The Lone Star Plate

Today, I’m joined by Hayley Orrantia, best known for her role of Erica Goldberg in the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs. Hayley does more than acting - she also starred in the first series of The X Factor as a member of Lakota Rayne, a country-pop girl group. She tells me about her journey through fame, what it’s like being on the set of The Goldbergs, and how much being on the show has influenced her life. We also talk about how Hayley got into acting, how real cooking shows are, and what...

Today, we’re joined by Leigh Nash, the American singer and songwriter, best known for being lead vocalist for the pop band Sixpence None the Richer. She tells me how she found her passion for music, what it’s been like touring on the road with her music, and how the 1990s iconic song ‘Kiss Me’ launched her career. Leigh also places a lot on her faith and it was really easy to feel connected with someone like her. We end the chat by talking about what the future for Leigh holds, and why she...

Today, we have a special double-billed episode where I interview the owners of two of the best takeaway restaurants in Austin, Rosen's Bagels and Tso Chinese Delivery. First up I have Tom Rosen, the owner of Rosen’s Bagels on the show. He tells me about what inspired him to make a bagel business, what separates a good bagel from a bad bagel, and what the process of bagel-making involves. Next, I’m joined by Min Choe and Angell Tsang, who run Tso Chinese Delivery. They explain how Chinese...

There’s not many things Austin is missing, but it’s never had a proper soccer stadium. That is till now, with the new stadium scheduled to open in March. Today, we’re joined by President of the Los Verdes Club Gaby Navarro and Co-Founder Andrew Urban to discuss what the future for soccer in Austin looks like. With any great soccer team, you need a great club behind them to cheer them on. Los Verdes ATX is an independent supporters group of Austin FC with the aim to make the games as fun as...

Today I'm joined by Marcus Collins from The Texas Tenors, a fantastic singing group that blends opera, pop and country music in unique vocal arrangements. The Texas Tenors, whose other two members are JC Fisher and John Hagen, were formed in 2009 in order to audition for America's Got Talent. They made it to finals of Season 4 of the show, and became the highest ranking vocal group in the show's history. They also won three Emmys, and until the pandemic hit, were touring extensively all...

Today, I’m joined by food documentary filmmaker Christian Remde. Christian has been making documentaries for years, and since the pandemic he’s been focusing on his new series Reopen. Reopen looks at how different restaurants are responding to COVID-19, and the difficulties they’ve come up against since last March. This is an industry that’s been hit hard by the pandemic, and with minimal government support people have had to innovate constantly to keep their businesses alive. We talk...

My guests Amanda McBain and Jesse Moss are the co-directors and producers of the new Apple TV Plus documentary ‘Boys State’. The documentary follows the journey of four boys taking part in a programme where they attempt to build a representative government from the ground up. As you can expect from a group of teenagers, we see a mixture of idealistic youth ingenuity, and a 'Lord of the Flies' type of scenario unfold. What begins as a political programme turns into a beautiful coming of age...

Our guest today is Janice Engel, the director of an amazing documentary film Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins. Who is Molly Ivins, some of you may ask? Molly Ivins (1944-2007) was a famous Texan journalist and libertarian, who changed the space of journalism in the US. Using her witty persona and writing, she was challenging corruption and injustice wherever she saw them. But she was also an amazing cook and her recipes even ended up in a book! Raise Hell premiered at the...

Today, I’m interviewing Ruthie Foster, a blues and folk singer-songwriter legend. Ruthie’s best known for mixing a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She’s won countless awards, including three Grammy nominations and numerous wins at the Blues Music Awards. The journey she’s been on is nothing short of inspiring, and with a character like hers, we can’t help but love her. We talk about her creative process, how she got into music, what...

Nothing’s more exciting than being in the stadium at an NFL game. But what’s it like to be playing on the field? With all those eyes watching you and all those players ready to knock you down. Today, at the start of Season 3 of The Lone Star Plate Podcast, we find out as I talk to American footballer Sam Acho. Sam tells me what it was like to play in the NFL, the diet he follows as an athlete, and why he chose to be on The Players Association Board. He also explains why he wrote his new...

In the last episode before the end of this strange year 2020, I'm joined by Alan Knitowski, the CEO of Phunware. Phunware is a company founded in 2009 and based here in Austin, Texas. They provide cloud platform for mobile including location-based and advertising software. They've seen some phenomenal success early on when internet went mobile and won numerous awards for fastest growing companies. Phunware were recently in the news because of the mobile app they built for Trump's...

Cooking shows have been getting more and more popular, and one of the most popular has to be MasterChef. Today I’m meeting Michael Silverstein, a cook and contestant on the show. He’s completely open with me, telling us how he got recognised because of his Instagram account, what the audition process is like, and how real the show actually is. He explains the difference between cooking on the show to cooking in real life and how to best prepare yourself if you think you might ever be a...

Today, I’m interviewing American entrepreneur and tech guru, Noah Kagan. He worked at Facebook, Mint and Intel, and is currently helping other entrepreneurs improve their businesses with his website OkDork, a blog about marketing, starting business, self-exploration and his love of tacos. With his history at Facebook, the talk soon moves to social media, whether it’s beneficial, and the problems that are inherent within it. What's unique about Noah Kagan is that he never saw Social...

My inspiring guest today is Gloria Feldt, who is an expert on women, power and leadership, a New York Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. She is the co-founder and president of Take The Lead, whose mission and ambition is to prepare, develop, inspire, and propel women to take their share in leadership positions across all sectors by 2025. Previously she served as the president and CEO of the world’s largest reproductive health and advocacy organization, Planned Parenthood...

There’s some actors that have starred in more films than you can possibly count. Today I’m excited to interview one of them. Stephen Tobolowsky is best known for his roles in Groundhog Day, Space Balls, Deadwood and many many others. Working alongside the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Christopher Nolan, Jim Beaver, and Powers Boothe, Stephen’s got amazing few stories to tell. He gives me a great insight into what it’s like living in the acting world and explains to me what ‘The Bible of a...

My guest today might be one of the funniest men I’ve ever talked to. Sonny Melendrez is a voice actor, motivational speaker, radio personality and he even hosted his very own show on Disney. He’s won a national award from Billboard Magazine and embodies his motto of ‘intentional enthusiasm’. He’s here to tell me about life as an impressionist - how he got into doing impressions, how he broke his way into the entertainment industry, and the tips he has for anyone looking at a similar...

Craft beer accounts for over 25% of the $116 billion dollar U.S. beer market. But what’s it like for the people running these breweries? How do they make these beers and what makes them so good? Today, I’m joined by the owner of LBK Brewery Mike Ngheim and his master brewer Sally Taylor. We delve straight into the world of craft breweries. They tell me how they started their own brewery and share some tips for anyone thinking of doing something similar. They explain how each process...

Today I’m joined by one of the Original Latin Kings of Comedy, Alex Reymundo. Not only is Alex a comedian, but he also runs and owns his tequila business together with Ron White called ‘Number Juan Tequila’. I have a bottle for the show, planning on having a shot or two. But it’s so smooth, I keep on sipping away and end up drinking a good deal of it! We have a real laugh as we chat about Alex’s life as a comedian, the state of comedy, cancel culture, and how he ended up in the tequila...

Believe it or not, this is the first episode ever of the Lone Star Plate solely about barbecue! My guest is Leonard Botello IV, the owner of Truth BBQ, and he uncovers the secret of why barbecue in Texas is like no other. Truth BBQ is based in Houston, and it has been recently featured as #10 in Texas Monthly's list of Top 50 barbecue places in Texas. Just to give you a quick backstory, they started as a roadside outpost in Brenham, Texas in 2015. Leonard took a used Klose pit and a small...

Today we are taking a turn and discussing atheism on the show. My guest is Aron Ra, an author, atheist activist and regional director of American Atheists. He had previously served as president of the Atheist Alliance of America and ran as a Democratic candidate for Texas' District 2 Senate seat. Aron dispels the myths of what atheism is and how people act as atheists. He is very well read and knowledgeable on the subject, so we go over the terms such as theism, atheism, anti-theism or...