Journey with Jake

#192 - Some moments feel like they’re nudging us forward. Stephen Seidel’s life is full of those nudges: a favorite Eagles player on the flight to a funeral, a foggy window shaped like an eagle on the day of a tribute, a childhood hero literally saving him from choking. We unpack how he alchemized those signs, along with profound loss, into a mission centered on connection, courage, and story.

Stephen grew up a sports-obse...

#191 - What if your brain could learn to love better? We sat down with Dr. David Helfand—a therapist with a background in neuroscience—to unpack how neuroplasticity, meditation, and focused couples work can turn recurring fights into lasting repair. From breathwork that calms a spiraling argument to thought logs that retrain pessimism, David shows how small, repeatable practices change both your nervous system and your connection.<...

#190 - What if you could trade flat maps and footnotes for sunrise on Sinai and sea spray in your face as you approach a harbor Paul once saw? That’s the world filmmaker Craig Dehut invites us into—where sacred places become cinematic classrooms and faith is strengthened by seeing.

Craig shares how Appian Media grew from a coffee-shop idea to a nonprofit producing free, high-quality Bible documentaries viewed more than 20 ...

#189 - A cone head at baggage claim. A prank that makes a whole terminal laugh. And beneath the costumes and skits, a marriage held together by faith, service, and a fierce tenderness forged in grief. We sit down with Troy and Melinda Hicks—Hicks in the Wild—to explore how everyday adventure can coexist with loss and how playful creativity becomes a lifeline.

Their love story starts in college, survives a mission and dista...

#188 - What happens when a comedian with a camera trades stage lights for sunrise on a dirt road and points his vehicle toward Panama? I sat down with author and traveler Matt Savino to unpack a seven-month run along the Pan American Highway that never reached South America yet somehow delivered everything he was chasing: humor in the chaos, humanity at the barricades, and a clear-eyed love for places most maps flatten.

Ma...

#187 - A childhood marked by chaos. A career built on service. And a second act shaped by faith, language, and a blank page. Jake sits down with Ken Webb to trace a life that refuses to settle for mere existence—from praying his way through a turbulent home to leading across Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond.

Ken opens up about how his grandparents’ steady love and a lived-in faith helped him endure abuse and instabili...

#186 - What if the deepest calm you’ve ever felt could follow you out of the water and into everyday life? That’s the spark of our conversation with Kerry Ferguson, founder of Yoga Tree, whose path from free diving to yoga reveals how breath, mindfulness, and compassion can reshape how we move through the world.

We trace Kerry's arc from early wellness choices and Outward Bound grit to anatomy labs, massage rooms, and...

#185 - Before longboards hit storefronts and GoPros hit helmets, Jack Smith and two friends pointed a 1969 Firebird toward the horizon and skated into history. Jack Smith talks about how a simple leapfrog relay turned a wild idea into the first recorded skateboard crossing of the United States—and how that journey shaped everything that came after.

We trace the arc from clay “crumble” wheels to first‑gen urethane and on to...

#184 - What does it take to conquer the American Ninja Warrior course? For Colton Skuster, the journey began as a 10-year-old jumping over exercise balls in his basement, dreaming of someday tackling those iconic obstacles himself.

At just 20 years old, Colton has already competed in three seasons of American Ninja Warrior, reaching the National Finals in Las Vegas and proving himself against competitors twice his age. His...

#183 - Jamie Edwards returns to Journey with Jake with tales from the top of the world, having ventured to the Arctic with her 21-year-old daughter and 82-year-old stepfather. Their expedition through the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard reveals a landscape where polar bears roam distant shores and massive glaciers calve with thunderous crashes that signal our changing climate.

Jamie vividly describes the unique challenge...

#182 - Two simple questions changed everything for Bernard "Chalky" White. Growing up under the shadow of an abusive father who regularly beat both him and his mother, Chalky developed a survival mechanism that unfortunately led him to abandon his education completely by age 13. With zero qualifications at 16, he joined the police cadets and eventually became a London "Bobby," though his heart was never truly in...

#181 - Christian Ray Flores' life reads like an epic novel - a childhood marked by upheaval across continents, an improbable rise to pop stardom in Russia, and a profound transformation into a purposeful coach helping others discover their untapped potential.

Growing up amid political chaos, Christian experienced firsthand what most of us only read about in history books. By age seven, he had lived through a military ...

#180 - Have you ever wondered what happens when a deep love for Ireland, masterful storytelling, and biblical foundations merge? That's exactly what unfolds in this captivating conversation with John Leonard, the creative mind behind the Wayfinder series – a fantasy adventure saga that bridges ancient myths with biblical narratives.

Growing up in rural Colorado as the eldest of four siblings, John shares how his close...

#179 - Lesa Burgess never imagined that falling in love with a basketball player would lead her across nine countries over eleven years, building a family of seven while navigating cultural labyrinths few Americans ever experience. Her memoir "Behind the Bench" pulls back the curtain on what looks like a glamorous life to reveal something far more compelling—a story of resilience, adaptation, and finding yourself when eve...

#178 - The road to redemption isn't always straight, and nobody knows this better than Garr Russell. From sitting in a jail cell in fifth grade to building a nationwide RV rental franchise with 70 locations, Garr's journey proves that our darkest chapters can become the foundation for something beautiful.

After his parents' divorce set him on a troubled path, Garr spiraled through expulsion, dropping out, an...

#177 - What happens when childhood play transforms into serious sport? In this eye-opening conversation, we saddle up with Kht Shetty, a 20-year-old Polish hobby horse competitor and coach who's redefining what it means to "horse around."

Hobby horsing—a sport where participants jump obstacles up to 1.3 meters high while carrying handcrafted stick horses—combines athletic prowess, creative craftsmanship, and...

#176 - What does it take to sail around the world? For Alison Gieschen, it's required facing her worst fears while clinging to a dream she's had since childhood. From the moment she and her husband Dan met at a sailboat race and discovered their shared ambition to circumnavigate the globe, their path was set – though hardly smooth sailing.

Alison's journey began far from any ocean, on a 100-acre farm in upst...

Bonus 11 - Sexual assault fundamentally changes lives, but it doesn't have to define them. In this powerful bonus episode, Amanda Villarini talks about the night that altered her path forever, when what began as a casual gathering with friends ended in betrayal and trauma.

Amanda's story exposes the painful reality that sometimes our most devastating wounds come from those we trust. With remarkable courage, she w...

#175 - When Rodney Carpentier first laced up his police patrol boots to tackle a Catskill mountain, he had no idea he was beginning a transformative six-year odyssey that would shape not only his physical resilience but his creative future. Sharing his remarkable journey from unprepared novice to accomplished hiker who conquered all 35 peaks of the challenging Catskills 3500, Rodney reveals how the mountains became his sanctuary du...