While the what makes podcast team is still trying to get its crap together for a fourth episode of this season. Special podcaster Ruby has made a second episode featuring some of her favorite cousins.By Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn

Our nine year old Daughter Ruby decided it was time to make her own podcast. Here’s Episode 1 of her yet to be titled show.By Emily Sternfeld-Dunn

What do you think makes a good hobby? Our friend Seth Bate shares his insights and thoughts on today’s episode of What Makes…By Emily Sternfeld-Dunn

What do you do when the world is out of control?By Emily Sternfeld-Dunn

I like working out and so does Aleks. But it took us awhile to figure out how to exercise with some consistency and what we enjoyed doing best. With the 2018 upon us and new resolutions made, we thought we'd discuss what makes a good workout!By Aleks & Emily

Exciting news! Emily has signed a recording contract with PARMA productions! At the end of July/beginning of August, she will be recording two song cycles to be released on an album in March 2018. Emily will be singing Jake Heggie's Eve-Song and Ricky Ian Gordon's Too Few the Mornings Be in collaboration with friend and pianist Amanda Pfenninger. B…

Sex. Such a wonderful, complicated, necessary, fun part of life. Aleks and I are not experts on this issue. Especially when we start to talk about how we're going to talk about sex with our kids. As I listened back during the editing process, I'm not sure I agree with everything I said. However, I'm glad Aleks and I have a starting point to continu…

This week I talk with family friend Penny Bragg. Penny and her husband Clint have a marriage that is now based on humility and forgiveness. They own/run Inverse Ministries (a link to their website can be found here). Ultimately, Penny and Clint consider their marriage story to be a story about God's relationship with them. Their life's work can be …

On this week's episode, Aleks and I made three different margarita recipes and did a taste test. Below are the recipes we used and links to their sites of origin. Recipe #1 Chris Hall via bon appetit 1 ½ oz Tequila 1 ½ oz Triple sec 1 oz lime juice Recipe #2 Food Network Kitchen 3 oz tequila 2 oz lime juice 1 oz simple syrup ½-1 teaspoon orange liq…

This week, Aleks and I talk about what we think makes a good vacation, just days after returning home from a 7-day Disney World experience. Here is one of my favorite pictures from our trip. I love the juxtaposition of Maia and Ruby's faces. In this episode we talk about a recent trip to NYC and Aleks mentions in passing a delicious Korean rice cak…

This week, in honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, Aleks and I talk about what makes good romance. Truthfully, we are not very good at romance. However, I think after this conversation, we are both better equipped to be romantic if we feel so moved. Music this week is "My Romance," one of my favorite standards and also our wedding song. We hope you h…

In our podcast this week we played a recording of Jeff Buckley singing Purcell's "Dido's Lament" from the opera Dido and Aeneas. He originally performed this aria at Elvis Costello’s Meltdown Festival, July 1st 1995. It hasn't been released on any of Jeff Buckley's albums, but I first heard it on YouTube. Philip Sheppard was the cellist who played …

On this episode Aleks and I talk about what we think makes a good friend. We've both been blessed to have had many good friends over the years and have discovered that what we think makes a good friend sometimes changes with age. Our music is "Make New Friends" which is a traditional Girl Scout song. The lyrics are: Make new friends, but keep the o…

We all use it, but how many of you know what makes the internet? I guess, if we're speaking philosophically, we can all reference the fake news sites and hard hitting journalism and social media outlets. But it all gets a little more complicated when we think about the technical components of this major part of 21st century life. In this episode, A…

It turns out that it's relatively easy to figure out what makes a good gift, but it's much harder to put that into practice. This week Aleks and I talk about what we think makes a good gift and share the best gifts we've received. Music this week is an old Shaker Hymn, "Simple Gifts." Presents, presents, presents is by Shel Silverstein. And finally…

This week's episode is pretty punny, if I do say so myself. Get it? Punny. Funny. ??? We explore what makes something humorous, tell a few jokes, and hear a few jokes from a couple of cute kids. If you're feeling down or have a touch of ennui, this episode will either make you giggle or groan.By Aleks & Emily