My longtime Casper, Wyoming, friend Neil J. Short is almost 62 and does not put in an inordinate amount of time on exercise. But he's passionate about the benefits of daily exercise, as he shows clearly in this conversation we had today in my living room in Denver. 

Neil couldn't possibly have been talking to someone less involved in outdoor exercise, but even I am convinced that there is no denying the truth of what he says so well. 

You can contact him at NeilWyo AT (NO SPAM PLEASE) gmail DOT com.

Ron Lyle of Denver, a retired heavyweight boxer who fought Muhammad Ali in 1975, visited  his alma mater, Manual High School, on February 10, 2009, to talk with students working on the school magazine, Boom. 

This is the unedited recording of the conversation, featuring Lyle's heartfelt encouragement of the kids to experience the rewards of focus and commitment in any endeavor.

This is an interview I did today (January 19, 2009) with Jason L. Owens, volunteer manager for Volunteers of America - Colorado.  I was inspired to check out VOA as part of President-Elect Obama's call to service on Martin Luther King Day.  VOA is one of 5,000 organizations where volunteers signed up to help today.   Obama himself did some painting today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Jason gave me two volunteer applications, for my wife and I to fill out.  We will do so and plan to spend some time learning what volunteer opportunities are nearby our home in Downtown Denver.

My college friend Ben Beach, editor of The Wilderness Society's Wilderness Magazine, never misses a Harvard-Yale football game and always holds a tailgate barbecue before the game.  In this podcast Ben talks about the hard-to-define pleasure he gets from this regularity, and he and I remember the most famous Harvard-Yale game in the 125-year history of the classic, 1968's version which ended in a 29-29 tie.  The podcast contains audio clips from Ben and his wife Carol's 36th consecutive barbecue this year, and also some audio from a showing at a local movie theatre of "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29," a new documentary out about the game.  I highly recommend the movie, which The New Yorker calls "a fascinating feat of cultural archeology."

This is the mp3 version of this week's Audio Pod Chronicles interview with Jeff Cutler.

Writer and podcaster Jeff Cutler was one of the only Boston Media Makers without a device feeding him information from the Internet at our meeting on Sunday, August 3, 2008, at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain.  It turns out his laptop was in the shop.   This prompted him to lead a lively discussion among the 22 of us at the meeting about how much we depend on being connected at all times to the Internet.  

Jeff is a thoughtful guy who is on what he calls a one-year "Writing Sabbatical" during which he is aiming at a new phase of his career that will involve more commentary and opinion writing.  

He uses his podcast, "Bowl of Cheese" in an effective and unusual way as a supplement to his blog of the same name.  All in all, Jeff Cutler is doing creative, original work in the new media space, and it's always good to connect with him, even when he's unplugged!  I think you'll enjoy this profile of a writer from Hingham, Mass.,  who is using new media to full advantage.  

Music for my podcast is “Going to the Sun” composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon.  It’s from their excellent Glacier Journey CD .

Photo of Jeff and me is by Steve Garfield of SteveGarfield.com .

I’d love to hear your feedback on this topic or any other. You can leave a voice comment at 206-666-2713 or you can send me an email to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here.

NOTE: If you are a Kindle owner or merely intrigued,  I hope you will check out my new weekly podcast, The Kindle Chronicles, uploaded each Friday.  It's also available for free subscription at the iTunes Store.

Video evangelist Steve Garfield met me this morning at Sweet Finnish at 761 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, where each month for the past two years he has hosted Boston Media Makers in a back room filled with fascinating media creators, artists, and gadget freaks who have a chance to meet and share enthusiasms and info. BMM meets the first Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. for two hours.  In this interview, Steve remembers how he first got into blogging, then video blogging, a genre he pretty much invented, and now live mobile "storycasting."   Steve shows how a playful, experimental, happy engagement with new technology can yield results far beyond a mere effort to "monetize" internet innovation.  He does talk about the nuts and bolts of moving toward making a living in this space, as well as what he's learning right now about the new frontier of mobile live broadcasting.    

The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

This is an audio portrait of The Phoenix Concept, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for homeless men.  Contributions may be sent to The Phoenix Concept, 2162 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205. The phone number is 303-293-3620.

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Please feel free to send your feedback to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here on the show notes page.

Jerome (Jerry) Lau of Construction Support Services, Inc., in Centennial, Colorado, has spent 50 years developing expertise in hydromechanics.  Jerry has never written a poem about water, but the depth of his understanding of the topic struck me as similar to the level of attention an artist must devote to his or her subject in order to succeed.  He recently finished a water-leak study of our building, and this morning he spoke with me about his work.  The power of his expertise means he doesn't have to advertise or market the services he and his partner provide.  His customers find him by word of mouth (and the occasional podcast). If you'd like to contact him,  email me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.

Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

mp3 version

A special Christmas week interview with my wife, Darlene, in which we discuss strategies for spouses married to social network addicts, quilting compared with podcasting, how to live in two cities, and how to transform Christmas shopping from a form of torture into an ordinary challenge, compliments of author Harville Hendrix and the dialog technique described  in his book How to Get the Love You Want. 

I'm a big fan of The M Show podcast featuring John Wall and the lovely Carin, his wife, so this interview is indirect homage to them.

The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.