Behind The Story Show
Welcome to Behind The Story Show, a long-form interview podcast hosted by Jelani Gonzalez that goes beyond the headlines to uncover the real journeys behind extraordinary people and powerful ideas.
Each week, Jelani sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, creators, leaders, and change-makers to explore the defining moments, hard-earned lessons, personal challenges, and bold decisions that shaped their path. From business and creativity to leadership, culture, innovation, and reinvention, Behind The Story brings you candid conversations that reveal not just what people achieved, but what it took to get there.
If you are building something, chasing a vision, navigating change, or looking for stories that educate, inspire, and challenge the way you think, this show is for you.
Join us as we go behind the success, behind the struggle, and Behind The Story.
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Understand Your Ballot: A Free AI Voter Guide for the Midterms
Staring at a seven-page ballot full of names you don't recognize? You're not alone. In this episode of Behind the Story, host Jelani Gonzalez sits down with a Los Angeles software engineer who was born in China, became a U.S. citizen, and set out to fix one of the biggest problems in American elections: most voters have no idea who the candidates really are.
Using AI to gather and summarize public records, he and a team of friends from across the political spectrum built a free, open-source site that shows what candidates have actually done: how they voted, who funded them, and what each office does, all in plain language and always linked to the original source.
In this conversation:
- Why campaign ads make it so hard to know who to trust
- How to research candidates fast, even with only 10 minutes
- What "vote power" means and why local races, like city council and school board, can matter more than the presidential race
- How AI summarizes legislation and ballot measures without making anything up
- How to see who funds a candidate (PACs, super PACs, and donors)
- Why open source matters when you're using AI around elections
- Party loyalty vs. voting your own values
- Mail-in ballots, ballot overwhelm, and what happens after the midterms
Look up your own ballot: https://electionsimplify.com
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Behind the Story is a weekly long-form interview podcast hosted by Jelani Gonzalez. Follow @behindthestoryshow on all platforms.
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What Americans Get Wrong About Iran: The Regime vs. the Iranian People
Zolal Habibi was seven years old when her father, a well-known human rights activist and writer, was killed in the summer of 1988, during the wave of executions of political prisoners in Iran. She found out months later, from a newspaper she wasn’t supposed to see.
In this conversation, Jelani Gonzalez goes behind the headlines with Zolal to explore the personal story that shaped her life’s work. She shares how growing up in the U.S. inside an activist household led her to Congress at twelve. She also explains why the student uprisings of 1999 pulled her away from a planned career in medicine, and what she believes Americans misunderstand about Iran today.
Zolal draws a clear line between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people. She makes the case that the choice isn’t limited to war or appeasement, and she describes what she sees happening inside Iran, from communication blackouts to organized underground networks. She also answers the hard questions about sanctions, the “death to America” footage, and what meaningful outside support would look like.
In this conversation:
The memory of learning about her father’s death, and what helped her copeWhat the 1988 massacre was and why it still shapes Iran’s politicsThe turning point that led her to give up medicine for activismWhy she says Iranians aren’t stuck between war and appeasementWhat it’s like to hear so little from ordinary Iranian familiesHow she stays hopeful after nearly three decadesOne thing listeners can do this weekThe views and figures shared in this episode are Zolal’s own.
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What to Do After You Sell Your Business: Rebuilding Identity After an Exit
Why do so many founders feel lost after selling their business? Adam Roach exited three real estate brokerage franchises in 2019, hit the number he’d set for himself, and then faced what he calls the hangover: a loss of identity no exit plan had prepared him for.
Adam, founder of I Love Coaching Co., shares how he rebuilt, from an exercise that connected a wound, a lie and a vow to a question from John Maxwell and a stranger holding old cassette tapes at his father’s funeral.
Questions this conversation answers:
What do you do after you sell your business?How do you know when it’s time to exit?How should coaches price their offer? (He says you are not for sale, your payoff is.)How do you find your coaching niche and ideal client?Why does consistency have to come before scale?How should coaches approach AI?Adam’s path runs from eight pro tennis matches without a win to flipping houses, losing $80,000 in 2008 and paying the bank anyway, building a recruiting software company, and starting a coaching community. If you’ve built something, sold something, or wondered who you are without the title, this is for you.
Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Subscribe to Behind the Story for more conversations that go beyond the surface.
Connect with Adam: ilovecoachingco.com Instagram: Adam R. Roach
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Can They Strip Your Citizenship? Both Sides of the Omar Case
Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home on Oct 12, and reporting says the investigation centers on her 2000 naturalization. No one has been charged. This episode steps back from the headlines to answer the bigger question: can the U.S. government take away a person’s citizenship, and what does it have to prove?
We cover what is confirmed, what is only alleged, how denaturalization works in plain English (including the Supreme Court cases Fedorenko, Maslenjak and Afroyim), and then the strongest case for the government and for the critics, with equal rigor.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: the question behind the raid
1:58 What we actually know (confirmed vs. alleged)
6:35 How denaturalization actually works
11:20 The two strongest cases
16:30 Close: the standard that applies to everyone
This is a developing story. Everything about the investigation is reported as alleged or according to named sources. No charges or civil case have been filed as of recording. Sources are linked below.
SOURCES
CNN exclusive: Judge limited DOJ access to Omar’s records (Oct 14, 2026), read via KVIA syndication: https://kvia.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/10/14/exclusive-judge-limited-justice-department-access-to-rep-ilhan-omars-records-in-sprawling-immigration-fraud-probe/
TIME: Can Trump Strip Ilhan Omar of Her Citizenship? How the Process Works (Oct 14, 2026): https://time.com/article/2026/10/14/ilhan-omar-citizenship-investigation-denaturalization-DOJ/
Reason: DHS searched Ilhan Omar’s home (Oct 12, 2026): https://reason.com/2026/10/12/dhs-searched-ilhan-omars-home-as-part-of-immigration-fraud-investigation/
AP via PBS NewsHour: Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home (Oct 12, 2026): https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ap-report-federal-agents-search-rep-ilhan-omars-home-as-part-of-a-criminal-investigation
Fox News: Could Trump revoke Omar’s citizenship? (immigration attorney Michael Wildes): https://www.foxnews.com/politics/could-trump-revoke-ilhan-omars-citizenship-alleged-brother-marriage-ex-federal-prosecutor-breaks-down
Western Journal: Jonathan Turley on denaturalization: https://www.westernjournal.com/legal-expert-jonathan-turley-says-ilhan-omar-line-denaturalization-immigration-laws-clear/
Political Wire: “Ilhan Omar Probe Aims to Revoke Her Citizenship” (summarizing WSJ, Oct 14): https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/14/ilhan-omar-probe-aims-to-revoke-her-citizenship/
Maslenjak v. United States, 582 U.S. ___ (2017), Cornell LII: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/16-309
Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U.S. 490 (1981), Cornell LII: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/449/490
Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), EBSCO Research Starters: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/afroyim-v-rusk
Peter Spiro testimony, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution (June 3, 2026): https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/download/2026-06-03_testimony_spiropdf
National Law Review: DOJ Civil Division denaturalization memo (June 2025): https://www.natlawreview.com/article/doj-civil-division-prioritizes-denaturalization-new-enforcement-memo
Behind the Story goes past the headline with balanced, plain-language explainers on law and civic affairs. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.
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What If 1% Could Fund the Entire Government?
What if you never filed a tax return again — no April 15th, no IRS — and a single 1% tax funded the entire government? In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Gary Barnes, a retired tradesman turned author of Fixing America’s Broken Government, for a wide-ranging conversation about the idea he calls the “receiving tax.”
Gary spent 45 years as a wallpapering artisan in southwest Connecticut, raising six children while wrestling with a tax code he describes as 12,000 pages of complexity. After the 2008 housing crash and years of watching his own kids struggle to reach the American dream, he set out to design a different way to fund government — one that taxes the movement of money beneath the economy rather than the people producing it.
In this conversation, Gary explains how a 1% charge on money changing ownership could, in his telling, replace income, payroll, corporate, capital gains, and inheritance taxes; why he wants to abolish the IRS and route everything through the Treasury; his “nine pillars” model for what government funds and what gets spun off; and his proposals on retirees, property taxes, campaign finance, immigration, and education. Jelani pushes back throughout — on double taxation, on the economists who say the numbers won’t add up, and on the real people whose jobs the plan would eliminate.
Whether you agree with Gary or not, it’s a thought-provoking look at taxation, government, and the question of who really holds the power. Gary’s ideas are his own, offered here for discussion, not as financial or policy advice.
Learn more about Gary’s work:
Book & grassroots community: https://fixyourgov.com
Fixing America’s Broken Government is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed by the guest are their own. This conversation is for informational purposes and is not financial, tax, or legal advice.
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Cut the Boot or Lose the Foot: Reid Robinson's Story Behind the X Leg
Reid Robinson was a hardworking IT infrastructure architect and father of two in Calgary when an icy-road car crash changed everything. What followed was more than a dozen surgeries, years of crutches, and a recovery that tested his patience, his body, and his determination to stay present for his family.
In this conversation, Reid takes us behind the story of how he went from hospital bed to inventor. Frustrated by how hard crutches were to live with, he sketched an idea for a "crutch for your leg," searched the patent databases, and spent three weeks in his garage welding the first prototype himself. The first time he walked across the road to kick a soccer ball with his kids, he knew it was worth pursuing. That prototype became the X Leg.
We talk about:
The day of the crash and the moment he chose to cut the boot instead of losing the footWhat life really looked like between surgeriesThe 16-hour surgery that finally got his leg to healHow the X Leg works, who it can help, and when crutches are still the better choiceThe road from prototype to Health Canada and FDA registration, ongoing medical studies, and his goal of making it more affordableHow the experience reshaped his approach to health, fitness, and longevityIt's a story about resilience, problem-solving, and the idea that we're tougher than we think.
Learn more about the X Leg at xleg.ca.
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Why Habits Change When Your Story Does
What does it take to change a habit that has outlasted every attempt to break it? Connie Kwan, author of Story Habits, says the answer starts with the story you tell yourself about who you are, not with more willpower.
Connie grew up between Hong Kong and Canada, trained as a computer engineer, and spent much of her career in product. Then she joined a smoking cessation company and, in her words, got a front-row seat to how habit change works. She shares what she saw: two simple self-reported numbers, motivation and confidence, predicted who would quit better than how long or how much someone had smoked.
In this conversation:
• Why the word "habit" originally meant a monk's robe, and what that says about identity
• Clement, a longtime smoker whose father died of lung cancer, and the new story that changed his quit
• The "manipulation fries" reframe that helped an exit founder stop reaching for fries
• Why smokers who eventually quit often needed about seven serious attempts
• Connie's own years-long struggle with late-night binge-watching, and the replacement habit that finally worked
• Why the people closest to you may quietly resist your change, and how to find your champions
• How AI is reshaping product roles, and what it means to be a builder
Timestamps:
00:00 The story you were handed about who you'd become
02:12 From engineer to product leader at a quit-smoking company
05:57 Who actually smokes, and what it taught Connie about people
09:50 Motivation and confidence: the two numbers that predicted success
13:29 Clement, and the new story that helped him quit
15:49 The "manipulation fries" reframe
20:48 Why discipline and willpower miss the point
21:05 The monk's habit: where the word comes from
23:42 The magic number seven
25:38 Four a.m. binge-watching and the replacement habit that worked
34:17 Amplify Her and The Dim Sum Club
36:15 "I'm not a writer" and the writing hat
39:27 When the people around you want you to stay the same
46:30 Will AI replace product managers?
50:14 Connie's hope for readers of Story Habits
About Connie Kwan:
Connie Kwan is the author of Story Habits, arriving in November 2026, and is building a companion app, the Story Habits Coach. She is a former product leader at a smoking cessation company and co-founder of Amplify Her and The Dim Sum Club.
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Behind the Story is a video podcast hosted by Jelani Gonzalez. Every story has a deeper story.
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What DEI Actually Is — and What It Isn't | Celeste Warren
The word "DEI" has been demonized — but what does it actually mean? In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Celeste Warren, former Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Merck, decades-long HR leader, author, and founder of CRW Diversity, for the clear-eyed conversation the topic has been missing.
Celeste grew up in a small steel-mill town in Western Pennsylvania, the daughter of the first Black teacher and principal in her part of the state. That front-row seat shaped a career spent making the business case for equity at the highest levels of corporate leadership.
Together, Jelani and Celeste unpack what most people — and even many executives — get wrong about equity. Celeste explains why "diverse" and "qualified" are not mutually exclusive, breaks down her "acts of equity" framework and the now-famous rocks-and-fence illustration, and shares the "five whys" method she uses to surface unconscious bias in real hiring conversations. They also dig into the history behind today's backlash, why equity ultimately benefits everyone regardless of identity, and the difference between DEI and nepotism.
As Celeste puts it, doing this work isn't a program with a start and end date — it's leadership 101, management 101, and business 101.
Connect with Celeste Warren:
Website: https://www.crwdiversity.com
Her book on equity is available on Amazon.
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The Final Ruling: Inside the Supreme Court's 7-2 Mail-Ballot Decision
On Monday, September 14, 2026, the Supreme Court closed the book — at least for this election — on a fight Behind the Story has tracked across five episodes. By a 7-2 vote, the justices refused to let the Trump administration enforce a new U.S. Postal Service rule on mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterms, leaving a federal judge's nationwide injunction in place.
In this series finale, host Jelani Gonzalez breaks down what the Court actually decided, why a cross-ideological majority of seven justices agreed, what Justice Kavanaugh's swing vote really turned on, and why Justices Alito and Thomas dissented. He walks through what the USPS rule would have required, how the case reached the Court, and the one big constitutional question the justices deliberately left unanswered.
As always, no side-taking — just the arguments, from both directions, laid out with equal rigor so you can decide for yourself.
What it means for you: for November 2026, mail voting works the way it always has.
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The Ali G Movie Firestorm: Banned Before Anyone Saw It
Twenty-six years ago, a comedian in a yellow tracksuit and orange shades sat across from real politicians, generals, and diplomats — and they answered him seriously. That was Ali G. This fall, Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing the character back in Ali G: Who Is I? — and tens of thousands of people are trying to make sure you never get to watch it.
In this Behind the Story Exposé, we go past the headline and into the real tension: a British watchdog group has driven 45,000+ emails urging cinemas worldwide to refuse the film — before almost anyone has seen a single scene. Is that protecting people from harm, or censoring art we haven't judged yet? We lay out the strongest case on both sides, the 1998-vs-2026 history most people forget, and a twist about who's actually funding the campaign that changes the whole conversation.
No lectures. No easy bow. Just the story behind the story — and four questions worth sitting with: Have we become too sensitive, or finally honest? Where's the line between a boycott and a ban? Is there a bridge too far? And who actually gets to decide?
Listen, then tell us where you land.
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Arrested Over an $87 Check — Dr. Sheena Meade on Second Chances
In 2004, Sheena Meade was a young single mother earning about $18,000 a year when an $87.26 check bounced. Two months later, police arrested her in front of her four children. She paid the check back, completed the courses, and thought her sentence was over — but as she says in this conversation, "My true sentence was just beginning."
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dr. Sheena Meade — mother, grandmother, lifelong organizer, and CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative — for an honest conversation about being criminalized for poverty and building a national movement for redemption.
Raised by union organizers in South Jersey, Sheena went on to help restore voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians through Amendment 4, then took the blueprint national. Today, Clean Slate has passed in 14 states and DC, putting 18 million people on a pathway to a second chance by automating the record-clearing process most people never even know they qualify for.
We talk about the $87 check, the ripple effect of a record on families and the economy, her honorary doctorate from Cheyney University, marriage and mission alongside her husband Desmond Meade, and the message she has for anyone who feels their sentence will never end: "You are not defined by your record."
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Robert Kennedy III: The Introvert Who Speaks to Thousands for a Living
He was born in Jamaica, named Robert Kennedy III by a grandfather who said it "with such glee" — and he's spent his life turning that name into a conversation starter. In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with communication coach, speaker, and self-described polymath Robert Kennedy III for an honest look at how a quiet kid who was told "you talk too much, Bobby" became a man who speaks to thousands for a living.
Robert opens up about being an introvert in an extrovert's profession ("our job isn't to get rid of the butterflies — it's to get them to fly in formation"), his winding path through teaching, news anchoring, voiceover, and a gospel project that left his whole group in tears before the first song. He breaks down his 3M framework — Moment, Meaning, Message — and the science of why we forget most talks the moment we reach the car. Along the way: what AI still can't fake on camera, why family is the source of his best material, and the real reason money should come last.
A thoughtful, funny, deeply human conversation about connection, reinvention, and the courage it takes to be heard.
Free resource from Robert — the 3M Story Builder: amplifiedvoiceHQ.com
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Judge Rules Trump's Mail Ballot Order Unconstitutional — What Happens Next
Back where we started — except this time, it's different. The same judge who was forced to lift her block on Trump's mail-ballot rule put a new one right back up, days later — and for the first time in five months, a federal court actually ruled on whether the policy is constitutional. Her answer was no.
In this episode: how a "motion for reconsideration" unwound Wednesday's ruling, exactly what Judge Talwani found on the merits (including a factual finding that there's no evidence of the fraud USPS cited to justify the rule), the administration's strongest counter-arguments, and what happens next now that the case is headed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals — with a September 3rd hearing already on the calendar.
THE THROUGH-LINE
For five months, this fight has been almost entirely about *when* courts are allowed to rule — not *whether* the policy survives. This week, for the first time, a court actually answered the second question. That answer is now being appealed, and the fight isn't over.
CATCH UP ON THE SERIES
Part One — Who Controls Your Ballot?:
Part Two — They Violated the Order, Now What?:
SOURCES
This episode draws on reporting from Bloomberg, Votebeat, The Epoch Times, Legal Insurrection, the Baltimore Sun/AP, and Judge Talwani's own August 28 court order. Full timeline and sources in the pinned comment.
Behind the Story doesn't tell you who's right. We go beneath the surface so you can decide for yourself.
#SupremeCourt #MailInVoting #USPS #ElectionLaw #BehindTheStory
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Mail Ballot Fight Part 2: The Judge Says They Broke Her Order
We told you two days ago this story wasn't over — it moved even faster than expected. A federal judge has now ruled that the Trump administration violated her own court order restricting mail ballot rules... and then declined to do anything about it.
In this follow-up, we break down Judge Talwani's violation finding, the administration's two-part legal defense (including a genuinely serious argument tied directly to Monday's Supreme Court ruling), and what happens next now that the final USPS rule is officially public as of today.
THE THROUGH-LINE
Three separate legal fights are now running at once: whether the violation carries consequences, whether the injunction itself survives a Supreme Court-driven challenge, and whether new state lawsuits succeed where the first round couldn't. All of it has to resolve before ballots start going out in October.
🔗 WATCH PART ONE FIRST
Who Controls Your Ballot? The Original USPS Mail Voting Explainer:
SOURCES
This episode draws on reporting from Axios, Democracy Docket, TIME, NationofChange, Oregon Capital Chronicle, OPB, KATU, and Judge Talwani's own August 25 court filing. Full timeline and sources in the pinned comment.
Behind the Story doesn't tell you who's right. We go beneath the surface so you can decide for yourself.
#SupremeCourt #MailInVoting #USPS #ElectionLaw #BehindTheStory
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Supreme Court Rules on Mail Ballots: Who Controls Your Vote?
The Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 on who controls your mail-in ballot — but by its own admission, the ruling doesn't decide if any of it is actually legal. "Time will tell," the Court wrote. So what did the justices actually decide today, and what did they deliberately leave unresolved?
In this episode, we go beneath the surface of the March 2026 executive order that put USPS and DHS at the center of a fight over federal election authority — the two lawsuits it triggered, the injunctions still standing, and exactly what today's Supreme Court ruling changes (and doesn't).
THE THROUGH-LINE
This is the second time this year we've watched the Supreme Court's emergency docket shape how a live election runs, before the underlying legal question is ever fully argued. If that sounds familiar, check out our companion episode on the Shadow Docket, linked below.
RELATED EPISODE
The Supreme Court's Shadow Docket, Explained:
SOURCES
This episode draws on reporting and primary documents from TIME, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, NPR, Axios, The Hill, Issue One, and the Federal Register. Full source list and timeline in the pinned comment.
Behind the Story doesn't tell you who's right. We go beneath the surface so you can decide for yourself.
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The Shadow Docket: The Supreme Court Power You've Never Heard Of
Somewhere in Washington this week, the Supreme Court will decide something that affects your life — and you may never know why. No hearing. No explanation. Sometimes not even a signature. It's called the emergency docket, better known as the "shadow docket," and over the last decade it has gone from a quiet technical corner of the Court to one of the most powerful and most disputed tools in American government.
In this edition of the Behind the Story Expose series, Jelani Gonzalez breaks down what the shadow docket actually is, where the name came from, and why the numbers behind it have exploded in recent years. He walks through the difference between the Court's normal "merits docket" and these fast, often unsigned emergency rulings — and the landmark June 29, 2026 decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter that reshaped the limits of presidential power in a single day.
Then comes the honest question legal scholars on both sides are now asking out loud: is the Court simply managing an overwhelming caseload, or is the deck stacked? Jelani lays out both arguments — the case for bias and the case that this is a bigger structural problem Congress and the lower courts created — and leaves the verdict to you. He closes with what all of this means for your life, and the one lever ordinary citizens actually have.
Every story has a deeper story. This is the one behind the headlines you never see.
Listen now, then follow Behind the Story for more conversations that go beyond the surface. If this episode made you think, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps the show grow.
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The Mind Is All There Is — Consciousness, AI & the Kingdom Within
What happens when a man becomes so convinced of a single truth that he legally changes his name to match it?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with the author and philosopher known as One I Am — a name he took after a 2004 spiritual awakening and the book I Am That. What follows is a wide-ranging conversation about awareness, identity, and the idea at the center of all his work: the mind is all there is, and the world we see is a perceptive experience arising within it.
One I Am unpacks his blog The Kingdom Within and the 30+ books behind it, from The Architecture of Identity to Attention Loops. He explains why he believes attention is the engine of reality, how the biggest tech companies compete for it, and what the modern attention crisis is really pointing to. The conversation turns to AI and consciousness — whether a machine can be aware, why he thinks today's models are "trained by walking dead consciousness," and what it would take to build them differently.
It's a thoughtful, provocative look behind the public identity of a man who insists you shouldn't focus on him at all — only on what his words reveal about you.
Books mentioned: Seeing God Face to Face, The Architecture of Identity, Attention Loops, and his upcoming The Last Biological Interface.
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He Sold the Pills for 20 Years — Then He Walked Away
Dr. Keith Hersey spent more than twenty years behind the pharmacy counter. Then he did something most pharmacists never do — he stopped focusing on dispensing pills and started coaching people to need fewer of them.
In this episode, Dr. Keith sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to trace the full arc: caring for his grandmother after her strokes, discovering his own type 2 diabetes from a free glucose check at a pharmacy convention, opening an independent pharmacy in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, and ultimately bridging conventional and functional medicine to help people take back control of their health.
They get into the GLP-1 wave — Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro — what "mastering" one of these drugs really means, the role of ultra-processed food, and why he believes type 2 diabetes can be prevented, mitigated, and even reversed.
An honest conversation about denial, resilience, and the difference between sick care and real health.
About the guest: Dr. Keith Hersey — pharmacist of 20+ years turned diabetes coach, founder of an independent pharmacy, and host of the Destroying Diabetes podcast.
This conversation is for general education and is not medical advice. Always consult your own physician before making changes to medication or treatment.
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He Googled "How to Make Money Without a Degree" — Then Built a Firm
Tom Hunter didn't plan any of this. He started as a primary school teacher in London, burned out, and Googled "how to make money without a degree." That search led him into recruitment — and nine years later, he walked away to build Story Recruitment, a firm placing the CFOs and senior finance leaders behind fast-growing startups.
In this episode, Tom sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to talk about the long road from the classroom to founder: why he bet everything on storytelling, how a LinkedIn audience of 30,000 became the foundation of his business, and why he believes finance is a commercial partner — not a back-office function.
He also opens up about the hardest year of his career, the loss that shaped his resilience, and the mission behind his podcast, which reached 100,000 listeners in season one.
A conversation about reinvention, relationships, and finding the story behind the person.
About the guest: Tom Hunter, Story Recruitment — first-CFO and first-finance-hire search for Australian tech, fintech and deeptech startups. Host of the CFO Track Podcast. Storyrecruitment.com.au
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The Type of Diabetes Doctors Miss in Adults (LADA)
Manny Hernandez grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, in a world that no longer exists — and left in 2000 as the country changed around him. Years later, a routine checkup in the U.S. led to a diabetes diagnosis, and then a misdiagnosis: he was told he had type 2, when he actually had LADA, sometimes called type 1.5, a form that's often missed in adults.
In this episode, Manny sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to trace the full arc — the shock of diagnosis, the pizza-and-insulin-pump meeting where he first realized he'd found "his people," and how that single moment of not feeling alone became the seed for everything that followed. He co-founded the Diabetes Hands Foundation, built the TuDiabetes and EsTuDiabetes online communities, later handed them to Beyond Type 1, and today leads The Diabetes Link, supporting young adults ages 18–30 living with all types of diabetes.
Manny is candid about the parts people don't see: winding down the foundation to care for his mother, an unforgettable send-off in a San Diego bar, the honest limits of diabetes technology, the fight over access and the Insulin Act, and why — after 24 years — he still hasn't "figured it out." His message stays simple throughout: find your community, and take it one day at a time.
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The Laptop Landlord: How Naresh Turned a Side Hustle Into 9 Properties and 5 Books
Naresh built the kind of business most people are told doesn't exist: one that funds his life instead of consuming it. In this episode of Behind the Story, he sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to trace the road from a Duke degree and a coveted banking offer to becoming a self-described “laptop landlord” — a work-from-home founder running two companies, raising two sons, and owning nine investment properties he scaled up starting in 2017.
He opens up about the real mechanics of a lifestyle business (and why he stopped chasing the “get acquired” dream), the intrapreneur years that gave him a safety net before he went out on his own, and the five books — including a #1 bestseller with a foreword by Philip Kotler — that became his real business card. He also shares his four-part “focus formula” for physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health, and why he's no fan of retirement.
From there the conversation opens up into something rarer: an honest, good-faith exchange about media, culture, and how we lost the ability to tell fact from opinion. A former journalist, Naresh explains why he trades news for books, and he and Jelani — who calls himself an independent with libertarian leanings — disagree, agree, and think out loud about politics and belief without the usual heat. It's a two-part story: how to build a life of focus, and how to keep your head clear while you do it.
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Warrior of Light: Turning Chaos Into Purpose
Theresa Garcia didn't set out to become a coach — she set out to survive. After losing her fiancé and her mother six months apart, she rebuilt her life from the ground up, eventually writing the book Warrior of Light and founding Ruby's Positive Empowerment. In this conversation, Theresa opens up about the difference between survival and real strength, the years-long crisis that forced her to shut down her business and start over, and why she believes healing doesn't have to be as hard as we make it. She shares the exact process she uses with clients to find the gift in painful experiences, why alignment — not hustle — is what actually moves the needle in her life and business, and the hardest truth she had to face about her own role in her chaos. A raw, honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and choosing light on purpose.
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The Career Crisis No One Talks About
Why do so many smart, capable, successful people still feel disconnected from their work? Sarah Aviram has spent her career answering that question — first as a director of talent development, then as the person who convinced her CEO to let her work from 12 countries in 12 months (before remote work was normal), and now as an author, keynote speaker, and leadership coach.
In this conversation, Sarah unpacks the six core drivers of fulfillment at work, why raises and promotions rarely fix burnout, why some high performers quietly check out instead of quitting, and how hybrid and return-to-office policies have created new equity gaps — especially for women. She also shares the personal side of her year abroad: the Buddhist monastery in Thailand, the flamenco dancers in Spain, and the surprising life lesson tying it all together in her new memoir, The Scenic Route.
If you've ever felt successful on paper but empty in practice, this episode is for you.
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The American Slumber Party: Sam Daley-Harris on Waking Up Democracy
Sam Daley-Harris spent twelve years as a professional percussionist and a career as a music teacher before a single question changed the direction of his life: does your member of Congress know your name? In 1978, he asked 7,000 high school students, classroom by classroom, if they could name their own representative. Fewer than three percent could. That gap became the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS, and nearly five decades of work teaching ordinary citizens how to find and use their power.
In this conversation, Sam and Jelani trace his path from music to movement-building — co-founding the Microcredit Summit alongside Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and developing the idea of "transformational advocacy," where the people who show up to change something are changed themselves. Sam shares the stories of two volunteers, Maxine Thomas and Ellie Sparks, whose journeys from "clueless" and "climate trauma" to "euphoric" and "sacred and profound" illustrate what's possible when citizens are trained, not just recruited.
They also talk about what Sam calls the "American Slumber Party" — the pattern of low civic participation he's tracked since the 1970s — and how small, organized groups of trained volunteers have recently helped shape the outcome of proposed federal budget cuts to programs like the EPA and global maternal and child health funding. It's a conversation about cynicism, hope, and the practical, unglamorous work of reclaiming a voice in your own democracy.
Chapters:
00:03 — From percussion to purpose: Sam's unlikely path into activism
02:45 — The question that started it all: naming your member of Congress
06:25 — Co-founding the Microcredit Summit and meeting Muhammad Yunus
13:17 — Transactional vs. transformational advocacy
13:47 — Maxine's story: from "clueless" to "euphoric"
14:44 — Ellie's story: from "climate trauma" to "sacred and profound"
21:19 — Three questions to ask someone you disagree with
33:53 — How organized advocacy shaped a maternal and child health funding decision
39:02 — How a small grassroots network engaged on a proposed EPA budget cut
44:11 — The eighteen commitments behind transformational advocacy
53:15 — Where to start tomorrow: reclaimingourdemocracy.com
Guest's book: Reclaiming Our Democracy — reclaimingourdemocracy.com
Get connected with an advocacy group near you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCQuqj-4O2eh4Sfy_E-dfVntbPlqg1A4T4oQ8E2J0nuZbD-w/viewform
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The Physician Taking Her Fight From the Exam Room to Washington
Dr. Neelam Perry spent over two decades practicing internal medicine and treating HIV/AIDS patients before a personal health crisis changed the direction of her life. After surviving seven strokes and fighting to access a costly medication she says her insurance wouldn't approve, she made a decision: leave medicine and try to fix the system from the inside.
In this conversation, Dr. Perry talks with Jelani Gonzalez about her path from the exam room to the campaign trail, her 2024 congressional run, the election-integrity concerns she says she witnessed firsthand, and what's driving her current U.S. Senate campaign in Florida. The two also dig into her positions on federal power, healthcare policy, and where she stands with the current administration.
This is a conversation about resilience, conviction, and what happens when a healer decides the healthiest thing she can do is challenge the system itself.
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The Diabetes Theory Doctors Don't Want You to Hear
After 27 years practicing as a pediatrician and allergist in Texas, Dr. John Poothullil noticed something in his own body that medical textbooks couldn't explain: weight that crept on every winter and refused to leave by spring. The standard answer — "improper diet and lack of exercise" — wasn't an answer at all. So he spent the next several decades building his own.
In this conversation, Dr. John walks Jelani through the "fatty acid burn switch" — his alternative explanation for Type 2 diabetes that challenges the textbook theory of insulin resistance — and the personal story that radicalized his skepticism of mainstream treatment: a relative whose husband, a medical professor, kept her blood sugar perfectly controlled with insulin for years, only for her to lose a limb anyway.
They also get into why "blood sugar" and "table sugar" are not the same thing, how grain-based carbohydrates became the hidden driver of the obesity epidemic, whether low-carb eating can help starve cancer cells, and what's really happening in your body on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound — including the question Dr. John says almost nobody asks before starting one.
This is a conversation about the difference between treating a number and treating a person — and why understanding your own hunger might matter more than any prescription.
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The Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Too Late
Scherrie L. Prince did not take a straight path into law. Before becoming an attorney, entrepreneur, business coach, and podcast host, she worked in operations, real estate, mortgage brokerage, and business ownership. Then the 2008 mortgage crisis hit, and she lost everything while raising two young children.
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Scherrie to talk about the personal experiences that shaped her legal work today — losing her mother at 16, watching family conflict unfold after her grandparents passed without a plan, losing her own business during the mortgage crisis, and deciding to rebuild through law school.
Scherrie shares why she now helps entrepreneurs protect their businesses, personal assets, families, and future legacy. She breaks down why forming an LLC is not enough, what it means to build a “legal moat” around your business, why business planning and estate planning should work together, and how families lose generational wealth when there is no clear plan in place.
This conversation is about entrepreneurship, resilience, legal protection, legacy, family, and the hard lessons that can become a mission.
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Birthright Citizenship: The Story Behind the 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, birth on American soil has been understood as one of the clearest paths to U.S. citizenship. But after President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160 on the first day of his second term, the country was forced back into a constitutional debate many people thought had already been settled.
In this BTS Exposé Special Edition of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez goes beyond the headlines to unpack the deeper history behind birthright citizenship: English common law, Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
This episode explores the phrase at the center of today’s legal battle — “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” — and why those words now sit at the heart of one of the most important citizenship fights in modern American history.
Jelani breaks down what the Constitution says, what the Trump administration is arguing, why courts have challenged the executive order, and what is at stake for children, families, immigrants, and the future definition of American citizenship.
This is not just a legal story. It is a story about belonging, power, history, and who gets to be recognized as fully American.
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George Tinsley Sr. on Legacy, Faith, Family, and Franchising
George Tinsley Sr.’s story begins in Smoketown, Louisville, where he was raised by Willie Tinsley, a woman with one leg who could not read or write but gave him the foundation of loyalty, responsibility, and resilience.
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with George to talk about the journey behind the championships, the businesses, the book, and the legacy. George shares what it was like growing up during segregation-era Louisville, discovering basketball, winning three NCAA Division II national championships with Kentucky Wesleyan, being selected as an Olympic alternate in 1968, and later making the unexpected transition from professional basketball to teaching, coaching, corporate America, and franchising.
George also opens up about working alongside Colonel Sanders at KFC, becoming a franchise owner, building a family business, founding the KFC Minority Franchise Association, and the deeper meaning of legacy after reconnecting with his birth family later in life.
This conversation is about more than success. It is about family, faith, discipline, leadership, reinvention, and learning how to turn obstacles into opportunities.
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Can AI Help Musicians Create Without Replacing Them?
What happens when an award-winning vocalist and songwriter sits down with an AI music producer building a weekly online producer battle?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez is joined by Gerard Barnes and David Nichol for a timely, honest, and surprisingly personal conversation about AI music, creativity, ownership, and the future of performance.
David shares how AI is helping him reimagine his music, update live shows, and explore new possibilities as a singer and frontman. Gerard opens up about building A Idol, a TikTok-based AI music producer community where creators battle, learn, and push the limits of what AI-generated music can become.
Together, they explore the tension between technology and artistry, why human creativity still matters, what artists need to understand about copyright, and how AI could remove gatekeepers while creating new questions around ownership, authenticity, and live performance.
This conversation goes beyond the fear of AI replacing musicians. It asks a bigger question: What happens when real artists learn how to use AI as a creative partner?
Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts
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Caring Leadership in the Age of AI with Germain St-Denis
What does it really mean to lead people well?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Germain St-Denis, author of Empowering People Through Caring Leadership, for a thoughtful conversation about the difference between managing tasks and truly leading people.
Germain shares lessons from his long career in technology, strategy, management, and executive leadership, including why leaders must train, equip, trust, empower, and genuinely care for their teams. He also explains why human connection matters more than ever in the age of AI, remote work, hybrid teams, and constant workplace change.
This conversation explores what happens when employees feel unseen, how leaders can rebuild trust, why succession planning often fails, and why younger professionals need leaders who help them grow.
If you care about leadership, workplace culture, personal development, or building teams where people can do their best work, this episode offers practical and human-centered insight.
Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Gerard Barnes: The Man Who Built A Battle Show for AI Music Producers
Gerard Barnes is back on Behind the Story — and this time, the conversation goes deep into the world of AI music.
Gerard is the creator of A-Idol, a TikTok-based AI music battle competition where producers from around the world go head-to-head using nothing but their imagination and a machine. Think American Idol — but the artists are the producers, the instrument is AI, and the competition is fierce.
In this episode, Jelani and Gerard explore the real story behind A-Idol's creation, what it actually takes to be a great AI music producer, how Gerard is helping businesses, brands, and older artists find relevance again through AI, and why the old arguments about "real music" keep showing up every time the industry evolves — from sampling to autotune to AI.
They also get into a song that made Gerard cry live on camera, why his famous father Sidney Barnes now has his own AI-produced album, and why Gerard believes the imagination is the most important instrument in music today.
This one is for creators, music lovers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who's ever been told that the new thing isn't real.
Follow Behind the Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Watch A-Idol live on TikTok @UncleFeeelGood.
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Why Success Doesn’t Fix Your Patterns with Daune Thompson
Why do so many successful people still feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Daune Thompson, speaker, coach, and creator of the Soul CEO and Lighthouse Mastery approach, for a conversation about success, burnout, subconscious patterns, alignment, and self-understanding.
Daune shares why she believes burnout is not simply about doing too much, but about being out of alignment with who you are for too long. She also explains why high achievers often keep repeating the same patterns in relationships, health, money, and purpose — even after they have built the life they thought they wanted.
This conversation explores hustle culture, emotional triggers, blind spots, self-mastery, spirituality, science, relationships, and what it means to stop managing your life from the outside and start leading from the inside.
If you have ever looked successful on paper but still felt like something was missing, this episode will give you a deeper way to think about alignment, identity, and the patterns quietly shaping your life.
Learn more about Daune at:
ideserveitnow.com
daunethompson.com
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From Special Ed to Doctorate: Dr. Brian Arnold’s Journey of Resilience
Dr. Brian Arnold’s story is a powerful reminder that where you start does not have to define where you finish.
In this episode of Behind the Story, host Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dr. Brian Arnold to explore his journey from struggling to read as a child and being placed in special education classes, to becoming an educator, entrepreneur, leadership consultant, podcast host, and doctorate holder.
Dr. Brian opens up about growing up in Colorado as one of the few Black students in his school, the pain of being underestimated, the mentors who helped him see his own potential, and the role faith, family, sports, and education played in shaping his life. He also shares why earning his doctorate meant more than a credential—it was proof that the labels placed on him did not have the final word.
The conversation also explores entrepreneurship, reinvention after the 2008 financial crisis, the meaning of freedom, the mission behind Journey to Freedom, and why highlighting everyday successful Black men matters for the next generation.
This is a conversation about resilience, opportunity, purpose, leadership, education, and the people who help us believe we are enough.
Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Helping Young People Find Their Voice
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dale Novella Anderson Lee, a singer, songwriter, music producer, educator, and leader in teaching artistry.
Dale shares how music became a source of healing in her own life and how that calling eventually led her into classrooms, workshops, and community spaces where young people learn to trust their voices. Through her work with Community-Word Project and the Teaching Artist Project, Dale helps artists and students use music, poetry, movement, storytelling, and visual art as tools for expression, confidence, and connection.
This conversation explores what it really means to help young people feel seen, how art can create safety in under-resourced communities, why teaching artists need emotional grounding, and the responsibility that comes with shaping the next generation.
At the heart of the episode is a simple but powerful message: every young person has a voice, and that voice matters.
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Source Intelligence: The Inner Clarity Modern Leaders Are Missing with Anthony Nayagan
What if the future of leadership is not about having more information, but accessing a deeper form of intelligence within?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with Anthony Nayagan, a modern mystic, executive mentor, author, Tamil Siddhar, and Rajarishi, whose work bridges Eastern wisdom traditions and Christian mysticism. Anthony shares his perspective on source intelligence, the difference between external intelligence and internal intelligence, and why today’s leaders need more than strategy, credentials, and information to navigate a noisy world.
The conversation explores Samadhi, conscious leadership, spiritual clarity, the state of witnessing, and what it means to lead from calmness rather than chaos. Anthony also discusses why ancient wisdom is being brought forward now, how Christian faith and Eastern spiritual traditions can coexist, and how everyday people—not just CEOs or public leaders—can begin accessing deeper clarity in their own lives.
This is a powerful conversation for leaders, creators, seekers, and anyone asking: How do I stay centered, clear, and grounded in a world that constantly pulls me outward?
Listen now on Behind the Story.
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Rethink Retirement: Why the Next Chapter Needs a New Identity
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dr. Andrea “Andi” Simon, a corporate anthropologist, culture change expert, author, and speaker who helps people and organizations learn to see, feel, and think differently.
Andi explains why change is so difficult, why leaders often misunderstand culture, and how people protect identity, status, and certainty when they feel disruption coming. She also shares why true transformation begins with curiosity, listening, small wins, and a willingness to see what customers, employees, and communities are really experiencing.
The conversation then turns to one of Andi’s most powerful ideas: retirement may be the biggest culture change many people will ever face. Instead of treating retirement as an ending, Andi invites us to rethink it as a new beginning that requires identity, structure, purpose, community, and adaptability.
This episode is for leaders, business owners, high achievers, and anyone preparing for a personal or professional transition.
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Sandy Knight on Healing, Journaling, and Trusting Your Inner Voice
What happens when your life keeps falling apart — and you decide to rise anyway?
In this episode of Behind the Story, I sit down with Sandy Knight, author of Phoenix Rising Guided Journal for Your Renewal and founder of Spirit Knight, for a conversation about healing, transformation, intuition, and what it really means to rebuild yourself from the inside out.
Sandy shares the deeper story behind her work, including the personal pain, spiritual searching, and emotional breakthroughs that shaped her path. We talk about guided journaling, releasing the weight of the past, shifting your relationship with trauma, and why self-awareness can become the first step toward real renewal.
This conversation explores healing, spiritual growth, emotional resilience, journaling for transformation, and learning how to trust your own inner voice even when life feels uncertain.
If you’ve been navigating grief, change, burnout, identity shifts, or a season of deep personal growth, this episode will speak to you.
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Why Creative Businesses Stay Busy but Not Profitable
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Michelle Williams, founder of Scarlet Thread Consulting and host of Profit is a Choice, for a powerful conversation about what creative entrepreneurs often miss when building a business.
Michelle works with interior designers, architects, builders, stagers, upholsterers, drapery workrooms, and other creative business owners to help them turn talent into profit. In this conversation, she explains why many creatives are busy, booked, and talented — but still not making the money they should.
Michelle breaks down pricing for profit, knowing your numbers, cash-flow timing, discount pressure, gross profit margins, strategic planning, and why financial shame keeps so many business owners stuck.
This episode is a must-listen for creative entrepreneurs, interior designers, coaches, consultants, and small business owners who want to build a business that is not only successful on the outside, but sustainable behind the scenes.
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Fired at 63, Millionaire by 69: David Nassief’s Wealth Turnaround
What happens when you get fired at 63 and realize the math says you could be broke by 65?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with David Nassief to talk about the financial wake-up call that changed his life. After a 40-year career, David found himself facing job loss, fear, and the painful truth that making money is not the same as building wealth. Six years later, he had turned that crisis into a seven-figure portfolio and a simple framework he calls the One-Page Wealth Compass.
This conversation goes beyond motivation. David breaks down practical ideas around getting out of debt, simplifying investing, avoiding shiny financial distractions, and why “set it and forget it” may be more powerful than most people think. He also weighs in on Odell Beckham Jr.’s viral comments about why $100 million is not necessarily “forever money,” and what that reveals about financial literacy, lifestyle inflation, and the difference between income and actual wealth.
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to turn your finances around, this episode will challenge that belief.
What we cover:
The emotional toll of getting fired later in lifeWhy high income does not automatically create wealthHow debt quietly steals freedomDavid’s One-Page Wealth CompassWhy simple investing beat complexityWhat Odell Beckham Jr.’s money comments reveal about wealthConnect with Jelani
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Daniel Burrus on Human-First AI, Hard Trends, and How to Predict What’s Coming Next
What if the future is more predictable than most people think?
On this episode of Behind the Story, I sit down with world-renowned futurist Daniel Burrus to talk about how leaders, professionals, and everyday people can stop reacting to change and start anticipating it.
We get into Daniel’s powerful framework of Hard Trends vs. Soft Trends, why certainty matters more than ever in a world flooded with uncertainty, and how to spot opportunity before everyone else does.
We also dive deep into AI and the future of work including why Daniel believes AI should augment humans, not replace them, what skills will matter most in the years ahead, and why trust, communication, collaboration, and human judgment are becoming even more valuable.
This conversation also explores autonomous vehicles, aging-tech innovation, lifelong learning, and the mindset shift people need to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.
If you’ve been wondering how to think bigger, move earlier, and use AI without losing your human edge, this is the episode for you.
#BehindTheStory #DanielBurrus #FutureOfWork #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanFirstAI #Leadership #Innovation #CareerGrowth
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Former FBI Analyst on Career Change, Self-Trust and Reinvention
Former FBI intelligence analyst Adam Dickinson joins Behind the Story for a conversation about the hidden cost of always being the reliable one.
After more than 15 years analyzing high-stakes information, Adam made a major shift into entrepreneurship and now helps high-performing professionals navigate career transitions with more clarity, self-trust, and alignment. In this episode, we talk about why smart people stay stuck even when they know something feels off, how overthinking creates its own kind of paralysis, and why the hardest career decisions are often less about information and more about identity.
Adam shares how his background in intelligence analysis shaped the way he now helps people move through uncertainty, how intuition and logic can work together instead of against each other, and what it takes to let go of a version of yourself that no longer fits. We also get into burnout, reinvention, self-trust, and how to reset when your head and your gut are pulling in different directions.
This episode is for anyone navigating a career pivot, feeling disconnected from a life that looks successful on paper, or trying to figure out what comes next without making a reckless leap.
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“Inside the System”: A Black Federal Worker on Trump, DEI Backlash, Voting & “White Pomposity”
What happens when a career federal public servant spends decades working across administrations—and then lives through the Trump era from the inside?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with Deric A. Gilliard, author of The Longest Four Years of My Life, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on leadership, courage, and the price of telling the truth inside big institutions.
We unpack:
Why “Stand Your Ground” is not courage—and how fear + power shape policing and justiceDeric’s concept of “white pomposity,” and what it reveals about hierarchy, entitlement, and social orderThe opioid crisis vs. the crack era: who gets empathy, who gets punished, and how narratives get weaponizedImmigration + UACs (unaccompanied children): what the public misses—and what moral injury looks like up closeVoting rights and voter suppression—and why Deric believes civic action starts with the basics: vote, call, write, organizeThis conversation lands in the middle of today’s biggest debates—DEI backlash , mail-in voting fights , and new pushes around voter eligibility restrictions —but stays grounded in lived experience, history, and practical leadership.
🎧 Listen now and share your biggest takeaway.
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Aaron Ryan on Writing 43 Books, Fatherhood, and the Fight to Keep Storytelling Human
On this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with bestselling and award-winning author Aaron Ryan for a deeply personal conversation about the life behind the books.
Aaron opens up about the childhood spark that made him a storyteller, the emotional therapy of writing, how fatherhood reshaped both his life and his work, and why hope remains the through-line in the worlds he creates. He also shares what it means to self-publish, see his work adapted for screen, and navigate a creative career during a time when AI is rapidly disrupting both publishing and voice acting.
This is a conversation about identity, legacy, creativity, and what it means to keep creating when the world keeps changing.
In this episode:
The childhood moment that made Aaron realize he was meant to writeWhy writing is both catharsis and callingFatherhood, vulnerability, and his book on being a dadThe emotional toll of loving fictional charactersAI’s impact on authors, voice artists, and human creativitySelf-publishing vs traditional publishingThe legacy Aaron hopes to leave behind#BehindTheStory #AaronRyan #AuthorInterview #WritingLife #SelfPublishing #VoiceActing #AIAndCreativity #Fatherhood #SciFiAuthor #FantasyAuthor #HumanAuthored
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Dr. Donna Bellinger: Discipline, Self-Worth, and Getting Paid Your Value
What really keeps business owners stuck in sales?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Dr. Donna Bellinger breaks down the habits, mindset gaps, and leadership mistakes that quietly block revenue growth. She shares why business owners often become their own bottleneck, how self-sabotage shows up in sales, and why consistently communicating your competence matters more than trying to be the smartest person in the room.
Donna also explains her powerful “suspects, prospects, and ambassadors” framework, how to stop chasing the wrong people, and what sales discipline actually looks like when you want sustainable growth.
This conversation is direct, practical, and full of real-world advice for entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and owner-operators who want to grow revenue, own their value, and build a stronger business.
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Michelle Minnikin on Good Girl Conditioning, Imposter Syndrome, and Women Playing Small
Why do so many women grow up learning to be liked, agreeable, and accommodating — but not fully themselves?
In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with Michelle Minnikin — author, speaker, coach, and organisational psychologist — to unpack the hidden conditioning that teaches women to over-function, people-please, apologize constantly, and shrink their voice in the workplace and in life.
Michelle breaks down the concept behind her work on Good Girl Deprogramming, explains why imposter syndrome is often misunderstood, and shares how women are shaped from an early age to prioritize acceptability over authenticity. The conversation also explores burnout, toxic work environments, cultural conditioning, leadership, and what dads can do differently when raising daughters.
This is a powerful conversation about identity, confidence, language, and what it takes to stop performing and start living more truthfully.
In this episode:
What “good girl conditioning” really meansWhy so many women don’t know what they wantThe connection between burnout and over-functioningWhy imposter syndrome may be a workplace problem, not a personal flawHow toxic environments affect women differentlyThe language patterns that quietly keep women smallWhat parents, especially fathers, should stop saying to girls#BehindTheStory #MichelleMinnikin #GoodGirlDeprogramming #WomenInLeadership #ImposterSyndrome #PeoplePleasing #WorkplaceConfidence #Boundaries #PersonalGrowth
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Epstein Files, FBI Pressure, and the Truth Behind the Redactions
In this special edition of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with attorney Courtney Groff and retired FBI agent Eric Robinson for a timely roundtable on the Epstein files, the DOJ response, FBI procedure, congressional pressure, and the growing crisis of public trust. The conversation breaks down how investigations actually move between the FBI and DOJ, why records are sometimes released in pieces, what redactions are supposed to protect, why victim privacy complicates public demands for transparency, and what the reported hack of Kash Patel’s personal Gmail says about the moment we’re in right now. This is a grounded conversation for listeners who want clarity, not chaos.
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Jade Simmons on Purpose, Reinvention, Faith, and Independent Politics
Jade Simmons joins Behind the Story for a powerful conversation on purpose, reinvention, faith, leadership, mental health, and politics. Jade shares how a battle with stage fright unexpectedly transformed her career from classical concert pianist into transformational speaker, and why she now defines purpose as what happens in others when you do what you do.
We also discuss youth suicide prevention, the state of the mental health conversation, authenticity, independent political thinking, immigration, tax policy, abortion, and what it means to lead with conviction in a deeply divided culture.
This is a wide-ranging episode about impact, courage, identity, and the cost of becoming who you were really meant to be.
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Mark Astor: Why the System Fails Families in Addiction & Mental Health Crisis
In this episode of Behind The Story, Jelani sits down with attorney Mark Astor for a candid conversation about addiction, severe mental illness, and why the system often reacts too late to save families. Drawing from his experience as a former prosecutor and his current work helping families navigate crisis, Mark explains what he saw inside the justice system, why untreated behavioral health issues keep leading people back into chaos, and what families can do before tragedy strikes.
They discuss why addiction should be understood as a disease rather than a simple choice, how families can tell the difference between denial and being uninformed, what “real hope” looks like in recovery, and why compassionate legal intervention can sometimes be an act of love. Mark also shares what happens when families do nothing, why treatment often fails when it is too short or poorly enforced, and how earlier action can change the outcome for everyone involved.
This episode is for anyone affected by addiction, mental health crisis, family trauma, or the hard reality of trying to help someone who does not believe they need help.
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Chronic Pain Isn’t Forever: Daniel Esposito’s “Undo Method” + The Comeback Story
What if chronic pain isn’t the end of the story?
In this episode of Behind The Story, I sit down with Daniel “Dan” Esposito, creator of the Undo Method, to unpack his decade-long battle with chronic pain, multiple diagnoses, and feeling like he couldn’t fully show up for his family — and how he rebuilt his health from the ground up.
Dan shares the turning points that changed everything: what didn’t work early on, the first real “breakthrough” moment that gave him hope, and the core framework behind the Undo Method — a combination of a chronic pain playbook plus his supplement approach (“Flexibility Fuel”) designed around the way he thinks pain gets “stuck” in the body.
In this conversation we get into:
Chronic pain loops: inflammation, soft tissue/fascia, and why it can feel like your body is “on fire”The castor oil / lymphatic story that became a major early “signal” for himFasting timelines (autophagy + longer fasts) and why he believes it matters for recoveryBreathing through the nose, nitric oxide, and the “simple” stuff people overlookFood choices, omega balance, and why he became extremely intentional about what’s in his homeNote: This episode is for education and discussion, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified clinician for personal health decisions.
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