different topics:

Will I be going to the Drake Relays this year or not?

Have I ever been involved with the Drake Relays during my Drake years?

Have I ever been back on the Drake University campus since my December 1998 graduation?

How is Passover 2022 going for me?

What is my favorite childhood/young adult memories from Passover?

 

I share my thoughts with Renee on all of these subjects. When Renee asks me to talk with her about how Passover is going, I actually explain more about what Passover is about, the basics of keeping kosher both during the year and during Passover, and how I aim/strive to do my best to live an observant Jewish life while I follow the "middle road" path without any unnecessary extras. I had quite lot to say about this subject and there are even a couple moments where I get...let's just say quite "fiery" and headstrong.

 

This interview was recorded on Friday April 22, 2022 and it runs 59 minutes long. 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 #109

On this episode of the podcast, Libby Buchmeier conducts/co-produces a fantastic and superb interview with me in person.

 

There are a whole bunch of topics that discussed and brought up during the podcast including (in no particular order): the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, self-care, music, the "Mad for Decades" compilation book filled with the some of the best skits/stories that were published in Mad Magazine between the1950's thru 1990's, the Harry Potter series of books and movies, the Mel Brooks line of movies that are filled with hilarious puns and parodies, my pets and Libby's pets, our favorite types of jazz and classical music, my absolute love for "Jazz Rock"/"Horn-driven" rock and groups that are perfect examples of this genre such as Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears, a little bit of politcs, National Public Radio/Iowa Public Radio/the WOI Radio stations (and I throw in my Don Forsling o.b.m. voice impersonation for Libby during this part of the conversation), and the importance of accepting and loving people as they are for who they are. Libby and I have a significant amount of two-way conversation on all of these topics throughout the podcast.

 

After a 90 minute deep conversation on all of the topics addressed above, I spend the last 15 minutes of the show giving an EPIC powerful performance for Libby of my following voice impersonations for Libby: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer/"Let's Get Ready to Rumble!" Barry White o.b.m., Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors", Forrest Gump, Tom Bodett, Ira Glass, Susan Stamberg, Korva Coleman, Lakshmi Singh, Jack Speer, Giles Snyder, Bert and Ernie, The Count, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Dr. Fauci, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Mitch McConnell, my unique take of the late Jim Morrison performing the "Toys R' Us" jingle, Bob Edwards (former NPR's Morning Edition host), and I conclude with the Fred Rogers o.b.m. medley (Mister Rogers, King Friday, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Daniel Tiger, X the Owl, and Henrietta Pussycat).

 

Not only is this one of the longest episodes of The Juice with Jeff that we've ever done, but it is now officially the LONGEST IN PERSON EPISODE that we have ever done so far!! We recorded this episode of the podcast outdoors at Greenwood Park in the Des Moines area, specially in the area with their stage/amphitheater setup. This interview was recorded on April 10, 2022, and it lasts for an EPIC 99 minutes/1 hour 39 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 #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!!