Tony on the Mic

Tony on the Mic

Interesting stories, light touch on delicate subjects, and me cracking myself up! If you laugh 1/2 as much as I do making these, you'll love it! Check the topic and see if it interests you. Some local, some global, some fun, some sad ...

Episodes

January 27, 2025 58 mins

My guest today is Kenneth Watson. He is a military vet, an author, and recently a father, but still insists his primary identifying marker is as an alcoholic. He had his first drink at about 6 years old, and remembers the first time he was drunk,.Kenneth was only 12 years old. 

 

Alcohol surrounded most of his life in high school, college and the military. While it would have been easy to become a statistic, he sobered up, w...

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Hey y’all – Today my guest is long-time friend and personal pilot – Marty Stanton. Marty’s daughter graduated from some college in San Diego – I should know, it is in the show, so he flew out from South Carolina to be with her. And when I say flew out, it is not quite “I just flew in from South Carolina and boy are my arms tired,” but it is "he hopped in his 2 seated, took his wife hostage, and flew his tiny plane from coa...

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Happy New Year! Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Did you kiss a stranger at midnight? Our guest today had a dream to do just that this year – tune in to find out. Neither our guest Kelly, nor co-host Anna, who introduced her to the show, mentioned she was a widow, so much of my show prep went out the window. Still friends with your ex? Who ended the relationship? … Hear me insert and re-insert my foot into my mouth...

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Welcome to ADD – Adult Dating for Dummies we are back after a football season hiatus to discuss the adult dating scene. On this episode we discover there are several AI dating coaches – they review all of your date “chats” and tell you where you went right and where you went wrong and tries to up your game. We also talk about dating during the Holidays and its unique challenges.

 

Today’s guest, Maggie, is back on the market...

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Today my guest is a candidate for 79th district assembly. She was born and raised in San Diego. She is a proud SDSU alum where she got her Bachelor’s degree AND and her Ed.d in Education leadership. She is Aztec through and through as her mom worked at the school while she was pregnant with LaShae! We talk about dirty politics and transparency and we (mostly me) joke about an attack ad aimed at her, that I found silly. She...

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Today my guest Genevieve Suzuki is running for La Mesa City Council. This is neither an endorsement nor a hit piece, just a chance to get to know her and what she stands for. She is a parent – we have not had a city council member with school-age children in a long, long time. She is an attorney and wants to foster community. A supporter of first responders and public servants (I hate the term public servant – it sounds li...

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Hey y’all Check it out – we have a male representing on ADD! A rare sighting, even though we have only done 4 or 5 episodes, it’s time the men get a shot. We need more open and honest guys… like todays guest, David Walker – Three time Eisner award winner and 2023 inkpot winner and Long time family friend talks about dating while notable, if not famous. What he is looking for now that he is getting a little older – spoiler ...

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On this episode, I get to actually see what real life Tinder page looks like, and we discuss LIVE if Anna should swipe right, and why or why not. The ladies tell me some things that are “Vagina repellant” – a term I never knew and could have gone my whole life without hearing… We answer how many pet guinea pigs is too many, how often you should update your profile picture and information and what is your responsibility to ...

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In this jam-packed episode of ADD – we wonder why the eggplant became the go-to suggestive emoji over the heavily favored banana, compare notes on how to spot an actual hooker, and how  the “ordering process” in a brothel look like. We talk about a few uncomfortable taboo fetishes that Anna has been offered to participate in. What are some deal breakers on you profile, and wonder if etiquette still matters in today’s world...

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On this week’s installment of ADD – Adult Dating for Dummies, we meet Anna and scratch the surface of her recent dating history. We hear about “Special K” she only uses his first initial for some semi anonymity. We discuss door opening etiquette, good, safe places to meet on a first face to face or “IRL” that’s what the kids call in real life, date. Spoiler alert, an under-construction house with covered windows and plasti...

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February 14, 2024 67 mins

Hey folks, for those expecting a scintillating interview episode, this is a brand new project, launched under the Tony on the Mic banner. ADD – Adult dating for Dummies. We talk about the new dating frontier – dating apps and how to meet someone in 2024. I am happily married and so naïve to what is out there, I mostly sit mouth wide open as I hear about the wild wild world on online dating, intimate pics, sliding into DMs,...

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Today I am joined by San Diego Running legend Paul Greer. He has a new book out – Going the Distance – Strategies from the first stride to the finish line. It is one tip per page over 250 pages – that helps improve, starts, strides, shoes, breath and more! Whether you are just getting started or you’re a seasoned runner, the man the Union Tribune called the Pied Piper of San Diego Running has lots of stuff to make you bett...

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Today my guest is - when you think Bubbles, think Meadow Perry! One of the 124 most prominent bubbles magicians in the world according to OIBA! She was on the CW Masters of Illusion, did a week at the world famous Magic Castle in LA, and got a shout out from Penn Gillette of Penn and Teller! We talk about the genesis of bubble magic, how she got into bubble magic and push back against the notion that it isn’t “real” magic ...

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Today my guest is author and inspirational speaker Jonas Royster. He overcame a troubled past, including a few incarcerations, gang banging and a severe alcohol addiction. He is releasing his second book, with 4 more in the pipeline. He is also doing motivational speaking, trying to use his story, struggles and success to point out a road map to what is possible for those in his similar situation. We talk sky-diving, bunge...

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Today my guest is Lorraine Bardeen, VP and Chief Technology officer at Microsoft! We discuss her journey through life and Cornell (ever heard of it) that led her to Microsoft. We discuss her life through high school and college, and why there are many people in her rolodex she would call before Bill Gates if she needed a tire change. She defends Clippy, the original AI Microsoft assistant, ranks her sisters, and lists keys...

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Today my guest is Author Kitty Zeldis. Once an aspiring bun-head (ballet dancer,) she went from publishing almost 40 children themed books and short stories and her last novel, The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights was about a Jewish Prostitute in New Orleans… We cover her journey from one to the other, and lots of stuff in between. She talks about rejection letters, balancing editors and her own vision, and gives some great...

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BJ is Married! We sit down and catch up with everybody’s favorite bachelor as he settles down with his long-time love Andrea. We talk about the planning, the execution and the whirlwind that is a wedding. We discuss his podcast revival, the intrusive nature of the internet and its listening – all the time. We set the over under WAY too low for the amount of times he would cry. Is syncronicitious a word? Spoiler alert – no....

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Today my guest is a relaxed, recentered and rejuvenated Erica Benisch! She just got back from a week at the famous and exclusive Golden Door Spa in San Marcos – as recommended by Oprah! Door to door shuttle service, daily in-room massage and endless activities. But the most impactful part was getting in touch with herself and accessing years of pent-up baggage and trauma. With daily yoga, meditations and access to various ...

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Today – My guest Jayden Lombardo just returned from completing the most famous, and some say most daunting marathon: the Boston Marathon, 26.2 grueling miles through the streets of Boston, culminating at Heartbreak Hill! He joined 30,000 other runners and finished just before the rain came down in buckets. I pity those who finished later. We learn why the Unicorn is the official symbol of the Boston Marathon, why I call hi...

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My guest today turned down Oprah, the first time she called, but did Tony on the Mic on the first request! She is Pam Smith and she is fascinating. She had a genealogy friend and they were working together for a few years. They discovered one of her friend’s people, owned – as in slavery – her people. How would your react? She tells us about the emotional whirlwind and how it all reconciled. Spoiler alert: after some tense...

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