Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 249: Dr. Earl Wright, II

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

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

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

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.

Episode 245: Mark Jenkins Part 2

Mark Jenkins returns for his second episode to continue to talk about Israel. Paul brought up that this is the first time Israel has declared a state of war since 1973. Mark talked about how that is different from past “operations” as well how there is a war of public opinion. Mark went on to discuss some key historical events regarding Israel, Palestine and the Jewish people. Mark addressed past and current administrations and the response of the United States and what has changed over the last sixty years or so. They finished by talking about how this is an ever evolving story … which is why Mark will be back in the future!

Episode 244: Vern Glenn

Vern Glenn was born and grew up in Richmond, Va. and went to St. Christopher’s like Paul. They talked about growing up, attending St. Chris, playing sports and what his parents did for work. Vern knew in 10th grade that he wanted to be a sportscaster. He attended UVA and got his first sportscasting job in 1985 in Richmond, took his next job in Baltimore and then moved across the country to take a sports job in San Francisco. He’s still in San Francisco and he and Paul talked about why he stayed and why he loves the city so much. They talked a lot about sports including UVA and Bay Area sports past and present. They discussed stories of who he has interviewed and how he has been blessed in his career. They finished by talking about his wife Nicole and their three boys, Zack, Nicolas and Jacob.

Episode 243: Jeff Tiegs

Jeff Tiegs is from a small town in Wisconsin and was in the U.S. Army Special Forces. Jeff was a reader from an early age, played all the sports early and then started focusing on long distance running. Jeff went into the military out of high school and then took a break from service to go to college. He finished his college education at Montana State and was in ROTC there which led to him going back and having a career in the military. Paul and Jeff spoke about his military career including training, deployments and his journey in Special Forces. They finished by discussing Jeff’s recently released book, Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

This episode is being released two days after Veteran’s Day 2023. We want to wish all our Veterans, including Jeff and our previous two guests, Eric Doe and Clint Pearman, the best and thank them for their service to our great country. 

Episode 242: Eric Doe

Eric Doe joins the podcast via a recent guest, Clint Pearman. Eric is Clint’s nephew and Eric said that Uncle Clint has always had a big influence on him. Eric was born on Long Island, NY, moved to Florida for a while and then was back on Long Island for his formative years as a youth. He said it was a great place to grow up and he was a three sport athlete in high school. He talked with Paul about what happened after high school … starting college, his first job, going back to school and meeting his now wife. Eric started his military career with the USMC, took a break and then joined the U.S. Army. He talked to Paul about his military journey and finished by talking about what he is currently doing and his family.

Episode 241: Dr. Clint Pearman

With Veterans Day a few days away, we wanted to share the stories of more military veterans. Dr. Clint Pearman is the first of three veterans we’ve spoken to recently. Clint is a thirty-one year veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a holder of two doctoral degrees. Clint was born in Long Island, NY. Then his family moved to Florida when he was thirteen. He played a lot of sports growing up and then enlisted in the USMC when he was eighteen. He wanted to be a pilot, but became an infantryman and he and Paul discussed his career in the USMC. He currently works with people with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and is certified and a specialist in the area of TBI. They talked about his journey in education and how that has led to a never ending quest to learn. Clint finished by talking about his family … his very big family!

Episode 240: Mike Henry

Mike Henry is most well known for being a voice actor on the Family Guy series and The Cleveland Show. He has voiced many characters and is an actor, comedian, writer and producer. Mike was born in Michigan, but grew up in the Richmond, VA area. He talked about his time and lessons learned at The Collegiate School and at Washington & Lee University as well as the unique nickname his class at W&L had being the last all male class to graduate from there. They discussed his one year at the Martin Agency and then how he took a chance and moved to California. They talked about his journey over the next eight or so years until he got the role on Family Guy. They finished by talking about his advice to young people, some other thoughts of his, current projects he’s working on and his family … son Jack, daughter Josie and wife Sara.