HarmonyTALK

Foundation for Harmony Presents
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HarmonyTALK is an inspirational podcast featuring ‘dreamers and doers’ who turned ideas into action. Explore creativity, perseverance, leadership and the human stories behind meaningful success through candid conversations designed to spark reflection, motivation and possibility, and join a growing community inspired to dream boldly and live intentionally.

  1. 2d ago

    Behind the Main Event: Jordan Mendal’s Life in WWE

    What happens when your dream job turns out not to be your dream career? For Jordan Mendal, the answer eventually involved The Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, nearly three decades at WWE, and one unforgettable run-in with Mick Foley’s Mr. Socko. But none of that was part of the original plan. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens steps behind the curtain with Mendal, an award-winning sports and entertainment producer and WWE’s Vice President of Special Projects, for a funny, candid conversation about persistence, rejection and finding your place in an industry you love. Growing up outside Chicago, Mendal wanted to become a sportscaster. He made it to Syracuse University’s legendary Newhouse School, where he was surrounded by future broadcasting stars and began to realize that his own path might lead somewhere other than the announcer’s booth. Call it a career pivot. In WWE language, maybe it was a power flip. What followed was hardly a straight shot to the main event. Mendal started his career making $100 a week. He applied to NBA Entertainment and got rejected. He tried again. Another rejection. On the third attempt, he landed the job. Then came an opportunity at WWE, despite one fairly significant complication. He wasn’t really a wrestling fan. WWE needed a producer. Mendal knew how to produce. The rest, he figured, he could learn. Nearly 30 years later, he has helped create the stories around some of WWE’s most recognizable Superstars and worked across a sports entertainment operation that moves from RAW and SmackDown to WrestleMania and beyond. He also knows what happens when the person behind the camera suddenly becomes part of the show. One night, Mendal was drafted into a live television segment opposite The Rock and Mick Foley, playing a media critic and WWE “heel” in front of a sold-out arena. His reward? Mr. Socko. Mendal survived the segment, and the fans even recognized him afterward. But behind the laughs is a career built on something much less theatrical: persistence. This is a conversation about hearing “no,” coming back anyway, learning from extraordinary people and staying open to opportunities that look nothing like the future you originally imagined. Because sometimes the dream you start with is only the opening match. The real main event comes later.

    Behind the Main Event: Jordan Mendal’s Life in WWE

  2. Sep 9

    The Sound of America: How Marko Marcinko Found His Life in Jazz

    Growing up in Archbald, Pennsylvania, Marko Marcinko lived in a house where music was everywhere. His father was a professional musician. His entire family was rooted in the arts. And while other kids were discovering video games, Marko was discovering the instruments around the house. He thought they were his toys and so he started playing. What happened next would take that curious kid from Northeastern Pennsylvania into a remarkable life in jazz, studying with one of the greats, touring the world, sharing stages with legendary musicians and eventually coming home to help keep the music alive for a new generation. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Marko on the lawn the outdoor amphitheater Harmony in the Woods in Hawley, Pennsylvania, just before his public radio benefit performance with the Keystone Jazz Septet. Their conversation starts with childhood and quickly moves somewhere bigger. Why does jazz still matter? What happens if we stop teaching and performing it? And as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, what can this uniquely American music tell us about the country that created it? Marcinko has a fascinating answer. He sees jazz as more than an American art form. He sees something democratic in the way the music itself is created. Everyone gets a voice. Everyone has to listen. One musician steps forward, then makes room for another. Individual expression thrives, but only when everyone contributes to something larger. It is an idea that may change the way you hear the music. And for Marcinko, it all traces back to a childhood home filled with instruments that became his toys and a family that gave him room to explore. How did those childhood discoveries lead to a life on stages around the world? And why is Marko Marcinko more determined than ever to keep America’s music playing? Tune into  “The Sound of America: How Marko Marcinko Found His Life in Jazz” and hear the story on this week’s HarmonyTALK.

    The Sound of America: How Marko Marcinko Found His Life in Jazz

  3. Sep 2

    Spinning Suspense Into Gold: Inside the Independent Film Journey of Brian Long & Sarah T. Schwab

    What does it really take to turn an idea into an independent movie? For filmmakers Sarah T. Schwab and Brian Long, the answer involves years of persistence, fundraising, creative risk, trusted collaborators, a willingness to hear “no” and, occasionally, getting very close to a tarantula. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the co-founders of Cardinal Flix, the independent production company behind Life After You, A Stage of Twilight and Crybaby Bridge, for a candid look at what happens long before a movie reaches the screen. Schwab and Long talk about launching Cardinal Flix during the pandemic, raising money for independent films, attracting accomplished actors, surviving high-pressure shoots and discovering that sometimes the only way forward is to stop waiting for someone else to open the door. They also take us inside Arachnophilia, Schwab’s new psychological thriller inspired in part by her own lifelong fear of spiders. The film is preparing to shoot in Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania, where Cardinal Flix sees the potential for something much bigger than a single production. For Schwab and Long, independent filmmaking is equal parts storytelling, entrepreneurship and leap of faith. Their journey offers a revealing look at what it takes to spin an idea into a movie, and why they believe NEPA could become an important part of what comes next.

    Spinning Suspense Into Gold: Inside the Independent Film Journey of Brian Long & Sarah T. Schwab

  4. Aug 26

    The Voice of the Sixers: How Marc Zumoff Turned a Childhood Dream Into a Legendary Career

    Long before Marc Zumoff became the voice generations of Philadelphia 76ers fans welcomed into their living rooms, he was a sixth-grader in Northeast Philadelphia practicing play-by-play into a tape recorder. Now retired after a legendary broadcasting career, Zumoff can look back on the remarkable distance between that kid with a dream and the man who spent 27 seasons behind the Sixers microphone, offering a story about finding your calling, doing the work to earn it and knowing when it is time to enjoy what you built.

    The Voice of the Sixers: How Marc Zumoff Turned a Childhood Dream Into a Legendary Career

  5. Aug 19

    Ahead of Her Time: Nancy Head Thode Reclaims Her Mother’s Story

    How well can we ever really know our parents? For Nancy Head Thode, that question became the beginning of an extraordinary journey into the life of her mother, Ann Head, a once widely read mid-century writer whose fiction explored women, marriage, pregnancy, class and independence at a time when many of those subjects were still spoken about carefully, if at all. Ann Head was more than a novelist. She was part of the literary life of Beaufort, South Carolina, and an influential teacher and mentor whose students included a young Pat Conroy, years before he would become the celebrated author of The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides. But to Nancy, she was Mom. In this encore presentation of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau talks with Nancy about the woman behind the books and Nancy’s own journey to understand her. That journey eventually led to Ahead of Her Time: The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head, Nancy’s biography of her mother. Drawing from journals, family memories, archival material and correspondence, Nancy began piecing together a fuller portrait of a woman who was ambitious, unconventional, creative and complicated. The project also forced Nancy to look again at her own childhood and at the difference between what children see and what adults later come to understand. Nancy brings an unusual perspective to that process. A longtime family psychotherapist and early advocate for family mediation, she has spent much of her professional life helping people understand relationships, conflict and the stories families carry. Now she has turned that careful attention toward her own family. It is a conversation about mothers and daughters, memory, writing, the lives women were expected to lead and what can happen when a daughter decides her mother’s story deserves to be told again.

    Ahead of Her Time: Nancy Head Thode Reclaims Her Mother’s Story

  6. Aug 12

    From Quiet Kid to Broadway Star: How Liz Callaway Found Her Voice

    Before Liz Callaway sang “Memory” on Broadway, before she became the singing voice of Anastasia, before the Tony nomination, Emmy Award and Grammy nomination, she was a shy kid who waited for everyone to leave the house so she could sing. She knew she had a voice. She just wasn’t ready for anyone else to hear it. That began to change when Callaway discovered musical theater as a teenager. At a difficult moment in her family life, the stage gave her something she had been searching for: community. “I loved being in a cast,” she remembers. “I had friends for the first time.” That sense of belonging changed the direction of her life. This week on HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Tony and Grammy-nominated and Emmy Award-winning performer Liz Callaway for an intimate conversation about the unlikely path from shy teenager to one of Broadway and animation’s most beloved voices. At 18, Callaway moved to New York with her sister, singer and composer Ann Hampton Callaway. Just a year later, she made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. She would go on to earn a Tony nomination for Baby, perform in Miss Saigon and spend five years as Grizabella in Cats, singing one of musical theater’s most recognizable songs, “Memory.” Then her voice found another stage. Callaway became the singing voice of Odette in The Swan Princess and Anastasia in the beloved animated film Anastasia, opposite Meg Ryan’s speaking performance. Years later, fans began approaching her at concerts and telling her something she could never have known when those movies were first released. Her voice had become part of their childhood. Today, her voice continues to reach new generations. Callaway recently voiced the Speaker of God in Hazbin Hotel Season 2, introducing her to younger listeners who suddenly realized that the voice they were hearing also belonged to Anastasia and Odette. And soon, audiences in Northeastern Pennsylvania can hear that voice in person. On Friday, August 21 at 6 p.m., Liz Callaway returns to Harmony in the Woods in Hawley for Liz Callaway: Broadway & Beyond, an intimate outdoor concert featuring music from across her remarkable career. Callaway tells Lisa that audiences can expect Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, “Memory” from Cats and songs from Anastasia, along with stories about the unexpected road that brought her from the quiet kid singing alone at home to stages around the world. For tickets, visit https://harmonyinthewoods.org/

    From Quiet Kid to Broadway Star: How Liz Callaway Found Her Voice

  7. Aug 5

    When the Dream Changes: Russ Cooke's Second Chance

    What happens when the future you've spent your entire life chasing disappears overnight? For Russ Cooke, that question became painfully real after a concussion during New York Jets training camp ended the football career he had spent years pursuing. One day he was preparing to play in the National Football League. The next, he was back home pumping gas, wondering how everything had changed so quickly. In this encore episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens revisits one of our favorite conversations about resilience, reinvention, and discovering purpose after disappointment. Russ shares the emotional journey of rebuilding his identity after football, the lessons he learned while starting over, and why losing one dream ultimately led him to a far greater calling. Today, as founder of NDUR for Athletes, Russ is helping schools, coaches, parents, and student-athletes redefine what success looks like. Through an innovative 360-degree wellness system, NDUR combines mental wellness, leadership development, mentorship, career readiness, financial literacy, and AI-powered engagement tools to support the whole athlete, not simply athletic performance. As anxiety, depression, and burnout continue to rise among young athletes, Russ believes the conversation surrounding sports must evolve. Championships matter. Character matters more. Throughout the conversation, Russ reflects on perseverance, leadership, identity, and why some of life's greatest opportunities arrive only after our original plans fall apart.

    When the Dream Changes: Russ Cooke's Second Chance

  8. Jul 29

    On Stage with Bywater Call

    Just moments after closing Opening Night of the 2026 Harmony in the Woods concert season, Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes of Bywater Call returned to the stage, not for an encore, but for a honest conversation with HarmonyTALK host Greg Frigoletto. The result is an interview that feels every bit as genuine as the band's music. Over the past several years, the Toronto-based, seven-piece band has quietly become one of the most exciting live acts on the international roots music scene. Blending Southern soul, blues, roots rock, and powerful horn arrangements, Bywater Call delivers performances that are both emotionally charged and musically fearless. At the center is Meghan Parnell's commanding voice, complemented by Dave Barnes' expressive guitar work and the remarkable chemistry of a band that has spent years earning every fan one performance at a time. Their music refuses to be confined to a single genre. Influenced by artists including The Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, and The Wood Brothers, Bywater Call moves effortlessly from deeply personal ballads to high-energy anthems that showcase the full strength of the seven-piece ensemble. Every song reflects the highs and lows of life, exploring love, loss, resilience, hope, and everything in between. That authenticity has earned the band growing international recognition. Following extensive touring throughout Europe, Bywater Call was nominated for the 2025 UK Blues Award for International Blues Artist of the Year. This year, the band once again landed among the Top 20 finalists alongside many of the biggest names in contemporary blues. In this episode, Meghan and Dave reflect on how the band found its sound, what keeps seven musicians connected through thousands of miles on the road, and why live performance continues to shape everything they create. Recorded immediately after their Harmony in the Woods performance, this conversation captures something listeners rarely hear: artists reflecting on a show while the music is still echoing in the air. If this conversation inspires you to experience live music under the trees, the Harmony in the Woods summer concert season continues through Sept. 5 with an outstanding lineup of nationally touring artists spanning blues, Americana, folk, jazz, bluegrass, Celtic, world music, and more. Visit HarmonyInTheWoods.org for the complete schedule and tickets.

    On Stage with Bywater Call
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

HarmonyTALK is an inspirational podcast featuring ‘dreamers and doers’ who turned ideas into action. Explore creativity, perseverance, leadership and the human stories behind meaningful success through candid conversations designed to spark reflection, motivation and possibility, and join a growing community inspired to dream boldly and live intentionally.

Information

  • Creator
    Foundation for Harmony Presents
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    146
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Foundation for Harmony Presents
  • Show Website
    HarmonyTALK