Matthew Felix On Air: People Who Create. People Who Make a Difference.

22 minutes 9 seconds

40 Thank-You and goodnight!

In this, the final episode of Matthew Félix on Air, recorded live on September 25, 2019 at LitWings at Book Passage in Corte Madera (San Francisco Bay Area), I trace the trajectory of the video podcast from its inception to this last episode.

Thanks to all of you who have watched and listened over the past year and a half! I’ll be back in 2020 with new podcasts!

Links:
matthewfelix.com
LitWings
Book Passage
wordspacestudios.com

Video:
Facebook | YouTube

40 Matthew Félix on Air: Final Episode Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

29 September 2019, 5:22 am

49 minutes 2 seconds

39 Dandelion Chocolate's Greg D'Alesandre: Craft chocolate and the beans behind the bars

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On this episode, which aired in July of last year, Dandelion Chocolate’s Greg D’Alesandre tells us what it’s like to travel the world eating chocolate. He also talks about the craft-chocolate movement, why relationships with producers matter, and much more about the story behind both Dandelion itself and the beans behind the bars!

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Dandelion Chocolate
wordspacestudios.com

39 Dandelion Chocolate Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

18 August 2019, 11:44 am

47 minutes 51 seconds

38 Parlay House's Anne Devereux-Mills on Starting Over, Connecting Women, and Cascading Empowerment

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On today’s show, which aired in June of last year, Anne Devereux-Mills, founder of Parlay House, Executive Director of the Emmy-nominated The Return, and Chairwoman of the Board of Marchex, Inc. shares how starting over led her to look at how we—and women, in particular—can not only have deeper, more meaningful interactions but how they can have an inspiring, empowering cascade effect on others.

As a single mom, a top executive in New York's competitive advertising scene, and a cancer survivor, Anne experienced challenging times, ultimately leading her to found Parlay House, over 1000 “women who come together to connect, grow, learn and thrive.”

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Anne Devereux-Mills
Parlay House
wordspacestudios.com

38 Parlay House's Anne Devereux-Mills Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

11 August 2019, 11:44 am

47 minutes 38 seconds

37 “All Over Coffee” Writer & Artist Paul Madonna on his Books, Art, and Creative Process

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On this episode, which aired in July of last year and is also included in my Words and Images podcast, award-winning artist and writer Paul Madonna talks about the joys and lingering challenges of a trip to France, how his All Over Coffee series and novel Close Enough for the Angels deconstructed then rethought the relationship between words and images, and his series in the Nob Hill Gazette, Quotable City.

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Paul Madonna
wordspacestudios.com

37 Writer & Artist Paul Madonna Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

4 August 2019, 11:44 am

48 minutes 54 seconds

36 Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) and protecting farms and preserving farmland

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On this episode, which aired in June of last year, I talk with Jamison Watts, Executive Director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), about MALT’s history and mission, their recent successes and current goals, and how agricultural land is preserved—and why it matters. MALT has worked with 85 farming families to preserve over 52,000 acres!

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Marin Agricultural Land Trust
wordspacestudios.com

36 Marin Agricultural Land Trust Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

28 July 2019, 11:44 am

50 minutes 23 seconds

35 Crohn's Disease: Overcoming Chronic Autoimmune Disorders

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On this episode, which aired in March of last year, my friend Susan Violante shares how in her 20s she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic autoimmune-system-related disorder. Her diagnosis, however, was a long-time coming—and is an unbelievable story. We talked about Susan's experiences, as well as how she managed the disease into remission and now leads a happy, healthy life.

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
wordspacestudios.com

35 Crohn's Disease: Overcoming Chronic Autoimmune Disorders Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

21 July 2019, 12:55 pm

51 minutes 3 seconds

34 Bikes, Biking, & the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

On this episode, which aired in March of last year, I talk with San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Communications Director, Chris Cassidy. We discuss the Coalition’s history, mission, and initiatives. Chris also clues us into the the state of biking in San Francisco, including issues facing bikers and progress being made toward not only an increasingly bikable city—but an increasingly bikable world.

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
wordspacestudios.com

34 San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

15 July 2019, 8:53 am

47 minutes 35 seconds

33 Litquake's Jane Ganahl: Books, writers, and celebrating all things literary

The show is on hiatus for the summer, so I’m digging into the archives for some great episodes from the recent past.

This episode, which aired in July of last year, is the first of two episodes I did with Litquake co-founders Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware; this being the one with Jane.

Litquake is a literary festival based in San Francisco. In 2017 Litquake featured 850 authors, had 14,300 attendees, and held 180 events, 86% of which were free. And that’s not even including the many Litquake spinoff events held in cities throughout the United States and abroad.

I specifically dug this episode out of the archives now because Litquake is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and while the main festival doesn’t happen until October, festivities are already underway.

For those of you local to the San Francisco Bay Area, on Thurs, July 18 Litquake will be hosting a benefit in celebration not only of Litquake’s 20th anniversary but the movie The Godfather’s 50th anniversary as well. Tickets for that event are available at litquake.org.

In this episode, I talk with co-founder Jane Ganahl about the organization’s origins, its incredibly successful namesake festival, its year-round initiatives, and much more.

Thanks for listening, and if you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe!

Links:
Litquake
wordspacestudios.com

33 Litquake's Jane Ganahl Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

10 July 2019, 8:55 am

1 hour 23 minutes

32 Guide Dogs for the Blind: Training puppies, empowering the visually impaired, and how you can help

For this, my last live show until fall, my guest was Guide Dogs for the Blind CEO and President, Chris Benninger. We talked about GDB's mission and programs, including how puppies become guide dogs (from breeding to socializing to puppy raising to training) and how people with visual impairments connect with guide dogs. We also talked about what happens to career-change dogs (i.e., those deemed better suited to other life paths), when and what happens in retirement, and how people can adopt career-change or retired guide dogs. All Guide Dogs for the Blind programs and services are free of charge, so I asked Chris about ways people can help, from contributing financially to volunteering and more. A great conversation with a delightful, inspiring guest about a wonderful organization making a difference for so many throughout North America.

Christine Benninger joined Guide Dogs for the Blind in April of 2014. Prior to joining GDB, she spent 17 years leading the Humane Society Silicon Valley, during which she and her team helped save the lives of tens of thousands of animals and greatly reduce pet overpopulation problems in Santa Clara County. Chris honed her business skills as an auditor with Arthur Andersen, as well as in her 15 years at Hewlett Packard, where she held managerial positions in the U.S., as well as in Europe. Chris holds an MBA from Stanford University, and she gives back to the community through her role on the board for non-profit Wildlife Impact, which is committed to protecting the diversity of wildlife and natural habitats throughout the world.

Links:
Guide Dogs for the Blind
National Federation of the Blind
wordspacestudios.com

Video:
Facebook | YouTube | Excerpts

32 Guide Dogs for the Blind: CEO Chris Benninger Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

1 July 2019, 9:57 am

45 minutes 32 seconds

31 (Part 2) Foster Care, Adoption, & Unconditional Love: Author Rachel Howard & "The Risk of Us"

Rachel Howard’s gripping, moving debut novel, The Risk of Us, is just out, the story of a woman who longs to be a mother and the captivating yet troubled child she and her husband take in. In this second of two episodes, Rachel and I discuss the fears the adoptive couple has, as well as the incredible challenges they face when interacting with the system. Matthew asks Rachel about how she created and sustained the tension felt throughout the novel, issues the couple faces with the potential adoptive child, and how our pasts affect our abilities to give and receive unconditional love - and whether it’s even possible.

Rachel Howard earned her MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College and is the author of a memoir, The Lost Night, featured on This American Life. Rachel is the recipient of a MacDowell Colony fellowship, and her fiction, essays, and dance criticism have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

Links:
rachelhoward.com
wordspacestudios.com

Video:
Facebook | YouTube | Excerpts

31 (Part 2) Foster Care, Adoption, & Unconditional Love: Author Rachel Howard & "The Risk of Us" Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

23 June 2019, 12:55 pm

46 minutes 13 seconds

30 (Part 1) Foster Care, Adoption, & Unconditional Love: Author Rachel Howard & "The Risk of Us"

Rachel Howard’s gripping, moving debut novel, The Risk of Us, is just out, the story of a woman who longs to be a mother and the captivating yet troubled child she and her husband take in. In this first of two episodes, Rachel and I discuss how she got started writing, an unlikely job that had a major influence on her work, and an overview of the novel. We also talked about the main characters in the novel and how trauma is a significant trait of two of them - and why it matters. Matthew also shares some foster care and adoption facts.

Rachel Howard earned her MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College and is the author of a memoir, The Lost Night, featured on This American Life. Rachel is the recipient of a MacDowell Colony fellowship, and her fiction, essays, and dance criticism have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

Links:
rachelhoward.com
wordspacestudios.com

Video (Full):
Facebook | YouTube | Excerpts

30 (Part 1) Foster Care, Adoption, & Unconditional Love: Author Rachel Howard & "The Risk of Us" Matthew Félix

Podcast Home

17 June 2019, 9:11 am