Join Me, Won't You?

Taylor Martindale Kean is a literary agent with Full Circle Literary in San Diego, CA. She and I went to undergrad together at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and after graduation she moved back out to the Golden State to pursue a career in the book business. We discuss her job as an agent, what it’s like dealing with writers as clients, some of the ins and outs of her profession, a philosophical conversation on good writing vs. commercially popular writing, and, of course, "Gossip Girl" -- before it was a TV show.Aisha Saeed, Taylor's client, is a young-adult fiction writer whose latest book, "Amal Unbound," just hit the New York Times's bestseller list for children's fiction. 

I'm back in Washington, D.C., after a five-year hiatus with a brand new episode! As part of my reentry into the nation's capital, my guest Josh Welch gives me his perspective on the cult of success and perfection that pervades highly driven environments like Washington. Are you living your best life? Prove it on social media. Is your job your entire identity? Prove it by working long hours and having a killer resume. But on the other hand, who cares what people think? And why not just punch in and punch out of your job? We try and find the balance to all this in work and life, and remind ourselves that maybe it's not so great to compare yourself constantly with other people.

I'm joined by Greg Walsh (president and founder), Erick DeLeon (buyer and brand manager), and Hoss Al-Gassid (store manager) of men's lifestyle shop MartinPatrick3. A staple of the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, MP3 is an experiential retail destination that has guys covered from "sectionals to socks," as founder Greg Walsh says. The trio talks about the founding of the store (originally envisioned as an interior-design concept), being brick-and-mortar only in an increasingly digital retail environment, their vision for growth and their merchandising strategy, and the passion they bring for educating guys on fashion and watching them grow into their own style.

Realtor Andrew Klinkner helps walk me through the process of buying a home for the first time -- from understanding my timeline, to getting financing, all the way through closing. We discuss the all-important down payment (do I really need 20%?), different types of loans and incentives for first-time buyers, as well as his perspective on the process as the agent. He also shares his overall philosophy on helping people purchase a home (vs. simply trying to sell a house to someone) as well as his process for taking on clients. Andrew can be reached at andrewmyrealtor@gmail.com or via cell at (612) 234-5033.

Ever wonder how to grow something creatively while also dealing with a full-time job? Or how to stay focused and committed to your labor of love in the midst of struggle and challenge? Food blogger Lindsay Tippens Cola joins me for a great conversation around her personal labor of love, Instagram @TippsInThe Kitch, where we cover everything from how she built her website from scratch, playing the long game on social media, growing an organic following, and, above all else, staying gracious, positive, and true to yourself. She also speaks about her love of spicy cuisine, her favorite celebrity chef, and the top three spices she couldn't live without. 

#5MinuteFriday: Action, not -- too much -- contemplation. Just do it.

Cator Sparks, editor-in-chief of men's lifestyle website The Manual, joins me for a conversation that takes us from Atlanta, to London, to Harlem, to Charleston. In between nips of peaty Scotch, he tells me about his journey from raver to self-described "dandy," which takes us from the world of New York fashion, to freelance writing for the New York Times, T Magazine, and Vanity Fair, to editing The Manual since 2012. (He also might be good friends with a writer of one of the best narrative nonfiction books I've read in a long time.) Cator also shares some of his favorite spots in Charleston, why he thinks Southerners are better dressed than New Yorkers, and what it means to be a man in 2018.

In my interview with Max Hlavin and Blair Curcie, we tackle critically important questions essential to living in our modern era: What is the difference between leggings and yoga pants? Is athleisure appropriate for the office? Are pants the cost of living in a society? Does what you wear to work have an impact on your productivity? And -- of course -- is it weird that I don't pee in the shower?

#5MinuteFriday: "Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you."

In Part 2, Beau Vilks is back to talk a variety of ways in which you can avoid being a shitty person. We cover giving old "friends" from high school the benefit of the doubt, hanging clothes back up on the rack when they fall off, not flaking, respecting other people's time, dealing with frustrating sales calls, and just plain being nice (especially when you don't want to be).

#5MinuteFriday: After worrying about low follower numbers on Twitter and Instagram, I did some research and realized things are ok. It's all about the content. "Get rich quick" isn't a thing -- "grow fast quick" isn't either.

Beau Vilks joins me for a fantastic conversation about her past life as a professional body-builder, her job in sales, and how not to be a shitty person. We then dissect a classically Minnesotan, absurdly passive-aggressive note she found taped to her condo door after a particularly rough day at work.

#5MinuteFriday is the newest segment of “Join Me, Won’t You?” Every Friday, I’ll drop a five-minute monologue on something that happened to me over the past week or that I’ve been thinking about. Today’s topic: being an adult, and doing the right thing.

In this wide-ranging interview, Callie Hlavin and Emily Gosche join me via Skype after road-tripping from Richmond to Nashville to Austin. They're excitedly counting down to Match Day (March 16), when would-be doctors across America find out where they will spend their residency and what specialty they will focus on. How will they celebrate Match Day and what will residency be like? How do you improperly order an In-N-Out burger (a.k.a. a "lettuce sandwich")? Why are there so many Canadian retirees who like to party in Nashville? Emily also speaks candidly about being gay in 2018 and the behavior that elicits from other people, from the supportive to the bizarre, and shares some personal moments that expand my own perspective.

In Part 2, For The Love Of Your Gut founder Rachel Czura covers topics on healthy eating, including gluten (how did it become a thing?), the food pyramid (why it's no longer a thing), antibiotic-pumped chickens (gross), and alcohol (can you drink it if you're living a gluten-free life?). Importantly, she and her husband Sam, who is also gluten-free, end with a great message: Don't feel bad about needing to eat in a certain way, and focus on what works for you in living a fulfilling and healthy life. 

In Part 1, I take JMWY on the road and record at the home of Rachel and Sam Czura. Rachel is the founder and creator of For The Love Of Your Gut, an up-and-coming food blog and Instagram focused on making awesome dairy- and gluten-free meals for people with dietary restrictions. She talks about her close-to-home inspiration for the blog as well as general thoughts for gut health and overall healthy living. 

Fellow music-lover Tyler Timko joins me via Skype to discuss an important existential question: If humanity were to represent itself musically to the rest of the universe, but could only do so by selecting ten artists from the last forty years, who would make the cut?

Dr. Jacob Kuperstock, founder of Doc Odds and also my college buddy, joins me via Skype to discuss his new business, being an ENT, the weirdest things he's pulled out of people's bodies, and that one time we both ran into Glenn Close.

Guest Devin Kunysz talks through his experience in crafting a narrative that will move your career forward. We discuss the pros and cons of grad school, ins and outs of determining a logical career path while also doing what fulfills you, building your personal narrative, how to pivot roles or industries, and feeling empowered to own your own professional development.

In Part 2 of their interview, Travis and Amanda continue to banter about dating and relationships as thirty-somethings. Here we cover the do's and don't's of Bumble profile-making, how and when to approach a woman at the gym, booking clubs (a bar where you know everyone is single?!), and how we all just might be better off if times were simpler.