Ira's Everything Bagel

Ira David Sternberg
  • 5.0 (2)
  • ARTS

Discover Ira’s Everything Bagel, a blend of US arts and culture. Schmeared with podcasts rich in ideas worth spreading, as well as captivating stories.

  1. 1D AGO

    Noshing With Peter H. Bailey – February 12, 2026

    Author, The Epic of You This week, Ira spoke with Peter H. Bailey, author of The Epic of You. In this episode of “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” It’s not if life will disrupt your plans—it’s when. Careers stall. Relationships shift. That little voice wakes you up at 5 a.m. and starts whispering doubt. And suddenly, you’re wondering whether you’re falling behind. Watch Full Podcast Video This week on Ira’s “Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Peter H. Bailey, author of The Epic of You, for a powerful conversation about reframing crisis, silencing the “disease of comparison,” and discovering the hero inside ordinary life. Peter draws on a 45-year career in leadership and coaching—and the timeless wisdom of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey—to explain why being heroic doesn’t mean climbing a mountain. It means staying with your challenges long enough to uncover the gift at the end. Every culture tells a version of the same story: someone leaves the village and returns transformed—or a stranger arrives and changes everything. Peter believes that story is a map for your life—past, present, and future. The “call to adventure” isn’t about drama. It’s about growth. And often, the hardest seasons produce the greatest expansion. When Peter couldn’t find a book to guide him through his own turning points, he wrote one. The Epic of You is both a personal processing tool and a leadership framework built on one simple formula: Experience + Reflection = Real Education. In this thoughtful and energizing episode, Peter shares why curiosity matters, why comparison shrinks your future, and why the word “epic” belongs to all of us. Because the chaos we fear may just be the doorway to the life we’re meant to live. ABOUT PETER: Peter H. Bailey is an author, global facilitator, and leadership strategist whose four decades of workhave taken him to more than 50 countries. As President of The Prouty Project, a leadingstrategic planning and leadership developmentfirm, he has guided executives and teams through organizational transformation with a rare blend ofinsight, empathy, and hands-on learning expertise. A TEDx speaker on “Developing Your Heroic Journey Mindset” and award-winning global educator, Peter has delivered leadership programs worldwide and previously ran a corporate training adventure center in Indonesia. He holds a Master’s in Experiential Education, serves on the Board of Voyageur Outward Bound School, and writes regularly on human performance and personal transformation. Fluent in Indonesian and conversational in German, Peter brings deep cultural awareness shaped by extensive travel, including multi-month overland expeditions across Asia, Europe, and Africa. His personal pursuits are as wide-ranging as his professional work—rock climbing, sailing, scuba diving, dog-sledding and fly-fishing. His attempt to learn the instruments of cultures around the world prompted him to learn the didgeridoo from Australia, playing the chanter from Scotland, and the low whistle from his time in Ireland are examples of his curiosity and love for life! Peter H. Bailey     Website Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oPfM-JqATBQ?si=MStDu8f_NwuOD48z" title=" title="YouTube video player" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    28 min

  2. FEB 5

    Noshing With Elizabeth Chamblee Burch – February 5, 2026

    Author, The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America’s Lawsuit Factory In this eye-opening episode of Ira’s Everything Bagel, Ira sits down with Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, author of The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America’s Lawsuit Factory, to expose a hidden industry operating in plain sight. Watch Full Podcast Video Elizabeth takes listeners inside the shadowy world of mass tort litigation—where legal cases are bought and sold like baseball cards, kickback provisions are quietly skirted, and enforcement of existing laws often falls through the cracks. Her investigation began with what she thought was routine research, but everything changed after attending a conference in Las Vegas—followed by a chilling call from a whistleblower who had been there too. At the center of The Pain Brokers are three women whose lives were upended by the system, including patients harmed by pelvic mesh surgeries. Elizabeth explains how failures in regulation—by both the legal and medical professions—allow abuses to continue, and why so much of the problem isn’t the absence of laws, but the lack of enforcement. This conversation is also a call to action. From educating yourself before consenting to surgery, to becoming your own best advocate, to understanding how loopholes could be closed, this episode arms listeners with the knowledge they need to protect themselves—and demand accountability. If you care about patient safety, justice, and how profit can quietly distort both, this is an episode you won’t forget. Elizabeth Chamblee Burch is the Fuller E. Callaway Chair of Law at the University of Georgia. Her groundbreaking work on mass torts and class actions won the American Law Institute’s Early Career Scholars Medal in 2015, the Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Professional Responsibility Scholarship in 2016, and the Mangano Dispute Resolution Advancement Award in 2019. The author of two academic books, she has published more than 40 articles and essays in legal journals and is a frequent commentator on NPR and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Economist, and USA Today. In addition to her law degree, she holds an MFA in narrative nonfiction. She lives in Athens, Georgia.  Elizabeth Chamblee Burch     Website Elizabeth Chamblee Burch     Facebook Elizabeth Chamblee Burch     Instagram Elizabeth Chamblee Burch     LinkedIn Elizabeth Chamblee Burch     X Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nmFwib8Mexk?si=12FCYRW6I7WmsUx6" title=" title="YouTube video player" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    27 min

  3. JAN 29

    Noshing With Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett – January 29, 2026

    Author, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss What if the biggest career mistake isn’t staying too long in a bad job—but staying too long under a toxic boss? Watch Full Podcast Video This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett, organizational psychologist and author of I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss. Drawing from her own painful experience in a toxic workplace, years of academic research, and hundreds of real-world stories, Dr. Laura breaks down what actually makes a boss toxic—and why the damage often escalates over time. She explains the critical difference between a difficult boss and a truly toxic one, why toxic bosses are not real leaders, and how overt and covert behaviors quietly erode confidence, health, and identity. In this episode, you’ll hear why so many people say “I wish I’d quit sooner,” the eight toxic boss personas (including the dishonest manipulator), and how childhood trauma often shows up in leadership in destructive ways. Dr. Laura also offers clear-eyed options—the pros and cons of staying, confronting, taking medical leave, or exiting—and why fear keeps so many people stuck. Most importantly, this conversation is practical, not academic. Dr. Laura shares actionable strategies: how to document toxic behavior safely, why exit interviews matter more than you think, how to build a network before you need it, and how to prepare an exit plan that protects both your career and your well-being. Because work isn’t just what we do—it’s who we are. And staying too long in a toxic environment comes at a cost. ABOUT: Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is an organizational psychologist and thought leader sought-after internationally for her expertise on workplace culture, career development, toxic leadership, and burnout. Along with her 25 years of experience in her field, she holds a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Calgary, where she is currently an adjunct professor. A passionate entrepreneur, she has founded several psychology practices in Canada and hosts the widely followed podcast, “Where Work Meets Life.”  In addition to I Wish I’d Quit Sooner, she has published two psychological thrillers, Losing Cadence and Finding Sophie, aimed at both captivating readers and raising awareness on important topics around mental health and domestic violence, currently being adapted for a TV series. Dr. Laura is also co-founder of the WITH HER movement, focused on ending violence against women and girls.  She received a “Canadian Women of Inspiration” Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.         Dr. Laura     Website Dr. Laura      Facebook Dr. Laura      Instagram Dr. Laura      LinkedIn Dr. Laura      X Dr. Laura      YouTube    Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fpBxd6NZchw?si=BwcWtJw6aU5fbPRy" title="YouTube video player" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    29 min

  4. JAN 22

    Noshing With Dr. Craig Yorke – January 22, 2026

    Author, Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon’s Journey From a struggling Boston neighborhood to the operating rooms of Middle America, Dr. Craig Yorke has lived a life that’s as inspiring as it is revealing. Watch Full Podcast Video This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with the author of Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon’s Journey, for a deeply personal and thought-provoking conversation about ambition, identity, and the hidden emotional cost of success. Craig opens up about what first compelled him to write his book — a moment of “remedy” while browsing a bookstore shelf — and how his story reaches far beyond race. He reflects on growing up in the lower rungs of the Black middle class, shaped by parents wounded by racism in 1920s and ’30s Boston, and raised with the belief that rebellion was never an option. We hear about “the fork in the road” that took him to Topeka, Kansas, a choice rooted as much in ethics as in opportunity, and how success in the world’s eyes came with armor he carried for decades. After writing this book, Craig says, “the armor is finally off.” This isn’t simply a story about breaking barriers. It’s a moving exploration of resilience, healing, legacy, and what it truly means to chase — and redefine — the American Dream. ABOUT: Dr. Craig Yorke was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He received a BA from Harvard College in 1970 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1974. His parental directive insisted he avenge centuries of bigotry with a life of infinite success. After a neurosurgical residency at the University of California at San Francisco, he and his wife Mary found their way to an unlikely destination. He practiced in Topeka, Kansas, for 25 years, wrestling with his history and the armored identity, it had imposed. He and Mary raised two boys: Zack who lives in Brooklyn and Chris who calls Seattle home. Craig brews coffee for two each morning in the colonial home they’ve occupied for 33 years. He’s a credible violinist, having played the Bruch G Minor concerto with the Boston Pops at 17, and hits tennis balls with passion. Steep is his first book.  Craig Yorke Website Craig Yorke Facebook Watch the full Podcast Video

    27 min

  5. JAN 15

    Noshing With Mark Malkoff – January 15, 2026

    Author (along with David Ritz), Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend Johnny Carson wasn’t just the King of Late Night — he was one of the greatest talent-spotters, risk-takers, and quiet humanitarians in entertainment history. And no one has explored that truth more deeply than Mark Malkoff. Watch Full Podcast Video This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Mark Malkoff, author (along with David Ritz) of Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, to uncover the real Carson behind the curtain. What started as a podcast grew into a full-scale investigation as more and more stories poured in — from Jay Leno to Joan Rivers to people who knew Carson far from the spotlight. Mark shares how he fell in love with Carson as a kid, watched him leave the airwaves as a teenager, and spent years digging into every corner of Carson’s life — from his mysterious New York years to his life after the historic show run. Along the way, Mark reveals why Carson was anything but cold and aloof, how he helped launch Jimmy Buffett’s career, why he kept bringing Don Rickles back even when it was risky, and how he always made his guests look brilliant. This isn’t just a biography — it’s a celebration of a man who believed in talent, generosity, and taking chances. With stories that have never been told this way before, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who ever stayed up late to watch Johnny Carson make magic. ABOUT MARK: Mark Malkoff is a comedian, filmmaker, and digital-age stunt storyteller whose work has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR’s Weekend Edition, the BBC, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He first gained international attention for his viral web series Mark Lives in IKEA, which earned PR Week’s 2009 Campaign of the Year, followed by headline-making projects like visiting all 171 Manhattan Starbucks in 24 hours and setting a Guinness World Record by flying nonstop for a month to conquer his fear of flying. Mark has partnered with major brands including Netflix, Skype, Ford, Microsoft, Disney, and IKEA to create inventive, boundary-pushing comedy videos, and most recently has worked with Edelman developing video concepts for their clients. He is also the host of The Carson Podcast, featuring legendary guests such as Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, and Michael J. Fox, and lives in New York City with his wife, Christine. Mark Malkoff             Website Mark Malkoff             Facebook Mark Malkoff             LinkedIn Mark Malkoff             Instagram Mark Malkoff             X Mark Malkoff             YouTube Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ekordocb9mY?si=T-1nDnHrQpqlhM7s" title="YouTube video player" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    31 min

  6. JAN 8

    Noshing With  Dr. David Weill – January 8, 2026

    Author, Tell Me I Belong: A Journey Across Faiths and Generations What does it mean to belong—to a family, a faith, a history? Watch Full Podcast Video In this episode of “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Dr. David Weill, author of Tell Me I Belong: A Journey Across Faiths and Generations, for a personal conversation about identity, spirituality, and the moments that force us to ask life’s hardest questions. The son of a Jewish father who escaped Nazi Germany and a Southern Baptist mother, David grew up in New Orleans where religion was rarely discussed. Instead, medicine became his calling. But it was inside the hospital—amid life, death, and uncertainty—where his spirituality first ignited. After Hurricane Katrina, David began reading the Bible cover to cover… for three years. His journey took him through Catholicism, then back to Judaism—after discovering that his mother had converted before marrying his father. That revelation sent him searching through generations of family history, ultimately leading him to Germany, where his connection to Judaism and his ancestors took on new meaning. David also opens up about the politics and pressures of hospital life that led him to step away from his role as a transplant surgeon, and how his family supported him as he searched for a spiritual home. This is a conversation about faith found later in life, identity reclaimed, and the courage it takes to ask: Where do I truly belong? David Weill, MD, is the former Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Diseases and the Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center. A sought-after advisor to various transplant programs across the country, he also serves on the Board of TransMedics, a company focused on improving availability of donor organs. David has also served on several non-profit boards including the Tulane Medical School, Xavier University of Louisiana, SFJAZZ, the Isidore Newman School, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) Foundation, NextGen Personal Finance, and the Bellevue Literary Review. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Salon, Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, STAT, the Washington Post, The Hill, LitHub, Tablet, The Times of Israel, TODAY.com, and the Los Angeles Times. David’s previous books include the memoir Exhale: Hope, Healing, and Life in Transplant (2021) and a novel, All That Really Matters (2024). He lives in New Orleans. David Weill, MD                    Website David Weill, MD                    LinkedIn David Weill, MD                    Facebook David Weill, MD                    Instagram         Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4BBwNWY3QLc?si=EW69U32J9JKpyl8D" title="YouTube video player" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    28 min

  7. 12/18/2025

    Noshing With Dennis R. McBride – December 18, 2025

    Author, A City on the Edge: Pandemic, Protest, and Polarization This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Dennis R. McBride, mayor of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and author of A City on the Edge: Pandemic, Protest, and Polarization. Drawing on his background as a journalist, lawyer, and student of history, Dennis offers a candid, unfiltered look at leading a city through one of the most turbulent periods in modern American life. Watch Full Podcast Video Wauwatosa endured the COVID-19 pandemic, 98 consecutive days and nights of protests, and the trauma of mass shootings at the state’s busiest shopping mall—challenges that made the city a true microcosm of America. Dennis explains why he felt compelled to document these experiences, what it means to govern as a progressive but practical leader, and why he took criticism from both the left and the right. As the city’s lowest-paid employee, Dennis describes the personal toll of leadership, the constant need for vigilance, and the lingering impact of stress that hasn’t fully faded. Yet through it all, he stayed grounded by what he calls his guiding principle: “You follow the North Star—and the North Star is the law.” This thoughtful and timely conversation explores leadership under pressure, short-term crisis versus long-term thinking, why Wauwatosa is truly an “edge city,” and why Dennis believes the path forward requires renewed civility, participation, and dialogue. A powerful episode about democracy, resilience, and finding common ground when it matters most. Dennis R. McBride is the mayor of the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.  Dennis earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a master’s degree in public administration from Princeton University, and a law degree from New York University. Before becoming mayor, he practiced law with Boston and Milwaukee law firms and the U.S. government, taught part-time at Marquette University Law School, and served on a committee of judges and lawyers which drafted model jury instructions for U.S. district courts in the Seventh Circuit. For his professional accomplishments, he was named a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. Dennis co-founded several community organizations, served on the State of Wisconsin Retirement Board, and served several terms on the Wauwatosa city council, including two terms as council president. For these and other civic activities, he received UW-Milwaukee’s Alumni Citizenship Award. He is a two-time marathon winner and a member of his high school and university sports halls of fame. Dennis R. McBride                 Facebook Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YL39v7ri2kI?si=mUTt7TjUlO0QeDn2" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    29 min

  8. 12/04/2025

    Noshing With Juergen Barbusca – December 4, 2025

    Author, No Overnight Parking This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Ira sits down with Juergen Barbusca, author of “No Overnight Parking,” to unpack the remarkable leap that took him from corporate deadlines to life on the open road. After years of long hours draining the joy from his work, Juergen traded (with five years in the making) boardrooms for backroads, embarking on a yearlong, 32,000-mile adventure across the United States and Canada in a van he lovingly nicknamed “The Shoebox.”  Watch Full Podcast Video Juergen shares how an ominous “check engine” light became a regular irritant, why he chronicled every twist and turn without realizing it would become a book, and how the rhythm of road life unexpectedly reflected the pressures of corporate culture. He talks about learning to slow down, savoring museums and small-town curiosities, traveling under the self-imposed countdown of a one-year limit, and how he ultimately discovered the title for his book (hint: Walmart policies played a role). From the roar and mist of Niagara Falls – “a feast for all five senses” – to the serenity of wide-open highways, a surprising buffalo encounter, and an unforgettable meeting with a cross-country walking minister, Juergen’s story is a reminder that sometimes the road doesn’t just take you somewhere… it shows you who you are. Juergen Barbusca was raised in Las Vegas and holds a bachelor’s in German and a master’s in public administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He’s an award-winning communications practitioner whose career has included roles as a freelancer and corporate translator, nonprofit executive, and communications manager. In earlier years, he also took on a wide range of odd jobs—picking pineapples, washing dishes, sorting packages, hanging placards in subway cars, working as an airline ticket agent and restaurant waiter, selling beer from a hawker’s tray, and managing a concession stand at an arena. After fourteen years in the tech world, when long hours slowly squeezed the joy from his work, he traded a computer screen for a camper van. When he’s not behind the wheel or chasing down the next story, he enjoys swimming, cycling, foreign languages, and bad coffee at roadside diners. Juergen Barbusca        Website Juergen Barbusca        Instagram Juergen Barbusca        TikTok Watch the full Podcast Video iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TCEPeuBAFrE?si=VBY7osIhoHOE2ZX7" title=" title="YouTube video player" title="YouTube video player

    28 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Discover Ira’s Everything Bagel, a blend of US arts and culture. Schmeared with podcasts rich in ideas worth spreading, as well as captivating stories.

Information

  • Creator
    Ira David Sternberg
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    200
  • Copyright
    © COPYRIGHT 2012-2024 IDS CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Show Website
    Ira's Everything Bagel