1000 w/ Ron Placone RonPlacone

Stavros Batras is an actor and comedian. He’s been in some movies, he’s done presitgious stand-up shows and he’s represented by one of the top agencies in the world. And he did all of this while being based in Greece. He’s an example of how if you have the determination, the work ethic, and the perseverance you can to amazing things even if your circumstances may not be ideal. Stavros lives, at least for now, a long way from Hollywood, but he didn’t let that stop him from pursuing his Hollywood dreams. And he continues to succeed. He proves that having a Hollywood career outside of Hollywood, while difficult, isn’t impossible.

Nicole Laurenne is a Muscian and Songwriter. Also, she was a lawyer. Her newest band is called the Darts. My wife and I saw them years ago in Highland Park and became instant fans. We saw them again recently in our neighborhood, San Pedro, and they tore the roof off the place. Killer garage rock, a little bit of punk and psychedelic and a fantastic stage show. I didn’t know much about Nicole other than I really dig her band and her songs, little did I know her story’s incredible. She’s lived multiple lives, she has a law degree, she worked as a judge, she’s a mom, she’s played music most of her life in multiple genres including jazz piano, and she’s a cancer survivor. She’s an inspiration to anybody wanting to lead a creative life or even just a fulfilling life.

Paul Gilmartin is a comedian, show host and mental health advocate. He hosts the podcast the Mental Illness Happy Hour which is one of my favorites and has helped a ton of people. Myself included. I guested on Paul’s show and talked about my struggles with anger, it’s still one of the only platforms where I’ve opened up about that part of my life. Trigger warning: This episode goes deep. Paul discusses his past trauma and life struggles that have lead to him to where he is today. Last but not least and how I first met him, Paul has a faux-right-wing satirical character called Richard Martin, which pre-dates Stephen Colbert’s character from the Colbert Report.

Also, Nicole gets her question answered.

Katie Love is an author and comedian. Also, she escaped a cult, at least that’s how she looks at it. For the record, I do as well. This episode concerns the Jehovah Witnesses, and how Katie Love eventually walked away from the Religion, after being indoctrinated into it at age 9. She also suffered abuse, and disclaimer, while we don’t go into as much detail as her book we do talk about it. 

Chris Lee is an author and historian. I’ve always been interested in the connection between politics in football aka soccer especially in Italy. It came up some in Episode 27 with Attila the Stockbroker. Well, I decided why not talk to someone who wrote a book on the topic. Chris Lee, among other things, is other of The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism. He dives into that history not just in Italy but other countries as well. This episode is almost more like a history lesson than an interview, and I mean that in a good way.

Tim Parks is an author, novelist and academic. One niche of his: He writes about moving and living in Italy as somebody from a different country. I’ve read several of his books on that topic as well as a book he wrote about overcoming a very severe illness.