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Dream Chasers and Eccentrics: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Paul Trammell
Dreams can't be caught unless they are chased, and eccentricity is but a symptom of brilliance. I interview extraordinary people who forge their own path, make their own rules, and live outside the norms of society. Together, we can learn from each other. Remember, foolish people keep making the same mistakes, smart people learn from their mistakes and successes, and extraordinary people learn from the mistakes and successes of both themselves and of others. That is what Dream Chasers and Eccentrics is all about!
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- Today1h 5m
Mark Astor, Navigating Mental Health and Addiction Crises in the Legal System
Mark Astor is a lawyer who leads a legal team dedicated to helping families in crisis due to mental health disorders, substance use, and failed recovery efforts. They deal with navigating involuntary treatment laws like Florida's Baker Act and the Marchman Act, working closely with clinical teams and family systems, and helping families regain control when a loved one's condition threatens their safety, autonomy, or future. We talk about the criminal justice system and how they deal with mental health and addiction cases, Mark's career and how it evolved, learning the entrepreneur side of law, starting a law firm, the Baker Act and the Marchman Act, guardianship cases, getting married and building a business with his wife, hiring a team, mental health and addiction, Florida's draconian mental health system and how he helps families navigate it, treatment, recovery residences, marijuana and how it stands out as the most problematic drug among his clients, schizoaffective disorders triggered by marijuana, tha addictive nature of marijuana, the dangers of kratom, schizophrenia and other paranoid disorders, mistakes families make when a family memeber has an addiction problem, addiction issues in the legal system and what it does wrong, unintentionally terminating your rights in the Baker Act, interventions, how covid increased 911 calls for mental health issues, the lack of oversight and due process in Florida's mental health system, what parents should do when they first realize their child is using an addictive substance, alcohol, the Charlie Kirk case, and more.
- 1 weeks ago1h 17m
Robert Mitchell, Vietnam, a Spiritual Transformation, and Education Reform
In 1966, Robert Mitchell was drafted into the Vietnam War. He became a helicopter pilot and served until a crash sent him back to the USA, where he continued to serve as a flight instructor. After the war, he went to Europe and spent 12 years seeking spiritual knowledge in Germany and Crete. He finally returned to the USA free from the burdens of a wounded soul. He then became a teacher and taught mathematics, English, and history. He earned a PhD in The History of Consciousness. He has spent the last 35 years teaching, lecturing, and writing about education in America and is the author of five books: Education and the Culture of Democracy, Journey to Crete, The Trials of the Initiate, Teacher – Seeking the Vocational Archetype, and Nurturing the Souls of our Children. We talk about getting drafted into Vietnam, training to be a helicopter pilot, the warrior spirit, search and destroy missions, free-fire zones, the betrayal of the warrior spirit, suicide among veterans, a helicopter accident, entering the mystical realm, Germany, the island of Crete, Mexico, taking peyote, joining the Cult of the Christ Family, getting over PTSD, Christian Nationalism, ICE, Jimmy Carter, archetypal virtues and teaching them in school, seeking the sanctity of the individual, the war in Iran, the Department of Education, homeschooling, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show through Patreon
- 2 weeks ago1h 5m
Author John Bond, To the End of Reckoning
John Bond is an author, publishing consultant, former editor, former librarian, and lover of books who has been immersed in books and the expression of ideas for over 35 years. His new novel is "To the End of Reckoning," high-concept speculative thriller that asks what happens when history stops being debatable. As a Publishing Consultant, John brings a deep understanding of getting started on writing and then publishing a book. He is also the author of a three book series, The Little Guides, which cover writing a book, but also authoring journal articles and giving poster presentations (by Bloomsbury Publishing). We talk about books, Stephen King, nightmares, Isaac Asimov, his book "To the End of Reckoning," the craft of writing, plotting, where ideas come from, taking inspiration everywhere we find it, screenplays, recording audiobooks, how the industries of writing and publishing are changing, libraries, poetry, Riverwinds Consulting, self-publishing, querying agents, differnt types of editors, what makes a book great, creating realities in books, speculative fiction, literary fiction, sleep, goodreads, and more.
- 3 weeks ago1h 6m
Rand Timmerman, A Spiritual Passage, Vietnam, Sobriety, and the Appalachian Trail
Rand Timmerman is the author of "A Spiritual Passage," a book about hiking the Appalachian Trail with his brother, both in their seventies. He also a Vietnam Veteran with the Marines, a lawyer, and a recovering alcoholic. Through his work, he hopes to inspire people with physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties to achieve their dreams and goals and live a happy and fulfilled life. We talk about Vietnam, Mormons, losing faith in God during the war, polio, why he signed up for Vietnam, becoming a JAG officer and developing a leagal career, how Vietnam changed his view of life and death, losing his wife to alcoholism, preparing for the Appalachian Trail, the Smokey Mountains, bear encounters, hiking the trail, leapfrogging with two cars, maps or no maps, grief, alcoholism and being on suicide watch, PTSD, falling out of a helicopter, dealing with the PTSD, getting sober and AA, surviving a severe storm on a ridge in a tent, meeting a Samurai on the trail, naked people on the trail, helping others get sober, and more.
- 4 weeks ago1h 12m
Sam Trammell, Making it as an Actor, remastered
This is a remastered version of episode 4, from 2023, when the podcast was new. It's such a great interview that I remastered it and republished it. Sam Trammell is not only a great actor, but a fascinating person who had a dream, chased it to fruition, and made it happen. He is probably best known for his role as the shapeshifter Sam Merlotte in HBO's "True Blood," and has also been in "The Fault in our Stars," "Homeland," "The Gray House," "Big George Foreman," and many other movies, TV shows, and plays. He is currently in "Euphoria" as the character Ellis. We talk about childhood visions of being a physicist, getting into acting, Brown Summer Theater, Broadway and Off-Broadway jobs, acting classes, working hard, staying focused, luck, persistance, rejection, staying in and getting out of character, doing accents, moving to Los Angeles, avoiding temptations, drugs, food, professional decisions, job choices, auditions, offers, a typical day on a set, dangers, calling up emotions, alligators, advice for young aspiring actors, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show theough Patreon
- Jun 25, 20261h 8m
Margaret Bryden, Poetry in Therapy
Margaret Bryden is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, author, and founder of Sage Insight Therapy. She works with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction and life transitions. Margaret is the author of "How I Understand It: A Bad Poet's Guide to Mental Health & Resilience," where she introduces "bad poetry" as a powerful, accessible tool for emotional processing and insight. Through her work, she helps people start understanding themselves in a way that leads to real connection, clarity and resilience. We talk about using poetry in therapy, getting patients and clients to write poetry, writing bad poetry, how therapy and poetry help clients discover things about themselves, hope, boundaries and how this is defined, consequences, her book, what poetry is, she reads two of her poems from the book, birds, codependency, marriage, resiliance, self-awareness, communication, publishing, artificial intelligence and the value of writing poetry without it, mind hacks to increase productivity, television, nature, art, and more. links are on the podcast website support the show through Patreon
- Jun 18, 20261h 7m
Native American Author David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Wisdom Corner
David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an award winning author, professor, and an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation. He received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He's professor of English and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University and also serves on the faculty of the Cedar Crest Pan-European MFA Program. He lives in New York and Colorado with his family. Hw is the author of Wisdom Corner, forthcoming in July, 2026 from Ecco/HarperCollins. He's also the author of the national bestseller Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was the winner of many awards, and was a New York Times Editors' Choice, an Indie Next pick, main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named a Best Book of the year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian, and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. We talk about his book Wisdom Corner, Native Americans, his book Winter Counts, the broken criminal justice system on Indian Reservations, Native American boarding schools, the word "Indian" and whether or not it is offensive, the Sicangu Lakota Nation, Native American history, bison, life of the Indians before Europeans came, the slaughter of the bison, passages from the book, religion, Buddhism, Lakota spirituality, treaties made and broken, the future of Native Americans, football, writing a best seller as a first novel, the role of fiction in bringing about social change, teaching creative writing, writing dialogue, books, short stories, favorite authors, movies, the Native American Literary renaisance, and more.
- Jun 11, 20261h 17m
Antiauthoritarian Psychotherapy, Lincoln Stoller
Lincoln Stoller is a quantum physicist, neuropsychologist, hypnotherapist, clinical counselor, psychonaut, mountaineer, author, and educator. His approach to psychotherapy is unique and antiauthoritarian, combining science, spirit, economics, and mental health through an understanding of the hard sciences, the psyche, and the behavior of groups. We talk about quantum physics, psychotherapy, moutaineering, traveling and visiting other cultures, education, hypnotherapy, length of life, racism, ADD/ADHD and how it's diagnosis is abused, the problems with modern education, how psychotherapy started as a political tool, modern quasi-slavery, alternative schools, ecology, indigenous Panamanians, hope for the future, depression, Caribbean society, unemployment, schizophrenia, family structures, Spanish and English languages, dreams, past lives, inherited personalities, empathy, war, and more. Links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon
About Dream Chasers and Eccentrics
Dreams can't be caught unless they are chased, and eccentricity is but a symptom of brilliance. I interview extraordinary people who forge their own path, make their own rules, and live outside the norms of society. Together, we can learn from each other. Remember, foolish people keep making the same mistakes, smart people learn from their mistakes and successes, and extraordinary people learn from the mistakes and successes of both themselves and of others. That is what Dream Chasers and Eccentrics is all about!
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