Episodes
![Episode 255: Earl Kinney](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Earl_Kinney_sw5jnq_300x300.jpeg)
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Episode 255: Earl Kinney
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Earl Kinney had a busy time moving around in his first twelve years. He was born in West Virginia, moved to Richmond when he was six then went to New York City at eight and then his family settled in Ashland when he was twelve. They talked about his parents and what he did besides sports when he was growing up … which depended somewhat on where he was living! In sports, he was very good at both basketball and football. He discussed the college recruiting process and the advice he received. Football won out in the end and he played football for four years at Howard. After college he talked to Paul about what he almost did, what he did on the weekends and then what he found was his calling which was to be a teacher and especially a coach. He has had a long career as both teacher and coach and is currently the Head Football Coach at Godwin HS in Henrico County. They finished by discussing his boxing podcast he had during the pandemic and he told Paul about his family.
![Episode 254: Tyler Owens](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Tyler_Owens_ui246a_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Episode 254: Tyler Owens
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Tyler Owens grew up in Georgia and he and Paul talked about youth sports and how he dabbled in many, but settled on football. He talked about how he started playing later than his friends, but his hard work and how that led him to being highly recruited by some major college football programs. He then talked about how he was unfortunately injured in the first game of his senior year and the mental and physical challenges he experienced. With major D1 programs pulling offers, Tyler attended the Virginia Military Institute as a scholarship football player. At first, he did not plan on going into military service after VMI, but due to his family’s history and some great mentors, he went into the ROTC program his senior year. He finished this part 1 of his SCOTU experience telling Paul about a VMI story that had a profound effect on him.
![Episode 253: Rich Dalton part 3](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/richard_dalton_b9ir64_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Episode 253: Rich Dalton part 3
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Rich Dalton joins the podcast for Part 3. Paul started off by talking about and thanking Rich for the guests that he has referred to the podcast. They did a recap of what they had covered the first two episodes and then Rich talked about his bout with Lyme Disease and how that related to his overall health. They then discussed his battles with addiction and depression. They discussed his first addiction to food when he was young to the multiple times he was addicted to drugs and how that led to trouble at home and elsewhere. He spoke about a time when he was in such a dark hole and didn’t see a way out and the journey to where he is now which is a very good place. He talked about that place and how he has confidence and peace again in his life. He finished by thanking Paul and others as well as the biggest lesson he has learned from his life’s journey.
![Episode 252: Ben Ipson](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Jay_Ipson_stigtm_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Episode 252: Ben Ipson
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Ben Ipson joins Paul through a connection with Mark Jenkins (Episodes 239 & 245.) Ben told the incredible story of his family who survived the Holocaust. He talked about the history of both the Russians and Nazis and their persecution of the Jewish people as well as mentioning Kristallnacht and other historical events. He traced some of the decisions made and miracles that occurred to his great grandparents and grandfather and the story of how his family ended up in the Richmond, Virginia area. His grandfather, Jay Ipson is one of the founders of the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Ben has been giving tours at the museum since he was 12 years old and he told Paul about how he has carried on his grandfather’s passion for talking to various groups about the museum and the history behind it. Ben’s family’s story of survival is amazing!
![Episode 251: Ron Lazzeretti](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Ron_Lazzeretti_irnaky_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Episode 251: Ron Lazzeretti
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Ron Lazzeretti is a singer, song writer, writer, film maker and commercial director. Ron is from and lives in the Chicago area and grew up in an Italian family that had a cast of characters! He grew up loving music, playing neighborhood baseball and admiring comedians such as Steve Martin. Ron went to college at Northern Illinois and afterwards got a job in advertising. He has since worked on various creative projects and was the writer and producer of Michael Keaton’s directorial debut “The Merry Gentleman.” They discussed that he considered moving to Los Angeles to further his career, but his heart kept him in Chicago and how it was the right decision. He told Paul he regularly plays at Fitzgerald’s Nightclub outside of Chicago and has been for years. They finished with talking about family … that is which ones were coming to his house for Christmas!
![Episode 250: Sonja Fridy Kinney](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Sonja_Fridy_Kinney_p3dv9q_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Dec 25, 2023
Episode 250: Sonja Fridy Kinney
Monday Dec 25, 2023
Monday Dec 25, 2023
Sonja Kinney joins the podcast for the second time, this time for a full episode. The first time Sonja was on for a short interview when she was inducted into the Patrick Henry HS 2023 Hall of Fame Class. Paul and Sonja talked about what it meant for her to be inducted in the first class of the PH HOF. They then talked about her father-in-law Dr. John Kinney. Sonja spoke about growing up on Jamestown Road in Ashland and playing games and racing against other kids … and winning … even against the boys. They talked about playing organized sports for the first time in middle school and how the coaches came looking for her to ask her to join their teams. She talked about competing in Gymnastics and Track & Field in high school as well as going on to compete in Track & Field at the University of Virginia. After college, Sonja competed in the World University Games and the Pan Am Games as a member of the U.S. National Team. They ended by talking about her family.
![Episode 249: Dr. Earl Wright, II](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/WRight_head_shot_67qcps_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Episode 249: Dr. Earl Wright, II
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Dr. Earl Wright II, Sociology Professor at Rhodes College, grew up in north Memphis in a single parent household. In his early years Dr. Wright didn’t have an interest in education and wasn’t really pushed. He did however have enough to meet Prop 48 requirements and went to college to play football. He told Paul after majoring in football and minoring in partying, he flunked out after two years. Earl moved back home and eventually went to the University of Memphis where he started his real journey in academia. Paul and Earl discussed history, major events, the education system and the subjects of his graduate theses. They talked about what was next for Earl and finished by talking about his family.
![Episode 248: Jim Malaugh](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/IMG_20161210_1558425_tkqh2s_300x300.jpg)
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Episode 248: Jim Malaugh
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Jim Malaugh is Jamie Malaugh’s (Episode 59) dad and is visiting Richmond from Alabama. Jim was born in Northern Ireland. He also lived in England and Scotland and then moved to Alabama in 1992. Paul and Jim talked about growing up in Northern Ireland, how to pronounce Irish names and a couple of his family’s traditions. They discussed the history of Ireland and how he and his family experienced some of the conflict firsthand. He told Paul about his education and how he ended up in a very unlikely place for college. They discussed his career, culture shock for he and his family when they moved to the U.S.A. and what to do if you visit Huntsville, AL. They finished with Jim telling Paul about his family and the story about how he met his wife Jacinta.
![Episode 247: Chris Harper](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/IMG_9424_tug559_300x300.png)
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Episode 247: Chris Harper
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Chris Harper joins Paul via a connection with Andrew Mauck (Episode 11). Chris and Paul talked about his early life which included two separate incidents where Chris’s had to be medivac’d by helicopter by the time he was 15 years old. The first was a jet ski encounter and the other was when he was in an off road vehicle. Chris discussed how these two incidents have shaped his life and how he still went on to play football at VMI. He discussed with Paul how he moved to Australia for a year after college and what he now does for work. He finished by talking about his wife (including his proposal) and daughter who is 1 and already a “giant” … Chris is 6’5 and his wife is 6’2”!
![Episode 246: Joey Beltran](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6800666/Joey_Beltran_vcyrai_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Episode 246: Joey Beltran
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Joey Beltran comes to the podcast via a connection with Rich Dalton (Episodes 220 & 232). Joey grew up in Carlsbad, CA and told Paul that his dream as a kid was to be a boxer. Joey spoke to Paul about how he went down the wrong path after high school, but also how he got back on track. They discussed his professional fighting career in various disciplines, his fighting style and how the mental aspect of fighting can make a big difference. They discussed some of his coaches, where else he has lived besides California and how he has a job that he truly loves which is coaching kids in MMA and Muay Thai. They finished by Joey talking about how he wants one more fight … a boxing match with gloves to fulfill his childhood dream.