In such politically polarizing times, it’s fascinating to me that data centers, of all things, seem to be one of the few issues that can bring people of both parties together.

News stories and social media posts about backroom deals and noise, water and light pollution have a lot of us wondering what the real story is on these behemoth buildings and whether they are taking more than they give in terms of resources, farmland and more. (Then again, we’re probably all guilty of fueling the fire every time we use an AI bot like ChatGPT to answer a question or help with a work or school assignment…)

I invited Kim Georgeton on to the podcast once again (she joined me earlier this year to discuss the Rife Machine) to talk about the state of data centers here in Ohio. Turns out, she knows quite a bit more on this topic than the average person, due to the fact that she has worked extensively in the IT space but also because she recently ran for Lt. Governor.

The latter role gave her insight into the biggest concerns of everyday Ohioans statewide; among many takeaways from her time on the campaign trail is that people in Ohio do not want data centers in their backyards, and they are feeling very left out of the conversations that their elected officials seem to be having with the data center developers without much concern for public welfare or input.

On today’s episode, she discusses a wide range of topics, from shady playbooks that developers and politicians use to force data centers through (including approving them under emergency zoning operations or starting to build them before the zoning is actually approved), to the centers’ energy consumption and the unknown number of health issues that could affect us all thanks to increased EMFs, more particulate matter in the air and light pollution (among other things).

She also gives us suggestions for ways to learn more and get involved in citizen-led movements to limit the growth of this industry (signing the Conserve Ohio petition that limits data centers to 25 mega watts, or attending local municipality meetings). An even easier step to take could be following Kim’s X account, where her posts can garner tens of thousands of views and she presents new information on the topic almost daily.

NOTE: Work for my day job is picking up, so I will be taking a hiatus for September. I will be back again with more episodes in October!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro & outro music (Horizon)

Kim Georgeton (photo image)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Prior to COVID, I never paid much attention to politics - something I regret nearly every day. Since then, though, I’ve lived a crash course in how government works on nearly every level. In the process, I’ve developed a new appreciation for those who give of their time to serve our state and local governments.

With that in mind, I am really excited to welcome today’s guest - Kimberly (Kim) Moser, Kentucky State Rep for House District 64 - to the podcast. Her background is pretty incredible - a former neonatal nurse who once flew with the national guard, Kim also has a graduate degree in architecture and served as Northern Kentucky’s inaugural director of the office of drug control policy… in addition to raising not one, but five sons (if you want to be even more impressed, read her official Legislator Profile here). Also of note, her father served years ago as Secretary of Transportation under Kentucky’s first female governor, so politics were a big topic of conversation around the dinner table when she was growing up.

Today, she’s been in office for 10 years and has passed 60 different bills, a good number of which relate in some way to substance use, mental health and / or standards of healthcare in general. On the podcast, she discusses how she ended up running for office in the first place; what its like to campaign and work daily as a state rep with 45,000+ constituents of differing political views; some of the most pressing healthcare issues facing Northern Kentuckians today; and some of the specific bills she has passed along the way.

My favorite part of the discussion centers on letting life happen as it comes and being open to starting a second (or third or more) career - and maybe even give back to your community- after your kids leave the nest.

As a boy mom myself, my favorite quote from Kim, bar none:

I raised five boys - you can’t hurt me.

You can try, but I’ve seen it all.

It makes me smile every time. Probably because I feel the same way!

Regardless of your political affiliation, I am hopeful you will come away from this episode with a new appreciation for how much work and thought goes in to representing the people of a local district and how dedicated Kim is to utilizing all of her professional and lived experience to try and help the people she represents.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Kim Moser (photo images)

Jillian Parks, (intro & outro voiceover )

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

As a freelance writer, I have a lot of different clients. For more than a few years, now, one of those clients has been Cincinnati Right to Life. The stories I have written for the organization’s newsletter and website have been eye-opening to say the least, but they have also given me the chance to work closely with Laura Strietmann, a leader and woman who I have come to greatly admire, not only for her willingness to speak out boldly on a topic so many of us avoid at all costs, but also for her unwavering commitment to defending what she so eloquently calls “the dignity of the human person.”

Laura Strietmann is a Gen-Xer like me, and though she grew up Catholic, she was distracted - as we all were - by the popular amusements of the 1980’s (General Hospital, MTV…), until she became a Mom. After suffering multiple miscarriages, she found herself devastated and searching for something to fill the hole in her heart where each of those babies had been.

A pilgrimage to Fatima “transformed” her heart and eventually led her to work at a crisis pregnancy center - a call she initially resisted. As time went on, she sought to better understand the Catholic church’s position on human life; through studies at the Atheneaum of Ohio here in Cincinnati and the Theology of the Body Institute in Pennsylvania, she learned that, per (now Saint) Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, we humans are the only beings on earth created in the image and likeness of God, and that each one of us is equal parts body and soul. “So when a baby is conceived in the womb,” says Strietmann, “that baby is already an image bearer of Christ, just as Jesus was when he was immaculately conceived.”

That knowledge led her to take subsequent roles at Ruah Woods, promoting the world’s first Theology of the Body K-12 supplemental curriculum in the U.S. and abroad, and then Cincinnati Right to Life, where she was Executive Director from 2021 until earlier this year. Her career journey took yet another turn a few months ago, when she chose to devote herself full time to growing a Catholic home-goods, gift and apparel business she’d started after Fatima, called miraculousmom.co.

On today’s episode, she discusses her journey, which was not without controversy and heartache, but also how her own lived experience called her to the vocation of defending human life. I also think it’s incredibly enlightening to hear about the church’s reasoning, in Saint Pope John Paul II’s words, behind its belief that all life, at every age and every stage, is indeed sacred and worth defending.

You may not agree with Laura Strietmann or me on everything, but in a world where so many people refuse to open their hearts and ears to the other side of the story, I feel hers is well worth a listen.

And if you have time to check out her miraculousmom.co website (and the Miraculous Mom instagram page, which is beautiful), you will most definitely not be sorry - she designs and sells some of the most unique and beautiful Catholic gift items I have seen, proving that even after a lifetime peppered with struggle, controversy and heartache, beauty can indeed emerge triumphant.

“Maybe [my story] will inspire others to pay attention to that little gnaw. Because God is knocking on all of our hearts. He is. We all have that empty space in our heart - nobody is above anybody else in regards to that. It’s [about]: Are we listening? Are we paying attention? And then: Are we going to take small steps every single day to lead us to where God wants us?” - Laura Strietmann

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Laura Strietmann & MiraculousMom.co (photo images)

Jillian Parks, (intro & outro voiceover )

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

I know we’re just two days away from the Fourth of July holiday (Happy 250th Birthday, America!), but I had to share today’s episode with you all this first Thursday, as it covers a topic near and dear to my heart: infrared light therapy.

I tried an infrared sauna out for the first time two years ago, to help tame inflammation and boost my mood during a particularly hard winter; I have been a believer ever since. The thing is, I really didn’t know much about it, other than how great it made me feel, so I was very excited when today’s guest, Lisa Thamann, agreed to join me on the podcast to discuss a little bit about infrared light’s healing properties and history. Spoiler alert - one of the biggest sources of infrared light we all experience nearly every day of our lives comes directly from the sun!

As a bonus, she also spends some time in this episode speaking about salt therapy - something else I know nothing about (and, disclaimer, have never yet used), but something that has been around for thousands of years and is apparently particularly helpful for people with breathing difficulties like asthma, allergies or or even a common cold.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a million times, I really do believe treatments like these can and should be part of the standard medical care protocols of the future, as they are 100% noninvasive and - unlike most drugs we buy over the counter to help with pain, illness and inflammation - they have no short or long term side effects other than helping you move toward healing (which is about the only kind of side effect I tolerate these days!).

Enjoy the episode and feel free to visit Lisa at Salt & Soul Wellness in West Chester, Ohio if you are nearby. I’m betting your body will thank you!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Lisa Thamann, Salt & Soul Wellness (photo image)

Jillian Parks, (intro & outro voiceover )

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Cancer has likely affected every single person reading this Substack in some way, shape or form. Maybe your mother had it, or an uncle or cousin. Maybe you have battled it, or are battling it now.

When I came across Dr. Jamie Waselenko’s profile on the Independent Medical Alliance website, I knew I needed to invite her on this podcast; I am beyond grateful that she accepted.

After a significant career as a conventional hematologist / oncologist, Dr. Waselenko’s eyes were thrown wide open during the recent COVID pandemic, causing her to make a massive calculated shift in how she practices medicine. Since then, she has learned all she could about functional, homeopathic and other alternative healing treatments. She has also started her own practice, integrating holistic and functional cancer treatments with conventional ones to better meet the needs of patients.

Some of the thoughts she shares in this episode will feel controversial to some listeners, but her experience is well worth a listen for those who want an insider’s perspective on what it was like to live through the pandemic as both a medical practitioner who dared to question “the science” and one who subsequently chose to forge a new path in medicine combining all she had learned, old and new, to help patients fight cancer and truly increase their odds of winning.

From epigenetic (“above the genetics”) factors like getting enough sleep, exercise, sunlight, fresh air and real food, to the hidden connection between oral health, teeth and chronic disease, I guarantee the information Dr. Waselenko shares in this episode will introduce the vast majority of listeners to ideas regarding cancer they have never heard before. I came away from the interview feeling her outlook regarding cancer treatment is nothing short of revolutionary and her wisdom in treating cancer patients, especially given all her conventional and functional credentials and experience, is nearly unmatched.

My two favorite quotes (besides the title of this post) from Dr. Waselenko:

“Everybody’s taking care of the tumor; who’s taking care of the patient?” and

“You can’t out-supplement a crappy diet.”

I also love the prayer she shares at the end of the episode, which she encourages every one of her patents to pray every day:

Heal me, oh Yahweh, and I will be healed;

save me, and I will be saved,

for you are my praise.

(Jeremiah 17:14)

Dr. Jamie Waselenko is accepting new patients; learn more on her website.

Books and videos she mentions in this episode include:

Accidental Cure: Extraordinary Medicine for Extraordinary Patients, by Dr. Simon Yu

Teeth as Circuit Breakers, by Jerry Tennant, MD

Hidden Epidemic: Silent Oral Infections Cause Most Heart Attacks and Breast Cancers, by Thomas Levy, MD JD

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Dr. Jamie Waselenko, MD, FACP, FICT (photo credit)

Jillian Parks, (intro & outro voiceover )

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

One of great things about reaching mid-life is the longstanding friendships you have made along the way. Today’s episode is with one such person, who has managed to make a lasting mark not only on me and my family, but also on thousands of young people in Ohio, as he formerly taught and served as an administrator at Finneytown’s St. Xavier High School before becoming President at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.

Four years ago, Father Bill Murphy moved into his current role as Athletic Chaplain for Xavier University. As an NCAA D-1 sports program, Xavier has some pretty serious athletes on its teams. Over time, I came to learn that Father Murphy has worked very hard since he arrived on campus to help those students excel both mentally and spiritually.

On today’s episode, we discuss how he has adapted centuries-old, core Jesuit principles like visualization and the Examen (a form of daily reflection) to assist Xavier’s top college athletes in developing new techniques for growth, affirmation and confidence-building so they can move to a higher level.

Father Murphy also talks in this interview about the power of our own internal voices to drive (or stifle) our performance, both on and off the playing field. From working to control our thoughts to “slaying the chains of negativity,” Father Murphy shares tips to keep us all from focusing on our weaknesses and instead focus on our success. After all, he notes in this interview, “The things you think about most are the things you’re likely to get more of.”

By the time you finish listening to the podcast, I’ll bet you will walk away with some tangible tips for adjusting your own mindset, too, whether you play sports or not. And for those on LinkedIn, I highly recommend giving Father Murphy a follow - he shares some really inspiring stories about the student teams he works with at Xavier -

The book Father Murphy recommends in the podcast is Nate Zinsser’s The Confident Mind (Zinsser is the Director of West Point’s Performance Psychology program)

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Father Bill Murphy, S.J. (photo credit)

Jillian Parks, (intro & outro voiceover )

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

I have a story out on newsstands now in Cincinnati Magazine about all of the insane things that happened to previous podcast guest Rosemary Oglesby Henry during her recent congressional campaign (shoutout to the amazing Amanda Walters for helping bring that story to life), and I am beyond excited as I prepare some upcoming interviews for this podcast with two truly inspiring and thought-provoking new guests.

But as we wait for those to take place, I wanted to share a story about a book that I read over the winter. I’ve been missing all the wisdom of my great friend Father Jacob recently (his Tertianship, which we discussed in the last episode he recorded before he left, ends soon I think!) and ended up finding great guidance and meaning from this book, especially as I came to terms with my Mom’s death in March 2025. In a way, I think she encouraged me to read it.

The story starts last summer, actually, when some neighbor friends and I were at a “Stump the Seminarian & Deacon” event at our church.

I can’t remember what exactly the question was that someone had asked, but one of the deacons mentioned a tiny book he’d read that helped explain the Catholic outlook on why God allows people to suffer.

It’s a question I imagine we all wrestle with, and struck an immediate chord with many in that room - so much so that my friend Robin immediately pulled out her phone and ordered herself a copy, and a second for me.

The tiny book - it’s just 5 chapters, 29 pages and roughly 3” x 6” in size - is called Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence: The Secret to Peace and Happiness, and was written and originally published in 1961 by two Jesuit priests: father Jean Baptiste Saint Jude, S.J. and Saint Claude de la Colombiere, S.J.

At the event last summer, the deacon had referred to a section of the book to try to help people who were struggling with all the young girls who had died in a flood at a Texas summer camp just weeks before. More on that in a bit.

The book arrived days later and Robin gave me my copy. I promptly sat it on my desk and looked at the cover from time to time over the next several months before finally deciding to open it.

Even though it’s tiny, the thoughts in it are deep, and Robin - who had read hers as soon as she’d gotten it - warned me as much. So I resolved to read just one section (basically a few pages) each day for as long as it took me to get through.

The chapter headers kind of outline it all:

1. 1. The Will of God Made and Governs All Things

2. 2. The Great Advantages to be Gained from Entire Conformity to the Divine Will

3. 3. The Practice of Conformity to the Will of God

4. 4. Trustful Surrender to the Divine Providence

5. 5. Exercise of Conformity to Divine Providence

After reading even just those, it doesn’t take long to understand the book’s main premise - that suffering is not only part of life, but a necessary part of life that strengthens, grows and even cleanses in many ways our souls, helping us grow close to God and achieve what God ultimately wants for us to accomplish in this life and the next.

But still - there is so much evil happening around us these days, just being told those things is often not enough to help our very human minds understand. At least that’s how I often find myself feeling.

What I think the book does best is give specific examples, by addressing the questions head-on. There is even a subhead in the very first chapter titled: How can God will or allow evil?

It took me back to one of my favorite college classes: God, Evil and the Meaning of Life - a class with an impossible mission for anyone, let alone a 21 year old (ie: literally determining what exactly the meaning of life is; I have saved the final paper I wrote for that class and enjoy reading it every once in a while!).

Although the book notes pointedly that, if God allowed his own son to suffer and die on a cross, then why would he spare us from suffering? … it doesn’t stop there.

One example I particularly liked tackled why, for example, God might let someone rob your home.

Although God is not “the author of sin,” the book notes, every sin itself is made of two parts: one natural and one moral; the point, say the Jesuit authors, is that a human’s intention comes into serious play.

It also goes on to say:

“Moreover, when God co-operates with the person who attacks or robs you, He doubtless intends to deprive you of health or goods because you are making a wrong use of them and they will be harmful to your soul…. God, as we have said, wishes to make you see your own faults, to humble you, deprive you of what you possess, in order to free you from vice and lead you to virtue.”

It’s not reading for the easily offended, for sure. Honestly, it might even make a lot of people angry. But it does more than any book I’ve read to present a logical reasoning for why bad things happen to us.

By the time I was finished reading the book I had highlighted and dog eared many other sections - examples of times in the Bible when bad things happened to Joseph and Saul but they both ultimately benefited greatly; and even the example the deacon had sited, trying to help us understand a possible reason for what happened to the young girls at the camp (“the death of a child will then be seen as its rescue from some great evil had it lived”).

But where the book hit me hardest was in the promises it made. The idea, the Jesuits wrote, is that, if we welcome and even wish for God’s will to be done - no matter what (a scary proposition and yet, truly - I have learned that we have no real control in life anyway), that we will ironically get all the good things we had wished for in the first place. The point being, I think, that we stopped wanting those things and instead wanted what God wanted. Our priorities and intentions shifted, and we were finally in the right state of mind and being to accept the gifts the way we should.

I will also note that, in my experience, God’s way of fulfilling gifts is often quite different from how we envision the fulfillment, and yet - it really is true. You just have to look at life (and your wishes) a bit less literally and a lot more creatively.

I could go on citing quotes (my favorites by far were “Generally speaking, one day of adversity can be of more profit to us for our eternal salvation than years of untroubled living, whatever good use we make of the time,” and “it is common knowledge that prosperity has the effect of softening us”), but I will let you discover the rest of it for yourself.

When I finally finished the last chapter I walked away feeling that if my Mom could have made me read any book to help understand her last months on earth, this would have been it. I even told my Dad that I felt she must have read this book, because it seemed to so perfectly describe her outlook on the suffering she had endured for decades.

Imagine my surprise this winter, then, when I was sitting in her favorite chair near the bookshelves where all of her religious books sit, crammed on to a few small shelves, and looked over to see two copies of this very same tiny book just sitting there.

My dad had no idea they were there and I had never once seen them before. Yet there they were, two copies of Trustful Surrender, stacked on top of one another like a quiet note from Mom, helping me understand that I was in the right track - there was indeed purpose to all of her suffering.

I don’t think, by the way, that the intention of the book is to suggest that we don’t seek cures when we are sick, or that we shouldn’t try to avert disaster whenever we can; I always go back to our family favorite story of God first sending a boat and then a helicopter to a person in a rising flood.

I think this book is just a truly enlightening way of presenting a deeply thoughtful perspective on what God might be trying to accomplish through the many trials of life.

If, like me, you struggle to understand why things happen in our world the way they do, I cannot recommend Trustful Surrender enough.

***

Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms out there!

I’ll be back again in week one of June (summer already?!) with another post.

Lisa

I had not planned to take a multi-episode hiatus, but all of my day job clients called at once in March and now, somehow, we are in Holy Week.

Rest assured I will be back up and running with new episodes and guests by May. Possibly even by April 16th, if I can get my act together :)

Thank you all for your infinite patience, and a blessed Easter to all (and happy Passover to any Jewish friends)!

Lisa

If you only ever listen to one episode of this podcast, this should be it, especially given President Trump just signed an executive order hours ago intended to increase US production of an herbicide called glyphosate.

Given the fact that so many US farmers rely heavily on the chemical, the complex reasoning behind the executive order is equal parts disappointing and well-intentioned - so much so that health freedom advocate and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. felt he even needed to weigh in on it.

Either way, it’s timely given I recorded this week’s interview with Chris Bihn weeks ago, after personally witnessing a massive billboard campaign across Ohio’s agricultural regions urging farmers to continue using glyphosate on their crops… even as growing numbers of consumers have been begging for less potentially harmful methods of growing our food.

In today’s episode, Chris - whose family has been farming for generations - shares some astounding information on the herbicide, ranging from how glyphosate works to its ties to GMO produce, why farmers became so reliant on it in the first place and how glyphosate even shows up in rainfall at the tops of undeveloped mountains. He also discusses glyphosate’s potential ties to massive rates of cancer in Ohio’s biggest agricultural regions and three new, even more toxic chemicals that are being used on food in place of glyphosate without consumers having any idea.

Chris also discusses all the ways his family’s business, His Saving Grains, uses to avoid the chemical at all costs (his son Nate came on the podcast to discuss the company’s methods and products - from grains like crushed corn, wheat and flax to pastas and bread - in an episode last year).

If you take great care about the food you put into your body, it’s an episode you won’t want to miss.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Chris Bihn and the Bihn family (photo credit)

Bill Emerick, for connecting me to the Bihn family

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro / outro music (Horizon)

*This and previous Verbal Journal…ism / 40 Minute Features stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Every time I learn about a successful healing treatment in the “alternative” health and wellness space, I am beyond excited to share it with you all. Today is no exception, as our guest Kim Georgeton visits the podcast to discuss the “Rife Machine.”

Imagine my surprise to learn just a few weeks ago that this amazing machine, whose origin dates back to the early 1900’s, was wildly successful almost from the outset at using specific frequencies to help bodies fully heal from life-threatening illnesses that other doctors had written off as “incurable.”

In fact, through his extensive research, Rife Machine inventor Dr. Royal Raymond Rife discovered that there are nearly untold numbers of healing frequencies to help encourage our bodies to fight every kind of ailment you can think of, from arthritis to parasites, autoimmune disorders and even the common cold - all on its own. The Rife machine can even work alongside our bodies to help them eliminate all the harmful chemicals, heavy metals and toxins we are all exposed to on a daily basis.

In today’s episode, Kim tells us about the history of “Rifing;” how her specific machine, which was designed and built by a former DOD contractor, works (hint: it includes PEMF elements and is powered by a Tesla coil, noble gases and a computer); the painless and non-invasive way Rifing works to stimulate your own body’s healing mechanisms; the massive spectrum of issues and illnesses it is capable of helping your body overcome; and the way it can work alongside conventional medical treatments, like chemo, to the great benefit of patients.

I get excited about all of the topics I share on this podcast, but I am particularly excited about this one, given the promise that it holds for wellness moving forward. After all I have learned, there are days I can envision an ACTUAL healthcare facility of the future; this machine seems to me like it will have a place in that setting.

And no, no one has paid me to say this or anything else I say on this podcast. I just think it’s one of the coolest things I have learned about in a while, and I can’t wait for you to hear all about it, too.

To learn more, visit Kim’s website: vagaro.com/biocoilllc. She also shared with me a link to this documentary film that someone online made about Dr. Rife.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro & outro music (Horizon)

Kim Georgeton (photo image)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Melissa was such a great first-of-the-year guest in January 2024 that I wanted to kick off 2026 with her as my first guest again!

She and multiple other practitioners at Covenant Natural Healthcare have been helping me on my own personal wellness journey for several years, now, so I knew she’d be a great person to discuss detoxing with as many of us slog through a month of trying to better ourselves.

In this episode we discuss what detoxing actually is and how it needs to be a constant thing, not just for one week or even one month. From avoiding plastics and fasting to detox baths, lymphatic care and metabolic, cardiac and emotional resets, Melissa also shares multiple ways to gently detox your mind, body and spirit with manageable options that most people will be able to maintain.

I am so grateful she shared her time with us this episode! She is always full of amazing ideas for lovingly maintaining these beautiful bodies God gave us.

For more information, visit the Covenant website or call their office at (859) 653-4923.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro & outro music (Horizon)

Melissa Dyer Fredrick (photo images)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

As a creative, I am always fascinated by the path that leads others to connect with their creative sides. Lorraine Downing’s journey can be traced back 25 years, to the time when a series of health problems for her husband completely upended their lives.

In this episode, Lorraine Downing discusses how her husband’s multi-year battle with Alzheimer’s led her to embrace writing and art as an outlet; how she and her husband eventually learned how to live more intentionally, even as his mental status continued to decline; how she learned that growth and strength can emerge from suffering; and how she eventually felt called to write and illustrate a book, Remember the Holy, about keeping the light and spirit of Christmas alive, even in dark times.

I bought a copy of the book last year and have kept it out all year long. I’m hopeful all who listen to this interview will feel Lorraine’s peace and value her faith and wisdom as we approach what can be a conflicted season for many.

On that same note, my favorite quote from Lorraine in this interview is a powerful one, backed by decades of experience in the trials of life:

“It’s only in looking back,” she says, “that you see your path illuminated.”

Merry Christmas and happiest of New Years to all!

To purchase a copy of Remember the Holy, check out Lorraine’s website, remembertheholy.com (and for those interested in the other book she references, about Alzheimer’s, it’s called On Pluto by Greg O’Brien).

**Verbal Journal… ism and 40 Minute Features will be back again January 15th with all new content for 2026.**

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, intro & outro music (Horizon)

Lorraine Downing (photo image & artwork)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Five years ago, I was fortunate to write Rayshun Holt’s story for my column in Cincinnati Magazine. The article focused on his stunning 25-year journey from imprisoned teenager to successful businessman and mentor who now regularly speaks at places like Harvard University and Stanford. It’s difficult for me to overstate just how powerful Rayshun’s story is.

I was thrilled when he reached back out to me a few weeks ago with an update on a new opportunity he’d taken, to head up a nearly decade-old business alliance group called Beacon of Hope, aimed at connecting more people who had served time (and were looking to re-start their lives) with companies in need of employees.

On today’s episode, Rayshun talks about his own journey, including how difficult it was to get a job when he re-entered society after 21+ years in prison; how a company called Nehemiah Manufacturing changed his life trajectory forever; and how he is working hard every single day to help others find the same kinds of “second chance” opportunities right here in Ohio. As he likes to say to the employers he works with, “Doing well and doing good do not have to be mutually exclusive.”

For those interested in supporting the program or learning more, explore Beacon of Hope’s website or reach out to Rayshun directly at: rholt@nehemiahmfg.com.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving next week, I cannot think of a better story to celebrate hope, gratitude, second chances and the American Dream.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro music (Horizon)

Rayshun Holt / Beacon of Hope (photo image)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

The beauty of having young adult children is they keep you in the loop about what’s going on in the world, often unintentionally.

That’s what happened recently during a family text string when two of them revealed they felt recycling plastic is essentially a hoax. I had no idea what they were talking about, considering every week I diligently put junk mail and papers, any aluminum cans I use and all plastic containers from food and drinks straight into my recycle bin.

They shared proof almost immediately of their allegations, in the form of this report from a website / group called climateintegrity.org, which is pretty openly against “Big Oil.” I don’t agree with all of the group’s premises, but the opening paragraph of the plastics report makes some pretty startling allegations, most especially the last line, which I bolded here:

“Plastic pollution is one of the most serious environmental crises facing the world today. Between 1950 and 2015, over 90% of plastics were landfilled, incinerated, or leaked into the environment. Plastic waste is ubiquitous—from our rivers, lakes, and oceans to roadways and coastlines. It is in “the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.” One study estimates that humans ingest up to five grams or the equivalent of one credit card worth of plastic per week.”

It then goes on to make one pretty substantial allegation:

“Despite their long-standing knowledge that recycling plastic is neither technically nor economically viable, petrochemical companies—independently and through their industry trade associations and front groups—have engaged in fraudulent marketing and public education campaigns designed to mislead the public about the viability of plastic recycling as a solution to plastic waste. These efforts have effectively protected and expanded plastic markets, while stalling legislative or regulatory action that would meaningfully address plastic waste and pollution.”

In other words, they allege the whole “plastic recycling” thing was developed as a sort of PR campaign to get Americans to accept the product and use it more readily without worrying about where it will end up 10, 100 or even 1000 years from now.

Go figure.

I’m a big source person, so I will tell you that I immediately researched who funds the climateintegrity.org group and quickly found out that the Rockefeller Foundation was a big donor. As the Rockefellers have historically been major oil & gas (“petrochemical”) proponents, I was a bit confused as to why they would be endorsing a report that would technically hurt their own interests.

Suffice to say I didn’t want to head down a second rabbit hole, so I set the organization’s motive aside, knowing full well this report could have been what’s called a “limited hangout” - an espionage tactic where, in this case, the company deflects information about a larger, more serious problem by focusing on / being transparent about a smaller problem - but feeling appreciative that they cited every allegation with footnotes to original sources. *I also asked the organization if they would let me interview a representative on this podcast but they declined.

Either way, even more jaw-dropping than the fact that we all unknowingly eat “a credit card worth of plastic each week” were the cited quotes I found scattered throughout the report’s first few pages, which indicated that recycling of plastic was more wishful thinking than reality:

• “There are ‘thousands of different types of plastic, each with its own chemical composition and characteristics.’ The vast majority of these plastics cannot be ‘recycled’—meaning they cannot be collected, processed, and remanufactured into new products. As of 2021, the U.S. recycling rate for plastic is estimated to be only 5-6%.”

• “The FDA prohibits the use of recycled plastic in food applications… [but] for those applications where recycled plastic can be used, supply far outstrips demand, creating the need to store indefinitely those items collected for recycling.”

• “The recycling symbol proposed suggests that the plastic containers are made of recycled material or they are recyclable. This is, in practice, generally not the case. the fact that a technology may exist to recycle a particular container does not guarantee that it is economically recyclable.”

• “To date, viable markets only exist for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bottles and jugs. These are known as plastics #1 and #2, respectively, under the industry’s Resin Identification Codes (RICs). After conducting a 10-year review on plastic recycling, in 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that ‘it appears that at the present only two types could be considered for making into high quality objects, PET and HDPE,’ specifically those sourced from bottles. This remains true more than 30 years later. While a minority of municipal recycling programs across the country may collect plastics with RICs #3-7, they do not actually recycle them. Instead, such plastics are incinerated or sent to landfills.”

  

That last line made me nervous, so I did an online search to see whether it really was a good idea to burn plastics as a means of “recycling” or disposing of them. I immediately came across this report from an organization called Plastics for Change. I know very little about this organization, so we can’t take everything they say as gospel truth, but I found some of their allegations startling (a quick check with Brave AI revealed multiple other sources making similar allegations):

• “When plastic burns, it releases a cocktail of harmful chemicals into the air. These include dioxins, furans, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Dioxins, in particular, are known carcinogens and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, and interfere with hormones.”

• The pollutants released by burning plastic don’t just stay in the air. They eventually settle on land and in water bodies, contaminating soil and aquatic ecosystems. This can lead to long-lasting environmental damage, affecting plant life, animals, and entire food chains.

• Exposure to these pollutants can lead to serious health issues. People living near plastic burning sites often report respiratory problems, headaches, and nausea. Long-term exposure has been linked to cancer, neurological damage, and other chronic diseases.

All of this, of course, led me to start thinking about something I have been concerned about for a while, now, which is microplastics - infinitesimally small pieces of plastic that seem to be infiltrating the world.

The thing is, microplastics don’t just come from burning plastic, they come from using plastic, period. And they are in and on so many things we all touch, ingest and use every day, it’s disturbing.

• Laundry or dishwasher detergent pods? Check.

• Activewear and other synthetic clothing? Check.

• Plastic grocery bags? Check.

• Food and drink cans that are lined in plastic? Check.

• the PPE masks so many people wore during COVID? Check.

• Paper receipts, which are coated in plastic? Check.

• Nearly every piece of meat and produce you purchase from the grocery store? Check.

I thought about that last one just this week, as I watched the checkout clerk at the grocery store cram my turkey breast (which was already wrapped in plastic and sitting on a styrofoam tray) into a clear plastic bag so it wouldn’t leak and then another plastic grocery bag after that…

I also recently learned that, over time, plastic degrades even faster when it is heated or frozen. I immediately stopped running anything plastic through the dishwasher but, horrified, I slid open my freezer and stared at mountains of plastic-bagged cookies, fruit, meat, leftovers….

Maybe worst of all, though, is the fact that these microplastics invariably end up not just in our environments, but also in our bodies, as they are absorbed by our major organs every time we drink from a plastic bottle, touch a plastic receipt or work up a sweat in a synthetic shirt.

Here are two screenshots of headlines covering the topic from just one media outlet (my favorite alternative medicine resource, The Epoch Times); they indicate studies have found concerning levels of microplastics in everything from arteries and organs to blood, saliva, the heart and even human cells, and that the microplastics are tied to some pretty serious health problems, like cancer:

So, if plastic has proven to be such a problem, and if it never really breaks down, what really can we do to stop using it, especially when it’s so pervasive?

I suppose the answer will look different to everyone, but for my part, I have tried to stop using plastic wrap, baggies and plastic storage containers for food whenever possible. Believe it or not, on Etsy people make beezwax shower-cap-looking things that stretch to fit over just about any size plate or bowl. I also started using glass storage bowls of all sizes.

I have stopped using detergent pods as well, and bought things like almond milk in cartons instead of plastic containers, too (although I am suspicious even the cartons are coated in plastic; I hope I’m wrong).

And of course, as my sons have suggested, I have stopped recycling many of the plastic items I use, as well.

Lisa

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting many professional organists in my life. For a while there, the church organ seemed to be a nearly extinct instrument, but gradually - as Catholics in particular have begun re-embracing traditional masses and equally traditional liturgical music - it seems to be making a comeback in churches across the nation.

Enter Luke Mayernik, Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Susanna Catholic Church in Mason, Ohio, and one of the most talented organists I have heard play. The first time my husband and I heard him, in fact, we were both so blown away, we almost immediately looked him up online. Turns out, Luke is a highly accomplished and international award-winning musician and composer.

In this episode, Luke discusses his early years as a child organist growing up in Pennsylvania (including a choir loft fire he may or may not have accidentally started…); family members who tried to dissuade him from pursuing a career in the instrument; how he met his gifted vocalist wife, Kassidy; his own winding path toward composition, publication and earning a Doctor of Music in sacred music by composition; and his great passion for improvisation, which he says is a “huge tradition in church music, especially for an organist.”

“We are vessels,” Luke says. “The [organ’s] resonance - the lower and higher frequencies - can make you tingle or envelop you like a blanket and make you feel this depth within yourself.

“We’re all part of this one song,” he adds, describing the human experience of life here on earth. “We’re vibrations, we’re notes, we’re tones within this one song.”

***Be sure to listen all the way to the end of the podcast… where you’ll hear two minutes of Luke playing the organ.

“It’s a recording of the Sanctus,” he says, “from a newly composed choral mass setting I wrote entitled Missa de Octava, sung by our choir here at St. Susanna” (which I’m pretty sure includes Kassidy singing beautifully as well).

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro music (Horizon)

Luke Mayernik (photo image & outro recording of the Missa de Octava)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

The past 24 hours have been among the wildest so far of my journalism career.

As I prepared to post my interview with Ohio First District Republican Congressional candidate Rosemary Oglesby Henry last night, I did a quick online search for a Cincinnati Magazine piece I wrote a few years ago about her. But when I typed in her name, several local news stories from Monday immediately popped up, and they weren’t good.

I learned from all the local news stations that she’d been arrested and imprisoned on Sunday night. In disbelief, I watched video of her wearing a prison uniform and standing in front of a judge, accused of aiming a gun at a man.

I have known Rosemary for many years, now. I have watched as she singlehandedly pulled herself up from the ranks of teen mothers, armed with a master’s degree, to create a nonprofit that helps other teen parents and then open, against significant political opposition, a home for teen mothers in a part of North Avondale where a vocal group of residents made it clear they would have rather put up a day spa.

I have also spent hours interviewing her for both this podcast and a Cincinnati Magazine article I wrote about her nonprofit (and another with a similar goal, called Scholar House). We are all most definitely human and we all make mistakes, absolutely; Rosemary’s in this case may have been as simple as befriending a man who did not seem to have her best interests at heart (I am unclear as to what their relationship was).

But something about this whole thing just didn’t add up. As I dug further, I learned :

• Rosemary was in her own home when the incident allegedly happened, which is odd because, if she felt threatened by that man or anyone else inside her own home, I feel like she should be legally within her rights to brandish a weapon (see Ohio’s Stand Your Ground law, signed into effect in April 2021 by Governor DeWine).

• Despite the man’s claim that Rosemary aimed a gun at him, police searched her entire home - with her permission and cooperation - and found not one firearm or weapon on the property. Still, for reasons not disclosed, Cincinnati police arrested her and took her to jail.

After that, the story only gets weirder. Her accuser turns out to be a Cincinnati city council candidate, a man named Kevin Farmer who, per Local12, has “a long list of arrests and a few convictions” to his name, “some for violent behavior.”

Not only that, but Farmer appears to have physically assaulted Rosemary in the past, per both a Cincinnati police report from July (which notes Farmer grabbed her neck and punched her in the head; Rosemary ultimately dropped the charges against him) and per a video Rosemary’s campaign has shared of a man they allege is Farmer choking Rosemary another time at the offices of her nonprofit, Rosemary’s Babies - allegedly because she would not loan him her car.

By now, my interest was piqued and I decided to dig further.

Farmer’s LinkedIn page, presumably written by him, describes him as an “influencer,” an “antagonist,” a “Jerk” and a “PR and Marketing Expert.” It also says:

1. he hosts a podcast called The Smoke Show 513 (although I cannot find the show anywhere online).

2. he splits his time between Cincinnati and “Philly,” which is odd, given he is allegedly running for a Cincinnati city council seat.

3. his list of skills includes “Political Campaigns and Grassroots Fundraising.”

His page also states that he is the President of an organization called “Made You Look Promotions LLC,” where his skillset includes “influencing public opinion on product, campaign[s] and opinions” and “guerilla marketing,” a term I hadn’t heard before. Per Forbes:

As guerrilla warfare disrupts enemy forces with unconventional methods, guerrilla marketing uses unconventional methods to evoke an emotional response in consumers in ways that traditional advertising doesn’t. It’s different from some traditional methods in that it typically relies on personal interactions and focuses on getting the word out in a particular location.

To top it all off, his personal summary ends with him claiming that he “entertains women to get in their minds.”

I went to bed very late last night with the image of Rosemary in a prison jumpsuit burned on my brain. I was unsure what to believe about what had happened to her and unsure, frankly, if I should run this episode of the podcast.

And then, as this morning progressed, things started to click in my brain. My thought process went something like this:

• Rosemary is running for Ohio’s First District congressional seat.

• Rosemary is a Black woman running for Ohio’s First District congressional seat.

• Rosemary is the first Black woman Republican ever to run for this particular congressional seat.

• Rosemary is the first Black woman Republican living in the Democrat stronghold city of Cincinnati to be running for this particular congressional seat.

When Rosemary and I did this interview a week or so ago, I asked her what it was like to be a Black woman Republican running in this very politically raw era. In this episode, she discusses at length the insults and threats that had been hurled her way just a month or so into her campaign. But she also notes defiantly that those attacks only make her more determined to run for office and to serve and be a voice for many of the forgotten people of Ohio.

Is it possible, I asked myself, that someone sees her - a powerful and successful Black woman Republican - as enough of a threat to be colluding with police and/or a political influencer, “guerilla marketer” and convicted criminal to try and take her down?

Five years ago, I would have said that theory was insane. Today, with images of President Trump’s mugshot and Charlie Kirk’s bloody assassination in mind, I’m not so sure, even in (maybe not so?) sleepy little Cincinnati.

As I waffled about whether or not to post this episode, a press release arrived in my inbox from Rosemary’s election committee, titled I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.

It said a lot about what she has experienced this week, including labeling Farmer as an abuser and noting again that no firearm was ever recovered from her home. She also noted:

“I will use the law, the right way, to protect women and to set my life back on track.

What was meant to break me will not succeed. This only strengthens my resolve to

fight for justice, for safety, and for every woman and family who has ever been

targeted unfairly.”

and

“This false allegation will not define me, silence me, or derail my campaign. My life

has always been about resilience, faith, and service as a teen mother who built a

nonprofit serving thousands of families, as a community leader, and now as a

candidate for Congress. That mission continues.”

But the words that spoke most powerfully to me were these:

[Rosemary’s] brief time in custody and her conversations with women in the justice system have sharpened her priorities. She will add to her platform:

• Mental Health Intervention – expanding early, community-based care before crises spiral.

• Protecting Against False Allegations – ensuring due process and preventing the justice system from being misused.

• Second-Chance Pathways – creating opportunities for rehabilitation and stability for families.

“These lessons build on my original pillars of faith, family, resilience, and service. They are not a detour, they are proof of why I belong in this race.”

It takes a special kind of person to take what’s been thrown her way this past week and emerge even stronger than before, seeing it as an opportunity and not a punishment.

Early indications seem to show Rosemary is one of those people.

The last thing I told Rosemary before we disconnected from the virtual studio where I recorded this podcast episode was: Be careful.

I told her that, when I was writing a story on former Cincinnati councilwoman Yvette Simpson for Cincinnati Magazine, I learned there did indeed seem to be a Democrat political “machine” running Cincinnati. I, as an independent journalist, was told by a member of that “machine” how I was permitted to portray Yvette when I wrote my piece. I disregarded the “advice,” but felt deeply saddened when I saw years later how that same “machine” eventually robbed Yvette of her own fighting spirit and ultimately destroyed her promising political career by pushing her to advocate for political causes her constituents didn’t believe in.

Only time will tell whether this particular incident grows Rosemary’s campaign or kills it, as seemingly intended. But one thing I feel certain of is that she will not change who she is because of it.

As you listen to the interview recorded before all of this happened, consider the following - my two favorite takeaway quotes from this interview, bar none:

We have taken the faith and the dream from our kids. You need people [in office] who challenge incumbents - people with lived experience that are about faith, about unity, but also about progression forward.

And

Ultimately, win or lose, I don’t lose. There is some kid in a trailer or under a bridge, or a teen parent - regardless of color, race or socioeconomics … [who] can look at what this woman is doing - she started from humble beginnings - and they can tell themselves: I am more than enough. Barriers will not break me.

I am hoping it inspires others to step up and run, but more than that, [I want] young people to understand that you don’t let anybody get in your way, and Miss Rosemary isn’t going to let anybody get in the way of these young people having a future.

- Rosemary Oglesby Henry

To learn more, reach out at votemsrosemary.com

10/3/2025 Update:

I have reached out to Kevin Farmer for comment but, to date, he has not responded.

He did post an often vulgar 25-minute Facebook Live post after the incident in which he states: “What happened is the police was called and Rosemary was arrested and I made the police call.” He insinuates Rosemary was being “aggressive” with him but also notes his own “tone can be aggressive.” And, though he insinuates as much, he never actually states that Rosemary was pointing a gun at him.

Later, Farmer claims he will “take the fifth” when asked to speak about the incident. He also sympathizes with Rosemary, who he says has endured recent personal traumas and has been receiving death threats, and also notes that “I didn’t make it easier with my mouth.”

On a separate note, other opinions / priorities he expresses during the Facebook Live post include being pro-marriage before childbirth, “fixing the family first” and praying, but also advocating for the government to take babies away from Black women who birth more than one child. In addition, he ends the Facebook Live post with the statement “White people’s moral compass has depleted. They are rewriting history to favor themselves as the victor.” In reference to Black people, he adds, “Social media has made you all look ignorant.”

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro / Outro music (Horizon)

Rosemary Oglesby Henry (photo image)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

*apologies in advance for technical issues that appear at various times throughout this recording.

I had never heard of Emotion Code until recently, when one of my favorite alternative healing places, Covenant Natural Health, began offering it. Even then, I didn’t know too much about it - my initial assumption was that it was somehow an alternative to traditional “talk” therapy.

Thanks to Covenant practitioners Cori Alexander and Marsha Brown, I have since learned quite a bit:

• that Emotion Code has Christian roots (west coast chiropractor Dr. Bradley Nelson developed it after praying to God for the wisdom to truly help his patients),

• that Emotion Code can also be used in conjunction with traditional / “talk” therapy,

• and that Dr. Nelson developed Emotion Code over a long period of two decades, from the early 1990’s through 2007, by observing his own patients

In the words of AI*:

“Dr. Nelson observed that many of his patients' physical ailments and emotional issues were linked to unresolved emotional energies trapped within the body. He refined the technique by combining elements of ancient healing practices, such as acupuncture and energy healing, with modern methods like muscle testing (applied kinesiology). The method is based on the premise that humans are electromagnetic beings and that trapped emotions can block the body's natural energy flow, potentially leading to physical and emotional distress.”

(*quote / summary courtesy of Brave AI)

When 2025 roared into my life like a lion, along with some pretty high highs and some pretty low lows, I found myself a bit worse off for the wear and willing to try it, so I reached out to Covenant and made an Emotion Code appointment with Cori. Several months and multiple sessions later, I am a true believer.

I’ll also note that, for anyone who thinks energy healing is too “out there,” the concepts behind Emotion Code - though Christian at their core - are quite similar to (if not directly influenced by) Traditional Chinese Medicine principals, which have been practiced successfully for thousands of years.

I cannot explain exactly how Emotion Code works, but that’s why I invited Cori and Marsha to speak on the podcast today. I’m honored to share their stories so that you, too, can learn more about this powerful tool for gently healing your body and soul.

If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to the ladies at Covenant: 859-653-4923.

**Apologies again for the technical issues with our recording software in this episode.

Also, as noted at the end of this podcast, I’ll be taking the month of September off from posting new content, as I have some exciting new projects underway that I’ll share with you all soon! Enjoy your early start to Fall and look for the next Verbal Journal…ism episode the first Thursday in October.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro / Outro music (Horizon)

Cori & Marsha (photo image + patience through technical difficulties in posting this episode)

*This and previous “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

As we watch a new generation becoming disillusioned with both our national debt and the political process surrounding it, there’s been a lot of talk on social media lately about forming a third party. More interesting to me, though, has been the growing chorus of voices far larger than mine who advocate instead for a Convention of States (COS).

If you’ve been with this podcast from the beginning, you will remember Diana Telles visiting once before, discussing how the second clause of Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows for states to write and propose federal constitutional amendments; turns out, our founders were concerned the federal government would either become too powerful or someday stop doing its job altogether (once again proving those men were both prescient and brilliant beyond measure). In addition, says Diana, this country’s founders wanted to be sure each of the United States themselves remained sovereign.

In this episode, we discuss in great depth what Article V actually says (Diana reads the verbiage directly from the Constitution), exactly how it would work and why it is so appropriate for the times in which we live, especially with regards to the whiplash of executive orders this country endures each time a different party takes power. Diana also gives us an update on how the movement has been going in various states.

Although it is a “tall order,” says Diana, a Convention of States is not a “wonky thing” written into the constitution - it was placed in our founding document from the beginning as a non-partisan way for states to retain their own power and to check the power of the Federal Government.

I hope you’re as fascinated by this little known clause in our founding document as I have become.

If you’re interested in learning more, please visit the Convention of States website or reach out to Diana directly via email: dtelles@cosaction.com.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jillian Parks, intro & outro edits + voiceover

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro / Outro music (Horizon)

Diana Telles (photo image)

*This and previous 2024 “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

*Apologies for the delay in releasing this episode; it was just recorded this morning*

This week’s post turns out to be a bittersweet one, as it will be Father Jacob’s last podcast for a while. Earlier this year, he was invited to begin his final formation as a Jesuit priest by completing a months-long process called Tertianship.

In this episode, we discuss this unique part of a Jesuit priest’s journey; where he’s going to be for the next several months (hint: it’s overseas); how long, roughly, his Tertianship will last … and the fact that, once it is complete, he will be reassigned elsewhere in the Midwest. It only follows that we also end up discussing how laypeople can adjust when a beloved priest leaves and how they should look at it as an opportunity and not a loss.

In transparency, this was a tough episode for me to record. After talking with Father Jacob so regularly over the past year-plus, I have come to cherish his guidance and wisdom and realized about ¾ of the way through just how much I will miss having him so close by. In fact, you’ll notice some significant editing in the last minute of the podcast because I couldn’t quite make it through all the beautiful thoughts he was sharing without tearing up a bit.

That said, I cannot think of a more worthy man to continue on his priestly journey and am so thrilled he has been invited to move forward. This is a pivotal moment in his formation as a Jesuit and a huge – and well deserved - honor. He has already touched so many lives; I can only imagine how many more he will touch as he continues his vocation.

We are hoping he will be able to continue his visits to this podcast once he is reassigned to a new diocese. I will keep in close touch with him to make sure that we do all we can to make that happen!

In the meantime, I cannot thank him and St. Xavier Church’s Pastor enough for allowing him to speak regularly on this program and share so much of his wisdom and knowledge. Aside from the absolutely inspiring insight he shares at the end of this episode about Mary Magdalene needing to let go of Jesus after the resurrection, my two favorite takeaway quotes from this episode, bar none, are:

And, the title of this episode, which is a quote Father Jacob attributes to Mother Teresa:

*Father Jacob’s last Sunday mass in Cincinnati will be on Sunday, July 27^th , 10:30 am at St. Xavier Church in downtown Cincinnati. I will be there! Hope you can make it, too -

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Alex Murtha & Rjght, Intro / Outro music (Horizon)

Jacob Boddicker, S.J. (photo image)

*This and previous 2024 “40 Minute Feature” stories are available on Substack, Patreon and Spotify.

Please join me on the platform that works best for you!

Sometimes the Substack has to take a back seat to my work. But as we head into the July 4th holiday, I realized a story I’ve been working on recently is an appropriate one to think about in terms of freedom and what this country does for (and to) its citizens in return for the use of our tax dollars.

Frequent Verbal Journal…ism guests Michael and Savannah Kilpatrick (The Dirt on Dirt, Running an Organic Farm in 2024) recently had their worlds turned upside down when Ohio’s Warren County Health department shut down their Farm on Central for days over a dispute over whether the farm is exempt from county Health Department regulations due to the fact that it was operating as a Private Membership Association (PMA).

As a Farm member myself, I immediately pitched a two-part story about the whole thing to my favorite independent news provider in the state, Ohio Press Network Editor (and former Verbal Journal…ism guest himself) Jack Windsor. Here are links to both the original piece I wrote, Ohio Family Farm’s Fight for Survival, and a follow up / update we published days later; I am also working on a third follow up that will be released soon.

As, like so many of you, I head to picnics and fireworks this weekend, I’ll be thinking of one quote especially from Michael that has been stuck in my head since I heard it:

“We believe fresh, good food is a constitutional right and you should purchase whatever you want without the government being involved. Unfortunately, years ago we [Americans] gave that up, so now it’s time for us to reclaim that in a safe way, in an educated way.”

Read the stories if you have a chance and let me know your thoughts on food freedom.

And Happy Independence Day to you all!

I’ll be back with more original content in two weeks -

Lisa