The Vandy Program

Sep 06 2026

Three Recent YouTube Interviews to Check Out

I have an interview show on YouTube called The Vandy Program and we had three interviews before the Labor Day Weekend Holiday that are worth your time.

Will Tanner: Rhodesia, South Africa, and…What Could Be Coming to America

This interview was an eye-opener for me, and it’s likely about a 9 on a 10-point controversy scale. Will Tanner is the publisher of The American Tribune and he has studied Africa, and specifically Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa and the histories of those two countries, more than anyone I’ve bumped into.

Even if you’re not in agreement with the headline — it SOUNDS counter-intuitive, I know — it’s an illuminating discussion.

Jackie Chea: Right-Wing ‘Grifters’ like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, and a ‘Woke Right’ Definition

Jackie Chea is an Evangelical Christian and blogger at Fair and Biased. She and I spent an hour or so talking about the concept of the “Woke Right” — a term made popular by blogger and commentator James Lindsay — and the rise and fall of Right Wing “Grifters” like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.

This was probably less controversial than the Will Tanner discussion, but still might challenge a couple assumptions of folks that are either Left- or Left-of-Center politically.

Ginger (@HandyGingerGal): From Canada to Costa Rica

This might have been the most practical of the three: if you’re looking to relocate, here’s a woman named Ginger who, with her husband, moved to Costa Rica from their native Canada. They had to build — literally and figuratively — a new life in a new country.

More interviews are coming to the channel…which just went over the 50,000 Subscribers milestone!

Thanks for your support.

Aug 01 2026

A Quick July Recap

This is part accountability post and part thank you. We’ve done quite a bit in the month of July to grow a couple brands under the Area 224 umbrella. And yours truly has done his best to stay in shape. So here goes:

The Vandy Program: 5 Long-Form Interviews

Starting to find a groove and that’s fun; aiming to exceed that figure in August.

July 1: Congressional Candidate Angel Oakley

In response to the growth of Democratic Socialist candidates throughout the country, I sat down (for the second time this year) with Angel Oakley, who is a GOP candidate for U.S. Congress in the 3rd District of Illinois.

July 9: Sportswriter Matt Sieger Talks About the 78 San Francisco Giants (And the 2026 Giants’ Pride Hat Controversy)

This was the most-popular video of the month, with 43,000 views and counting. Really illuminating conversation with Matt Sieger on faith, sports, the intersection of the two, and tying to have reasonable conversations with those who may not agree with you.

July 21: Sean McGinnis from The Manager Vault

With his colleague Ashley Graham, Sean McGinnis has created The Manager Vault as a platform to share what he and Ashley have learned throughout their years as leaders of people.

July 24: Liam Gallegos Talks ‘MAHA’ and AI

He calls himself “The King of LinkedIn Live” and Liam Gallegos has devoted his time lately to both AI and spreading the word on healthy living.

July 28: Tom Shanahan On College Football’s Integration Titans

I learned a ton in this interview, and Tom Shanahan has written books about the subject of the 1960s and college football integration. (Duffy Daugherty was quite the hero.)

My thanks to the growing number of subscribers. We’re just getting started, eh?

The Saturday List: The Streak Continues!

We’ve now done 39 straight editions of The Saturday List, and it serves as both a recap and a look ahead at what I’m Watching, Reading, Listening to, and Rediscovering each week.

Plus we’ve added a kicker of sorts, “Finally,” as the last word from whatever category I please.

AND, Workout Statistics

In July, I managed to go to the gym for a workout on 25 of the 31 days.

Part of the mission for me is building good habits, and, as author James Clear tells us in his book Atomic Habits, one key is “don’t miss two straight days.” And, despite a couple minor injuries, I…didn’t miss two straight days. A tiny victory.

What’s Next?

August will bring, at the minimum:

6 long-form interviews on The Vandy Program.
5 Editions of The Saturday List (you can see the August 1 edition at the link).
And I won’t miss two straight days at the gym.

You can hold me to that. And thanks so much for your support!

Jun 09 2026

Is The Future of Work Less Social?

David Armano was my guest on a recent episode of The Vandy Program, and he pulled no punches when talking about where things are going.

Some highlights from our conversation:

Get Used to Working with Agents

Not talent agents, of course, but AI agents. This will make us more efficient, but also lonelier. You used to go into an office and have the advantage of “water cooler conversations,” but now you’re going to need to set up your own conversations with like-minded individuals — that may not be your coworkers — because your water cooler conversations will be with AI agents that you’ll be asking to work on several tasks for you.

Build Your Own Career Bunker

David’s concept of “Career Prepping” makes total sense: get rid of the excess stuff and stop chasing a higher social status; instead you should build the skills you need to survive in the workplace of the future.

“No one is coming to save you.” Wise advice, but will also mean…yes, a lonelier future.

Time to Find Your People

Conversations like this, I think, are great — and you don’t have to have them on a podcast like I do — because you learn something new, and you get to find out who your “people” are.

This is going to become much more important in the future: having a stable of folks that you can call and bounce ideas off of is really vital. (And one thing I’ve learned is how valuable the chat is when it continues AFTER the recording button gets turned off. Really really good stuff.)

IN any event…

Give the video a watch, and check out David’s work on his Substack.

Jun 01 2026

Three Recent Vandy Program Interviews

Back in December 2025, I decided to post content each day; between this blog, my Substack, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X, the plan was something every day. It was a fun experiment and…I figured June 2026 was a good enough time to do that again. So here goes; it’s June 1 and time to take a look at some recent videos.

One of the fun things about my podcast, The Vandy Program, is the variety of people I get to interview.

So let’s take this opportunity to look back at three completely different discussions — one sports, one business, and one a discussion of current events that I’m calling The News Of The Day — that you can find on YouTube.

Lauren Beasley, Sportswriter

One of my claims on my various channels is that I’m a “Recovering Sportscaster.” It’s true; but most of my sportscasting experience is from days of yesteryear, specifically in college athletics, where the players were unpaid and the coaches didn’t jump from one program to another THAT often.

USA Today writer Lauren Beasley is much more plugged in, covering the SEC — and specifically South Carolina — from her perch in the Palmetto State. She also grew up in Augusta, Georgia; so she knows a thing or 72 about golf, and she covers that sport, too.

This interview checked all the boxes: fun conversation, engaging subject matter expert, and a couple semi-controversial pieces (if you consider Lane Kiffin to be controversial; see above about coaches jumping from one program to another).

Jeannie Walters, Author of ‘Experience Is Everything’

This interview fell into the “Throwback” category, in that Jeannie Walters and I both realized we went back a long way. (How long? Chicago folks may remember Techweek; Jeannie and I were part of the team that created Techweek’s original iteration, in 2004, SEVEN YEARS before the officially branded Techweek.)

Jeannie has built quite a career as an expert in Customer Experience; and her work as CEO of Experience Investigators led her to share her findings in a book called Experience Is Everything.

This discussion is really pertinent in the modern world where you can have any and everything you want at the touch of a button; but sometimes that button-click moment ain’t everything it’s cracked up to be, and everything leading up to the moment is kinda meh, too.

Here’s the link.

Andrew Donaldson, Podcaster and Host of ‘Heard Tell’

Andrew and I go back several years and, in addition to his work behind the microphone, he is also part of the editorial team at Ordinary-Times, a rather cool website that yours truly has contributed to in the past.

This interview was part of an occasional feature I’m calling The News Of The Day, where we riff on…get this…the news of the day. But I capitalize every first letter, even the “O” in “Of” and both “T’s” in “The” because I am a rebel. (But not enough of a rebel to just say “Ts” because that looks weird.)

In any event, this dropped on Wednesday, May 27 and…most of what we talked about is still in the news. This may be a testament to the vagaries of modern warfare AND modern political campaigns.

Here’s the link to that one:

What’s Ahead in June?

Well, we’re aiming for content daily, so check back often. We’re also doubling-down on video interviews.

Thanks, as always, for your support.