Here's What We Know copertina

Here's What We Know

Here's What We Know

Di: Gary Scott Thomas
Ascolta gratuitamente

Authentic Conversations. Intriguing Guests. Time Well Spent. Gary Scott Thomas’ “Here’s What We Know” podcast will entertain you, enlighten you, and even possibly inspire you! Listen each week as Gary Scott Thomas engages guests in unscripted conversations where he’ll be just as surprised as you will be with how the talk turns out. So, join him each week and be privy to the captivating conversations that are sure to ensue.

Conversations include interviews with Country Music artists, professionals, professional athletes, authors and more.

© 2026 Here's What We Know Musica Scienze sociali
Episodi
  • The Navigator’s Letter: Love, War, and a WWII Story Hidden in Family Letters with Jan Cress Dondi

    The Navigator’s Letter: Love, War, and a WWII Story Hidden in Family Letters with Jan Cress Dondi
    Sep 23 2026
    Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a box of old family letters opens a window into one of the most dangerous chapters of World War II?This week on Here’s What We Know, we welcome author Jan Cress Dondi to talk about The Navigator’s Letter, a remarkable story built from letters, family memories, military records, and the lives of three young people whose paths were changed by war. Listen in as the conversation takes us into the world of B-24 navigators, the deadly Ploesti mission, prisoner-of-war camps, and the emotional reality faced by young men who knew they might not make it home. Jan also shares the deeply personal connection she has to the story through her father, her uncle, and her mother, and how those letters helped bring their personalities and experiences back to life decades later.We’ll also deep dive into what happens when the people who lived through history don't talk about it and what families can discover when they take the time to ask questions and preserve the stories that remain.If you have old letters, photographs, journals, or stories from someone in your family who served, this conversation may make you look at them a little differently.In this episode:The true story behind The Navigator’s LetterWhat WWII letters reveal about the lives of young servicemenThe dangers faced by B-24 crews and navigatorsThe infamous Ploesti mission and "Black Sunday"Life inside a Romanian POW campThe friendship and complicated relationship between Bob, John B., and PollySurvivor's guilt and the emotional cost of warWhy family history matters before the people who lived it are gone This episode is sponsored by: Dignity Memorial Reed Animal Hospital Bio:Jan Cress Dondi's journey began in Hillsboro, Illinois, where the inspiration for The Navigator’s Letter took root. With thirty years experience in legal writing and research, she learned to trace facts with precision, following threads of the past—across time, language, and continents. Her pursuit was personal—a labor of love of family—a desire to connect historical truth with the human experience. The culmination of which has enriched this narrative with depth and authenticity.Hundreds of letters from two B-24 navigators—John B. and Bob—and a POW diary together with historical documents became the backbone of this book. Clues led Dondi on an emotional search for answers, one that carried her across the globe—to her father’s POW camp in Romania, the military archives in Germany, her uncle’s military base in England—where she pieced together a deeply human story of war, courage and love—one that had waited decades to be told. Dondi was born in Hillsboro, IL. Raised in Atlanta, she graduated from the University of Georgia; lived years in Anchorage, AK, where she pursued post-graduate studies at the University of Alaska; and built a career as a litigation paralegal. She has spoken about her father's POW experience at the US Embassy in Bucharest, recounted her uncle's mission experience to the 93rd Bombardment Group in Washington, DC, and flown in one of the only B-24 Liberators still operating. The mother of two daughters and grandmother of four, Jan has been married nearly forty years to an aviation enthusiast and hobby pilot whose projects include building a 72% scale all-carbon replica of a P-51 Mustang, the WWII fighter that significantly impacted the war. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL.Website: https://jancressdondi.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jancressdondi/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenavigatorsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b24navigators/Tags: The Navigator's Letter, Jan Cress Dondi, World War II, WWII, WWII family history, WWII letters, World War II history, WWII veterans, WWII navigator, B-24 Liberator, Ploesti mission, Ploiesti Romania, WWII prisoner of war, WWII POW, military family history, family letters, World War II books, WWII memoir, historical nonfiction, Gary Scott ThomasConnect with Gary:Gary's WebsiteFollow Gary on InstagramGary's TiktokGary's FacebookWatch the episodes on YouTubeAdvertise on the PodcastThank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    57 min
  • Kenny Chesney: The Superstar I Never Saw Coming | Once Around The Country

    Kenny Chesney: The Superstar I Never Saw Coming | Once Around The Country
    Sep 16 2026

    Send us Fan Mail

    Our host, Gary Scott Thomas, has spent nearly 50 years in radio, and during that time he has met plenty of artists who went on to become stars. But there was one he never saw coming: Kenny Chesney.

    This week on Once Around the Country, Gary walks through Kenny's full journey, from a self-produced demo album sold out of the trunk of his car in Johnson City clubs to a publishing deal at the Opryland Music Group to a first record deal that ended when the label shut down to the persistence that finally landed him a deal with BNA Records. Gary also shares a personal memory from a moment in a program director's office, when a young and slightly discouraged Kenny Chesney needed a laugh and a little belief from the people around him.

    Years later, when Kenny had become a superstar, he returned the favor by being the first big guest on KRTY’s new streaming radio station. This is a story about Kenny Chesney, hard work, humility, timing, and what happens when someone keeps going even when the path ahead isn't obvious.

    In This Episode:

    • Kenny Chesney's childhood in Luttrell, Tennessee, and his athletic beginnings
    • Attending Gibbs High School, the same school that later produced Morgan Wallen
    • Discovering bluegrass music at East Tennessee State
    • Meeting Alison Krauss while both were still students
    • Selling over a thousand self-produced albums with no promotion
    • Moving to Nashville and playing the Bluebird Cafe and the Turf
    • Signing his first record deal on Capricorn Records in 1994
    • The label closing and what came next
    • Signing with BNA Records in 1995 and his first top ten hits
    • The moment Gary and his radio partner Julie helped Kenny push through self-doubt
    • Kenny agreeing to help launch the radio station's move to streaming
    • What Kenny Chesney is really like, according to someone who has known him for decades

    This episode is sponsored by:

    Bison Junk Removal

    Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!)

    License #: 679261


    Bio:

    Kenny Chesney is one of country music’s biggest stars, but his story started far from the stadiums. A Tennessee native and former college baseball and football player, Chesney discovered bluegrass at East Tennessee State before moving to Nashville and building his career one club, song, and fan at a time. Known for hits like “How Forever Feels,” “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” and “That’s Why I’m Here,” Chesney’s career is a story of hard work, persistence, and knowing when to change course.


    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennychesney/


    Tags: Kenny Chesney, Kenny Chesney story, Kenny Chesney career, Kenny Chesney biography, Kenny Chesney early career, Kenny Chesney Nashville, Kenny Chesney country music, Tim McGraw, Gary Scott Thomas, country music stories, country music history, country music radio, Nashville music, Here’s What We Know, Once Around the Country, Kenny Chesney superstar, Kenny Chesney rise to fame

    Connect with Gary:

    • Gary's Website
    • Follow Gary on Instagram
    • Gary's Tiktok
    • Gary's Facebook
    • Watch the episodes on YouTube
    • Advertise on the Podcast

    Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    17 min
  • NFL Is Back: 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos & Super Bowl Picks with Mark Willard

    NFL Is Back: 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos & Super Bowl Picks with Mark Willard
    Sep 9 2026

    Send us Fan Mail

    Who has the best shot at making the Super Bowl this NFL season?

    This week on Here’s What We Know, longtime Bay Area sports radio host Mark Willard joins Gary Scott Thomas to talk 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos, and the teams he thinks could make a serious run this season.

    Mark explains why he has the Rams as his favorite in the NFC, where he sees the 49ers in the NFC West, and why he’s finally willing to take the Chargers seriously. We get into Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, quarterback play, injuries, the changing world of college football, NIL, the transfer portal, and what it all means for the game we grew up watching. And yes, they make their Super Bowl predictions.

    It is a fun, opinionated conversation full of Bay Area sports talk, some good-natured arguing, and a reminder that being a fan is supposed to be fun in the first place.

    In This Episode:

    • Why local radio is not dying, even when parts of the industry are struggling
    • What it is like to be a fan of a genuinely hated team
    • Growing up a Saints fan in South Alabama with no cable television
    • Why criticism online is often a sign you are doing something right
    • Football as the last true team sport left in modern athletics
    • The NIL era and what it means for the future of college football
    • NFC West breakdown: Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals
    • Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, and the quarterbacks who deserve more credit
    • Baker Mayfield's contract standoff with the Buccaneers
    • Why the Patriots may take a step back this season
    • The case for the Chargers as a real AFC contender
    • Final Super Bowl predictions from both Gary and Mark

    This episode is sponsored by:

    Bison Junk Removal

    Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!)

    License #: 679261


    Bio:

    Mark Willard is the host of the San Francisco-Bay Area leading drive-time show “Willard & Dibs” on 95.7 The Game and is a nationally syndicated weekend host on FOX Sports Radio. He previously hosted college football Saturdays for Pac-12 Networks and a daily show on ESPNLA with Lakers great Mychal Thompson, as well as the weekly show The Forum. He is the proud father of three teens.


    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktwillard/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtwillard/


    Tags: NFL predictions 2026, NFL season predictions, 49ers predictions, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, LA Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, LA Chargers, Denver Broncos, NFC West predictions, Super Bowl predictions, Mark Willard, Mark Willard NFL, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, NFL quarterbacks, college football, sports radio, football podcast, Gary Scott Thomas

    Connect with Gary:

    • Gary's Website
    • Follow Gary on Instagram
    • Gary's Tiktok
    • Gary's Facebook
    • Watch the episodes on YouTube
    • Advertise on the Podcast

    Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    39 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Ancora nessuna recensione