Red and White @ Silver

NFA Wildcats
  • 5.0 (9)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

As graduates in the Norwich Free Academy Class of 2001, Ian Cheney, Zack Lamothe, and Jim Wheeler were stunned to find themselves closer to 60 years old than they were to high school. The decision was made - before more time passes, it was time to reconnect with members of their graduating class before old age deletes their fellow Wildcats’ memory banks. Each week, join them as they interview a different member of the NFA Class of 2001 as they approach their 25th reunion.

  1. 6D AGO

    Lauren Carlson Burhans

    (A quick side note for RWS fans: we’re almost done! After our awesome guest this week, we’re down to the final FIVE episodes: three more interviews with classmates, followed by our final interview of one of the RWS hosts, and then the series finale on June 15, the 25-year anniversary of our graduation. Please join us for the home stretch!) This week we have our old classmate Lauren Carlson. In this interview, we get a sobering reminder that not everyone’s transition to the next phase of their lives was made seamlessly. Lauren opens up about her deep personal struggles experienced during freshman year at URI. A pivot to ECSU helped get her life back on track, and did she ever. She proceeded to ship up to Boston for not one but TWO Masters degrees, and she’s now a behavioral analyst. She specializes in parenting advice to all us parents who are trying to manage increasingly busy and messy lives. (Her business, Imperfect Parenting, can be reached at imperfectparentcoach@gmail.com.) She now lives in Rhode Island with her husband and three kids, a well-deserved richness of life made possible by her perseverance.  For trivia she’s quizzed about another, less quality podcast–Armchair Expert with Dax Sheppard–before then diving into NFA. Then hear Lauren’s memories about her Cranston experience, her positive experiences with teachers, and more. Her name is Lauren Carlson, now Lauren Burhans, and she’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    48 min

  2. MAY 5

    Nate Paluck

    To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, “Red & White @ Silver” is thrilled to welcome a classmate who spent post-graduate years in Mexico: Nathan Paluck! He Zooms with the RWS trio to fill us in on everything he’s been up to for the last 25 years. How does a physics major at Fordham turn into a teacher in Honduras and bartender/salsa dancer in Oaxaca and a journalist in Hartford and the president of a chess club? Nate is like the Dos Equis guy: the most interesting man in the world. Then, after victorioso in a bit of Mexican history trivia, Nate has profound reflections on his time at the Norwich Free Academy. He reflects on our beautiful campus, his myriad of extracurricular activities, his valued NFA friendships, and he also becomes the latest guest to flatter Zack’s mom. Among Nate’s most cherished high school memories was working with a handful of classmates, including Jim and Zack, to record a song called “Brown Bananas” – a fawning ode from Dave Fan to a certain fellow 2001er. After listening to this episode, you’ll not only know to which classmate the song was dedicated (hint: her name rhymes with Banana), but you’ll also get to hear a 25-year-old recording of the masterpiece. You don’t want to miss it. His name is Nathan Paluck, and he’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    44 min

  3. APR 28

    Brett Levanto

    This week, “Red & White @ Silver” listeners are in for a treat. First, RWS gives you a peak behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to Ian, Zack, and our guest, our A/V guru Jim was recording audio before the official start of the interview. Therefore, in lieu of our typical short cold open, you’ll hear several minutes of arguing and guest-prep. The bigger treat comes afterward: our articulate and charismatic guest, Brett Levanto. You’ll hear how Mr. Levanto goes to Washington to study at GW, and to bartend, and to meet his future wife. You’ll also hear about some of the challenges that come with being married to a deployed sailor. Brett eventually nestled into a career, had two kids, and even began working as a high school football referee on the side, an unsurprising development considering he’s legally blind in one eye. He dazzles in his trivia segment where Ian offers him challenging football scenarios where referee Levanto needs to make the right call. (Brett would like to issue a correction about the yardage in the second question: it should be 4th and 15 and not 4th and 5. He’s admitted to this mistake having kept him up in each of the 668 nights since we recorded.) Brett finishes with profuse praise of our alma mater, including shouting out teachers and reflecting on his time with the Student Advisory Board and NFA basketball. His name is Brett Levanto, and, as he tells you several times in various ways, he’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    1h 18m

  4. APR 21

    Becky Majewski Boenig

    Have you ever wondered who has the biggest heart on Earth? Well, you can stop wondering. We found her. It’s our fellow Class of 2001er, Becky Majewski. Just how big is her heart? Listen to some of the jobs she’s held since high school. After becoming a UConn nursing major, she has since worked at a nursing home, in hospice care, and at the Oncology Department at Backus Hospital. One listen to this interview and you’ll realize how lucky her patients have been. Becky also shared some very exciting news with the RWS trio: she has a daughter at NFA! You can imagine the guys’ reaction. Becky is clearly thrilled that her daughter is there, as you can hear in Becky’s voice the pride and appreciation she has for our alma mater, and she shouts out several memorable teachers. The highlight of the episode’s reminiscing was each member of the panel trying to remember their Spanish names, though honorable mention goes to smelling the dissected cats on the top floor of Tirrell. Finally, Ian tries to turn the episode into a hot take sports talk show, but our guest wisely defuses the situation. Her name is Becky Majewski, and she’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    31 min

  5. APR 13

    Kevin Brunetti

    In another Day One recording of “Red & White @ Silver,” we have one of our earliest guinea pigs, the brave Kevin Brunetti. How brave was he? Try joining the military one month after 9/11 brave. In this episode, we hear about his time in the Air Force working as a mechanic, including being stationed in Germany for some time. Joining the military at a young age also meant he just retired from the Air Force after 20 years, which made teachers Zack and Ian look at each other and do the math on still having 20 years ahead of them. In this wide-ranging interview, Kevin and the RWS trio lament the difficulties of staying in touch with old friends, wax poetic about the golden age of comic strips and cartoons (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, anyone?), and talk about a bunch of movies with film fanatic Kevin. Finally, Kevin remembers his time at NFA, with Mr. Merrill stories once again stealing the show. We also need to issue a correction: Nicholas Cage did not, in fact, win an Oscar for “Snake Eyes.” (A travesty, we know.) That mistake slipped by our guest, who seemed to know everything else about movies, books, and so much more. His name is Kevin Brunetti, and he’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    47 min

  6. APR 7

    Amy Rygielski Correia

    In the beginning of April, 2001, Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player in Major League Baseball; a young Tiger Woods won his second Masters Tournament; and one of the Norwich Free Academy’s best students, the great Amy Rygielski, barreled toward her high school graduation. In this episode, after Zack insists on talking about Samuel Huntington School for nine consecutive minutes, we learn what happened next for Amy. And boy did things happen! It started with some Acorn Acres campground fun with the likes of Pierce Grogan and Brett Levanto. Then she went to URI; traveled to Australia, southeast Asia, and Europe; taught at NFA(!); and earned her PhD. It’s about time someone classes up the joint. Amy is now married with three kids, and she’s still at URI, now on the other side of the desk, teaching teachers and future principles. Listen as Amy, Ian, and Zack talk about how their perspectives on teaching have changed since becoming parents, and also how becoming teachers has shifted their perspective on parenting. Meanwhile, Jim makes a terrible assumption about what the Elephant Man was all about. Amy also has plenty of great memories about our alma mater, not least of which was a heroic effort AFTER graduation to get everyone a picture in the yearbook. We are all grateful to her. She is a brilliant, well-spoken guest in this must-listen interview. Her name is Amy Rygielski, now Amy Correia, and she’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    54 min

  7. MAR 31

    Chris Larsen

    Toward the end of March in the year 2001, WCW lost to WWF in the wrestling companies’ famous Monday Night Wars. Watching it all happen was one of America’s biggest wrestling fans, the senior Wildcat Chris Larsen. You may have known him more for another sport, however: bowling! Listen to hear about some of his bowling achievements, not least of which was his family acquiring our hallowed Norwich Ten Pin bowling alley. Chris now owns his own business and is a father. In this episode, you’ll learn how missing a baseball thrown by his son probably saved his life. You’ll also get to hear Chris tackle some Wrestlemania trivia, fresh off his own trip to Wrestlemania XL. The episode closes with our guest remembering his time at the Norwich Free Academy. Do you know which teacher’s parking spot he regularly parked in? Listen to find out. His name is Chris Larsen, and he’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    38 min

  8. MAR 24

    Krista Barcomb

    In the first few days of spring 2001, the space station Mir fell into Earth’s atmosphere, Apple released its Mac OS X operating system, and Krista Barcomb marched closer to her Norwich Free Academy graduation. What happened to her after she left the football field and began her new chapter? After bouncing between a couple academic institutions, it turns out she would one day enter into a field that the “Red & White @ Silver” cohosts called “the most interesting job” they’ve heard yet. What is that job? We’ll give you 50 guesses. Sorry, they were all wrong. She looks into money laundering! Suffice it to say, we had many questions (asking only for a friend, of course). Her interest in craft beer left the teetotaling Ian at a disadvantage for trivia, so he passed the responsibility to Zack, who rose to the occasion with aplomb. Krista closes with some NFA memories, at least until Zack wanted to start talking about beer again. Importantly, she gives Voluntown some overdue representation on the podcast; RWS has now had guests from Norwich, Sprague, Franklin, Preston, Lisbon, and Sterling, with Canterbury upcoming. Krista was a fascinating guest, giving us one of our best episodes. Don’t miss it. Her name is Krista Barcomb, and she’s a member of the NFA Class of 2001.

    33 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

As graduates in the Norwich Free Academy Class of 2001, Ian Cheney, Zack Lamothe, and Jim Wheeler were stunned to find themselves closer to 60 years old than they were to high school. The decision was made - before more time passes, it was time to reconnect with members of their graduating class before old age deletes their fellow Wildcats’ memory banks. Each week, join them as they interview a different member of the NFA Class of 2001 as they approach their 25th reunion.

Information

  • Creator
    NFA Wildcats
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © NFA Wildcats
  • Show Website
    Red and White @ Silver

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