In The Know with Tony Reeves

Anthony Reeves
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re navigating bureaucracy, seeking inspiration, or craving honest reflections from someone who’s lived it, ‘In The Know with Tony Reeves’ offers the wisdom and wit to keep you informed—and empower Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  1. 1d ago

    I Got the Job but I Was Not Ready for the Loneliness

    Getting my first professional job solved one problem: I finally knew what I was going to do next. What it did not solve was how I would adjust to an unfamiliar career, a new city, and a life without the community I had previously taken for granted. In this follow-up to my story about choosing my next opportunity, I revisit the early days of working as a safety and health specialist in Tallahassee, Florida. Professionally, everything was new. I had my own office, telephone extension, and computer—but I spent much of those first few months reading federal safety regulations and trying to understand an industry I had never experienced. Personally, the transition was even harder. This was 1992, before social media, FaceTime, text-message groups, and affordable long-distance communication. I would leave an office filled with people and return to an apartment with no furniture, very little food, and an answering machine that rarely contained a message. Starting my career was exciting, curious, boring, and deeply lonely—all at the same time. That experience taught me that obtaining an opportunity and becoming comfortable inside it are two very different stages of growth. A new opportunity will not always feel comfortable immediately—and discomfort does not necessarily mean you made the wrong decision. If you are trying to understand where you are professionally, whether it is time to move forward, or what your next chapter might look like, explore the Career Crossroads Collection — Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  2. 3d ago

    My First Job Was Not the Dream It Was the Bridge

    In 1992, I completed my military training with a biology degree, a car payment, and no clear idea of what I wanted to do next. Instead of returning home to Arkansas, I went back to Florida and slept on a friend’s couch while searching for work. The state job I eventually accepted was not something I had dreamed about doing. It was an opportunity that provided income, allowed me to remain in Florida, and gave me the time and experience I needed to determine my next move. In this companion episode, I reflect on the uncertainty surrounding that first professional transition, why every job does not have to be a final destination, and how an unexpected opportunity can become the bridge to a future you cannot yet see. Are you standing at your own career crossroads? The Career Crossroads Collection explores the decisions, doubts, and difficult questions that arise when you know you want something different but have not completely figured out what comes next. Explore Career Crossroads — Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  3. Sep 9

    Becoming Visible: When Other People See Your Leadership Before You Do

    Sometimes the people around us recognize our growth before we do. During my senior year of college, I began showing up differently. I was more expressive, more confident, and increasingly willing to offer perspectives I had previously kept to myself. To me, I was simply becoming more comfortable in my own skin. To other people, however, something significant was changing. A hall director challenged me to speak up after realizing that the quiet recommendations I whispered to her were often the ideas she ultimately followed. An ROTC colonel questioned why someone with my leadership abilities continued operating in the background. They were not giving me abilities I didn’t possess. They were helping me recognize what was already there. In this companion episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on quiet competence, professional visibility, receiving positive feedback, and learning to own the version of yourself that other people may already see. Because sometimes growth isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about becoming comfortable enough to stop hiding who you have already become. Has anyone ever recognized a strength or possibility in you that you struggled to see for yourself? Watch the original video and join the conversation: ▶️ https://youtu.be/cTWCyHexi6A If you are navigating a career decision, confronting doubt, or learning to own your professional value, explore the Career Crossroads Collection: Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place. It brings together four personal reflections about leaving comfort, taking meaningful risks, confronting imposter feelings, and trusting what you bring into the room. 📘 Purchase the collection here: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place For more stories, deeper reflections, and behind-the-scenes context, join my Patreon community—including the free membership option. Start at AnthonyReeves.com and choose the gateway that works best for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  4. Sep 7

    I Moved to Tampa Before I Even Applied to Graduate School

    At 23 years old, I transferred my job from Tallahassee to Tampa because I intended to attend graduate school at the University of South Florida. There was just one important detail: I hadn’t applied yet. I paid for the move myself, rented a truck and car dolly, found an apartment, coordinated the end of one lease with the beginning of another, and drove around Tampa with my checkbook getting the utilities connected—all before knowing whether the graduate program would accept me. From the outside, it probably looked as though I had uprooted my life without a plan. But in my mind, I had created something different: a no-lose situation. I still had a job. I already had an undergraduate degree. I was returning to a city I knew. The state would pay for graduate courses related to my work. And while my application was being considered, I could begin proving myself as a non-degree-seeking student. In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I revisit one of the boldest decisions of my early professional life and examine the difference between recklessness and taking a calculated chance on yourself. Sometimes you don’t receive confirmation before making the move. Sometimes the move is how you position yourself for the opportunity. At 23 years old, I transferred my job from Tallahassee to Tampa because I intended to attend graduate school at the University of South Florida. There was just one important detail: I hadn’t applied yet. I paid for the move myself, rented a truck and car dolly, found an apartment, coordinated the end of one lease with the beginning of another, and drove around Tampa with my checkbook getting the utilities connected—all before knowing whether the graduate program would accept me. From the outside, it probably looked as though I had uprooted my life without a plan. But in my mind, I had created something different: a no-lose situation. I still had a job. I already had an undergraduate degree. I was returning to a city I knew. The state would pay for graduate courses related to my work. And while my application was being considered, I could begin proving myself as a non-degree-seeking student. In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I revisit one of the boldest decisions of my early professional life and examine the difference between recklessness and taking a calculated chance on yourself. Sometimes you don’t receive confirmation before making the move. Sometimes the move is how you position yourself for the opportunity. Have you ever made a decision that looked risky to everyone else but made perfect sense once you understood what you still had working in your favor? If you’re confronting a career decision, weighing security against purpose, or learning to trust yourself without having every guarantee, explore the Career Crossroads Collection: Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place. The collection brings together four personal reflections about leaving comfort, making consequential decisions, confronting imposter feelings, and learning to own your professional value.  📘 Purchase the Career Crossroads Collection: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place  For additional stories, deeper reflections, and behind-the-scenes context, join my Patreon community—including the free membership option.  Start at AnthonyReeves.com and choose the gateway that works best for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  5. Sep 2

    Their World Is Not Ours: When Experience Becomes Advice

    At what point does sharing your experience become telling someone else how they should live? In my recent video, I told the story of a decision my mother made when I chose to attend the University of Tampa. She knew my choice could create financial difficulties. She knew I had other opportunities. And she knew that if she told me to choose another school, I probably would have listened. But she also knew what it felt like to have the direction of her own education changed by circumstances outside of her control. So she made a deliberate choice: She would give me guidance, but she wouldn’t make the decision for me. In this companion episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I want to take that story one step further. As members of Generation X—and simply as people who have accumulated decades of life and professional experience—we have knowledge worth sharing. But Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t entering the world we entered. Their economy is different. Their educational landscape is different. Their workplace is different. Their opportunities are different. So how do we give younger generations the benefit of what we’ve learned without handing them a roadmap for a world that no longer exists? Maybe the goal isn’t: “Do what I did.” Maybe it’s: “Here’s what I learned. Let’s figure out what still applies to the world you’re navigating.” 🎧 Listen as we explore the difference between experience, advice, influence and allowing the next generation to build a path of its own. GO DEEPER INTO THE ANTHONY REEVES EXPERIENCE 🎥 Watch the story that inspired this conversation: https://youtu.be/5mXm809vAOg Then explore The Anthony Reeves Experience through the links in my profile for additional videos, podcasts, written reflections, resources and deeper conversations. Experience gives us lessons. Wisdom is knowing how to pass them on without requiring someone else to live our life. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  6. Aug 31

    Your Future Doesn’t Have to Look Like My Past

    The world Generation X entered as young adults doesn’t exist anymore. College degrees were rewarded differently. Career paths were more predictable. Technology hadn’t created today’s opportunities. And for many of us, education represented access to doors that had previously been closed to our parents. So what happens when we try to give advice to Gen Z and Gen Alpha? In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I wrestle with a question I’ve been thinking about a lot: How do we share what we’ve learned without telling younger generations they have to follow our path? I talk about whether college is still worth the investment, choosing the right school instead of simply the dream school, following scholarship money, avoiding unnecessary debt, thinking strategically about professional degrees, exploring opportunities abroad, and recognizing just how different today’s economic and professional landscape has become. Maybe our job isn’t to give the next generation our roadmap. Maybe it’s to give them the lessons we learned along the way—so they can build a roadmap of their own. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  7. Aug 26

    Would I Make the Same Choice Today? How Information Changes Our Decisions

    In 1987, I made one of the biggest decisions of my young life: where I would go to college. I chose the University of Tampa without visiting the campus, without social media, without virtual tours, and without access to the enormous amount of information students have today. Much of my decision was based on a college catalog, reputation, and the recommendation of someone I trusted. That raises an interesting question: If I were 17 years old today, would I make the same choice? The answer is that I really don’t know. And in this companion podcast, I explore why that uncertainty matters. We often look back at our younger selves and ask what we would have done differently. But that question sometimes ignores something important: we were making decisions with the information, resources, circumstances, and perspective available to us at that particular moment. Today’s students can research tuition, campus culture, dorm rooms, student organizations, financial aid, student reviews, career outcomes, and even communicate directly with current students before ever visiting a school. My generation didn’t have that same level of access. So maybe the better question isn’t whether we would make the same decision today. Maybe it’s: Did we make the best decision we could with what we knew at the time? This conversation goes beyond college. It applies to careers, relationships, money, opportunities, and many of the choices we make throughout our lives. Sometimes a decision wasn’t wrong. Sometimes the world simply changed. Call to Action: Think about one major decision you made when you were younger. Would you make the same decision today? And if not, ask yourself why. Was the original decision actually wrong—or do you simply have access to information and perspective today that you didn’t have then? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Follow IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves for more conversations about life, education, career, personal growth, and the lessons we discover when we look back with a little more perspective. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

  8. Aug 24

    When Life Gets Real: Recognizing the Next Chapter While You’re Living It

    There are moments in life when you realize something has changed. You’re not simply getting older. You’re not just moving from one semester, job, position, or responsibility to another. You’re entering an entirely different chapter—and suddenly, everything feels a little more real. In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on one of those moments in my own life: entering my junior year of college and realizing that several different parts of my life were changing at the same time. ROTC was becoming more demanding. My biology curriculum was getting harder. I was returning as a more experienced resident assistant. And after becoming a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., I was coming back to campus as a different version of myself. Some of those changes were exciting. Others were intimidating. But together, they represented something much bigger: I could actually see the next chapter of my life beginning. And that’s something we often miss. We spend so much time preparing for what comes next that sometimes we fail to recognize when “next” has already arrived. Whether you’re beginning a new career, taking on greater responsibilities, approaching retirement, building something new, or simply realizing that the person you are becoming is different from the person you used to be, this episode is a reminder to appreciate the transition while you’re living through it. Because there is something powerful about being able to look around and say: I can see the next chapter—and I’m already in it. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

See All (405)

About

Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re navigating bureaucracy, seeking inspiration, or craving honest reflections from someone who’s lived it, ‘In The Know with Tony Reeves’ offers the wisdom and wit to keep you informed—and empower Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.

Information

  • Creator
    Anthony Reeves
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    405
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Anthony Reeves
  • Show Website
    In The Know with Tony Reeves