Get Some

Paul James Johnson

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED WEEKLY

Stories about the ordinary days that turn out to matter. Get Some is a storytelling podcast about the ordinary moments that shape us. From everyday choices to unexpected turning points, we share true stories of people navigating life's challenges, triumphs, and the quiet in-betweens. Hosted by Paul Johnson, Get Some brings you narrative-driven episodes that invite reflection, connection, and curiosity about the world around us.

10/02/2025

Five Hours to Noon

Five Hours to Noon is a documentary-style podcast that tells the true story of one runner's fight against time, terrain, and himself at the Divide 200 ultramarathon in the Canadian Rockies. The race: 320 kilometers across mountains, ridges, and valleys, with a hard cutoff at high noon on the final day. The challenge: rain, grizzlies, sleep deprivation, wrong turns, and a body fighting Hashimoto's disease. The question: can he make it to the finish line before the clock runs out? Told in eight acts plus an epilogue, this series blends first-person narrative, sound design, and documentary detail to capture not just the miles, but the fragile decisions, missed turns, borrowed gear, and quiet acts of help that shape survival. It's a story about endurance, failure, redemption—and the five hours that mean everything. 🎙️ Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com ▶️ Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RealGetSome ✍️ Enjoying the stories? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

1h 17m
09/09/2025

If Only - Ramen

In this third episode of If Only, we turn to the story of Momofuku Ando—an orphan from Taiwan who became the man who changed how the world eats. As a boy, he learned survival in his grandparents' fabric shop, watching them stretch every resource and turn scraps into something useful. As a young man, he chased opportunity across borders—from textiles in Taipei to projectors in Osaka, always moving, always hustling through war and hardship. He built businesses that were swept away by forces beyond his control. He married, he led, he dreamed—and then he fell. In 1948, authorities charged him with fraud. The respected businessman became the accused, sentenced to two years in prison. But from that rock bottom moment came an idea that would feed billions. In a humble shed in Ikeda, Japan, he invented instant noodles—not as a scientist or chef, but as a man chasing survival and fortune. His creation went from luxury food in 1958 to the cheapest meal in grocery stores worldwide. If only we knew then what this simple invention would become. If only we understood how hunger and persistence could reshape the globe. This is a story about reinvention after ruin—how the deepest failures can become the foundation for the most unexpected success. It asks the question: what if our greatest contributions come not from our triumphs, but from our willingness to start over? 🎙️ Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com ▶️ Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RealGetSome ✍️ Enjoying the series? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

34 min
09/02/2025

If Only - Defiance

In this second episode of If Only, we turn to the story of Harry R. Truman—the man who lived in the shadow of Mount St. Helens and refused to leave when the mountain began to stir. As a boy, he grew up in the rugged hills of Appalachia. As a young man, he hustled through Prohibition, running liquor and scraping a living on his own terms. He built a lodge on the edge of Spirit Lake and carved out a life defined by stubborn independence. And in May 1980, when scientists warned of an impending eruption, he made his choice: to stay. His life was marked by the defiance that carried him through hardship, but also the defiance that sealed his fate. If only he had listened. If only he had left. If only he had chosen safety over pride. This is a story about the double edge of human will—how the same grit that sustains us can sometimes blind us. It asks the hard question: when does courage become recklessness, and when does defiance become surrender to fate? 🎙️ Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com ▶️ Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RealGetSome ✍️ Enjoying the series? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

34 min
08/27/2025

If Only - A Life Well-Lived

In this first episode of If Only, we follow the life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi—an ordinary draftsman whose story was shaped by extraordinary loss and survival. As a child, he lost his mother. As a teenager, he watched his father's business collapse in the Great Depression. As a young man, he endured hunger, poverty, and the weight of war. And in August 1945, he survived what no one else survived—both the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His life was marked by unanswered if onlys: if only his mother had lived, if only his father's shop had survived, if only his nation had chosen peace. Yet Yamaguchi's story is not one of despair—it is one of perseverance, dignity, and hope carried across nine decades. This is a story about what it means to endure when the world collapses around you—and how perseverance becomes a quiet act of faith. Next time, we stay with If Only: 1980, the slopes of Mount St. Helens, where one man refused to leave his home as the mountain erupted. His choice left behind a haunting question: what if? 🎙️ Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com ▶️ Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@UltraGetSome ✍️ Enjoying the series? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

32 min
08/23/2025

Choosing the Unknown - Epilogue

In this epilogue to Choosing the Unknown, we arrive at the breach: Babylon breaks through Jerusalem's northern wall, and the city collapses. Amid fire and exile, Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch remain—two voices carrying words that kings tried to silence, scrolls that fire could not destroy. This is a story of loss, survival, and endurance: of a prophet spared but exiled, a scribe who chose to stay, and a message that endured through centuries to sit at the heart of scripture today. Woven through their story is a parallel from the ultrarunning world: the runner and the pacer, a partnership of resilience where one voice leads and another ensures it endures. As Choosing the Unknown closes, we ask what remains after everything falls away—and who helps us keep going when we can't go alone. Next time, we begin a new series: If Only—stories where history pivots on a moment, and we are left to wonder what might have been. 🎙️ Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Ultra Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com ▶️ Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@UltraGetSome ✍️ Enjoying the series? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

1h 6m
08/05/2025

Choosing the Unknown – Chapter 5: Brother's Keeper

In the final miles of the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon, runners descend through Flagstaff, Arizona—terrain as unforgiving as it is redemptive. But beneath the surface of these trails lies a darker history. In 1988, near this same course, 9-year-old Jennifer Wilson disappeared. Her body was later found near Sheep Hill. This episode tells the story of two brothers: Richard Bible, who would be convicted of Jennifer's murder, and Mark Bible, the man who turned him in. Told through the lens of an ultramarathon's final push, Chapter 5 is about betrayal, reckoning, and the high cost of doing the right thing when it's almost too late. Mark's call to authorities didn't just crack open a case—it shattered a lifelong bond. The finish line isn't just a place. Sometimes, it's a decision.

47 min
07/29/2025

Choosing the Unknown – Chapter 4: The Road to Sedona

In this chapter of Choosing the Unknown, we descend into the red rock corridors of Sedona alongside Cocodona 250 ultrarunners—and trace the escape of German surrealist Max Ernst from Nazi-occupied Europe to the Arizona desert. What connects a 250-mile footrace to a man fleeing war? Survival. As runners face the exposed cliffs of Hangover Trail, we explore Ernst's arrest, internment, and rescue by a covert network of artists, poets, and smugglers. This is a story of exile, endurance, and sculpture built from the dust of freedom. We also travel into the surreal—where Ernst's legendary sculpture Capricorn stood as a monument to defiance, and where Cocodona runners push through the final threshold toward Flagstaff. Next time, we leave history and step into memory: a vanished girl, a relentless detective, and the dark forests outside Sheep Hill. 🎙 Host: Paul Johnson 🎧 Produced by: Ultra Get Some 🎵 Music and Sound Design: Epidemic Sound 📸 Show Notes, Photos & More: getsomepodcast.com 📺 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@UltraGetSome 📣 Enjoying the series? Leave a review, subscribe, or share the episode—it helps others find these stories. 📬 Got a story to share? Reach out at getsomepodcast.com/contact

34 min
07/22/2025

Choosing the Unknown – Chapter 3: Mountains Don't Care

The Cocodona trail doesn't care who you were. And in Jerome, halfway through a 250-mile race, neither does the mountain. In this chapter, we follow Maynard James Keenan—rock star turned winemaker—and explore what it means to trade certainty for something real, slow, and brutally honest. Because when you're running on tired legs or planting stubborn vines, all that matters is how you keep showing up. Chapter Three explores: Jerome, AZ: a town of ghosts, artists, and second chances Maynard's journey from Tool to Tempranillo Mud, frost, failure—and the patience it takes to start over Why Cocodona's true test begins after halfway 🎧 Estimated runtime: 27–31 minutes 🎙 Hosted by Paul Johnson 🌐 Visit getsomepodcast.com for show notes and more

23 min
07/15/2025

Choosing the Unknown - Chapter Two

Choosing the Unknown – Chapter Two: The Veteran What happens when expertise meets uncertainty? In Chapter Two, we meet Andy Jones-Wilkins, a legend in the ultrarunning world, as he runs the Cocodona 250. Andy has run hundreds of races and taught countless runners how to navigate the highs and lows of ultrarunning. But what happens when even a veteran steps onto a course that demands everything, over and over again? Through stories of the trail, quiet reflections, and moments of laughter, this episode explores what it means to keep moving forward when you already know how hard it's going to get—and why you choose to do it anyway. ⛰️ What is Choosing the Unknown? It's a special series from Get Some, a podcast about who we are, how we struggle, and why we keep going. In this series, we follow the Cocodona 250, a 250-mile footrace across Arizona, diving deep into the stories that connect. 👉 If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with a friend who loves great stories. 📸 Find photos, episode notes, and past episodes at: https://getsomepodcast.com 💬 Have a story to share? Drop it in the comments or email us at: paul@getsomepodcast.com #Ultrarunning #TrailRunning #GetSomePodcast #ChoosingTheUnknown #Cocodona250 #Endurance #Stories #Storytelling

36 min
07/08/2025

Choosing the Unknown - Chapter One

What happens when you step into the unknown—even when everything is going wrong? In Chapter One of our Choosing the Unknown series, host Paul Johnson stands at the starting line of the Cocodona 250, but the real story begins long before the race starts. Three weeks earlier, he pushed through the Arizona Monster 300, battling the desert, fatigue, and self-doubt. This episode explores what drives us to step into the unknown, even when everything is already going wrong, and what it means to keep going when it would be easier to stop. It's a story of fear, humor, endurance, and the quiet moments that define us.

19 min
07/02/2025

Choosing the Unknown - Prologue

What does it take to step into the unknown? In this prologue to Get Some, host Paul Johnson looks at the moments when we leave certainty behind. From the starting lines of ultramarathons to everyday choices, Get Some explores what happens when we decide to take the next step, even when we can't see the whole path ahead. This prologue shares why choosing the unknown might just be the most honest way to live.

7 min

11 Episodes

Stories about the ordinary days that turn out to matter. Get Some is a storytelling podcast about the ordinary moments that shape us. From everyday choices to unexpected turning points, we share true stories of people navigating life's challenges, triumphs, and the quiet in-betweens. Hosted by Paul Johnson, Get Some brings you narrative-driven episodes that invite reflection, connection, and curiosity about the world around us.

Creator

Paul James Johnson
Years Active

2K
Episodes

11
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2025
Show Website

Get Some