Passioners Podcast Passioners Podcast

We talk to Luca Lampariello, a polyglot who speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, and his native Italian. He is a language coach, blogger, YouTuber, and a lifetime learner. You can find his stories on various news platforms such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Babbel.

We talk with Christine Cotton, CEO of Porch. Porch is a volunteer, nonprofit hunger-relief organization that provides healthy food and other assistance to thousands of families living in poverty. Ms. Cotton started Porch in Chapel Hill and has now expanded it across the east coast. Listen to hear about Ms.Cotton's journey on expanding her act of kindness across neighborhoods.

We talk to Katie H. Hotze, founder of Grocery Shopii, a meal planning technology company that builds and orders customers’ shopping carts based on the recipes they want to make. Listen now to hear how she became a tech CEO after working years in a corporate marketing department.

We talk with Alex Brandwein about his transition from making six figures in investment banking to risking it all to create his bagel shop. Alex is a UNC alumnus who tells us about his journey and the tough decisions he had to make which ultimately led to his pursuit for happiness. Listen to hear about Alex Brandwein’s journey to find what matters to him.

We talk to Joe Puccio, co-founder of Coursicle, a website & mobile application that helps college students plan their class schedule and get into their classes by notifying them when a class they need has an available seat. Mr. Puccio doesn’t use superfluous jargon to present Coursicle, doesn’t shy away from money-related questions, and doesn't try to paint UNC better than his experience -- he is straight to the point. Listen now to hear his honest insights.

We talk to Jennifer Evins, CEO of the Chapman Cultural Center. She is in charge of the Chapman Cultural Center located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Listen to how one woman has been able to make an impact on her community.