I've really been looking forward to sharing this conversation with you. Billie Groom is a phenomenal person: an adventurer, traveler, innovator, author, podcaster and the best advocate animals could wish for. She's also a boxing fan. You can understand why I refer to her as my new best friend! She developed UPWARD Dogology - a canine behavioral methodology grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and has dedicated her career to working with challenging dogs and/or dogs from disadvantaged backgrounds. Billie shares how a devastating childhood tragedy paved the path for her mission in life. In her 30+ year career she has rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed hundreds of dogs. Whether you're an animal lover or a lover of genuinely inspiring people, I'm sure you'll appreciate this episode. Enjoy!

Learn more about/connect with Billie here:

Website: https://www.upwarddogology.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billiegroom/ Dog Training DisrUPted Podcast: https://dogtrainingdisruptedupwarddogology.buzzsprout.com/

Find her book here: "The Art of Urban People With Adopted and Rescued Dogs Methodology: Rescued Dogs: The Misunderstood Breed" https://www.amazon.com/Billie-Groom/e/B08SHNHJ1Z?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000

The world needs more people doing work like Elaine Pardi. She is a great example of someone who took her natural skills and talents and started a "pro-bono project" helping both people and animals.

Her passion for "Animals Connect Everyone" is palpable, and you'll hear the story of how this project got started. We talk about the loss of her parents and her beloved dog, Lily. We also discuss her 20-year career in nursing and then PR. Elaine is an advocate for the special bond between people and animals, for meditation with animals (specifically Michael O'Brien on Insight Timer) and simply enjoying interactions with animals.

Since she lives in Minnesota, we of course talk about the MN Vikings and her other favorite teams the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Connect with Elaine and learn more about Animals Connect Everyone, here:

https://animalsconnecteveryone.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AnimalsConnectEveryone https://www.instagram.com/animals.connect.everyone/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-pardi-8691711a/

Jovanitha is an absolute joy to talk to. Her positivity and energy radiates. She shares her story about growing up in Mauritius and the moving to France, her time working as a human rights lawyer, and then the near death experience that changed her outlook and mission in life. She is now a full-time artist, passionate about Pop Art and obsessed with painting murals.... We also geek out over the awesome experience of visiting La Sagrada Familia, and talk about life in France, socialism and the French value systems. Jovanitha's work instantly grabbed my attention when I happened to see it on Instagram, and after meeting the artist, I understand why.

Find Jovanitha's work here: https://jovanitha.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jovanitha_oilartist/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoyousArtworks

I'm so grateful for this conversation with Sarah. Her admirable commitment to self-discovery, healing, growth, and creativity helped her heal from an abusive childhood and create the family and multiple businesses she has now. She is a bundle of energy and her wisdom comes from walking the walk. And luckily for all of us, she is deeply dedicated to giving back. Hope you'll feel as inspired as I did by Sarah and her story.

You can find Sarah at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahchickee/

https://www.leclubmomboss.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/LesChocolatsDeChickee/

https://www.instagram.com/leschocolatsdechickee/

I had a great time talking with my friend Eavan. She has a brilliant sense of humor and absolutely lives life to the fullest. She's an example to us all! We talk about her childhood in Galway, Ireland, growing up with horses, her studies of music (and her unabashed love of pop), her journey into acting and her particular love of film. An adventurous spirit, she talks about her travels to Costa Rica, permaculture farms, and her experience with Ayahuasca. We also talk about her time here in the U.S. and had a laugh testing out her American accents! Eavan's energy is contagious and I am delighted to be able to share her with all of you!

Harriet lives in London, England and she shares incredible stories about life in the UK, the current COVID crisis, the disastrous politics and also the heroes who are stepping up to make a difference. This was a delightful conversation. We talked about some typically English things: fish & chips, football clubs and fans, their absurd love of McDonalds, British teeth, pride in the NHS, a detailed breakdown of London neighborhoods, English vs American words/sayings and so much more. We also talked a lot about favorite books and writing. This was a really fun conversation packed full of laughs and so much information!

(*A correction: I tell Harriet that she had apologized for "being a spanner" - which she vehemently denied saying, but I convinced her she did. In fact, she apologized for "throwing a spanner in the works", which makes much more sense! I suppose that makes what I said bollocks and perhaps even makes me a bit of a tosser!)

This is an information-full episode! I learned so much and am grateful that Dr. Humberto Cosenza made the time to have this conversation. He joined me from his home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He is an immunologist and explains the importance of differentiating between infection and disease, talks me through how our immune system works, and we talk a lot about the coronavirus and the current global pandemic. He shares some incredible stories about science at the highest levels and working with Nobel Laureates. We also discuss the current state of US politics. He shares his perspective as someone who lived in the US during the 1960's and 70's, and who now observes what is happening from afar. I hope you enjoy this episode...and if you have any questions for Dr. Cosenza, he kindly offered to answer them. Please email me at: writetothefool@gmail.com

Rodrigo is one of my closest friends. He lives in Mexico and we touch on the current situation there with the coronavirus. Along with his family, one of his greatest passions - and it's a passion that we share - is FC Barcelona. This episode was recorded a few months ago, before we knew that Lionel Messi was going to stay at Barcelona. You'll hear a deep dive into the Club, our feelings about it, some history, and imagining Barcelona without Messi. We talk about our favorite (and our least favorite) players, coaches, give a shout-out to Ray Hudson, discuss how amazing women's soccer is to watch, reminisce about the era of Puyol, Xavi Hernandes, Iniesta...this episode is dedicated to all soccer/futból fanatics. Hope you enjoy!