Stories from the Center of the Universe

This week we had Craig Grimes (who should probably be a stand up comedian) come on to reminisce with Paul on their 'Salt and Pepper' basketball games, share his experiences growing up as the 12th of 13 grandchildren, and explain how life can fit into Winnie the Pooh characters. We recorded our conversation with Craig before the death of George Floyd, so we had him come back on to give us his follow up thoughts on America's relationship with race toward the end.

This week we have Chris Young on to talk about growing up in small town Mississippi, and the string of accolades he has since collected, including being the 3x winner of the 'Yes Mississippi' Award, the third-ranked high school football player in the state of Mississippi, and the highest ever rated athlete to sign with Vanderbilt, where he played with Jay Cutler, among others. The first part of this episode was recorded before the death of George Floyd, so we had Chris come back on along with his wife Lauren for an addendum to share their thoughts on the current moment.

Mia Blansett is an ER Nurse who transferred to a hospital in Northern New Jersey to work 12 hour days on the COVID front lines. She's a self-described spitfire with plenty of opinions on the pandemic situation, and has great takes on what it's like on the ground.

This is the story of the Middlebury Pranksters, an Ultimate frisbee team that left their home in Vermont's wintry north on a quest for the 2019 Division III National Title. Giving us the rundown are the 2019 team captains: Alex Forde (The Eloquent), Asher Lantz (The Thinker), and Dylan Salzman (The Commander), who share the ins and outs of their journey, including injuries, rivalries, game-saving plays, mid-tournament food-poisoning, and above all, the hard work the team put in on and off the field. If you are new to the sport of ultimate, don't worry - the rules of the game are explained as we go.

Pictured: 2019 Seniors, left to right: Asher Lantz, Alex Forde, Eli Wolfgang, Dylan Salzman

Our guest this week is LaToya Robinson, who came on to tell us about becoming a young mother, and how she rose to the occasion to provide the best life for her daughter. She also shares her experience as a black woman in corporate America and her insights on playing the "game" . On top of her job as a manager for a successful financial services company, Toya is also a top-ranked realtor in the city of Atlanta, so if you are looking for a home, you know who to call! Lots of wisdom and perspective to be gained from this conversation.

Follow Toya on Instagram at @toya__the__realtor