At Least It'll Be a Good Story with Peter von Kahle

Peter von Kahle
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Self-Improvement

Sit down with Peter von Kahle as he explores the journeys that have shaped remarkable people - theologians, musicians, comedians, therapists, authors, and people across every discipline. Each conversation reveals one powerful question: How did you discover what you were truly meant to do? From the theologian who questioned everything to the musician who found their voice through failure, from the comedian mining darkness for light to the therapist who healed themselves first - these are the stories behind the expertise. The unexpected pivots. The moments that redirected everything. The mentors who believed when nobody else did. The risks that paid off. The failures that became foundations. If you've ever wondered how someone became passionate about their calling, or you're searching for your own path, these conversations will surprise you, challenge you, and remind you that every life worth living is a story worth telling.

Episodes

  1. You Have to Give Two Weeks at a Driving Range with Tom Pounder

    May 19

    You Have to Give Two Weeks at a Driving Range with Tom Pounder

    Tom Pounder was Peter's youth pastor at Cedar Run Community Church starting in 2003. He's still one of Peter's closest friends, which is what this episode is actually about — when did the kid you were trying to keep out of trouble become the friend you grab sushi with every month? Tom and Peter go deep on the Seinfeld-inspired driving range break-in (which Tom, it turns out, worked at), the infamous Boston mission trip Peter wasn't on but everyone won't stop talking about, the night they got a Christian band to play a New Year's Eve party that turned into weeping worship, and the time someone called the church to try to get Tom fired. Tom shares his story too — how a mission trip to Alabama building a barn for abused and abandoned teenage girls changed his life, why he wasn't smart enough to be a computer major, what it was like being a divorced pastor with four young daughters, and what cleaning out his late dad's house in Gettysburg taught him about his brothers. Also discussed: whether Brady Shearer is Canadian, why a church stage somewhere in Peter was lucky enough to grow up with in his youth group. Huge in Nairobi, as always. Episode 8. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atleastitsagoodpodcast Follow Peter on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vonkahle Follow Tom on X/Twitter: https://x.com/tapounder?lang=en

    1h 2m
  2. I Was Highly Successful Twice with Adam Henry

    Apr 29

    I Was Highly Successful Twice with Adam Henry

    Adam Henry had 31 jobs before he turned 26. Now he's a sheriff's deputy training new recruits and he's hoping this one sticks. Adam is a friend from book club. We've known each other for years and I still learned more about him in this conversation than I had in all that time combined. We get into all of it - the Christmas tree farm, the overnight call center, getting his tie cut in half on his first car sale, going to kindergarten twice ("I was highly successful twice"), and somehow ending up wrestling a drunk driver awake in his own barn at 6 in the morning. Along the way there's a lot: his dad fighting a fisher cat at midnight with a grilled cheese in his hand, my chicken farming, a turkey that faked her own death, a $10 mini horse Adam paid for on Venmo, the police academy that has a few fake stores, and a long debate about how each of us would want to be found dead in a way that would keep police guessing for decades. Mine involves a pie. His involves a Christmas tree box. Also: how Adam built a men's book club through Craigslist ads, used bookstore solicitation, and a Twitch Discord. The 12 Days of Christmas as a labor analysis. And the Backstreet Boys vs. 98 Degrees ad-lib debate that closes the episode. Have a listen. And shoutout to Nairobi.

    1h 38m
  3. Therapy: All Made Up with Claire von Kahle

    Apr 10

    Therapy: All Made Up with Claire von Kahle

    Peter's little sister Claire is a licensed therapist — which means this episode was always going to turn into a session. Within the first two minutes, they're debating whether an Instagram therapist named Shannon knows what her handle looks like to the rest of the internet. From there it's childhood chaos (the Von Kahle kids once taped every doorway in the house and called it Tape Day), their dad's emoji-only birthday texts, and the question Peter probably should've thought harder about before asking on mic: "What is a therapist?" Claire explains therapy speak, calls Peter a suppressor to his face, and shares the story of walking into her own therapy session already crying and telling her therapist "I'm fine." Peter opens up about his five-year-old son Royal's anxiety — including the lunch where Royal looked up from his pizza and asked, "Hey, if mama dies, I don't need to go to school anymore, right?" They also cover EMDR (invented by a woman watching birds in Central Park — "we're making it all up, but it works"), IFS and parts work, the hermit crab graveyard, why therapists are always working themselves out of a job, and the tension between faith and feelings. Peter was prom king. Claire was better at basketball. They end on a conversation about names that's quieter and more honest than either of them expected.

    58 min
  4. With Former NFL Cheerleader Melanie Tatum

    Apr 3

    With Former NFL Cheerleader Melanie Tatum

    Melanie Tatum was a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader - not once, but twice - and she never tells anyone. I'm not even sure how I found out about it. She was a gymnast her whole life who thought she had no chance of making an NFL cheerleading roster but wanted to give it a try. So she taught herself to fly. Went to grad school. Then she taught herself to dance. And she made the cheer team both times on her first try. This episode is a conversation about a world most people know nothing about: what NFL cheerleading actually looks like from the inside. Melanie talks about the tryout process — hundreds of people show up, and at the end they send you down a hallway where your number is either on the wall or it's not. She talks about game day — rolling a full-size suitcase through Baltimore from Fed Hill in matching outfits six hours before kickoff, getting ready in a locker room with metal lockers and a laminated name tag on a magnet to make it feel homey. She talks about the pay, the rules (if a player gets on your elevator, you get off), and why she has a take on the cheerleader pay debate that might surprise you. Then the conversation goes somewhere neither of us planned. Melanie talks about losing a pregnancy, losing her spot on the team, and trying to figure out what God was doing in all of it. It's honest and real and it's the heart of the episode. We also talk about Baltimore, doing the Ray Lewis dance at her wedding, high school prom kings and homecoming court, and an unexpected shoutout to Switchfoot. This is At Least It'll Be a Good Story. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atleastitsagoodpodcast Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4wuIX4axfG8eMbrmrWgGw

    56 min
  5. A Job with Less Stress with Eric Robinson

    Mar 27

    A Job with Less Stress with Eric Robinson

    A Job with Less Stress with Eric Robinson Eric Robinson spent 12 years in Christian ministry — youth pastor, associate pastor, church planter — before telling his wife he needed a job with less stress. So he joined the FBI. For 24 years, Eric worked drug cartels in Chicago, SWAT operations across the Midwest, crimes against children, white collar fraud, counter-terrorism, and everything in between. He's now retired and releasing a book called Irreverend. In this conversation, Eric talks about what it's like to bust down a door as an FBI breacher ("the most important and least valuable person on the SWAT team"), how pastoral skills translated to getting confessions out of criminals, a surreptitious search warrant where his team stole a million dollars of cocaine from a drug supplier's apartment, a white collar case involving a bond supposedly worth a quadrillion dollars, preventing mass shootings, the reality of working crimes against children, and a story so disturbing that even seasoned agents couldn't top it. He also weighs in on the Nancy Guthrie case, explains how people actually end up on the FBI's radar, and reveals what retirement looks like — obviously, it involves the Milwaukee Brewers and a career in senior modeling. Fair warning: there's one story in this episode that earns its content advisory. You'll know it when you hear it. Follow Eric on Instagram: @_eric_robinson Follow the show: @atleastitsagoodpodcast

    55 min
  6. The Toe Nudge with Paul Granger

    Mar 15

    The Toe Nudge with Paul Granger

    Paul Granger hasn't received a paycheck since 2018. He has a wife, kids, a mortgage, and a 1905 house that was the least energy efficient thing one inspector had ever seen — and he does full-time volunteer ministry with no salary. Peter sits down with Paul to find out how that actually works, and some of the answers don't have explanations. They get into the stories behind God's creative provision — $100,000 in home repairs through community programs nobody else would apply for, unsolicited checks that showed up in the mail, and a wedding client who emailed eight years late to pay an old invoice right when Peter needed it most. Peter tells the story of dodging the Brazilian Navy up a creek in the Amazon and stumbling into a woman who'd been praying for five years for someone to stop. Paul shares what it was like when God asked him if he'd be willing to do something for decades, have nobody notice, die looking like a fool, and hear "well done" on the other side. This one goes deeper into faith than the first two episodes. If that's your thing, you're going to love it. CONNECT WITH PAUL GRANGER: Website: https://www.wheredidyouseegod.com Instagram: @wheredidyouseegod FOLLOW THE SHOW ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/atleastitsagoodpodcast

    52 min
  7. We Should've Gone to Manhattan with Ryan Day

    Mar 3

    We Should've Gone to Manhattan with Ryan Day

    Peter sits down with longtime friend Ryan Day — writer, sports journalist, and the man who got Flagler College on Facebook. They cover Ryan's journey from starting a Capitals Twitter account to writing for SB Nation's Big Cat Country, the time NFL security called him about a tweet, how getting suspended in 10th grade turned him into a drummer, spending a week living homeless for a college journalism piece, the night they should have gone to Manhattan, and a Costco receipt that may have been typed up in Microsoft Word. Plus: a Baltimore pop quiz nobody asked for.

    1h 34m
  8. I Have Clay Feet with Caleb Mitchell

    Jan 22

    I Have Clay Feet with Caleb Mitchell

    What happens when a kid who failed algebra becomes a firefighter - and a viral musician on the side? Caleb Mitchell sits down with Peter von Kahle to share his unconventional journey from summer school to first responder, storyteller, and musical artist chasing dreams on 10 days off a month. This conversation goes deep. Caleb opens up about barely passing high school, discovering purpose through firefighting, going viral at 15 with a ukulele cover (6 million views on Twitter), and learning that having "clay feet" - hidden weaknesses - isn't failure. It's what makes us human. From summer school in Algebra 1 to the fire academy, from a nine-month missions trip across four countries to recording music between 24-hour shifts, Caleb's story proves that the path to purpose rarely looks like what we expect. In this episode, Peter and Caleb explore: How failing the Virginia SOL test (multiple times) led Caleb to trade school and firefightingGoing viral as a teenage musician and what that taught him about creative riskThe reality of being a firefighter: 10-day work months, three-alarm fires, and finding brotherhood in crisisTaking a gap year on The World Race missions program and traveling to four countriesWhy "at least it'll be a good story" is the life philosophy that opens doorsBalancing a full-time fire career with pursuing music and creative dreamsThe unexpected beauty of clay feet—our weaknesses that keep us groundedFaith, calling, and trusting God to open doors you can't see yetAbout Caleb Mitchell: Caleb is a full-time firefighter/EMT just outside Washington, D.C., and an independent singer-songwriter. After going viral at 15 with a Twenty One Pilots cover, Caleb has continued creating music that tells honest stories about faith, failure, and finding your calling. When he's not responding to emergencies or recording, you'll find him connecting with the brotherhood he built during a gap year missions trip—friendships that gather every year no matter where life takes them. 🔗 Connect with Caleb Mitchell: Instagram: @CalebMitchellMusic: SpotifyResources Mentioned: The World Race gap year missions programAtomic Habits by James Clear"Find the Few" philosophy by John TysonJirah Bakery and Cafe, Centreville, VA (where Caleb played his first gigs)

    1h 21m
  • 8 Episodes

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Sit down with Peter von Kahle as he explores the journeys that have shaped remarkable people - theologians, musicians, comedians, therapists, authors, and people across every discipline. Each conversation reveals one powerful question: How did you discover what you were truly meant to do? From the theologian who questioned everything to the musician who found their voice through failure, from the comedian mining darkness for light to the therapist who healed themselves first - these are the stories behind the expertise. The unexpected pivots. The moments that redirected everything. The mentors who believed when nobody else did. The risks that paid off. The failures that became foundations. If you've ever wondered how someone became passionate about their calling, or you're searching for your own path, these conversations will surprise you, challenge you, and remind you that every life worth living is a story worth telling.

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