God & Other Delicacies

Joe Holt (The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Law & Order, Scandal, Greys Anatomy) is on the show this week, and we're catching him at a rich and poignant moment in his life journey.  The son of a high-ranking, Black Air Force officer, Joe shares a unique perspective on the juxtaposition of where the qualities of confidence, character, aptitude and honor, meet with the insidious, painful and ugly realities of racism.  Born to a...

George Drance (Artist in Residence at Fordham University, Artistic Director of Magis Theatre Company in New York City, Resident Artist in La Mama's Great Jones Repertory Company) is a member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order of priests most often referred to as Jesuits, founded by St. Ignatius de Loyola in 1540.  Jesuits are renowned for their educational and charitable works, in which Fr. Drance takes part, but h...

Dr. Judith Mayotte (internationally-esteemed humanitarian, author of "Disposable People? The Plight of Refugees", and Emmy-Award winning television producer for TBS' "Portrait of America") joins Nick on the phone to share a life story that is as improbable and adventurous as it is spiritual and profound.  Born in Kansas to a Protestant family where her father didn't participate in the faith, she was sent awa...

Amanda Payton and Arsène DeLay - both previous guests on the podcast, and dear friends of Nick's - generously agreed to return to the show to discuss both the issue of race and how it has affected them directly in their lives, as well as their thoughts and emotions regarding the present moment as we collectively process the tragic murders of George Floyd, and other victims past and present.  Amanda and Arsène are both Black wom...

Babar Peerzada [TV/Stage Actor... NCIS: Los Angeles (also Writer), NCIS, Lions for Lambs] joins Nick on the phone to share the complex and compelling physical and spiritual journey he's taken to this point in his life.  Born in Pakistan to artistic, free-thinking parents, he lived in London, England until the age of 12, when his family returned to Pakistan full time.  This juxtaposition and tension between the cultures of creat...

Arsène DeLay (New Orleans-based singer/songwriter/musician with multiple award-winning albums and music featured on NCIS: New Orleans, MFA graduate of California Institute of the Arts) hops on the phone with Nick, and the old college theatre buddies (Marquette University) share a beautiful catch-up after having not seen each other since Nick and his wife visited her in New Orleans six years ago.  Arsène grew up the daughter of an a...

Steven Boyer (Hustlers, Orange is the New Black, Chicago: Fire, The Blacklist, and Tony-Award Nominee for Hand to God), Nick's old partner in both committing and fighting crime on their beloved little comedy Trial & Error, hops on the phone from his place in Brooklyn and tells a beautiful story about what led to his conversion to Reform Judaism.  Born in Columbus, Ohio to a loving Presbyterian family that did not practice w...

David Walton (Council of Dads, New Girl, Masters of Sex, About a Boy, Bad Moms, Fired Up!) and Nick, old friends who were cast as best friends in the first TV pilot either of them ever booked nearly 20 years ago, open up a conversation that surprises both of them in the nature of its' depth, its' generosity, and its' vulnerability.  Unwittingly, both came to the discussion with an offer for healing - Nick, by exorcising...

Paul “Pablo” Burson (Director of Student Development and Community Partnerships at Regis University, and a Priest in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion), a dear friend and former teacher of Nick’s, joins the show, and Pablo’s inner light, his kindness, and his calm reverence for God and the spiritual life make for sublime conversation.  Pablo’s story is extraordinary.  He entered the seminary at the age of 14, would be ordained at 2...

Louise Spinner (former Senior Talent Agent in the Motion Picture Department at UTA/United Talent Agency), Nick's very first (and now most recent) talent representative, hops on the phone to share about why she is presently stepping away from her 30+ year career in the entertainment business, and what she hopes to gain by doing so.  She also talks about growing up the only biological child of two Reformed Jewish parents who ...

Aaron Yoo (The Tomorrow People, Hawaii 5-0, Disturbia, 21, Everything Before Us) hops on the phone with Nick from his apartment in New York City, and the old Rocket Science pals share memories from 15 years ago and chat NYC Covid-19 before jumping into Aaron's unique relationship to religion, and Christianity in particular...  While five months pregnant with him, Aaron's mother suffered a terrifying automobile accident, and...

Amy Miller (One of Comedy Central's "Up Next" comics for 2018; her album "Solid Gold" was named a Top 10 comedy album of 2016 by Interrobang) has been complimented by established comedians as both "alpha" and "fierce".  Well, no different here, as she was the alpha-guest regarding my first Covid-19 phone interview, and then afterwards would reveal to me that she had no idea who I was (or what she...

Steve Hernandez (Comedian, founder of Chatterbox Comedy Night, field reporter on Sarah Silverman's "I Love You, America!" and host of multiple podcasts) fearlessly visits Nick's studio as a total stranger, and is thankfully won over by a cup of coffee.  Nick, in turn, is won over by Steve's hearty laugh, his thoughtful reflection and his devotion to living life as kindly and honestly as possible.  Steve's sp...

Another of Nick's old friends, Enver Gjokaj - pronounced "Joke-Eye" - (Marvel's "Agent Carter" & "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse", Emergence) visits the studio, and almost instantly we're swept up in not only Enver's journeys abroad, but the deeply mindful journey he's embarked on over the last handful of years since he bottomed out with depression.  Env...

This week, Dan Sachoff (Zooey's Extraordinary Playlist, Black-ish, Scrubs, The Closer, Prison Break) visits the studio as kind repayment for when Nicholas was recently a guest on Dan's podcast, Christianese (ep #44).  Dan tells a beautiful and detailed story about his faith journey in Christ.  He weaves together his early challenges comprehending his mothers' addiction to painkillers and his fathers' health scares, ...

Elizabeth Brooks Oakley (Speech Pathologist - Founder of Magnolia Speech Therapy in Burbank, CA, and now Soundpath LA) visits the studio and, although she didn't get in a good breakfast for herself, the fact that she's drinking coffee again means she's mostly doing fine.  Elizabeth has an extraordinary story to share, and she tells it energetically, passionately, and thoughtfully.  From her early impressions of Christia...

Friend, and fellow Fantasy Football League-mate Robert Baker (Grey's Anatomy, Wrecked, Texas Rising, Justified, Supergirl) visits the studio, and it's only natural that the two former Champs would take a moment to reflect upon their shared successes before hopping into the larger question of God.  Robert grew up on a farm in West Memphis, Arkansas, surrounded by a Baptist Christian community - where there was even a Church ...

Paul James (Greek, The Path, Hot Zone, Soundtrack) visits the studio and instantly puts Nicholas on his heels by revealing that Nicholas' beloved, bottom shelf, American steel-cut oats might be laced with some sort of new 21st Century toxin.  Paul kindly offers to feed all of us his clean, organic, Irish steel-cut oats (for a price), and just as soon as Paul provides his address we can go knock on his door for breakfast.  What ...

David Muller (Los Angeles-based headshot and portrait photographer, named one of LA's favorite headshot photographers by Backstage Reader's Choice Awards) visits the studio for what becomes an extraordinarily revealing look into what he refers to as his time spent in a Christian "cult".  David tells a story as surprising as it is understandable, beginning as a secular middle-schooler, and transitioning step-by-step ...