The Juice with Jeff

The Juice with Jeff #78

On this episode of the podcast, Laura Grisamore conducts and co-produces an excellent, outstanding, and extremely fun audio interview with me thru Zoom filled with lots of two-way conversation throughout the interview. There are over a dozen different things that Laura and I talk about during this episode of the show, with some of the topics being:

1. Winter weather in terms of snow and extremely cold temperatures.

2. Polar Bear Plunges

3. My Acromegaly and how I had to have those two major surgeries to remove a really large benign tumor in my pituitary gland back in January 2016, as well as dealing with medical expenses.

4. Thoughts on the 2020 Election, as well as our thoughts on the Inauguration for President Biden and Vice President Harris that took place on January 20, 2021. 

5.  How it's extremely important and critical that we love, accept, tolerate, and embrace all people of all colors/races, all religions, all sexual orientations, all nationalities, etc...

6.  The problem with Toxic Positivity

7.  Both my take and Laura's take on restaurants and eating out in general; and how we've dealing with food whenever we have felt like "Eating out" during the Covid-19 pandemic. I also talk about the cooking skills I have within certain limits.

8.  I talk about some of the traveling experiences I've had in the past, and where I would be interested in traveling to at some point in time.

9. I talk a little bit about my Camp Ramah in Wisconsin days, and then I also talk in a relatively abbreviated way about my Judaism and how I try my best to be a religiously observant Jew both in terms of the ritual and ethical aspects of Judaism; and how I consider it my top priority to be ethical, honest in all aspects of life, and to treat everyone with kindness and respect.

10. Laura talks about a business that she owns and operates in Park Rapids, MN with three other people called Studio 176.  Laura's business is an art gallery that features Laura's work along with the work of the three other people who operate the business with Laura.

This interview was recorded on Friday February 5, 2021 and it definitely is a EPIC FEATURE LENGTH podcast as it runs 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes). In fact, this is the absolute lengthiest/longest episode of the podcast to date!! 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 #77

On this episode of the podcast, Christa Anderson Beeler conducts and co-produces a fantastic and super fun audio interview with me thru Zoom filled with quite a bit of two-way conversation throughout the interview. There were multiple topics that were brought up and interwoven with each other during the interview including:  A record breaking 10 to 15 inch snowfall event we had here in Des Moines earlier in the week, how Christa's dog and my two dogs handle the snow, walking outdoors during the winter, weekend plans, audio quality for this podcast episode on both my end and Christa's end, how I cook for a typical Shabbat (weekly Jewish Sabbath), how it's extremely important for us to accept and embrace everyone for who they are, when positivity can become "excessive" or "toxic positivity", Christa talks about and promotes her "Life Full of Sparkle" organization and brand, I talk a little more about my podcast in terms of how I use the audio production skills I learned during my Valley High School and Drake University days, and we finish the interview with both me and Christa talking about our days attending the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Drake University.

This interview was recorded on Friday January 29, 2021 and it runs 54 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 #76

On this episode of the podcast, Kelie (Harms) Gray conducts and co-produces a fantastic and really fun audio interview with me thru Zoom filled with quite a bit of two-way conversation throughout the interview. There were a bunch of things that were discussed during the audio interview including:

1. My thoughts on the November 2020 Election, and also on the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris that took place on January 20, 2021. The first 15 minutes of the podcast are spent talking about these two things.

2. Then I talk with Kelie for around 15 minutes about my intense love and passion for music, what types of music I enjoy most, and how critical and extremely important music is in my life on a daily basis. I also tell Kelie about the karaoke system that I have and how I occasionally bring this karaoke system to parties that friends host.

3. Then I discuss with Kelie for around 10 minutes about several other things that help me stay positive as much as realistically possible and also help me keep my mental health in check. We also talk in more detail about the entire "The Juice with Jeff" podcast series and about how awesome technology is (including the use of Zoom).

4. Then Kelie and I each talk for a total of around 8 minutes about the weather (what is was like during the recording session for this podcast) in our respective communities, along with a couple georgraphical things about where we each live.

5. And then for the remaining 7 minutes of the podcast, Kelie and I each share a couple memories from our days at Valley High School in West Des Moines, IA during the first half of the 1990's. We then close the podcast with some closing comments.

NOTE: There were 3 moments during the recording session of this podcast where I ended up saying things which are incorrect. So when I did the post-production work on this episode, I did voiceovers where I made corrections to what I originally said. As a result, you may notice some difference in the audio quality during these voiceovers as opposed to the rest of the podcast.

This interview was recorded on Friday January 22, 2021 and it runs around 56 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 #75

On this episode of the podcast, Maia (Young) Bauman conducts and co-produces a fantastic and really fun audio interview with me filled with quite a bit of two-way conversation throughout the interview. There were a bunch of things that Sarah and I talked about during this audio interview including:

1. During both the first 20 or minutes of the podcast and also during the last 25 minutes of the podcast; Maia and I talk about some memories from our growing up in Des Moines, and we also share our memories, experiences, favorite moments, etc... from our years together at Crossroads Park Elementary, Indian Hills Jr. High, and Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, and we also touch on friendships during these parts of the interview.

2. Between the 25 minute mark and the 1 hour 5 minute mark of the podcast; we talk about my intense interest and passion for Fred Rogers o.b.m. and the TV show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", and Maia also shares her thoughts on Mister Rogers and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". And I also bring up the movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" that is largely based on Fred Rogers' life and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" during this portion of the podcast.

3. Between the 1 hour 5 minute mark and the 1 hour 10 minute mark, I talk with Maia about how my practicing Judaism plays a very important role in my life, specifically about how I say and take seriously daily prayers and blessings in accordance with Jewish Law and the teachings of Judaism.

4. I do the following a sample of my voice impersonations for Maia at three separate points during the podcast with the following voices: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer (the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer), Tom Bodett, Fred Rogers o.b.m., Mr. McFeely, King Friday, Queen Sara Saturday, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Harriet Elizabeth Cow, Coach Bill Coldiron o.b.m., and Brian Dean Christensen.

This interview was recorded on Friday December 11, 2020 and it definitely is a FEATURE LENGTH podcast as it runs 1 hour and 39 minutes (99 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 #74

On this episode of the podcast, Kim Kivens conducts and co-produces a fantastic and fun audio interview with me filled with some two-way conversation throughout the interview. 

There were three or four things that Kim asked me questions about during the interview:

1.  During the overwhelming majority of this interview (75% of the interview to be exact), I talked in great detail about multiple aspects of my days at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. I was a camper there from 1989 thru 1992, and then I went back to Ramah Wisconsin to work as the Business Assist in their office during the summers between 1994-1996 for 9 weeks and then one more time during the summer of 1997 for 4 weeks.

2.  Then Kim asks me to talk about my intense love/passion/interest for Fred Rogers o.b.m. and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I spend 10 to 12 minutes explaining to Kim the multiple reasons why I am passionate about Mister Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

3.  Then for the remaining 10 minutes or so of the podcast, Kim asks me to talk about what positive things I can take from the Covid-19 pandemic, what can I keep in my life from the pandemic once the day comes when things go "back to normal" (e.g. the vast majority of society has received the proper Covid-19 vaccines, masks and physical distancing will no longer be required, etc..) and what things have I been doing during the pandemic that have been keeping positive and happy.

This interview was recorded on Friday December 4, 2020 and it definitely meets FEATURE LENGTH criteria as it runs 1 hour and 26 minutes (86 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 #73

On this episode of the podcast, Sarah (Henry) Suemnig conducts and co-produces a fantastic and super fun audio interview with me filled with plenty of two-way conversation throughout the interview. There were a whole bunch of things that Sarah and I talked about during this audio interview, both on the serious stuff and the fun/entertaining stuff.

1. The first thing that Sarah brings up with me is about my singing as a hobby and remember how I sang in two of the choirs during my years at Valley High School. I talk with Sarah about the really cool karaoke system that I have, how I have been enjoying using it quite a few times over the last 8-1/2 years, and how I brought my karaoke system to the home of a couple really close friends for their big Hanukkah party for the last 8 years. Sarah also talks about her interest in singing.

2. Then I perform 30 of my voice impersonations for Sarah: Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Michael Buffer (The "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" announcer), Trump, Obama, Romney, Tom Bodett, Audrey II the Plant ("Little Shop of Horrors"), Robin Leach o.b.m., Casey Kasem o.b.m., Susan Stamberg (NPR Special Correspondent), Ira Glass ("This American Life"), Terry Gross (NPR's Fresh Air), Lakshmi Singh (NPR Newscaster), Jack Speer (NPR Newscaster), Dwane Brown (NPR Newscaster), Korva Coleman (NPR Newscaster), Giles Snyder (NPR Newscaster/Reporter), Steve Inskeep and David Greene (2 of the 4 co-hosts for NPR's Morning Edition), the longtime KGGO Voice Over Announcer named Joe Kelly, Fred Rogers o.b.m. and a bunch of the characters from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (Joe Negri, King Friday, Queen Sara, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Mr. McFeeley, and the funding credits announcer that came on at the beginning and end of the show). When I do the voices of those three politicians, I do spend a couple minutes sharing my thoughts on the recent 2020 U.S. General Election.

3. Then we talk about how it's extremely important for us to be kind to everyone; and to accept/respect everyone of all colors, all religions, all abilities, all sexual orientations, all nationalities, etc.....

4. Then we talk about how we're handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the physical distancing that goes with it. I talk with Sarah about the things I do to try to stay positive and keep my mental health in check during the pandemic such as listening to my tremendous music collection, my interest in Fred Rogers o.b.m. and Mister Rogers Neighborhood as well as several other TV shows like Fat Albert and Gilligan's Island, and reaching out to friends thru the phone and Facebook Messenger. And then I talk with Sarah more about the series of these "The Juice with Jeff" podcasts as well as how I've learned quite a lot about using Zoom since March 2020. Sarah also shares her thoughts on a bunch of related topics during this part of the podcast.

5. Then Sarah and I address more serious topics about: how the pandemic has taught us about how we cannot take various everyday things for granted, the multiple problems that we've dealt with during 2020 including the recent U.S. General Elections, Religious Fundamentalism, etc.... Then I talk about spirituality and how I try my best to practice the precepts and all aspects of Judaism to the best of my ability in a balanced, moderate, sane, and reasonable way.

6. Sarah and I then spend the remaining 35 or so minutes of the podcast sharing our memories, experiences, favorite moments, etc... from our years together at VHS in West Des Moines, Iowa. Sarah went to VHS for three of the four years that I was also there during the early to mid 1990's.

This interview was recorded on Friday November 27, 2020 and it definitely is a FEATURE LENGTH podcast as it runs 1 hour and 40 minutes (100 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 #72

On this episode of the podcast, Jill Bassman conducts and co-produces an excellent and fun audio interview with me. During the interview, Jill asks me the following questions, and I explain in detail my thoughts and responses to Jill's questions:

1.  Who is my number one hero?

2.  If I could live anywhere in the whole world, where would I live?

3.  When I was little, what did I want to be when I grew up?

4.  If I had unlimited money, unlimited time, and unlimited resources; if I could do anything I wanted to for a week during my lifetime, what would it be?

5.  If I had to pick my top Karaoke song to sing, what would it be? This one was super tough for me to come up with an answer to, so I talked with Jill about my long term interest in doing Karaoke as a hobby at various times.

6.  Did I ever have any nicknames, and if so what were they?

7.  Do I like or dislike surprises? Why or why not?

This interview was recorded on Friday November 13, 2020 and it runs 36 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 #71 SPECIAL PANDEMIC ZOOM BIRTHDAY EDITION

On this episode of the podcast, we have a very special episode where the entire show features a "live to tape" Virtual Birthday Celebration that was held for my 46th birthday on the night of October 19, 2020 via Zoom!! Around 25 people participated in this birthday celebration for me on Zoom. Dana Mintzer Leman and David Trumble co-host this party with me on Zoom.

The party begins with everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to me. The podcast is basically the audio track from the party that is for the most part unedited, with only the silent moments being edited out. During the party, two rounds of the game "Scattegories" is played, and then toward the end people offer their birthday wishes to me. This special birthday edition of the podcast runs 1 hour and 12 minutes (72 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 #70

On this episode of the podcast, Laura Grisamore conducts and co-produces an excellent and extremely fun audio interview with me filled with lots of two-way conversation throughout the interview. During the vast majority of the podcast, Laura and I talk about memories, experiences, favorite moments, etc... from our years together at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. But there are other topics that are brought up at various points of the interview, and I also perform quite a few of my voice impersonations for Laura!! This interview was recorded on Friday October 16, 2020 and it definitely is a FEATURE LENGTH podcast as it runs 2 hours and 5 minutes (125 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 #69

On this episode of the podcast, Lynn Zimmerman conducts and co-produces a fabulous and really fun audio interview with me filled with lots and lots of two-way conversation throughout the interview. The topics that Lynn brought up with me during the interview include:

1. Lynn asked me what I've been up to since I graduated from Valley High School (West Des Moines, IA) in 1994. So, I give Lynn in a 6 minute summary form all the things I've been up to in terms of University education and what I've been doing for a living over the last 26 years.

2. Then Lynn asks me to talk more about the red zippered cardigan and the Sperry Top Sider shoes that I got back in February 2020 which I use as part of my Fred Rogers o.b.m. wardrobe for the times when I decide to dress up as Mister Rogers. During this part of the interview, I also talk with Lynn for about 10 minutes about how my intense interest and passion for Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; and also about a laundry mishap I had on a Sunday in July 2020 when trying to do my red zippered cardigan in our washer at home where it ended up turning half of the laundry in that load pink.

3. Lynn then asks me to talk about what hobbies, interests, and things I have done to keep me entertained and to keep my spirits up since the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread and with the physical distancing recommendations going into effect as of mid-March 2020.

4. Lynn then asks me to talk about any favorite meals that I have made as well as what kind of food I love to eat, both with what I cook at home and what kinds of meals I enjoy from a restaurant (whether it's for taking out or bringing back home, or whether it's for eating out during normal circumstances when we're not dealing with COVID-19 or another similar public health pandemic). I also discuss with Lynn about the restaurant scene in central Iowa and what kinds of places I enjoy eating out at when I have gotten together with friends in the past, and where I'll enjoy eating out in the future when the time comes that things with COVID-19 have improved to the point where the proper vaccines have been distributed to the masses and it's considered safe to get together with friends in person  without worrying about masks, physical distancing, etc...

5. Lynn and I spend the remaining 30 minutes of the podcast sharing memories and favorite moments from our VHS days.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday October 13, 2020 and it runs 1 hour and 11 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!