All Episodes

In this episode I sit down with Ricardo Morales, the Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Pittsfield. Morales, a civil engineer, was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Massachusetts in 2011. Morales, who was hired as the city's engineer in 2018 and then named head of Public Works in 2020, is responsible for the city's infrastructure, water, and other related services. Enjoy our spirited debate about how Pittsfield's streets should be designed. How important are other modes of transportation compared to the car? Plus, we talk about Pittsfield's drinking water and wastewater facilities.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Matt Bishop, Principal of Taconic High School in Pittsfield, MA. Bishop has worked in the Pittsfield school system for nearly 30 years. With 805 students this school year, this is the first year Taconic has become a full vocational high school (CTE). Times have changed, and attending a vocational high school is now something students seek out rather than look down on. In fact, there was a lottery just to get into Taconic. We discuss all 15 programs students can choose from alongside their core classes, student mindsets, hopes and goals, attendance issues, in-person learning, the changing sports programs, students' respect for diversity among their peers, respect for teachers, and student behavior overall.

Mike Fenton is a Springfield city councilor and attorney running for Massachusetts Governor’s Council District 8. That’s the elected body that confirms judges, parole board members, and other appointments from the governor. District 8 is all of Western Mass. (Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire counties) Berkshire County currently has no Superior Court judge who lives here. District court benches are thin too. Fenton says that’s not an accident. He talks about five Superior Court vacancies at once last year, more than 100 pending homicide cases across the four western counties, and why the Berkshire DA, sheriff, and clerk of courts endorsed him over the incumbent, Tara Jacobs of North Adams. We get into: What the Governor’s Council actually does How judges get confirmed (and why some votes go no) Why local judges matter when the cases are local The difference between “bad decisions” and accountability What he’ll look for if voters put him on the council What a parole board looks like with no former prosecutor on there Democratic primary is September 1.

Corey Bishop is one-half of Bishop West Real Estate, a full-service real estate company based in Berkshire County. In this episode, we focus on vacant retail and commercial spaces in Pittsfield and the Berkshires.
Why do investors and developers like Allegrone, David Carver, and Mill Town, the ones actually filling much-needed space, catch flack on social media? We hear about a housing crisis constantly, but Pittsfield has actually lost population over the last 40 years. So where did all that available space go?
We also get into Massachusetts' strict squatters' laws and what they mean for property owners.
Also, The Berkshire Mall has a plan for redevelopment pending change to the Baker Hill Road District. The proposal includes a plan for two major anchor stores in addition to the standing Target. Will this ever happen?

Ben Garver joined the Berkshire Eagle as a photojournalist in 1995. Thirty years and more than a million photographs later, he retired in 2025. In this episode, Garver walks us through what it actually takes to shoot spot news, the emergencies, accidents, and breaking stories that don't wait for a photographer to be ready, and what that work has done to him over three decades behind the camera. He recounts photographing convicted killer Adam Hall in 2011, an assignment that left him visibly shaken. He also looks back on covering Governor Charlie Baker's pandemic-era visit to Pittsfield, along with memorable encounters with former Governors Jane Swift and Paul Cellucci. The conversation turns to Pittsfield's urban renewal era and how the city has changed physically and culturally since. We close by talking about the shifting landscape of local media, integration of AI, and what three decades in the field taught him about how journalism itself has transformed.

Detective Kim Bertelli-Hunt is a legend in Pittsfield. Known as the "face of the department," she just retired from the Pittsfield Police Department after more than 43 years of service, making her the longest-serving female officer in the Commonwealth. Join me as we walk through her incredible career, starting with her first assignment: going undercover at Taconic High School in 1983. From there we cover her years on patrol, her time as a school resource officer and D.A.R.E. officer, and her eventual rise to detective. Bertelli-Hunt shares some great stories along the way, plus her perspective on building a career in a field that's long been dominated by men.

In this episode, I sit down with Warren Dews III from Hinsdale, MA. Making content as "Dewser" across multiple social media platforms, this dude always keeps it positive and has found success with skits, streaming, and just being himself. He even has his own dance. Dews holds a degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology. We talk about two of his viral skits, where he posed as a worker at Walmart and Dunkin'. We also get into race relations in this country, since Dews grew up in a very rural, mostly white town. Plus, we discuss the Nolan Wells case and influencers like Chud the Builder and Clavicular. Watch out for this kid, Dewser. He's a winner. Enjoy.

News of Teddy Swims and Raiche Wright's break up have hit mainstream publications like TMZ, People, and Us Weekly recently. Swims just released a new track called "Break Up In Reverse" which is said to be about their troubled relationship. They have a 1 year-old son together, Rambo. So, what's life like for Raiche now? Raiche grew up in the Pittsfield, MA area and I have known her for 10 years. She is sweet and caring and I appreciate her bravery to sit down with me and chat. Enjoy.

Anthony Giovani grew up hard in the Dower Square area of Pittsfield and eventually became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He got sober about 5 years ago - but he's still addicted to the chaos. Giovani says he wants to be a journalist and a newsman for Pittsfield and the surrounding Berkshires - so he took it upon himself to go live and report on things happening in the area. Unfortunately, Giovani has been a little rough around the edges and has garnered haters out there. Like so many others, he caught my attention - so I decided to see what he is all about. Anthony says he realizes his mistakes. People can change. I wish him the best of luck, and I hope you get something from this episode. 

In this episode, I sit down with Pittsfield Police Chief Marc Maddalena. He is 5 months into his new position as Chief and get right into the current state of Pittsfield. We begin with the recent homicide on Tyler St. and where they are on the investigation and whether the city has a gang problem. The conversation segues to Pittsfield's nightcrawler and social media based "news" reporter Anthony Giovanni and his effect on policing and his most recent charge for weilding a hatchet in public. I also ask him where the popular community police officer Darren Derby is, the state of the homeless situation, night walkers (sex workers), drugs, swatting, the Fourth of July parade, fireworks and a potential new police station in Morningside. 

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Kryskow, a trauma critical care and general surgeon with a focused interest in chest wall injury at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA. Dr. Kryskow is the man who is going to save your life, or at least try like hell to, if you get shot or stabbed, if I can speak in layman's terms for a moment. In this episode, we get into the nitty gritty of the job, debunk some myths, and compare the real thing to what you may have seen on HBO's "The Pitt". Enjoy.

The Pope just released a major encyclical on AI - and invited an atheist AI billionaire to stand beside him at the Vatican. In this episode, my friend Craig and I react to Pope Leo XIV’s powerful warning about Artificial Intelligence. He called for AI to be "disarmed" from logics of domination and exploitation. We also break down Chris Olah’s (co-founder of Anthropic and creator of Claude AI) speech - an atheist who was raised evangelical - as he shared his hopes and concerns for the future of AI. We discuss: • Is this historic collaboration between the Church and Big Tech a good thing? • What happens if AI replaces large parts of the human workforce? • How should Christians navigate the AI revolution? Join us for a thoughtful conversation on faith, technology, and the future of humanity.

In this episode we feature Harmony Edwards-Persip who was a contestant on America's Next Top Model during cycle 20 in 2013. She made it to the top 50 and was subsequently cut due to a pending case after a CORI check. She was devastated. What she learned from that experience, however, shaped what she has become today - a successful realtor, as well as, someone who speaks to women who struggle with anger issues to find their place in society. When Netflix dropped the documentary, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, Edwards-Persip had to watch. We also get into her life growing up in a mostly white community being born to a Jamaican immigrant and black father. Finally, found out why she has the word "woke" tattooed on her arm and how she feels about conservatism now. You maybe surprised. Enjoy.

A crazed gunman started shooting in Cambridge, MA in broad daylight after he told his parole officer he was out for reckoning on Monday. He fired 50-60 rounds from a rifle and struck two people in cars. A "good guy with a gun", a retired marine, assisted Massachusetts State Police in stopping the threat. A lenient judge in 2020 sentenced the man to 5 years in prison after shooting at officers. Plus, we recap the Roast of Kevin Hart and recount some cruel jokes, plus we gush about Sheryl Underwood's performance. We close with Trump's ballroom saga and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool's new blue color.

The Herberg Middle School teacher in Massachusetts that was placed on paid leave after allegedly dropping the N-word and homophobic slurs in class. We react to Dr. Debra Soh’s appearance on Bill Maher's podcast "Club Random" where she promotes her Sextinction book, the brutal 666 dating rule, and the disturbing rise of looksmaxxing & hardmaxxing. Who is Clavicular? The 20-year-old streamer was hospitalized after a chaotic livestream collapse. And there are 3 dead from Hantavirus on a cruise ship right now. What is Hantavirus and how contagious is it?