Who We Know: Recent Episodes
Patrick Aziz
Patrick Aziz explores the degrees of separation between us, as well as how the people we know influence our lives.
Andrea and I converse about all things fashion, costuming, production design and her work in the world of the arts in NYC. We talk about her fashion brand of stylish jumpsuits, Risen Division, her journey into the performing arts through her skills in textiles as well as her omnivorous curiosity, wherever it leads.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Frank and I start up the new Season Three, spending a lot of time on the idea of "common ground" between us. He talks about his childhood in Africa, coming to the States, and his life as a real estate agent in San Diego. We go deep in exploring religion and examining perspectives on Islam, Catholicism, and other traditions. We round things out with the survey on happiness and living well. Enjoy!
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Gale and I talk about her book, Money Come Dance with Me, as well as her podcasting, life coaching, and her thoughts on life and living well.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Mark and I talk about his early days programming, becoming a manager, consulting, starting up businesses, and now his life as an artist and life coach. I enjoyed considering life's turns with him, and surveying him on happiness and the meaning of it all.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Meryl and I talk about her drawing from the perch of her high chair as a very young developing artist, her becoming enamored with punk and metal music in college, her soul-searching at Woodstock for five years, and her transformation into a tattoo artist. We discuss the transformative power of getting a tattoo, the holiness in nature, and her appreciation of her brother Mark, whom she nominates as our next guest.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Debbie talks about her experiences growing up and getting the performing bug, becoming an actor, writer, and most recently, a fitness instructor. We talk about the relationship between work and creativity, writing, and the importance of staying strong as we get older. Debbie goes into deep waters in the last minutes, talking about love, fear, and what is most meaningful in life.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Patrick gets to know the longtime cabaret singer and pianist Ricky Ritzel, a performer as well as an accompanist who has worked with many storied singers over the last 40 years in Manhattan. This month , Ricky will be receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets for his contributions to the form.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Kathy is a beautiful person with a beautiful voice. Her current cabaret piece, Kiss me Once, Stories from the Homefront, shares her love for the generation that came before us who weathered the challenges of WWII. Kathy and Patrick explore Kathy's journey of coming to New York, transitioning from acting to singing, and her putting one foot in front of the other after loss and grief in her life, finding new poignant vistas as she re-emerges into a new chapter in song.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
This episode features Emmy award winning television director Shannon Flynn. It was like talking with an old friend by the time I finished talking with Shannon over two different days of recording. We cover a lot of territory around her personal journey becoming an award winning television director, the power of directing through the facilitation of everyone’s best ideas, some highlights of her current work in children’s television, and her readiness to make a horror movie, a rom com, and a good ole family friendly film. All this and her take on family, life, happiness, over a very short 90 minutes.
FInally, at the end of the show, we share an edition of the Who We Know Theme Music by Lars Hinrichs that includes lyrics. Though I’ll likely keep using the instrumental version for most shows, because I like the instrumental that much, I thought it only proper to hear his recording, complete with vocals, at least once. So listen for that at the tail end, and please enjoy this wonderful conversation with Shannon Flynn.
Thank you for listening, Who We Know friend!
Enjoy this extreme distillation of my conversation with Martin P Robinson, down to under ten minutes. Listen to the full episode to find out about Martin's childhood running naked in the streets, his moving story performing Telly Monster and connecting with an autistic child, and his incredible work making Sesame versions all over the world.
Martin and I talk about his nearly 50 year career as a puppeteer, with 40+ years working on Sesame Street as Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, and lending his hand in the early days to Jim Henson's Kermit the Frog and Frank Oz' Cookie Monster, among so many others. We discuss his early days growing up, working with Bill Baird, his development of the puppets for Little Shop of Horrors, and his thoughts on choosing the good path in life. At the start of the episode, he shares his true thoughts about his nominator, Brad, and toward the end, about his nominee, television director Shannon Flynn.
Brad and I talk about his journey becoming a puppeteer on Sesame Street and working with Kermit, Elmo, Ji-Young, and the gang. He is the performer for the muppets Wes and Tamir. We wander down various conversational trails, exploring how puppets affect people, how performers develop their characters, and Brad's observations on life and happiness.
Season Two! We start off a new chain with my old friend from high school, Erika Borrego, who now is the chief operations officer of the San Antonio Food Bank. We talk about what it takes to run a food bank for a major city, her life growing up in South Texas, and values she learned growing up and that guide her today.
Danielle and I talk about her start as a model on page 3 of the The Sun newspaper tabloid in 2004 and her subsequent work as a reality TV star, her cleaning hacks, and her work as a presenter. It was enjoyable to get her take on life, her thoughts on raising children, and her insights into living well.
Carl talks about his unusually challenging childhood of abuse and neglect from the people around him, his turning to the gangs of Nottingham for meaning and support, his time in prison and eventual turnaround six years ago to now work to raise awareness about knife crime and to help kids turn away from the street by sharing his story and engaging in real-world conversations with those still in the midst of gang-related difficulty.
Paul and I talk about his life growing up on the streets, collecting money from reluctant debtors, tattoo artistry, working with kids to turn their lives away from street crime, and his keys to living a happier life.
Michael Emmett made history for getting caught smuggling the largest amount of drugs in British history when he was arrested in the mid 1980s. I speak with him about becoming a criminal, like his father, doing crime together and serving time together in jail. Michael finally finds hope through a conversion experience, and helps others today turn their lives around through his work in prisons.
Mark and Patrick discuss Mark's growing up poor in Scotland, his halcyon days risking his life smuggling hash and other drugs all across Europe and Asia, his experience in recovery with Eric Clapton, and work now as a writer, speaker, and counselor.
Chip and I discuss his challenging journey from a childhood rife with abuse to his turning to drugs and alcohol, the resultant misery that came from addiction, and finally an incredible turnaround during the second half of his life to become a renowned addiction therapist and public servant. Chip founded the acclaimed rehab center Focus12 in England and ran it for 20 years, and continues his life's work in helping others with recovery through his private practice and his podcast, Soberful, with Veronica Valli.
We get to know Alex Norwood Hill, founder of Cordus non-alcoholic drinks. He tells his story of evolution into the Sober Sommelier and real estate entrepreneur from his early days exploring the good life. Many thanks to him coming on the program. Also many thanks to Lars Hinrichs, WWK guest #2, for our theme music this episode. -PAziz
Danny and I talk about Sipple, his non-alcoholic beverage business in Houston, the first of its kind in Texas. It's a quickly growing market, made so especially during the pandemic, as folks realized they wanted to enjoy more adult beverage alternatives. We talk entrepreneurship, the power of mentorship in one's career, and thoughts on life in general. Also, special thanks to Lars Hinrichs for the theme music for Who We Know.
Laura Silverman is the creator of ZeroProofNation, a hub for non-alcoholic beverages and the creative sober lifestyle. In this episode, Laura talks about how she built this space, as well as her personal journey and thoughts around the good life.
In this episode, we meet Erin Roberts, creative writer extraordinaire. Erin shares some of her inspiration around the world she crafted in the new Dungeons and Dragons book , Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, coming out in June, as well as her thoughts on karaoke, running, and New York nights.
We meet Dr. Aldama, aka ProfessorLatinX, a man with an amazing origin story, who takes us across time and space to his young days growing up as a native Spanish speaker in California as well as sharing his current graphic novel recommendations and insights on life.
Patrick interviews Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Mat Garland's neighbor and linguistics expert. Lars talks about his journey becoming a linguist, tinkering with Siri, and his insights on life and living. He hands the baton off for next episode to latinx pop culture maven Dr. Frederick Luis Aldama.
This episode explores what this podcast series is all about. Also: Who helped Mat Garland become who he is, what links might separate Patrick Aziz and Oprah Winfrey, and potential next guest, Lars Hinrichs, UT associate professor of Linguistics.