Podcast by Matt Granger
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The curious man Matt Crawford interviews authors and interesting people about topics ranging from history to politics to everyday stimulating topics. If you like to learn and are as curious as I am please join in!
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The Open to Explore Devotions podcast is produced by First Baptist Church of Athens, Georgia. Season 8 begins Monday, February 19 and offers daily devotions Monday through Friday during the season of Lent. The devotions are personal stories given by members and come from their personal life and journey in faith. Real people sharing their joys and sorrows, doubts and convictions, fears, hopes, and gratitude. The hope is that their insights will bring inspiration, encouragement, and discovery ...
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Rupert Taylor about his new novel, Please Let Me Destroy You. While trying to heist a casino in the Cambodian jungle, Apollo Jones has a crippling panic attack. But he’s no seasoned crim, he’s a filmmaker, and he’s heisting the casino so he can turn the story into the first season of a preposterously ambitious TV sh…
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Matt Crawford speaks with educator and author Dan Granger about his children's book, Why Is Sam So SAD. As a sufferer of Seasonal Affective Disorder Granger was called to write this book. Many children and adults suffer in silence and don't talk about what they go through when Fall arrives. Granger details what it feels like from the perspective of…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author toby Brookes about his novel, All That She Brings. Matthew Banks loses his wife in a car crash and his life slowly unravels. A job with a Hartford Insurance company places him with an internal therapist which only compounds his despair. Troubles back in California call him home where he must tend to his mother's dow…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Timothy Winegard about his book, The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity. For millennia humans and horses have been inextricably linked. Horses were our primary mode of transportation, essential to farming machine, a steadfast companion, and a formidable weapon of war. The automobile has only recently replaced ou…
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Matt Crawford speaks with Life Empowerment coach Ken Rabow about what it means to be a mentor. The word mentor carries a certain weight and importance that I feel doesn't get the proper recognition. Many of us think that because we are parents that automatically makes us a mentor. Rabow and I discuss the important distinction and how mentorship can…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Fred Waitzkin about his novel, Anything Is Good.By Matt Crawford
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Matt Crawford speaks with photographer and author Robert Monroe about his novel Bungalow Terrace.By Matt Crawford
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Matt Crawford speaks with journalist and author Francis Barry about his book, Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of American Democracy. Are we as a nation truly as divided as portrayed? If you watch the news you my seem to believe so. Barry took to the road during the pandemic to see what was at the heart of the issue. Miles tra…
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Louise Story and Ebony Reed Interview Episode 63
45:14
45:14
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Matt Crawford speaks with journalists and authors Louise Story and Ebony Reed about their book, Fifteen Cents On The Dollar: How Americans Made the Black White Wealth Gap. How is it that today, black American's overall wealth is fifteen cents on the dollar compared with white Americans. Story and Reed took the deep dive and did the research for us.…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Scott Ryan about his book, The Last Decade of Cinema. What made the 90's such a pivotal moment in cinematic history and will we ever get there again? Ryan and I discuss the movies he chose, why he chose them and their impact on our culture. We also just have a blast talking about these movies in our own lives and ho…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Jason Bell about his book, Cracking the Nazi Code. For those that think history is boring this is the book to read. Bell uncovers just declassified information about Winthrop Bell, also known as agent A12. A true Renaissance man Agent A12 uncovered the Nazis before they even had that moniker and also broke Hitler's …
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Matt Crawford speaks with philosopher, psychoanalyst and author Jon Mills about his book, End of the World: Civilization and Its Fate. End of the World is a much-needed wake up call for all the emergencies (mostly manmade) that could destroy our world. With the world even more divided than ever Mills explores the psychological aspect of what divide…
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Matt Crawford speaks with journalist and author Warren Kozak about his book, Waving Goodbye. Kozak wrote this book to describe what he went through after losing his lovely wife, Lisa. Grief is as unique as our fingerprints, and we all go through it differently, however, there are throughlines. Kozak shares his grief and how he and his daughter deal…
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Matt Crawford speaks to poet and author Sydney Lea about his book Now Look: A Novel. His first novel in 35 years, Lea writes about the pain and grip of addiction on an intimate level. Set against the backdrop of remote northern Maine, Now Look highlights two friends who are from different worlds but struggle against the same demons. A touching read…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Jeffrey Lewis about his book, Leonard Cohen: A Novel. The Leonard Cohen at the center of Leonard Cohen: A Novel is an everyman, a would-be artist, a would-be lover, a would-be tragic figure, yet a man haunted by the greatness of his namesake. He struggles to compete with the "real" Leonard Cohen wishing to do some a…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Jerome Petty about his book, From Broken to Blessed: An Attempt at Suicide that Ended with Blessings Beyond My Dreams. Jerome shares with us the heartbreaking decision to end his own life and how that failure turned into the most beautiful gift he could imagine. Truly and emotional, inspiring and uplifting read that…
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Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman Interview Episode 55
56:33
56:33
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Matt Crawford speaks with authors Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman about their book, Trust & Safety: A Novel. Newlyweds Rosie and Jordan move out of NYC after Rosie has grown disenchanted with NYC. When tech-bro Jordan loses his job they are forced to rent their outbuilding to a very attractive queer couple Dylan and Lark. The dynamic that follows …
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Alexander Boldizar Interview Episode 54
1:11:17
1:11:17
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Alexander Boldizar about his book, The Man Who Saw Seconds. This is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page, The Man Who Saw Seconds explores the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create. Boldizar provides wit…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Tim Wendell about his book, Rebel Falls. Rory Chase, a capable yet haunted young woman eager to contribute to the Union cause, accepts a mission from the Secretary of State, William Seward, to travel to Niagara Falls and prevent two rebel spies, John Yates Beall and Bennet Burley, from seizing the U.S.S. Michigan on…
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This coming Sunday, May 19 is Pentecost Sunday. We will celebrate this glorious day in our worship together. Prior to worship, at 10:30 am, we will gather in the prayer garden, which is located on the front lawn to the right of our sanctuary. Light refreshments will be served. Then, we will walk from there together and enter the sanctuary from the …
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Matt Crawford speaks with veteran costume designer and author Marjorie McCown about her new novel Star struck: A Hollywood Mystery. Costumer designer Joey Jessop is working on a 1930's Hollywood period piece with two of its biggest stars. After she witnesses a hit-and-run near the set, she realizes the car may belong to the movies female lead, Gill…
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Matt Crawford speaks with NYT best-selling author Mark Sullivan about his book, All the Glimmering Stars. This book highlights the horrific and amazing journey of Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori as they come of age in a war-torn Uganda in the 1990's. Both taught by loving parents to be a good human before they are taken as children by Joseph Kony'…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Dr. Saqib Qureshi about his book, Being Muslim Today: Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia. Qureshi takes the deep dive and into the 1400-year evolution of Islam and brings us to its roots. Qureshi also highlights how both Orthodoxy and Islamophobia operate based on ignorance and misinterpret the tru…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Eric Vickrey about his book: Season of Shattered Dreams. Vickrey takes us back to post WWII baseball and details those who were lost in the worst professional sports accident in history. June 24th, 1946, changed so much for so many lives and while many have forgotten Vickrey brings back to life those lost and shares…
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Dr. Ammon Hillman Interview Episode 48
1:02:13
1:02:13
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Matt Crawford speaks with Dr. Ammon Hillman about his work translating ancient Greek classicists and his continuing work bringing to light information long buried and undiscussed.By Matt Crawford
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Dr. Stephen Poulter Interview Episode 47
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1:01:54
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Matt Crawford speaks to Dr. Stephen Poulter about his book, Modern Masculinity: A Compassionate Guidebook to Men's Mental Health. Poulter and I discuss the current state of men's mental health, how toxic masculinity has become a catchall term, and how to best navigate modern masculinity and seeking the help many men need.…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Kyne Santos about his book, Math In Drag. What do Drag and Math have in common? Kyne details his life, growing up gay, his love of math, his journey to becoming a Drag Queen and how he married both of them.By Matt Crawford
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Dr. Adaira Landry and Dr. Resa Lewiss Interview Episode 45
57:38
57:38
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Matt Crawford speaks with authors Dr. Adaira Landry and Dr. Resa Lewiss about their book, MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact. I don't think there are two more qualified individuals to write this book than Dr. Landry and Dr. Lewiss. As award winning physicians, educators, and mentors they bring their considerable knowledge to the fore and detail…
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Steven and Clifford Simmons Interview Episode 44
37:04
37:04
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Matt Crawford speaks to father and son authors Steven and Clifford Simmons about their book, Where Do Ocean Creatures Sleep at Night? With lovely illustrations and rhyming words Steven and Clifford stoke that inner curiosity and invite us deep into the ocean to see what splendor awaits.By Matt Crawford
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Dr. Beth Kurland Interview Episode 43
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1:03:22
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Dr. Beth Kurland about her book, You Don't Have to Change to Change Everything. A clinical psychologist for 30 years, Dr. Kurland brings that considerable experience to bear in this comprehensive review of how we can all better step back and put things in perspective to help us achieve that which we want. We discuss…
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Christopher Loric Interview Episode 41
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1:05:47
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Christopher Loric about his book, SESG Explorer. When an alien race, the Kammorrigans sends a message to our planet we decide to travel to them and make first contact, but how do we do this safely? Is this the beginning of global relations or a prelude to global war? This book is the foundation for a thrilling serie…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Norman Ohler about his book, Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age. Tripped, traces the roots of LSD to Germany during WWII and the Nazi's nefarious experiments to use it for mind control to the CIA's own interest in it for similar purposes. All the while the U.S government pushing the …
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Linda Stewart Henley Interview Episode 39
38:37
38:37
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Linda Stewart Henley about her book, Kate's War: A Novel. Based on Henley's own family history, Kate's War is historically based fiction that tells the story of a 20-year-old Kate living under the threat of German invasion in WWII England. Trying to wrestle the responsibilities to her family, her country and to her …
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Dr. Todd Boyd about his book, Rappers Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World. This is a visual and cerebral journey through 50 years of Hip Hop evolution. As only Dr. Boyd can do, he takes us by the hand and leads us through the pivotal moments in Hip Hop culture, Rap and history to provide the context that is so often …
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Matt Crawford speaks with Edward R. Murrow winning journalist, podcast creator, producer and host Ben Bradford about his new podcast Landslide. Bradford takes us back to the pivotal primary and general election of 1976 and how 3 improbable candidates; Ford, Reagan and Carter would set the stage for a pivotal shift in our political landscape. An int…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Alexander Brash about his book, A Whaler at Twilight: A Long Lost True Account of Whaling and Redemption in the South Pacific. When Brash discovers a manuscript of his great, great grandfather's, Robert Armstrong written in the 1840's it set off a lovely chain of events that lead to this book. Detailing the hardship…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Ann Parson about her book, The Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events. This novel takes us back in time to early 19th century Boston and the burgeoning scientific community. Using the fantastic device of letters between Catharine and Charles Pickering to capture the events of the day this is a…
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Friday, March 29 is day 39 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. The devotions for this week, Holy Week, are focused on scripture texts related to events in Jesus’ final week. We offer these reflections to guide you as you continue your journey in Lent, moving closer to the cross. T…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author Malia Lazu about her book, From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Drawing from her background as a community organizer, corporate career as a bank president and now as a leading consultant of DEI, Lazu highlights the importance of DEI and the missteps that companies can make…
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Thursday, March 28 is day 38 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. The devotions for this week, Holy Week, are focused on scripture texts related to events in Jesus’ final week. We offer these reflections to guide you as you continue your journey in Lent, moving closer to the cross.…
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This podcast serves as an audio guide for walking and meditating on the 14 Stations of the Cross. It is designed for use in the Prayer Garden at First Baptist Church in downtown Athens, GA. The Garden is open on MAUNDY THURSDAY or GOOD FRIDAY (March 28 & 29, 2024)through the day. The podcast is timed so that once it is started, a person can allow i…
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Wednesday, March 27 is day 37 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. The devotions for this week, Holy Week, are focused on scripture texts related to events in Jesus’ final week. We offer these reflections to guide you as you continue your journey in Lent, moving closer to the cross…
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Tuesday, March 26 is day 36 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. The devotions for this week, Holy Week, are focused on scripture texts related to events in Jesus’ final week. We offer these reflections to guide you as you continue your journey in Lent, moving closer to the cross. …
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Monday, March 25 is day 35 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. The devotions for this week, Holy Week, are focused on scripture texts related to events in Jesus’ final week. We offer these reflections to guide you as you continue your journey in Lent, moving closer to the cross. T…
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Friday, March 22 is day 33 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. These are personal stories given by members and come from their personal life and journey in faith. Real people sharing their joys and sorrows, doubts and convictions, fears, hopes, and gratitude. As you make your pers…
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Thursday, March 21 is day 32 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. These are personal stories given by members and come from their personal life and journey in faith. Real people sharing their joys and sorrows, doubts and convictions, fears, hopes, and gratitude. As you make your pe…
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Matt Crawford speaks with investigative journalist, lawyer and author Doug Kari about his book, The Berman Murders. January 6, 1986, Barry and Louise Berman went for a hike in the Mojave Desert's Saline Valley and never came back. 3 years later their remains were discovered but justice has still not been brought to this family. Kari tells us not on…
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Matt Crawford speaks with author William Carl about his book, Assassin's Manuscript. When former CIA assassin last hit goes sideways, he attempts to leave that life of darkness behind and escapes to a career in the ministry. Inextricably Hunter is pulled back into his dark past to help solve a code hidden in an ancient manuscript that could thwart …
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Wednesday, March 20 is day 31 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. These are personal stories given by members and come from their personal life and journey in faith. Real people sharing their joys and sorrows, doubts and convictions, fears, hopes, and gratitude. As you make your p…
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Tuesday, March 19 is day 30 of the Lenten Journey. First Baptist Church of Athens offers daily devotions for reflection during Lent. These are personal stories given by members and come from their personal life and journey in faith. Real people sharing their joys and sorrows, doubts and convictions, fears, hopes, and gratitude. As you make your per…
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