Elahe Hessamfar came on the podcast to share the moving testimony of her daughter's life plagued by mental madness.
Please enjoy the 266th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Elahe Hessamfar. Elahe, it was a gift to hear your daughter's story and its impact upon your life and faith.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Jason Arkles is an American sculptor and art educator who is based in Florence, Italy. Talking with him felt like stepping into the past and getting a taste of the art world of old. He sat down with me twice to talk about his fascinating journey to becoming a sculptor, techniques used in sculpting, one of his favorite commissions, and his thoughts on the sacred.
Please enjoy the 264th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Jason Arkles. Jason, thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your passion for art and its history. Our conversations will be in my tops list for this podcast.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Joy Villa is a singer, songwriter, actress, and author who appeared at the 2026 Grammys in a bold, handmade outfit with the slogans "Scientology Kills" and "Jesus Heals" displayed on the front and back. Joy sat down with me a few days before the Grammys to talk about the division created by political identity, the darkness of scientology and why she chose to leave it.
Please enjoy the 263rd episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Joy Villa. Joy, thank you for sharing your story with me and my audience. It was a gift to talk with you.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
2026 is the 25th anniversary year of the first film in Peter Jackson's adaption of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I decided why not celebrate with Tolkien remembrances sprinkled throughout the year. First, John Noble, who played Denethor in the trilogy, made an appearance. Today, I have Stephen Hunter who played the dwarf, Bombur, in The Hobbit film trilogy. Stephen still acts but spends the majority of his time as an acting coach helping others to put their best foot forward in a difficult and competitive industry. Sit back and listen to Stephen's acting journey and his passion for bringing stories to life.
Please enjoy the 262nd episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Stephen Hunter. Stephen, thank you for taking time to talk with me and my audience about your acting journey.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Veera Kaijanen is a tightwire performer who also hula hoops. Veera has performed in venues across Europe showcasing her ability to tell stories to audiences small and large. Veera and I sat down to talk about her journey to the tightwire, performing in circus acts, and some life lessons gained from the tightrope.
Please enjoy the 261st episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Veera Kaijanen. Veera, thank you for sitting down with me and my audience to share an important part of your life story.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
John Noble is famously known for his role as Denethor in the iconic film trilogy, Lord of the Rings. I sat down with him earlier this week to talk about the film, acting, and life's shadows and suns.
Please enjoy the 260th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting John Noble. John, thank you for talking with me. It was a pleasure to connect and have a conversation about acting and life.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Actress, Samantha Mathis, sat down with me to talk about her recent projects, her acting philosophy, life's hardships (both personal and external), the emotion of anger, and the gift of a furry friend's presence.
Please enjoy the 259th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Samantha Mathis. Samantha, thank you for talking with me. I am so grateful we could have an open conversation about acting and life.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Wesley Eure, known for his acting in the late 70's children's series, Land of the Lost, and the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, sat down with me to tell me so many fun animal stories and share his appreciation of classic animation.
Please enjoy the 258th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Wesley Eure. Wesley, thank you for talking with me about animals and animation. It was such a delight to laugh and reflect on furry friends.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
I came across Anna-Maria Hefele's YouTube channel upon seeing a sample video of her explaining the technicality of overtone singing. I was fascinated by her ability to sing two notes at the same time, so I reached out to have a conversation. Anna-Maria shared with me how her journey with overtone singing began, the technicality of this vocal art, and we even dived into some philosophical musings on sound.
Please enjoy the 257th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Anna-Maria Hefele. Anna-Maria, thank you for talking with me. It was so neat to connect and talk about the fascinating world of sound.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
Callum Blue's character of Andrew Jacoby in The Princess Diaries 2 ended up being the wrong partner for Princess Mia but somehow as a viewer, at least for me, there was a pang of sadness for the nice, honest, and just no drama Duke of Kenilworth. I sat down with him over twenty years since the sequel's release to talk about a personal quest of self-discovery involving trauma and mushrooms.
Please enjoy the 256th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Callum Blue. Callum, thank you for taking time to share your life journey with me and my audience.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
I ended the 2025 podcast lineup with Angela Cartwright, Brigitta Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. I begin the 2026 year with Karen Dotrice, Jane Banks in the classic Disney musical Mary Poppins. Karen is now 70 yet still cherishes her time on set many years ago. We talked about fond moments talking with Mr. Disney, how important experiencing childhood is, and some of the hard moments Karen has walked through as an adult.
Please enjoy the 255th episode of Lament of Hope highlighting Karen Dotrice. Karen, thank you for being my first guest of the year! Such a gift to connect and talk about your past and present.
Want to listen to the audio version of this interview? Click here to check out my podcast format and give it a listen.
