Listen to Stories from Real Life, Every Tuesday and Friday.

Episodes

Jan. 28, 2025

From Junkie to Judge: A Journey of Redemption

In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards speaks with former federal judge Mary Beth O'Connor about her remarkable journey from addiction to sobriety and her career in law. Mary Beth shares her early l...

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Jan. 21, 2025

The Ethical Algorithmist

In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards interviews algorithmist Noah Healy, who shares his journey from studying nuclear engineering to developing algorithms with a focus on ethics and market design....

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Jan. 14, 2025

Unlocking Human Potential with Septemics

In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards engages with Jim Marshall, the author of 'Septemics', a revolutionary work that combines social science and psychological philosophy. Marshall explains the con...

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Jan. 7, 2025

A Sports Agent's View on Unionization in College Athletics

In this Stories from Real Life episode, host Melvin E. Edwards speaks with sports agent Adam Spencer about his journey from military service to sports management. They discuss the evolving landscape of college sports in the N...

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Dec. 31, 2024

Kim Rekindles Love for Trump

Summary In this conversation, Japanese resident Tom Logan presents a fictional letter from Kim Jong-un to Donald Trump, celebrating Trump's return to the presidency and proposing a new era of cooperation between the United St...

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Dec. 24, 2024

Meet the Most Interesting Man in the World

Summary In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards engages in a deep and insightful conversation with Dr. Shehzad Batliwala, an eye surgeon, comedian, and advocate for self-awareness. They explore Dr....

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Dec. 17, 2024

Navigating the Complexities of U.S. Immigration

Summary In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards speaks with Dianne Ennis Stewart, a South African immigrant and expert on U.S. immigration policy. Dianne shares her personal journey of immigration, h...

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Dec. 10, 2024

Bridging Cultures: Insights from Tom Logan

In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards speaks with Tom Logan, an American living in Japan, about his experiences and insights on international relations, trade dynamics, and cultural differences. Th...

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Dec. 8, 2024

Tom Logan Has Thoughts on Tulsi Gabbard's Nomination

In this clip from the December 10, 2024, episode of Stories from Real Life, former U.S. diplomat Tom Logan shares his grave concerns about Tulsi Gabbard and Trump's other nominees from the perspective of a consultant in Asia.

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Dec. 3, 2024

Dad and Daughter Discuss Life Together

This week, Leigh-Anne (Edwards) Clabby takes the helm as our guest host, diving deep with none other than her dad, Melvin E. Edwards, host of "Stories from Real Life!" She’s on a mission to uncover juicy tales from his childh...

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Dec. 2, 2024

Stories from Real Life trailer

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Nov. 26, 2024

Win, Lose, or Drew

Houston attorney and former TV sportscaster Drew Shirley admits he voted for Donald Trump in this year's election, despite feeling embarrassed by his belief that Trump is a "clown." He's ready to share why he chose the eventu...

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Nov. 19, 2024

Our Ancestors' Legacy

Kristen Adele Calhoun is a writer, actress, and college professor, who also happens to be a cousin of this podcast's host. They are here to discuss the daunting challenge of uncovering their family's history as the descendant...

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Nov. 12, 2024

Is Christianity America's Side Hustle?

Exit polls show that 81% of White Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in this year, compared to 14% of Black Evangelicals. Guest “Bonhoeffer’s Child” tries to make sense of this moment in American and church history in this w...

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Nov. 4, 2024

How to Tame Your Dragons

Casey Jakubowski Ph.D. founded DragonTamer.us to help people and teams move from okay to outstanding! After 20 years in education, team building, and improvement processes, Casey is an advocate for the underdog, the bullied, ...

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Oct. 29, 2024

I ❤️ U2

Nate Belcik, a Texas high school history teacher, embodies a calm demeanor during the weekdays and transforms into a U2 superfan on weekends. Despite being in his 20s, Nate has attended their concerts 18 times, which includes...

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Oct. 22, 2024

To Serve and Protect

Michael Alcazar's journey to becoming a New York City detective is a testament to the unexpected paths life can take. Despite never intending to join the police force, he dedicated 30 years of his life to the NYPD, where he e...

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Oct. 15, 2024

Sons of the Republic

Our guest this week is Trevor P. Wardlaw, a descendant of Elder John Parker, a victim of the 1836 Fort Parker massacre in Limestone County, Texas, and a cousin to Quanah Parker, the "Last Comanche Chief." Born in Waco, Texas,...

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Oct. 8, 2024

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Boston-area bartender-turned-salesman Neil Rogers has been owner and Vice President of Marketing & Sales at Rogers Marketing for nearly 26 years. He built his career and business leveraging both old-school and new-school mark...

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Oct. 1, 2024

Words of a Feather

In this episode, I asked several people from all over the country to pronounce the following words. Their results are captured here in this fun and brief experiment. 1. Oil 2. Iron 3. Naked 4. Vehicle 5. Wash 6. Dawn 7...

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Sept. 24, 2024

Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

Ben Marsh is a pastor at First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem, NC. He lives there with his wife and two teenaged daughters. He has a dog, Hank, and a cat, who apparently changed its identity. The story of how that happened ...

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Sept. 17, 2024

Arkansas' Liberty Bell

Nate Bell is an outspoken Never Trump conservative and has been politically homeless since 2016. A lifelong Republican until 2015, Nate served in the Arkansas State House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017 where he chaired ...

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Sept. 10, 2024

Prior Restraint

In today's episode of "Stories from Real Life," hosted by Melvin E. Edwards, we feature Dr. Karen Swallow Prior. She is a renowned international speaker, professor, and author with a diverse portfolio of books on topics from ...

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Sept. 3, 2024

Richard Nixon's Search for Salvation

Our guest, Dr. Daniel Silliman, is the news editor for Christianity Today magazine. Three weeks ago, he released his newest book "One Lost Soul - Richard Nixon's Search for Salvation" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of N...

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