Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories

Jeanne Andersen
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Personal Journals

Everyone has a story worth telling. On Project Candor, host Jeanne Andersen sits down with entrepreneurs, veterans, educators, creatives, leaders, and everyday people to explore the moments that shaped who they became.  Through thoughtful conversations and our signature Two Truths and a Lie segment, guests share authentic stories filled with unexpected turns, hard-earned lessons, humor, resilience, and hope.  Learn more at ProjectCandor.com

  1. 3d ago

    The Mission Nobody Claimed with Lt. Col. Eric W. Hommel | Ship's Log #53

    “Nobody cares what you know, until they know you care.”  — Eric W. Hommel  Episode Summary  Eric Hommel doesn’t sound like a man who spent thirty years in uniform guarding his own reputation — and that’s the point. A Cold War Navy submariner turned Air Force lieutenant colonel, he commanded a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, where the job was to build roads, governance, and a police force the Afghans could run themselves. Instead he found himself halting a major road project because his own side was seizing farmland from 541 families without paying a cent — a violation of the very constitution Americans had helped write.  From there the conversation opens into the machinery Eric watched from the inside for a decade: metrics that reward motion over progress, contractors who profit from problems never getting solved, and senior leaders who, in his words, “knew their jobs but didn’t know the mission.” He and Jeanne trade stories about working yourself out of a job, why real warfare is generational rather than a three-day event, and the moment he realized he was “building better thugs” instead of police officers. He’s just as blunt about himself — he was in charge, and he lost, so he calls himself a loser too.  The most moving stretch is about what happens to veterans after the war. Eric walks through Immersive Prolonged Exposure — putting veterans back inside a lifelike recreation of Afghanistan — and tells the story of Army Captain Tyler Kurth, who had nightmares every night for seven years and stopped once he finally understood the “why” behind his service. Today Eric pours all of it into walking Arlington National Cemetery with veterans and families, telling the stories of the people buried there. And before he goes, he plays Two Truths & A Lie — a submarine ship’s diver, a Marine mortar gunner, and a set of cavalry gold spurs — and only one of them is made up.  Eric's Bio  Eric Hommel has lived about five careers inside one set of dog tags — Cold War Navy submariner, Air Force officer, ground combat commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, decade-long Pentagon insider, and Capitol Hill legislative liaison. He commanded a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, where he stopped a road project cold to make sure 541 Afghan families were paid for their land. His memoir, The Losing Game, is the only first-person account of America’s failed mission in Afghanistan that ends by taking the blame himself. These days you’ll find him walking small groups through Arlington National Cemetery, telling the stories of the people buried there.  Eric's Links Website / Publishing: https://www.lionsixpress.com/ Vigilance Tours (Arlington tours): https://www.vigilancetours.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-hommel-21315aa/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigilance_tours_arlington/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088709956469  Eric's CTA  Visit vigilancetours.com to book a personalized tour of Arlington National Cemetery with Eric — and pick up his book, The Losing Game: How to Lose a War and Fail Veterans. Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    The Mission Nobody Claimed with Lt. Col. Eric W. Hommel | Ship's Log #53

  2. 6d ago

    Applied Stoicism | Are You Carrying Burdens That Aren’t Yours? With Arky Jones | Ship's Log #52

    "A man does not lose his life all at once. He loses it every time he calls the truth inconvenient and chooses the warm lie instead." — Arky Jones Episode Summary Arky Jones has spent most of his life doing what most people avoid — looking closely at himself and asking hard questions about why people think, react, and live the way they do. That curiosity led him to build PersonalityPeek, a platform that blends personality insights, Stoic philosophy, and practical tools to help people understand who they are and lead themselves better. In this conversation, Arky and Jeanne unpack what it actually costs to tell yourself the truth — and what it costs you when you don't.  From his teenage years packing carrots on a production line in England to a car accident at 20 that taught him the real meaning of 'life energy,' Arky's stories are concrete, funny, and quietly devastating. He talks about the years he spent absorbing everyone else's discomfort as his own — and the moment he realized he was robbing people of the chance to grow by trying to solve problems he was never asked to solve. Stoicism, he says, didn't make him cold. It made him honest.  The Two Truths and a Lie segment is one for the record books — carrot factory competitions, a military deployment that sounded like a vacation compared to being home with a toddler, and a public speaking course that turned into a pantomime stage. Stay to the end to find out which one isn't true.  Arky's Bio Arky Jones is the creator of PersonalityPeek, a platform that combines personality psychology, Stoic philosophy, and practical self-help to help people understand how they see the world — and lead themselves better. Based in Canberra, Australia, he's the author of Applied Stoicism and has spent years developing a framework that goes beyond the personality test to answer the question everyone has after they take one: what now?  Arky's Links Arky's Links Website:  https://personalitypeek.com/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/people/Personality-Peek/61575494699915/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peekinside/?isSelfProfile=false YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPqChT1ZupoOsvS6nWjPkmw Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    Applied Stoicism | Are You Carrying Burdens That Aren’t Yours? With Arky Jones | Ship's Log #52

  3. Oct 15

    War Ended. Real Fight Began with Lee Freeburg | Ship's Log #51

    "The Cheat Code of life is finding Order in Chaos." - Lee Freeburg  Episode Summary Lee Freeburg spent eight years as a Navy Corpsman — embedded with Marines, deployed to Iraq, trained to keep people alive in the field when there's no clinic to run to. He came home with his body intact. What followed was quieter and harder: seven years of drift. No mission. No structure. No one to tell him what to do next.   In this conversation, Lee walks through what really happens when military identity gets stripped away overnight — the freedom that felt like an open road and quickly turned into a fog. He talks about the four-wheeler accident that cracked him open at thirty-nine, the five years of rebuilding that followed, and why he eventually decided to write it all down. Not for the world — for his daughter.  Lee also walks Jeanne through Two Truths and a Lie — including the story of an EOD unit, a pinned-down SEAL team, a sniper, and one very famous name that turns out to be the twist. You will not see the ending coming.  Lee's Bio Lee Freeburg served eight years as a Navy Corpsman, including a deployment to Iraq in support of EOD. After the military, he rebuilt his life through discipline, faith, and structure. He is the author of two books — How to Live a Better Life and The Code of a Man — and the founder of The Ordered Life, a free coaching course helping men find their footing when life feels like chaos.  Lee's Links Website:  https://theleeburg.org/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lee.freeburg/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lee.burg.81 Free Course (Skool):  https://www.skool.com/the-ordered-life-9053/about Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    War Ended. Real Fight Began with Lee Freeburg | Ship's Log #51

  4. Oct 12

    Green Olive Ghosts with Nicole Zwolinski | Ship's Log #50

    "Rejection is monotonous and solitary. Acceptance is to be sung in the streets and infinitely echoed." — Nicole Zwolinski Episode Summary Nicole Zwolinski has wanted to be a writer since before she could read — she'd memorize stories and announce that she was reading. But life, geography, and motherhood took turns pulling her away from the page. On this Ship's Log, she traces the path from a Minnesota girl falling in love with poetry in fifth grade, through a cross-country move to Florida that quietly reignited everything.  Nicole reads two poems live during the conversation — "Unsung Hero," about the invisible labor of mothers, and "Green Olive Ghosts," a funny-then-devastating love letter to her kids. She talks about the sustained silence of rejection, the importance of keeping a "wins list" when submissions disappear into the void, and how becoming a mom didn't interrupt her writing so much as deepen what she had to say. Her debut full-length collection, Motherhead, arrives in summer 2026 from Finishing Line Press.  The episode closes with Two Truths & A Lie — and Nicole's stories include a Hollywood near-miss, a Kennedy Center-recognized ballet performance, and a triathlon completed with a probable concussion. Listen to find out which one didn't actually happen.   Nicole's Bio Nicole Zwolinski is a poet and debut author based in Northeast Florida. Her collection Motherhead — a book about the physical, emotional, and hormonal realities of motherhood — will be published in summer 2026 by Finishing Line Press. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies, including an international publication in Great Britain, and she was shortlisted for the Central Avenue Poetry Prize. Nicole's Links Website: https://www.nicolezwolinski.com Book Preorder (Finishing Line Press): https://finishinglinepress.com/product/motherhead-by-nicole-zwolinski/ Motherhead Project Email: themotherheadproject@gmail.com Nicole's CTA Preorder Motherhead from Finishing Line Press — preorders help establish the book as one bookstores will carry, and it's currently at the publisher's preorder rate before the price increases.  Bonus: Email your preorder receipt to themotherheadproject@gmail.com for free pre-order goodies while supplies last. Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    Green Olive Ghosts with Nicole Zwolinski | Ship's Log #50

  5. Oct 8

    Hot Mic. Radio Suspended Him at 17 with Robert White | Ship's Log #49

    "The unique role of the CEO is facilitating the creation, communication, and enforcement of a widely held purpose, vision, values, and strategic intent for the organization. All else can and should be delegated."  — Robert White  Episode Summary Robert White calls himself an average man. He's also the founder of three companies that have trained 1.4 million people across more than a dozen countries, a mentor to executives in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai for over two decades, and the author of Living an Extraordinary Life. The gap between those two descriptions is the whole point.  In this Ship's Log, Robert tells Jeanne how a poor kid from Green Bay, Wisconsin built his first paycheck at eight years old, a top-rated radio show at seventeen, and a 15,000-square-foot home on 76 acres in Aspen by forty-six. He shares a friendship with John Denver that started when an unanswered gift turned up on the singer's grand piano. He walks straight through the year he lost $30 million, closed 15 offices in seven countries, and watched the love of his life leave him for a lawyer. And he tells the story of being seventeen years old, alone behind a microphone, forgetting it was on — and walking into school the next morning to find out exactly what notoriety feels like.  The episode closes with the rule Robert built a career around: the only unique job of a leader is to create and protect a shared purpose. Everything else can be delegated. Stay for the Two Truths and a Lie — one of the three headlines involves being banned in China and listed by Scientology. The other two are even harder to believe.  Robert's Bio Robert White is a mentor to executives, a serial entrepreneur, and the author of Living an Extraordinary Life. He has founded three companies that have trained 1.4 million graduates worldwide, lived and worked abroad for 23 years, and built a career helping ordinary people break through the barriers between who they are and who they could become.  Robert's Links Website:  https://www.extraordinarypeople.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/extraordinary-robert-white/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/robert.white1 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/extraordinaryrob/ YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@exrob Twitter / X:  https://x.com/coachrobwhite  Robert's CTA Robert is offering listeners a free 28-page PDF self-evaluation built from his Eight Principles of Living an Extraordinary Life, plus his weekly Extraordinary Minute email — timeless wisdom in one minute or less.  Sign up: https://www.extraordinarypeople.com/Sign-up-for-free-report/ Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    Hot Mic. Radio Suspended Him at 17 with Robert White | Ship's Log #49

  6. Oct 5

    The Story That Serves Your Future with Kristen Crabtree | Ship's Log #48

    “Does your story serve your future?” — Kristen Crabtree Episode Summary After 22 years in a psychologically abusive marriage, Kristen Crabtree did the thing most people only talk about — she left. Not with a plan, not with a strategy, not with clarity. On her bathroom floor in the middle of a panic attack, with the bear behind her finally scarier than the abyss in front of her. In this episode she walks Jeanne through what it actually took to rebuild — and why she calls the work self-recovery, not self-help.  Kristen is a Certified Divorce Coach, the creator of the Paramour Paradox self-recovery framework, and the author of Be the You That's More You Than You've Ever Been. She talks about emotional sobriety as breaking an addiction to your own chemistry, monkey mind as the chatter that runs every conversation we have with ourselves, and the moment she realized that the story she was telling about her past wasn't serving her future. There's a confetti story you won't forget. There's a Roomba.  And then there's Two Truths and a Lie — where one of Kristen's three headlines turns out to involve the FBI, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a case that's now taught in law school. The lie is somewhere else entirely.  Kristen's Bio Kristen Crabtree is a Certified Divorce Coach and the creator of Paramour Paradox, a self-recovery framework grounded in lived experience. After 22 years in a psychologically abusive marriage, she built her own path back and now works with people moving from trauma to truth. She's the author of Be the You That's More You Than You've Ever Been and the companion True You 2.0 Field Journal.  Kristen's Links Website (Paramour Paradox):  https://www.paramourparadox.com Website (Coaching / Book a Call):  https://www.you2point0.com Facebook:  https://facebook.com/paramourparadox Instagram:  https://instagram.com/paramourparadox LinkedIn:  https://linkedin.com/in/kcrabtree8/ Kristen's CTA If something Kristen said landed for you — to agree, to push back, or just to talk it through — book a free call at you2point0.com. There are also about nine free downloadable tools in the shop at paramourparadox.com. Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    The Story That Serves Your Future with Kristen Crabtree | Ship's Log #48

  7. Oct 1

    Built From The Inside Out with Amy Lenius | Ship's Log #47

    "Most people don't fail because they're doing too little... They fail because they're doing too much of what doesn't actually move the needle."  - Amy Lenius  Episode Summary  Amy Lenius didn't set out to become a personal development coach. She became one because, for years, no one could tell her what was wrong with her own body. Growing up with endometriosis before the internet existed, she navigated years of pain, dismissal, and failed treatments before deciding to take her health into her own hands. That decision - to stop being a victim of her situation and start asking better questions - became the foundation of everything she teaches today.   In this episode, Amy walks through the framework she's built around three deceptively simple ideas: self-worth, self-belief, and consistency. But it's her breakdown of the four archetypes - victim, villain, hero, and guide - that stops the conversation cold. She explains how even high achievers can get stuck in the hero role, doing everything for everyone else while quietly starving their own self-worth. The path to the guide, she says, isn't about becoming someone different. It's about becoming more conscious of the fears that are already running the show.   Amy also makes the case for the "unsexy fundamentals" - the compounding, unglamorous daily actions that most people abandon too soon because results don't arrive on schedule. And in Two Truths and a Lie, it turns out the bass fishing and metal music are very real. The coffee habit? Not so much. It's all tea.   Guest Bio  Amy Lenius is a personal development and success coach and Director of Group Coaching at Next Level University. After rebuilding her own health through years of trial and error with endometriosis, she now helps women reconnect with their self-worth, build lasting consistency, and stop doing more of what doesn't move the needle. She's spoken on stages across the health and personal development world - and yes, she bass fishes and listens to metal to unwind.   Guest Links  Website: https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/group-coaching/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.lenius Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amylenius  Guest CTA  Join Amy's free Facebook community - Next Level Nation - dedicated to growth and self-awareness: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenextlevelnation  Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    Built From The Inside Out with Amy Lenius | Ship's Log #47

  8. Sep 28

    Preacher. Breacher. FBI Teacher, with Eric Robinson | Ship's Log #46

    “I have never regretted going into an interaction with a victim, informant, or criminal, and employing curiosity.” — Eric Robinson  Episode Summary  For 12 years, Eric Robinson stood in a pulpit. For the next 24, he carried a badge. In this episode he tells Jeanne how a Baptist pastor from western New York walked into the FBI Academy having never held a gun — and spent the next two and a half decades working white-collar fraud, public corruption, counterterrorism, and crimes against children, all while serving 15 years on SWAT. The throughline that connects both lives turns out to be a single skill: getting people to talk.  It's a heavier resume than the conversation feels, and that's the point. Eric explains how agents survive the worst of the job by telling each other stories, why he treats an interrogation like a normal conversation instead of a table-slamming standoff, and how he stays self-aware enough not to believe the whole world is as dark as his caseload — “you're a bird watcher; of course you find the birds.” Along the way, he shares some of his most memorable stories: the couple who got caught making out in the middle of his sermon, the church that held services in the Lucille Ball Theater, and the confession he got just by pressing play on a pile of recorded calls that caught a boyfriend cheating. The episode closes with Two Truths & A Lie — a protective detail for an FBI director, a great-grandfather interned in WWI for preaching in German, and two Attorney General award cases — and Eric's memoir, Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI, coming this fall. We won't tell you which headline was the lie. You'll have to listen. Eric's Bio: Eric Robinson spent 12 years as a Baptist pastor before trading the pulpit for a badge and giving 24 years to the FBI as a special agent, SWAT operator, and firearms instructor. He worked everything from white-collar fraud to counterterrorism — and somehow kept his humor through all of it. Now retired, he's turning those years into a memoir. Turns out the same curiosity that made him a good pastor made him even better in an interrogation room. Eric's Links: Website: https://preachertobreacher.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-robinson-9220053a4/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_eric_robinson Book: Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI (memoir, releasing fall 2026) Eric's Call to Action: Follow Eric on Instagram (@_eric_robinson) for his latest content, and visit preachertobreacher.com to sign up for updates on his upcoming memoir, Irreverent. Who do you know who'd make a great guest for the show? Please let us know. Email: info@projectcandor.com Website:   https://www.projectcandor.com Social Media Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectCandor/ LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/projectcandor/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/project.candor/ YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectCandorPodcast

    Preacher. Breacher. FBI Teacher, with Eric Robinson | Ship's Log #46
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About

Everyone has a story worth telling. On Project Candor, host Jeanne Andersen sits down with entrepreneurs, veterans, educators, creatives, leaders, and everyday people to explore the moments that shaped who they became.  Through thoughtful conversations and our signature Two Truths and a Lie segment, guests share authentic stories filled with unexpected turns, hard-earned lessons, humor, resilience, and hope.  Learn more at ProjectCandor.com

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