A CONVERSATION WITH TOP CBD EXPERT STUART TOMC

WITH JEREMY HORN

Houra Merrikh is an assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Washington in the Department of Health & Sciences with a focus on DNA replication, mutagenesis and evolution. Her research into the mutagenic nature of co-directional gene collisions were revolutionary in the field and won her the 2016 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science. Basically professor Merrikh discovered mechanisms by which the evolution of specific genes (through duplication and expression) could be controlled or accelerated. It took all of my restraint to not ask her how far away we were from scientifically creating X-Men.

Dr. Shailinder Sodhi along with his wife Dr. Anju Sodhi and his brother Dr. Virender Sodhi are the first family of Ayurvedic Medicine in America. Ayurveda, which translates loosely from Sanskrit to “the wisdom of life”, is a system of traditional medicine developed in India to not only treat illness but to maximize a person’s ideal health potential. Pre-dating Westernized medicine by thousands of years, many ancient Ayurvedic surgical procedures and tools were directly adopted unchanged into current medical practice.

David Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius” Grant recipient and professor in the Department of Earth & Space Sciences at the University of Washington. He is a prominent authority in geology, but his education never trained him to explore the rich biology within soil. Luckily his wife Anne Bikle is a brilliant biologist. Together they have expanded their collective knowledge to learn that there is an entire ecosystem of microbes living “beneath the surface”. Entire UNIVERSES in fact, which determine the true health of our soil

Jeremy Bryant has been the head chef for the Seattle Mariners for the past 18 years and is a perfect embodiment of the classic notion of the American dream where passion and hard work can open up worlds that you never knew were available to you.

Brian Scolaro has the career of a headliner every aspiring comedian hopes for with multiple appearances on Conan, Live at Gotham, his own Comedy Central special and a coveted spot as a regular at the World Famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles. But the job is changing. With the rise of the internet, more time is spent promoting your brand with less time available for writing and working on your craft. Not to mention losing calendar dates to ‘flavor of the month’ internet & reality stars who are gone as soon as they arrive. We also delve into how the writer’s strike of 2007 forced everyone down a pay grade, from which most creative talent has yet to recover.

David Huntsberger is a very thoughtful and intelligent comedian. This makes him a difficult commodity to fit into our ‘sound bite’ and ‘click-bait’ culture. In response to that, David has created and cultivated his own audience of people who come out specifically to see him. The trade-off means never selling out clubs & coliseums, but the reward is an attentive room of people who appreciate you and respect your work. He also shames me into re-watching ‘Bad Santa’.

The late night television appearance is a rite of passage for any comedy headliner. Andrew Sleighter breaks down his first nationally televised appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien set and how his worst fears were realized but resolved in an instant due to years of preparation.

Kent, Washington’s Courtney Thompson became the first female athlete ever to have her jersey retired from the University of Washington after leading the 2005 team to its first ever National Championship in volleyball, setting multiple UW and NCAA records along the way. Her over-achieving at UW earned her an ESPY nomination at the 2006 awards for best female collegiate athlete.

Being a director is a weird job. To be a good director takes an uncanny combination of excessive self-confidence, infinite patience, and deliberate restraint. Anna Mastro has worked on some major Hollywood blockbusters with little public recognition. Since the release of her first feature film, she has found herself able to do the type of projects she wants to do and is mapping a path of her own. You can currently see her work as the director of the Peabody Award Winning show ‘Jane the Virgin’ on the CW. Enjoy!

Let me begin by stating that I don’t drink coffee. Anyone who knows me can attest to that. I exist at a constant state of amped up aggression and overbearing self-righteousness. I don’t need caffeine to intensify that. But after a long night of shooting and only a few hours of sleep before preparing the studio for our interview with Dr Starkey, I had myself a cup of coffee. Then another. And another. Because I struggle with self-restraint.

When Danielle Gregoire founded the Comedy Womb as a non-threatening environment to encourage women, people of color, trans, queer and other traditionally disenfranchised groups to try stand-up comedy, she never intended to trigger a nation-wide trend or spark debate. She just wanted to put on a fun show. Things never go the way you plan.

Dr. Herb Joiner-Bey is an author and consultant with degrees in physics & mathematics from John Hopkins University as well a doctor of naturopathic medicine & adjunct professor at Bastyr University. He is a free-thinker and a voice worth listening to.

Unfortunately for him, he is also my friend.

When Dr Herb and I get together we like to play a game where we solve all the world’s problems. This episode is an introduction and invitation for you to join in our game. Enjoy!