Episodes

Guest: Rick Hall, Jr. You may not know Rick Hall's name, but you know the music that Rick Hall developed as the founder and producer of FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In this episode, we talk to Rick Hall Jr. about the motivation that led his dad into the music business and breaking through Alabama's segregation attitudes on the 60th anniversary of his worldwide musical legacy. You won't want to miss the stories about Rick Hall's run-in with Aretha Franklin's husband, which ...

Patrick Chovanec's family's idea of a vacation was to pile into the car and drive to a national landmark. That all changed when his father decided to take the family to China in 1986. Since then, he has become one of the U.S.' primary experts on Chinese politics and economics. He has spent much of his life living in China since then. A college economics professor on two continents, Patrick Chovanec has traveled to over 50 countries, including being one of the few Americans to visit North Korea....

Because of Jim Crow laws, Darrin Evans' father - an Army Drill Sargeant - was never allowed to go to a public pool. Yet, he taught himself to swim in the river and insisted that his children also learn to swim. He considered it a survival skill. Statistics show that if a parent doesn't know how to swim, the chances are very high that their children will never learn. That's significant because of the 3,500 annual drownings in the U.S., half of those who died never intended to be in any body of w...

Guest: Bob Kendrick Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick is the ultimate storyteller. He can take you from the pitcher's mound with Satchel Paige to the batter's box with Josh Gibson in the time it takes a fastball to travel 60 feet, 6 inches. Hear Mr. Kendrick bring to life the players, fans, and superfans who keep alive the enduring legacy of the Negro Leagues. Stories like: The more you know about Buck O'Neil, the more you want to know. Baseball legend Ted Williams is the ...

Guest: Dinn Mann This week's episode features a man whose grandfather owned the Houston Astros baseball team and designed the Astrodome stadium to outsmart the Texas summer heat. He was also the Houston mayor who desegregated that city a decade before other southern cities were federally mandated to do so. As a result, Houston is now the most diverse city in America, according to a 2021 study by WalletHub. Dinn Mann, a former MLB executive and intellectual property pioneer, is the CEO of GOATn...

Guest: Michael Freeman The best gift that Michael Freeman ever received was a chance to throw out a ceremonial First Pitch for his beloved Minnesota Twins. It was a gift given to him by his wife of 40 years. Ironically, the First Pitch for the Twins and his "first pitch" to his wife were less-than-stellar performances, though both did result in positive outcomes with memorable stories to tell. Here is the story of Michael Freeman, who was raised in Freeman, South Dakota, and graduated from Fre...

Guest: Doc Hubbard (Episode 1) The debut episode of this podcast features a fun and freewheeling interview with Dr. Jeff "Doc" Hubbard, a retired educator and administrator from Southern California. To celebrate his 65th birthday and 20th year of sobriety, Doc took a train ride from California to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The 10,000-mile rail and road trip included stops in Chicago for a deep-dish pizza, an une...

This mini pre-episode explores my passion for writing and how it began -- all the way back to kindergarten! Take a listen and you will discover the motivation to create this podcast for other storytellers. Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

This short audio announces the development of the podcast and the theme of future episodes. Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe