ConverSapiens Podcast

Cara Jewell worked as a House Parent for girls group homes in Alabama. In this episode of ConverSapiens, she joins us to talk about the foster system and her experience in it. The foster system is in constant need of new foster parents and volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, you can find more information at adoptuskids.org. You can also contact local group homes to volunteer and learn how you can help. If you enjoy the show, visit our website at...

Dungeons & Dragons is a cultural phenomenon that has grown like wildfire since its inception in the 70s. The world's definitive table-top role playing game has influenced the video game industry in countless ways and continues to grow, despite its association with the 1980s. This week Turner from the Gimme Da Loot podcast joins ConverSapiens to enlighten us on the history of DnD and give us an in depth look at a game that has massively impacted our culture. Check out Turner's podcast...

Ben Kitchings is the host of The History Voyager, a 2020 podcast that is aimed (in the current season) at documenting the historic context and background of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. On his show, Ben explores the true stories of the Spanish Flu to compare and contrast it with the current COVID19 pandemic. He interviews different experts in Spanish Flu era history as well as modern people to learn how the coronavirus has impacted their lives. In this episode of ConverSapiens, we jump...

Jordan Crestwood is the author of the apocalyptic tale Within the Flame: After the Fall, a new fiction series that explores the dark depths of the human psyche when confronted with the collapse of society and the nature of true heroism in the face of utter chaos. Crestwood (pen name of Josh Geckles) has been a lifelong writer who only recently entered the public sphere with the publication of After the Fall, Book 1. In this episode of ConverSapiens, he discusses his process as a writer and...

Krista Thom is a woman who has not sat down in nearly 3 years! Due to a sitting disability caused by sciatica, shew must either stand or lie down at all times. Sitting causes her a whole host of issues including extremely painful cramping and eventual sleep deprivation as a result of nights full of pain. Even sitting for a short period of time causes these symptoms for her. In this episode of ConverSapiens, she shares with us about her life full of lots of walking, tons of standing, and some...

Michael Tucker is a martial artist who owns A.C.T. Defense, a dojo in Birmingham, where he teaches Bujinkan budo taijutsu. He has been practicing taijutsu since 1992 and holds a 13th degree black belt in the art. Michael also teaches Defensive Pistol courses, Women's Protective Measures, and Personal Protective Measures open to the general public. In today's episode we discuss the many philosophical implications of budo- traditional Japanese martial arts like that one we practice.

Anna Coburn is the creator of a new 6-part serial podcast called Wildish that chronicles the wild horse population problem in the Western United States. The show is done in partnership with High Country News and Alan Wartes Media. In our conversations, we talk about the Bureau of Land Management and its strategy for managing wild horse populations after the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 protected the animals to virtually the same degree as wild bald eagles. Anna interviewed...

Soul Sisters Paranormal is an all female team of paranormal investigators that visit haunted sites with a goal of gathering evidence of paranormal activity and telling then stories of places thought to be haunted by spirits. Kristy Sumner is a leading member of the team who joined ConverSapiens this week to discuss their work and talk about some of her experiences with ghosts! Taken from soulsistersparanormal.com: "In 2014, investigators Kristy, Michelle, Jenny, and Cara decided to...

Kaci Parvin and Mandy Barnett are two women who live with mental illnesses. In this episode of ConverSapiens, they describe their diagnoses and offer insights into how depression, anxiety, ptsd, and borderline personality disorder have impacted their lives. We discuss stereotypes and stigmas about mental illness and treatment options they have explored in their mental health journeys. This episode heavily features discussion about intrusive thoughts, self-harm, and suicide. Those may be...

In this episode developmental psychologist Dr. Jonathan Adams joins the podcast to talk about… developmental psychology! We discuss the issues with old schools of thought such as Freud’s psychosexual stages and Piaget’s stages of development as well as other ideas about learning and development like Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. What do nature vs. nurture, the Milgram experiment, learning styles, and standardized testing all have in common? They are all discussed in episode 5 of...

Cushing's Syndrome is a term used to describe hypercortisolism and the many strange effects that massive overdoses of cortisol - the stress hormone - can have on your body. People who experience Cushing's can be either endogenous patients, meaning they their body produces too much cortisol naturally because of pituitary or adrenal issues, or exogenous, usually meaning they are taking in synthetic cortisol in the form of corticosteroid medications such as prednisone. In this episode of...

In this episode of the ConverSapiens podcast, we talk to Ethan Hammond, who is a mobility specialist, a yoga tuneup instructor, and a CrossFit coach in England. Ethan runs a service known as E.H. Mobility where he works with clients to increase range of motion, resolve athletic dysfunction that leads to pain, and promote better mobility habits that lead to improved health over time, for athletes and nonathletes alike. In today's episode Ethan and Caleb discuss the five most common mobility...

In this episode of ConverSapiens, Duncan McCrary joins the show all the way from Chiba Prefecture in Japan, where he teaches English as a foreign language. In our conversation, he discusses aspects of Japanese culture, including the famous Japanese efficiency, their cultural dedication to detail, the duality of honne and tatemae, and much more. We also discuss the unfortunate worldwide fascination with grammar in Foreign Language Education and we talk a little bit about the Bujinkan budo...

In this debut episode of the Conversapiens podcast, host Caleb Wilemon interviews 19-year high school art teacher and artist, Chris Screws. The conversation centers around art education, how artistic inspiration manifests, and the philosophical value of learning to draw, paint, sculpt, etc. Chris describes his unique Special Effects class, the Insanitarium Haunt he runs that features his SFX students' work each fall, and his mask store, where he sells one of a kind latex masks that he...