Stories from Real Life

Melvin E. Edwards
  • 5.0 (35)
  • Personal Journals
  • Semiweekly

**Honored as the American Writing Awards Male Hosted Podcast of the Year for 2026.** Why should you listen to this podcast? Because "Stories from Real Life" reminds us we’re not alone. In every episode, expert interviewer Melvin E. Edwards dives deep into the moments that shape who we are—messy, moving, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking. Whether you're stuck, healing, or just curious about the human experience, these stories help you feel seen, understood, and connected. Want to be a guest on Stories from Real Life? Send Melvin Edwards a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/storiesfromreallife. www.podcastreallife.com storiesfromreallife.substack.com

  1. 4d ago

    Ep 227 -- Robbi Hall Kumalo: Finding Your Voice When Life Changes

    Robbi Hall Kumalo, also presented as MS rŌbi and MS rŌbi K, is a Portland-based vocalist, composer, storyteller, teaching artist, memoirist, and podcaster. Her official biography lists work alongside Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Jewel, Harry Belafonte, and Mary J. Blige. She identifies 2014 as the year of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis and describes continuing to create through music, writing, film, and podcasting.Source: https://www.robbikumalo.com/about-ms-robi She is a credited vocalist on All One Tribe by 1 Tribe Collective. The Recording Academy confirms that the album was nominated for Best Children’s Music Album at the 2022 Grammys. Use that specific credit rather than suggesting an individual solo nomination.Sources: https://www.robbikumalo.com/about-ms-robi ; https://www.grammy.com/artists/1-tribe-collective/38627/ The Children’s Music Network identifies her African-American and Choctaw/Cherokee roots and Bahá’í faith as influences on her work. Her children’s recordings include Keep the Beat and Music Makes Me Happy. Sources: https://www.cmnonline.org/Robbi-Kumalo-Bio ; https://robbikumalo.com/music Sources: https://www.amazon.com/Married-Rockstar-Musical-Blessings-Healing/dp/B0FVTMPRZM ; https://www.robbikumalo.com/epk Produced by Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep 227 -- Robbi Hall Kumalo: Finding Your Voice When Life Changes

  2. Oct 20

    Ep. 226 -- Graig Kreindler: Painting the Past Back to Life

    A baseball painting can hold more than a memorable play. It can hold a father’s favorite player, a vanished ballpark, or the face of someone history overlooked. On this episode of Stories from Real Life, Melvin E. Edwards welcomes artist Graig Kreindler, known as “The Painter of the National Pastime.” Through meticulously researched paintings, Graig brings baseball’s people and places into vivid color, creating a connection to an era many of us know only through black-and-white photographs. His journey began with his father’s baseball cards and grew into a calling that combines art, historical research, and storytelling. His subjects include celebrated legends alongside players from the Negro Leagues, Latin American baseball, and women’s professional baseball. Behind the artwork are questions that reach beyond sports: How do we find our purpose? What connects us to generations we never knew? And whose stories deserve another look? To see the paintings discussed in this episode, click here. Explore Graig’s work:https://www.graigkreindler.com/ Connect with Melvin E. Edwards and Media Well Done:Media Well Done, LLC Enjoy this episode? Follow Stories from Real Life, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves baseball, art, or a story worth remembering. Little-known player mentioned during this episode: Pete Hill Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 226 -- Graig Kreindler: Painting the Past Back to Life

  3. Oct 13

    Ep. 225 -- Reid Ryan: Growing Up in a Famous Shadow

    Growing Up Ryan: Reid Ryan on Nolan, the Astros, and Finding His Own Way What do Nolan Ryan, Barney the purple dinosaur, and Texas A&M have in common? Reid Ryan has a story you’ll want to hear. The former Houston Astros president of business operations joins Melvin E. Edwards for a conversation filled with baseball memories, family humor, and a candid look at building a life in the game. Reid remembers the tears that followed Houston’s 2017 World Series championship, his days working as an Astros batboy, and the pressure of pitching with “Ryan” on his jersey. He shares how his father helped him find perspective after his release from the minor leagues—and how that disappointment eventually led to the creation of the Round Rock Express. Along the way, Reid offers his perspective on the Astros’ sign-stealing controversy, explains why listening to fans matters, and reveals a surprising talent of his Hall of Fame father. In this episode: * What Houston’s first World Series championship meant to Reid. * Behind the scenes of the Astros’ efforts to help their stars reach Cooperstown. * Growing up around the Astrodome and working during the unforgettable 1986 season. * Ruth Ryan’s influence on her family and the baseball community. * Facing Nolan Ryan in a college exhibition game. * Finding a new direction when a professional playing career ends. * Bringing minor league baseball to Round Rock and Corpus Christi. * How Texas A&M fans turned a mound visit into a family story. * Why Reid never witnessed any of his father’s seven no-hitters in person. * The lessons Reid hopes his own children carry forward. For Reid and Melvin, baseball connects generations. Their conversation explores why a ballpark can hold memories of parents, children, heartbreak, and belonging long after the final out. Explore more from Media Well Done: https://mediawelldonellc.com Enjoyed this conversation? Follow Stories from Real Life, leave a rating or review, and share this episode with someone who has a baseball story of their own. Hosted by Melvin E. Edwards. A production of Media Well Done, LLC. Don’t forget to shine your light wherever you go. Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 225 -- Reid Ryan: Growing Up in a Famous Shadow

  4. Oct 6

    Ep. 224 - Pesa & Whitney Shayo: The Marriage Behind the Marriage Advice

    What happens when the person you love brings a different definition of marriage into the relationship? Pesa and Whitney Shayo, founders of Live Your Best Marriage, join Melvin E. Edwards on Stories from Real Life for a conversation about the expectations couples inherit—and the understanding they build together. With Kenyan and American backgrounds and more than two decades of marriage, the Shayos bring a personal perspective to questions about culture, family, faith, and partnership. The conversation explores: • The assumptions we bring from childhood into marriage.• How two people can experience the same relationship differently.• Family expectations and difficult conversations about boundaries.• The difference between an apology and lasting change.• Preserving individuality while building a shared life.• What children learn from watching their parents. Explore Pesa and Whitney’s work:https://liveyourbestmarriage.com/ Find the United Front Audit:https://unitedfrontmarriage.com/ Media Well Done, LLC Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 224 - Pesa & Whitney Shayo: The Marriage Behind the Marriage Advice

  5. Sep 29

    Ep. 223 - Lisa Heisner: When Your Politics No Longer Fit Your Faith

    What happens when the political identity you inherited begins to collide with the faith that helped shape it? Melvin E. Edwards talks with educator and fellow John Brown University alum Lisa Heisner about faith, politics, race, and the difficult process of reconsidering long-held beliefs. Drawing on their shared evangelical backgrounds and years of Republican alignment, they discuss the experiences that caused each of them to question assumptions about political identity and Christian witness. Lisa reflects on voting for Donald Trump in 2016, what subsequently changed her thinking, and why she believes loving someone is fundamentally different from trusting that person with leadership. The conversation also examines racial justice, the meaning of “pro-life,” social media, ministry, and what happens when political loyalty and religious conviction become difficult to separate. In this episode: * Lisa and Melvin revisit their John Brown University years and the Christian environments that helped shape them. * Lisa describes growing up in a culture where evangelical Christianity and Republican politics became closely intertwined. * They discuss Donald Trump as a turning point in how they thought about character, leadership, politics, and Christian witness. * Melvin reflects on his experiences as a Black Christian and how events in 2020 and 2024 affected his relationship with predominantly white evangelical spaces. * Lisa explains how learning more about racial history—and her experience working in real estate—challenged assumptions she had carried for years. * They examine the difference between political slogans and personal action, including what it means to describe oneself as “pro-life.” * Both discuss how direct relationships with people in crisis can complicate beliefs that seem simple when considered only in the abstract. * Lisa encourages listeners to examine inherited political identities, investigate claims for themselves, and consider what their convictions require in everyday life. It is a candid conversation between two old college acquaintances about something that can be extraordinarily difficult to do: question what you have always believed and decide for yourself what should remain. Notable Quotes * “There is a vast difference between loving someone and trusting someone.” * “If God has blessed you with this wealth, how are you blessing other people?” * “My job is to love, to befriend, to minister to.” Stories from Real Life Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 223 - Lisa Heisner: When Your Politics No Longer Fit Your Faith

  6. Sep 22

    Ep. 222 - Rich Dunning: ‘Silence Was My First Language’

    Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood abuse, sexual abuse, addiction, and trauma. What happens when the silence that helped you survive becomes difficult to leave behind? Author Rich Dunning joins Melvin E. Edwards on Stories from Real Life for a deeply personal conversation about memory, identity, survival, accountability, and the decision to finally tell his story. Through his memoir, Silence Was My First Language, Rich reflects on a childhood marked by poverty, abuse and instability; the role alcohol played in helping him cope; and the long journey toward sobriety, healing and understanding the ways his past followed him into adulthood. The conversation also explores the people and places that gave Rich hope, the family he built as an adult, why he chose to take his wife’s last name, and his effort to turn painful experience into something that can help vulnerable children through the First Language Foundation. Topics include: * Why silence became a means of survival. * Childhood abuse, poverty, homelessness and addiction. * The complicated relationship between trauma and achievement. * Baseball as an escape and a path toward opportunity. * Sobriety, accountability and breaking generational patterns. * Writing honestly about memories that are difficult to revisit. * Family, fatherhood and the remarkable story behind the Dunning name. * Supporting vulnerable children through the First Language Foundation. * And the unexpected return of Rich’s teenage rap persona: Sir Rock. CORRECTION: During the interview, Rich refers to a book as 10,000 Hours. The book he was referencing is Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, which discusses the idea that extensive deliberate practice—popularized as the “10,000-hour rule”—can contribute to high levels of expertise. Explore Rich’s work: Rich Dunning’s websiteLearn about the memoir: Silence Was My First LanguageLearn about the initiative: The First Language Foundation Stories from Real Life website Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 222 - Rich Dunning: ‘Silence Was My First Language’

  7. Sep 15

    Ep. 221 - Sass Schaeffer: Who Are You Now?

    What happens when the life you’ve spent years building suddenly no longer fits the person you’ve become? For identity coach Sass Schaeffer, that question isn’t theoretical. Her own journey through major professional and personal upheaval forced her to confront something deeper than how to rebuild her circumstances: she had to reconsider who she was. In this episode of Stories from Real Life, Sass joins Melvin E. Edwards for an intimate conversation about identity, loss, reinvention, and the strange territory between the person you once were and the person you’re becoming. They explore why major transitions—career changes, divorce, empty nesting, retirement, loss, and unexpected disruption—can shake our sense of identity even when everything looks fine from the outside. Sass also challenges one of the most common ideas surrounding difficult transitions: that the goal should always be to “get back to yourself.” What if the person you’re trying to recover isn’t the person you’re meant to be anymore? Melvin and Sass discuss the difference between losing yourself and outgrowing yourself, the role fear can play in our desire for control, the grief that can accompany leaving an old identity behind, and how we begin discovering what we actually want after years of living according to roles, responsibilities, and expectations. In this conversation: • How Sass’s own life disruptions changed her understanding of identity• Why rebuilding your circumstances isn’t necessarily the same as rebuilding yourself• The hidden identity crisis that can accompany major life transitions• Why “getting back to who I used to be” may be the wrong goal• How to recognize when you’ve outgrown an earlier version of yourself• The relationship between fear, control, and uncertainty• Separating what you genuinely want from what others expect of you• Why successful, accomplished people can still lose their sense of self• How small choices can help create a new identity• Finding possibility when life doesn’t unfold according to plan At the heart of the conversation is a deceptively simple question: Who are you when you remove your job title, your relationships, your possessions, and everything else you’ve used to explain yourself? Perhaps starting over isn’t always about finding your way back. Maybe you’re not lost. Maybe you’re becoming. About Sass Schaeffer Sass Schaeffer is a life identity coach who helps women navigate significant transitions and reconnect with who they are and what they want from the next chapter of their lives. Drawing from her own experiences with unexpected change and reinvention, her work focuses on identity, self-discovery, positivity, and creating a life that reflects who a person is becoming rather than simply who they have been. @sass_schaeffer on Instagram YouTube channel About Stories from Real Life Stories from Real Life is an interview podcast hosted by award-winning journalist, author, and publisher Melvin E. Edwards. Through thoughtful conversations with people whose lives have taken extraordinary, unexpected, or meaningful turns, the podcast explores the experiences that shape who we become. Everybody has a story, and every story deserves to be told. Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 221 - Sass Schaeffer: Who Are You Now?

  8. Sep 8

    Ep. 220 - Patrick W. Naughton, Jr.: Saving Baker Battery

    What would you do if you opened an old binder at an estate sale and realized you were holding a piece of World War II history? Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and military historian Patrick W. Naughton Jr. knew almost immediately that he had found something extraordinary. Inside the worn binder was a history created by the soldiers of Baker Battery, 881st Field Artillery Battalion, 69th Infantry Division—typed recollections, original sketches, poems, rosters, jokes and firsthand observations from the men who had fought their way across Europe during the final months of World War II. They hadn’t written it for historians. They had written it for each other. In this episode of Stories from Real Life, Patrick tells the remarkable story of discovering that binder and the research that followed. He also discusses his own 30-year Army career, his work as a military historian, and the deeply personal circumstances under which he completed the project while undergoing cancer treatment. The result is Baker Battery Goes to War: The Wartime Writings and Sketches of a World War II Artillery Unit in the Fighting 69th, coming from Media Well Done on Veterans Day, November 11, 2026. This isn’t simply another history of World War II. It’s an opportunity to hear the war through the voices of the ordinary soldiers who actually lived it. Pre-order the book here: Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

    Ep. 220 - Patrick W. Naughton, Jr.: Saving Baker Battery
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5
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

**Honored as the American Writing Awards Male Hosted Podcast of the Year for 2026.** Why should you listen to this podcast? Because "Stories from Real Life" reminds us we’re not alone. In every episode, expert interviewer Melvin E. Edwards dives deep into the moments that shape who we are—messy, moving, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking. Whether you're stuck, healing, or just curious about the human experience, these stories help you feel seen, understood, and connected. Want to be a guest on Stories from Real Life? Send Melvin Edwards a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/storiesfromreallife. www.podcastreallife.com storiesfromreallife.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Melvin E. Edwards
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    227
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stories from Real Life Podcast
  • Show Website
    Stories from Real Life

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