What People Do

Episode 100: Brendan Howard makes a podcast

Yup.
I think it's been 100 or so episodes.
So, I thought I'd mark the occasion with a conversation with somebody else who's made podcasts and watched them ... not grow. (That's Jimbo Radio; I've been on a few times and thoroughly enjoy my conversations with James.)
The What People Do podcast started more than six years ago with a recording in a library meeting room with a former colleague right as COVID spun up before the lockdown. It continues, every month or so, recorded online now in my apartment living room.
Why did I make it? Because I get tired of self-promotional, ad-ridden podcasts. I wanted to make a thing that just ... exists ... to serve my own curiosity and interest in relating to, and asking questions about, people's lives. 
There has never been a direction or a focus beyond 1) the people who ask to be interviewed, or 2) the people I ask to interview. There are more rabbis and RPG folks only because that's closer to my wheelhouse as I volunteer to make content for a local RPG convention and pursue my own rabbinate and Judaism in general.
Well, don't I normally supply links? Well, here ya go. If you'd like to ever support me financially, feel free to subscribe to my Substack or ask to collaborate on something with me:
My rabbinic Substack
My random Patreon
My random YouTube
My sort-of-outdated Linktree

Episode 99: Rabbi Norman Solomon wrote about what we mean when we say ‘God’

Rabbi Norman Solomon served in many important capacities in the United Kingdom during his decades of service as a pulpit rabbi and educator.
But the title of his latest book—which promised a delve into what we might mean in the modern world with our talk of God—promised to be a rich read. And it has been, with its very personal and idiosyncratic writing style and conventions. Anyone with an interest in thinking about God in Judaism or Christianity in the modern world might find much to agree with, smile at, and wrestle with in the book. 
I was also delighted to find out Rabbi Solomon has a delightful sense of humor. You will be too.
 
Further resources
Read Making Sense of ‘God’: What God-Talk Means and Does book
Peruse Rabbi Solomon’s writing for the Torah.com website

Episode 98: Carole Blane on art and acting in every life stage

I met Carole as the star administrator of the New York City-based rabbinic school I attended in 2025. (Shout out, Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute!)
It always felt like there was a lot more under her surface in the moments when she’d pop up, or in the times she’d email. When she shared a cool introspection exercise with our graduating rabbinic class, I had to learn more about her.
Turns out, she’s fascinating herself … nonprofit administration, yoga teaching certification, independent film, commercial work, and community theater.
So … I asked Carole about her acting and film experience as a trick to talk to her, because she seemed cool.
She is.

Episode 97: Rabbi Greg Marcus, PhD, teaches religiously centered self-improvement

A hundred years ago, Judaism’s path of moral self-improvement was stuck mostly in the Orthodox world where the classic books of the field were in their original language. When the wider Jewish world began taking notice of Mussar, study and books in translation blossomed in availability.
That’s the beautiful world that Rabbi Greg Marcus and I inhabit today, where the rabbi walks us through his own Mussar origin story, why he became a teacher of it, and where it’s all going from here.
So, self-help with a Jewish flavor: Judaism has had it for hundreds of years! Let’s gooooooo …
 
Further resources:
Peruse Rabbi Greg Marcus’ website and his American Mussar website
Read The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance Through the Soul Traits of Mussar book
Take the Soul Trait quiz

Episode 96: Ari Levari made a fantasy-RPG-flavored journal for personal growth

People talk about "main character energy" when it's a bad thing: You're the center of the universe, you're the hero or heroine in your story, and your story is how you see the world. Everyone is important only in how they connect to, or affect, you. You need your needs met (Karen!) before others, because, well, you're the most important person.
But there's another more playful way to become the main character: in story. Pretending to be a hero—whether you get lost in a movie, a novel, or a tabletop role-playing game—can be fun, give you agency, allow you to see possibilities in your life that are papered over in the regular day-to-day grind.
With that, I present to you the journal I've been using the past week or so: Just Roll With It from ParadoxPort. The habit-making, goal-seeking, fantasy-RPG-inspired notebook uses character sheets, callings, spells, maps, and monsters as playful stand-ins for a regular journal's more pedestrian language.
Are you forming a new habit or weaving a spell? Are you facing a roadblock to success, or a fishy-faced Deep One? Did you die ... or did you just run into some bad luck, make some bad choices, or make a new habit that didn't quite stick?
You get the idea.
I'm still enjoying the journal, and I think I explain why well in this conversation with its creator, Ari Levari ... 
Enjoy.
P.S. No, this podcast episode is not an ad. I just really like the journal.
Further threads to follow
Just Roll With It: Hardback Edition (also available in printable PDF)
Online storefront
YouTube channel, where you can find Ari's own podcast
Wondering whether to try it?
"What makes Just Roll With It different from other journals or planners?" Most planners optimize productivity. ParadoxPort focuses on meaning, identity, and momentum. Instead of "do more," we help you explore how and why you change, using play as the engine.
"Do I need to be a gamer to use the journal?" Not at all. While the journal is inspired by tabletop RPGs, it's designed to be approachable for beginners. If you enjoy creativity, structure, or exploring goals in a playful way, you'll feel at home.

Episode 95: Christina Neumeyer is a therapist

I stumbled onto Christina’s name in my quest for one of my favorite Jewish folk tales. Turns out, she’d shared a version from a Christian book on her blog, which was also filled with marvelous thinking on men and women, trauma and therapy, and ways for folks to flourish.
It was a fascinating conversation touching on evergreen topics of psychology as well as a vision of problems she sees in contemporary life, especially in romantic entanglements and families.
Enjoy.
 
Further resources
Peruse Christina’s blog
Read “The Sorrow Tree” post that brought me to her e-doorstep
Explore her Facebook posts

Episode 94: Rabbi Shefa Gold chants Jewishly

There is Jewish music, with melody and harmony and rhythm. There is chanting for Torah reading, with melody and meaning. 
And then there is Jewish chanting. 
Rabbi Shefa Gold talks about her entry point into it, demonstrates what it sounds like, and explains how it works in this insightful conversation ...
 
Further resources:
Rabbi Shefa Gold’s website
Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Path
Flavors of Gratefulness app and sample chants (link)
Flavors of Praise app and sample chants (link)
In the Fever of Love: An Illumination of the Song of Songs
Love at the Center: Immersing in Shir Hashirim (link)
The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening the Love
Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land
 

Episode 93: Dr. Kyra Bobinet studies why brains make change difficult

You’ve experienced this before, right?
You know you’re supposed to do something. You’ve learned that a good habit is what you need or a bad habit needs to be changed. You know you should spend more time on this and less time on that. You know it’d be good for your emotional health, your body, or your soul.
But you don’t do it. There’s a gap.
Dr. Kyra Bobinet, MD-PhD, calls it the “Know-Do” gap.
It all stems from work she’s done for years studying, researching and trying to make practical information about how your brain works, namely your habenula (huh-BEN-yuh-luh). It’s the part of your brain that tracks your failure. It can keep you out of trouble: “Last time you tried between those trees, you fell and almost died. Don’t do it. Bad!” But it can also keep you mired in bad habits, indecision, and self-doubt: “Remember when you tried that diet, and you fell off it? What a failure. Don’t try losing weight again. You’ll never do it! You’ll fail again!”
Dr. Bobinet has a magic (but, really, not so magic) way to calm down your habenula and self-critic: the iterative mindset, which she details in her book Unstoppable Brain (2024, Forbes Books).
You’ve got to change from focusing on failures and trying to keep adding good habits and removing bad habits the same way … and recognize that every time you hit a bump, it’s time for a new iteration. Change things up! What worked to help you last year, last week, yesterday, may not work again. Iterate, iterate … change, change … try, try … 
I interview Dr. Bobinet here about all that, plus, especially, her nearly brand-new smartphone app Fresh Tri, which offers a platform to learn about her research and how it applies to your habits and health as well as anonymous community support and tips and ideas to change your thinking when your habenula gets going and you’re sure this one’s the absolute failure. It’s all free content and functionality right now with the possibility that more targeted videos and help might be pay-to-play. But for now … go play with all that’s there!
So, stop logging failures, start logging iterations … and listen in …

Episode 92: Walter Stewart co-owns a game shop

No, not game, like deer and pheasant, but game like … board games, tabletop games, card games, miniature games. Basically, all the games of the world that happen solo, in pairs, in groups, around tables, at home, at cafes (like the one next door to his shop), and out in parks and fields and anywhere else you can roll some dice or move some tokens or share and swap some cards. Everything but the video games. The video games you go somewhere else for.
Monopoly. Dungeons & Dragons. Apples to Apples. Cards Against Humanity. Vampire: The Masquerade. Warhammer 40K (this guy likes it so much, he's fighting to get a TV show made of it). 
These are for the brave souls meeting at parties and in groups and using their imagination, competitive spirit, and full-throated laughter to fuel game experiences that happen in meatspace.
TableTop Game & Hobby in Overland Park, Kan., has been open more than 30 years, and Stewart, years ago, was a young teen harassing the full owner then (now his partner) with stories about his games and characters and weird niche passions. Now, he gets to do the same for a new generation of teens as he’s gone from employee to manager to co-owner.
Want to know more about it? Listen in … and check out these links:
TableTop Game & Hobby is, by far, my favorite RPG stores, thanks to inventory and, mostly, a great big room to play in for years and the best customer service I have ever experienced in a hobby store of any kind. Visit the website online, but if you’re in town, o ever in town, go there!
I’ve interviewed a lot of folks and gaming and gaming accessories, some as volunteer help for the best gaming convention I’ve ever been to, like TableTop also in Kansas City, but also for my own curiosity. Here are the episodes:
My friend Jahmal, about running role-playing game sessions for money. He is a fantastic mixture of practical, philosophical, rule-delving, and story-loving. You might love getting nerdy with his stuff here, too.
Gabi Dyck about hand-made dice.
Sam Chupp about helping to make some of my favorite role-playing games.
Noah Gibbs about helping to run another fantastic local gaming convention.
KJ Davis about helping creatives get their work done.

Episode 91: Ken Fleisher made productivity tool Cherry Task

I am a big fan of thinking of productivity and task management, but I’ve been through dozens of them and I no longer think that any tool is going to magically spirit away whatever issues I have with self-motivation, focused productivity, or values-based action.
Buuut … I still like to toy with this stuff. Back in the day, David Allen’s book Getting Thing Done changed my life, and I still fall back on GTD’s principles every day. Because I like to experiment, I was willing to switch to Cherry Task from the GTD-based FacileThings in the past couple months, because Ken Fleisher’s interactions about his product and productivity in general on Reddit were so open-minded and thoughtful.
So, I’ve switched to Cherry Task. I use it, on and off, every day or two. I’ve learned to enjoy being able to reach out directly to the designer every few weeks with problems. I appreciate its focus on visual appeal and usefulness of color and symbol. It’s a nicer thing to look at than many other task management or GTD-focused tools out there on the internet.
If you like productivity talk, if you want to hear how the sausage of a task management app gets made, tuck your napkin into your shirt and get to it … let’s try some Cherry Task!
For further reading:
Request to get it on Cherry Task’s beta testing here.
Read more thoughts from Ken on his blog here.
WHAT?! You haven’t read David Allen’s Getting Things Done or tried out his new workbook? Buy them new in bookstores all over, or online, or used or new here.