High School Matters
How much did High School shape your life? High School Matters is a podcast dedicated to conversations I have with my former High School students where I set out to find out how High School mattered to them both then and now. What I uncover in these conversations is that the persona that these kids created in High School is not exactly what was beneath the surface.
Episodes
In a full-circle twist, the mic flips.
Host Randy Appell becomes the guest as executive producer Jon Fuss takes over to interview the voice behind High School Matters.
What follows is a heartfelt, honest, and often hilarious conversation about Randy’s life—his high school memories, the moments that shaped his teaching, and the inspiration behind the podcast itself.
This episode peels back the curtain and lets you truly meet Rand...
Today’s episode is a blast from the past with a twist! I’m joined by Scott Saltiel, who proudly claims the title of High School Matters’ number one fan. Unlike many of my guests, Scott and I weren’t friends back in high school—but over time, we’ve discovered we have way more in common than we ever imagined.
Scott is genuine and speaks openly about how much he loved high school, while also being refreshingly honest about the insecur...
In high school, Jon Shatzkamer (Shatz) was the all-American kid—well-liked, good-looking, kind, and seemingly coasting through life with ease. But years later, everything changed when Jon suffered a brain aneurysm that left him in a coma for weeks. His recovery was nothing short of a miracle. While he now faces some challenges with short-term memory, Jon holds onto incredibly vivid and detailed memories from his past—especially fro...
Mr. Dubin was one of my favorite teachers in high school, not because he stuck to any script, but because he had his own style. He was quirky, unpredictable, and full of spirit. His class felt fun, personal, and the kind of experience that stays with you for life.
In this episode, we look back on what made him so memorable, like the way he connected with students, his creative traditions, and his legendary “bust outs”. The most sur...
In this episode, I sit down with Dave Siegel—stand-up comedian, news writer, and my best friend since the first grade. Dave’s performed on America’s Got Talent, killed on Comedy Central, and toured with comedy legends—but the real gold? That’s always been in our conversations.
We talk ...
In a refreshing twist from my usual conversations with former students, this episode features one of my closest friends from high school, Kenny Eisenstein. Back in 1994, Kenny’s dry, understated humor kept me laughing—and it still does.
Like many of us, Kenny looks back on high school with a mix of nostalgia and a few regrets. But overall, he remembers it as one of the best times of his life. What’s especially fascinating is heari...
Richie Kamen’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Richie went from a poor, insecure, bedwetting kid to the unlikely owner of Camps Equinunk and Blue Ridge, which he somehow purchased with no money and zero entrepreneurial experience. But owning the camps was only the beginning. Richie faced fierce protests and resistance while working to modernize the camps, tackle long-standing challenges, and improve a shocking...
Aaron Bours, the student who dropped out of college to become a soldier in the Israeli Defense Force, has returned to speak with me again. This time he is a wounded hero at the center of the world's most divisive war between Israel and Hamas. Hear about the conflict as he experienced it firsthand, how that experience changed him forever, and how he barely made it back alive!
Aaron Bours thrived in high school and got the most out of each day there. After graduating, he wanted to be more than just a college student, so he dropped out of college to join the Israeli Defense Force. This experience changed his life. After settling into a successful and stable career, he decided to come out of the reserves to return to the IDF to fight for his country. This conversation felt fun and lighthearted back when we...
After recording this emotional and revealing conversation, my guest asked me to protect his identity so his name will not be used. My guest entered Great Neck North High School as a 10th grader after being kicked out of a Yeshiva. His risky behavior got him kicked out of GNNHS also, this time for punching another student and sending him to the hospital. He’d always seemed like a nice kid to me, but after hearing stories about...
Adriana Phillips went through high school on a mission: to find herself. She often felt like her personality had two sides, but she never quite understood why. She looked like she might be a popular cheerleader or prom queen, but instead she was a studious actress. Adriana was driven by this ambiguity. She always questioned and embraced why she felt certain ways. We talk about her struggle in my class, her struggle with boys, and h...
Benny Laitman started high school as a self-described lanky, nerdy kid. He decided to run for class president in his freshman year and wound up winning. We discuss all of the events that took place because of that victory and how his life has been different ever since. We also discuss how his introduction to life as a doctor was thrown for a loop when he faced a catastrophic situation that changed everything forever. From his high ...
Shayna Domnitch went through high school with relative ease. She was a sweet, pretty, popular, and confident girl back then. She got positive attention from guys and had a lot of close friends, many of whom she is still close with today. Shayna eventually had to face her biggest challenge when she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. We discuss openly how she dealt with this challenge and how her upbringing, her high school...
David Niknam was one of the quietest guys I ever had in any of my classes. Even though I had him for 2 years in a row, I never really got to know him. I did many things to try and get him out of his shell: calling on him often, engaging him in discussion, and even offering him extra credit to get up in front of the entire class and yell at me (which most people, especially a kid as quiet as him, would find totally uncomfortable). I...
Jen Doppelt (@JenExotic) is one of the funniest people I know. Back in high school she pushed the envelope with hilarious and often outrageous comments that got a reaction out of both peers and teachers. It turns out that Jen actually used her humor as a bodyguard, protecting her from stuff she wasn’t ready to deal with. In this conversation Jen opens up about several aspects of her high school life including her sexuality, h...
Steve Amara is the reason I am a chemistry teacher. As part of his 40-year teaching career, where he inspired many students along the way, Mr. Amara was MY honors chemistry teacher back in 1992. In this enlightening and nostalgic conversation, we share not only our views on how to be a teacher and how struggle builds character, but also many other topics, including the ones that emerged throughout this podcast series. This season f...
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