The Juice with Jeff

The Juice with Jeff #305

On this episode Lori VanLo conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, pretty energetic, very fun, really entertaining, and very conversational interview with me for Episode #305 of the podcast. This is Lori's third time on the show, and I truly believe that both the one she did with me in March of last year and this one were equally HER BEST INTERVIEWS EVER with me for the podcast!!

We recorded this episode in a conference room at Indian Hills Jr. High in Clive, and coincidentally I went there for Junior High between 1988 and 1990. After our introductions, here are the fun questions that Lori asked me during the interview:

1. If you could be any video game, what video game would it be?

2. What kitchen utensil or appliance would you be?

3. Is water wet?

4. If you were given an elephant for a week, what is the first thing you'd be asking about?

5. If you were a vegetable, which one would you be and why?

6. How would you sell hot chocolate during July in Florida (or any other place where it's often warm/hot and humid during the summer)?

7. If you could only use one piece of office equipment for the rest of your life, what would it be?

8. What is the most ridiculous fact you know? I answer this question by talking about my intense passion for the Roadshow Theatrical Presentation version of certain films.

9. What is the most unusual type of transportation you have used while traveling?

10. Describe the perfect sandwich?

11. Tell me about the last time you had a really big laugh.

After I share my answers to these questions, Lori shares her answers to all the questions.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday July 11, 2025 and it runs 33 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!

The Juice with Jeff #304

On this episode Maura Kenworthy conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, energetic, very fun, and really conversational interview with me in person for Episode #304 of the podcast. This is Maura's second time on the show, and I truly believe this one was HER BEST INTERVIEW EVER with me for the podcast!!

We recorded this episode at Walnut Woods State Park and we take a Nature Walk thru portions of Walnut Woods during parts of the podcast recording session.

After our introductions, here are the questions that Maura asked me during the interview:

1. We each talked about how the 4th of July weekend went for both of us.

2. Then I describe for our listeners the setting for where we are starting our podcast interview from in the open semi outdoor portion of the day-use lodge at Walnut Woods, and I also talk about how some of the buildings or structures in our Iowa State Parks were built by the Civil Conservation Corps during the 1930's.

3. How many different Iowa State Parks have you done in person interviews from for the podcast, and do you have a favorite?

4. Talk more about the interview you did last year from the Cedar Bridge of the Bridges of Madison County.

5. Tell me about the early years of your childhood and if you remember when you first discovered your passion of connecting with people that led to starting your podcast. While I really didn't talk about my childhood, I did share with Maura about how my social skills have gradually improved and gotten better over the past few decades, the mini reunion parties I had between 2011 and 2016, and I also talked about in detail the history of how the podcast began.

6. Then Maura and I do a sales pitch that is meant to promote more people joining our Juice with Jeff Family of Interviewers and Co-producers.

7. When you started this whole journey for the podcast, did you have a common theme that you wanted to carry throughout the podcast or do you leave it up to the friend or friends who  interview you to guide where it's going to go?

8. Talk more about the special series of episodes you produced and recorded during the week of your birthday last year? This is referring to the really special "Five Books of Jeff Duitch" series (Episodes #259 thru #263 on our podcast platforms) that Dana Mintzer Leman created and members of her family conducted and co-produced a five part series with each of those five episodes focusing questions from each specific decade from the 50 years of my life.

9. Have you ever been camping? I talked about the years I spent as a camper (1989 to 1992) and staff member (1994 to 1997) at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin plus a taste of camping in one or two other times not related to Ramah.
Maura asks me if I have been back to camp since 1997.

10. Then Maura asks me if I have been back to VHS since the mid 1990's.

11. Maura then challenges me to do as many of my voice impersonations as I can in ONE MINUTE.

12. Which state park is your favorite?

13. Then we wrap up the interview with me giving a powerful performance of the following voice impersonations for Maura: current President Trump, RFK, Jr., former President Biden, Mitt Romney, Dr. Fauci, Mitch McConnell, several Simpsons voices, the SNL Church Lady, Forrest Gump, a couple voice ID announcers for KGGO and 100.3 The Bus, Ira Glass, and the late Jim Morrison.

We also bring up other things related to the podcast and other side topics throughout the interview.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Sunday July 6, 2025 and it runs an EPIC 2 hours and 2 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!

The Juice with Jeff #303

On this episode Sue Evans conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, and really conversational interview with me for Episode #303 of the podcast. This is Sue's third time on the show, and I truly believe both the interview she did with me in May of last year and this year's interview are definitely equally HER BEST INTERVIEWS EVER for the podcast!!

After our introductions, here are the questions that Sue asked me during the interview:

1. What is the earliest memory you have of watching cartoons? And after I answered this question, I asked her the same question.

2. If you could step into one of those cartoons and spend a whole day being in a cartoon, what cartoon would you choose?

3. Besides Fat Albert, which other characters were your favorite on the show?

4. Could you ever see Mister Rogers o.b.m. and Fat Albert acting together?

5. What makes a good musical?

6. What is your favorite scene in The Blues Brothers film? During my answer to this question, I explain to Sue in detail about the Extended Version (15 minutes longer than the all too familiar Theatrical cut), how the film was originally going to be a full Roadshow style 2 hour 40 minute to nearly 3 hour production with an intermission, and some other factoids about the movie.

7. Do you think you think you could recite all the dialogue of the film from memory?

8. Would you ever like to talk to Dan Aykroyd about the Blues Brothers film?

9. Are there any other movies you memorized the dialogue from word for word? I talk about my love for the 1980 Airplane movie.

10.  Tell me more about your two Havenese dogs.

11. When you are feeling stressed, what kind of things make you feel more comfortable so you can kind of get back into the normal feeling of life?

12. Do you think you feel comfortable in the structures or rhythm of Jewish life and prayer times?

13. Do the Jewish values of Chesed (Kindness), Tzedek (justice or righteousness), and Tikkun Olam resonate with your world? 

14. I know sensory is very important to autistic people. Do the sounds of the shofar, the texture of the tallit (prayer shawl), or the smell of the Shabbat food affect you?

15. Have you ever thought of any biblical figures that might have had traits associated with Autism?

16. What's one thing that you are proud of yourself that you have done or about your character that you are proud of?

17. Is there something really special that you did during your high school years that you did that was important to you? I talk about the American Citizenship Award that I was presented with right before my graduation from Valley High School in May 1994.

18. You have an affinity for lighthouses, how did that come to be? What other physical attractions do you live besides lighthouses?

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Sunday June 27, 2025 and it runs 1 hour and 18 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!

The Juice with Jeff #302

On this episode Mindy Toyne conducts and co-produce her fantastic, superb, very fun, pretty energetic, and very conversational interview with me in person for Episode #302 of the podcast. This is Mindy's second time on the show, and I truly believe both the interview she did with me in May of last year and this particular interview are definitely equally HER BEST INTERVIEWS EVER for the podcast!!

After our introductions, here is what we brought up during the interview:

A bunch of things related to the podcast, including the super amazing and historic year we had during last year, Mindy being part of our Juice with Jeff Inc. Board of Directors/Advisory Committee, our super amazing Juice with Jeff: Best Interviews in the World logo that Micole and Josh Chapman arranged to have created that is on the T-shirts and those stickers, and all the milestones we've reached with the podcast over the last year.

I talked with Mindy about the super amazing extremely special, super energetic, and EPIC interviews that Micole and Josh, and Jill Bassman conducted and co-produced with me in person both last year for Episode #212 (Carrie England was also part of this interview last year) and a couple months ago for Episode #289. I also share with Mindy how I met Katie and Nic Hoover a couple weeks ago and they conducted/co-produced their debut interview with me for Episode #298.

Mindy also asked me the following questions:

If you could pick a celebrity interviewer/co-producer for the podcast, who would that be?

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

If you chose a specific photo for the screensaver on your phone, what would it be?

If you had a $1000 to spend on something from Amazon Prime, what would it be?

If you could have a round trip ticket to travel anywhere in the world at no expense to you, what would it be?

Do you read comic books or did you read comic books?

What is your favorite color?

If you went back to Drake University or another university, would you choose to study Journalism/Radio/TV again or something else?

Are you afraid of heights?

Would you hold a snake if someone walked up with it and assured you it would be safe?

Would you ever get a tattoo?

If you could live anywhere other than Des Moines, where would it be?

We wrap up the podcast with Mindy sharing what's new with her over the last year.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday afternoon June 27, 2025 and it runs 43 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!

The Juice with Jeff #301

On this episode Stephanie Angleson French conducts and co-produce her fantastic, superb, really fun, pretty entertaining, and very conversational interview with me in person for Episode #301 of the podcast. This is Stephanie's fifth time on the show, and I truly believe both the interview she did with me on April 5th of last year and this particular interview are definitely equally HER BEST INTERVIEWS EVER for the podcast!!

After our introductions, here is what we brought up during the interview:
The weather we've been dealing with lately in the Des Moines area and how weather on the day we recorded this episode is a very welcome change from the heat/humidity and/or heavy rain and thunderstorms we have had quite a bit of during the second half of June. I also address the meteorologist situation at our local ABC affiliate known as Local 5.

We bring up a whole bunch of things related to the podcast, including the super amazing and historic year we had with the show last year, the goals we have for this year's episodes, and I talk at length about the three special episodes of the podcast we've done over the last several months as part of the Basement Dwellers series of episodes (Episodes #274 and #277 thru Zoom and Episode #287 In Person).

I also share how special the In Person edition of the Basement Dwellers series was on May 4th when James Alsup, Amy Schmelzer, and Erin Kiernan, and I recorded the interview for that episode in the Meredith Basement at Drake. I then go over with Stephanie how things are extremely different today with the audio/video production facilities in the Meredith Basement.

Stephanie then asked me if doing the Basement Dwellers series of episodes made me want to do another special episode of the podcast with a group of people who have a similar interest on another topic. I answer this question by telling Stephanie in detail about the extremely special, super energetic, extremely fun, and EPIC interviews that Micole and Josh Chapman and Jill Bassman conducted and co-produced with me in person both on April 19th last year (Episode #212, Carrie England also participated in conducting and co-producing the interview for this episode) and May 9th of this year (Episode #289). I played a bunch of behind the scenes video snippets (via my cell phone) from the interview Micole, Josh, and Jill did with me on May 9th. 

Stephanie then asks me if I have another dream interview I would love to have conducted for the podcast.

Next, Stephanie asks me if I've watched any good movies lately. I then tell Stephanie about all the DVD's and Blu-Rays I have added to my TV Show and Movie Collection since I last saw her in April of last year. I share with her about how for the third year in a row I watched all of the DVD's and Blu-Rays in my collection in Alphabetical Order from A to Z between just before New Year's and the second week of June and also the Roadshow Theatrical Film Minyan countdown I did last year between Labor Day Weekend and my birthday weekend in October.

She then asked me if I'm going to the Iowa State Fair during August this year.
And then she asked if I'm still taking my outdoor walks.

I then share with Stephanie my love for our State Parks here in Iowa. And I mention how as part of my Bucket List for this year I would love to have one of our in person interviewers take me to Springbrook State Park near Guthrie Center and do a really special in person interview from there, along with recording another in person interview from another one of our Iowa State Parks. Stephanie and I then share how much we love Ledges State Park.

We wrap up the podcast interview with my performing the following voice impersonations for Stephanie: Kermit the Frog, Casey Kasem, Yosemite Sam, my Mister Rogers medley, Fat Albert, Michael "let's get ready to rumble!!!" Buffer, Audrey II from the Little Shop of Horrors musical film, and my Jim Morrison singing the Toys R Us jingle like The Doors.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday morning June 27, 2025 and it runs 1 hour and 30 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!

The Juice with Jeff #300

On this episode Renee Whisnant conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, and very conversational interview with me thru for Episode #300 of the podcast. This is Renee's sixth time on the show.

We started the interview with Renee asking me if I did anything for Juneteenth last Friday (the same day we recorded this episode) and we talked for a few moments about the importance of Juneteenth.

Then Renee asks me to share goals I have for the rest of the year, both those related to the podcast and also goals on other things. I then ask Renee the same question.

Renee then asks what things I have found helpful in getting thru the stressful things I deal with.

Renee asked if we were dealing with heat and humidity in Iowa just like Minnesota is dealing with heat and humidity this weekend.

Then I ask Renee to offer a "Sales Pitch" to recruit additional people to join our Juice with Jeff Family of Interviewers and Co-producers, and we wrap up the show with Renee sharing her thoughts on the annual Juicys Awards Event we did here on FB back in early December last year.

And we brought up various things related to the podcast throughout the interview.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday afternoon June 20, 2025 and it runs 35 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #299

On this episode Sandy Henry conducts and co-produce her fantastic, superb, really fun, pretty energetic, and very conversational interview with me in person for Episode #299 of the podcast. This is Sandy's fifth time (fourth in person) on the show, and I truly believe both the interview she did with me on June 7th of last year and today's interview are definitely equally HER BEST INTERVIEWS EVER for the podcast!!

After our introductions, Sandy asked me a bunch of questions related to:
Memories I have from the many times I went to Greenbelt Park during my childhood, teenage x and younger adult years as well as the biking I used to do along the Greenbelt Trail.

A favorite gadget or set of gadgets that were my childhood favorite. I went into depth explaining about how playing around with whatever audio equipment I could get my hands on as a child and teenager led to the two years of being part of KWDM in my junior and senior years at Valley High School, all the audio and TV production stuff during my 4-1/2 years in the Drake J-School, and of course this entire podcast series.

She also asked what my feelings are on Ai technology and the like.

And there are a bunch of side topics that relate to the questions Sandy asked me such as my favorite kinds of music and the podcast itself.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday morning June 20, 2025 and it runs 1 hour and 13 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #298

On this episode of the podcast Katie and Nic Hoover conduct and co-produce their fantastic, superb, extremely fun, really unique, and very conversational interview with me for Episode #297 of the show.

This is the debut/first time on the podcast for both Katie and Nic, and their interview with me is among my TOP 30 Favorite Episodes of the show!!! To be honest, a significant number of the episodes we've produced and recorded over the last 1-1/2 years including this one are part of my TOP 40 Favorite Episodes list of the whole podcast series!!!

I want to send a shout out and a very special thanks to Mindy Toyne for recruiting Katie to join our Juice with Jeff Family of Interviewers/Co-Producers, and Katie recruited Nic to join the team as well!!!

After our introductions and my giving an explanation of how the The Juice with Jeff began and how we've come a long way with the podcast over the last few years; this particular interview is divided into two parts.

During the first half of this episode, Katie and Nic took turns asking me a variety of questions:

1.  Talk about the Elementary, Junior High, and High Schools you went to and any thoughts about those schools along the way?

2.  We just found out that Katie and my sister Marni graduated from VHS during the same year (1997), talk a little more about that.

3. What kinds of camp experiences have you had and tell us about them? I talk about the several summers I went to a Jewish day camp in DSM called Camp Shalom (now Engman Camp Shalom) during my elementary school years and then I went into detail about my being a camper (late 1980's/early 1990's) and a staff member (mid 1990's) at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

4. Are you a fan of garage sales or yard sales, and if so what are you looking for at those?

5.  What things do you collect? I answer this question by talking about my Music CD Collection and also my super impressive TV Show and Movie DVD/Blu-Ray Collection.

6.  What are your favorite things that come in a cup?

During the second half of this episode, Katie conducts the rest of the interview solo and she asks me NUMEROUS "Hot Seat" questions from the kids in the summer school she and Nic teach in called Camp Champs:

a. Do you like Legos?

b. Are you good at puzzles?

c. What is your favorite dessert and your favorite snack?

d. Do you prefer hockey or soccer?

e. Who is your favorite Hoover?

f.  Do you like "Lilo and Stitch"?

g. Do you have a favorite dragon?

h. Do you think birds are real?

i.  Do you have a favorite musical?

j.  What is your favorite color?

k. What is your favorite ceiling fan setting?

l.  Do you have a favorite villain?

m. Is there a country you would like to visit?

n. Do you have a favorite condiment?

o. Do you have a favorite Disney character?

p. Do you have a favorite animal?

q. Could you describe yourself with three words that start with the letter A?

r. Do you prefer Velveeta or Kraft Mac and Cheese?

s. Do you know how many states you have visited?

t.  What is your favorite Starbuck's order?

u. Are you an iPhone or an Android fan in terms of cell phones?

v.  Do you like the Harry Potter books and/or movies?

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Friday afternoon June 12, 2025 and it runs an EPIC 1 hour and 55 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!!

 

The Juice with Jeff #297

On this episode of the podcast Kathy Roat conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, really unique, and very conversational interview with me for Episode #297 of the show!!! This is Kathy's second time on the podcast and out of the two in person interviews she has done with me, this is definitely in my opinion her BEST INTERVIEW EVER with me!!!

This particular episode is divided into three topics or parts:

During the first part of this special episode, she had me pick out 3 to 5 sets (out of 20 or so different options) of pictures that were taken during a big epic trip she recently took to parts of the West Coast. She asks me to describe what I see in the pictures I've chosen and what I noticed in those photos that caught my attention and gave me interest?

For the second part, she shows me a selection of photos on various things and she asks me to comment on experiences I've had that are related to those photos.

And for the third part, she asks me to select a couple items from her Bag of Props. I chose the book and the pillow, and then she asks me questions related to books and pillows.

We wrap up this interview with me asking Kathy to talk about her recent retirement from her and her husband running a Fleet Feet store and how she is enjoying retirement.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Tuesday evening June 10, 2025 and it runs 1 hour and 5 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!!

The Juice with Jeff #296

On this episode of the podcast Martha Scanlan conducts and co-produces her fantastic, superb, and really conversational interview with me for Episode #296 of the show!!! This is Martha's 4th time (third in person) on the podcast and I would say that both the interview she did with me a year ago from Lake Ahquabi State Park and this episode from Pammel State Park are equally her BEST INTERVIEWS EVER with me for the show!!!

As I mentioned a moment ago, we recorded this episode from Pammel State Park near Winterset and this is the very first time I've been there in my entire life!! We started recording the interview in the Backbone Shelter area and we were able to do a bit of hiking in the campground and a couple others areas of the park for part of the podcast recording session. But halfway thru the podcast, showers moved into the area and we went into the open semi-outdoors (open on three sides but enclosed on top and with a wall on one side) part of Pammel Lodge to record the rest of the interview.

Martha and I talked about a variety of topics: How excited we were to be at Pammel State Park and we shared some trivia and history related to the park, the cupcakes Martha treated us to from The Bake Shoppe in Windsor Heights, the several state parks I've been to, what's new with Martha's these days, the things we see at Pammel during our Nature Walk, camping, a few memories from my Camp Ramah in Wisconsin days related to the camp's facilities and favorite foods I had during my camper and staff member years, and a couple things related to the podcast.

This episode of the podcast was recorded on Sunday June 8, 2025 and it runs 1 hour and 32 minutes long. Our opening and closing theme music is provided by Oleg Kyrylkovv courtesy of Pixabay. Funding for this podcast is provided by RandomKid, Lisa Krain, and Wendi Roush. Enjoy!!