Episodes

What happens when your dream job turns out not to be your dream career? For Jordan Mendal, the answer eventually involved The Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, nearly three decades at WWE, and one unforgettable run-in with Mick Foley’s Mr. Socko. But none of that was part of the original plan. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens steps behind the curtain with Mendal, an award-winning sports and entertainment producer and WWE’s Vice President of Special Projects, for a fu...

Growing up in Archbald, Pennsylvania, Marko Marcinko lived in a house where music was everywhere. His father was a professional musician. His entire family was rooted in the arts. And while other kids were discovering video games, Marko was discovering the instruments around the house. He thought they were his toys and so he started playing. What happened next would take that curious kid from Northeastern Pennsylvania into a remarkable life in jazz, studying with one of the greats, touring...

What does it really take to turn an idea into an independent movie? For filmmakers Sarah T. Schwab and Brian Long, the answer involves years of persistence, fundraising, creative risk, trusted collaborators, a willingness to hear “no” and, occasionally, getting very close to a tarantula. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the co-founders of Cardinal Flix, the independent production company behind Life After You, A Stage of Twilight and Crybaby Bridge, for a c...

Long before Marc Zumoff became the voice generations of Philadelphia 76ers fans welcomed into their living rooms, he was a sixth-grader in Northeast Philadelphia practicing play-by-play into a tape recorder. Now retired after a legendary broadcasting career, Zumoff can look back on the remarkable distance between that kid with a dream and the man who spent 27 seasons behind the Sixers microphone, offering a story about finding your calling, doing the work to earn it and knowing when it is time t...

How well can we ever really know our parents? For Nancy Head Thode, that question became the beginning of an extraordinary journey into the life of her mother, Ann Head, a once widely read mid-century writer whose fiction explored women, marriage, pregnancy, class and independence at a time when many of those subjects were still spoken about carefully, if at all. Ann Head was more than a novelist. She was part of the literary life of Beaufort, South Carolina, and an influential teacher and...

Before Liz Callaway sang “Memory” on Broadway, before she became the singing voice of Anastasia, before the Tony nomination, Emmy Award and Grammy nomination, she was a shy kid who waited for everyone to leave the house so she could sing. She knew she had a voice. She just wasn’t ready for anyone else to hear it. That began to change when Callaway discovered musical theater as a teenager. At a difficult moment in her family life, the stage gave her something she had been searching for: commun...

What happens when the future you've spent your entire life chasing disappears overnight? For Russ Cooke, that question became painfully real after a concussion during New York Jets training camp ended the football career he had spent years pursuing. One day he was preparing to play in the National Football League. The next, he was back home pumping gas, wondering how everything had changed so quickly. In this encore episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens revisits one of our favorite co...

Just moments after closing Opening Night of the 2026 Harmony in the Woods concert season, Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes of Bywater Call returned to the stage, not for an encore, but for a honest conversation with HarmonyTALK host Greg Frigoletto. The result is an interview that feels every bit as genuine as the band's music. Over the past several years, the Toronto-based, seven-piece band has quietly become one of the most exciting live acts on the international roots music scene. Blendin...

When Dance Changes Everything: Rebecca Davis and the Children Who Learned They Matter Rebecca Davis thought dance would become her career. Instead, it became her calling. In this special HarmonyTALK encore presentation, host Lisa Champeau revisits one of the podcast's most inspiring conversations with the founder of MindLeaps, a nonprofit organization that has transformed the lives of thousands of vulnerable children around the globe through dance and education. Rebecca's journey began in...

Some dreams begin with a destination. Others become a lifelong way of leading. As a young girl growing up in Montville, New Jersey, Lindsey Chrismon set her sights on one place: West Point. It was an ambitious goal, one that would shape nearly every chapter that followed. In this encore presentation of one of HarmonyTALK's favorite conversations, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Lindsey to explore an extraordinary journey defined not simply by achievement, but by purpose. That pur...

Some of Broadway's biggest stars never step into the spotlight. They stand in the orchestra pit. In this encore episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau welcomes Dan Micciche, Music Director and Conductor of WICKED on Broadway, for a fascinating conversation about the artistry, discipline, and teamwork required to keep one of the most successful musicals in theater history performing at its highest level, night after night. For more than nine years, Dan has helped guide the musical he...

The Harmony in the Woods summer concert opens its sixth season this weekend in Hawley, Pennsylvania, welcoming world-class musicians from around the globe to its intimate outdoor amphitheater nestled among the trees, including today’s HarmonyTALK guest Taylor Ashton. This year's 23-concert season, which opens Friday, July 3, with Toronto's acclaimed Bywater Call, runs every weekend through September 5th and celebrates roots, rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Americana, global music and more. Taylo...

Most people spend a lifetime trying to balance their passions. Tannis Kowalchuk planted hers in the same field. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the artistic director of Farm Arts Collective and co-owner of Willow Wisp Organic Farm along Pennsylvania's Delaware River. A performer at heart, Tannis always knew she belonged on a stage. Then she met a farmer. What followed was a remarkable journey that combined two seemingly different worlds into one life's ...

From Rural Pennsylvania to the World's Greatest Opera Houses For most kids who grow up in a small rural town, the world's great opera houses can feel unimaginably far away. For Melanie Henley Heyn, they became home. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the internationally acclaimed opera singer whose journey began at age ten in a production of Amahl and the Night Visitors and eventually carried her from Wayne County in Northeastern Pennsylvania to stages acros...

What Happens When a Reporter Stops Looking Away? For most people, curiosity lasts a few moments. For Matt Birkbeck, it became a life's work. Long before true crime podcasts dominated streaming platforms and documentary series filled television schedules, Birkbeck was chasing leads, knocking on doors, digging through court records, and asking questions others overlooked. His reporting led him deep into stories involving organized crime, political corruption, missing persons, financial...

Before 911, Before Organ Donation Laws, Before Physician Assistants Imagine calling for help during a medical emergency in the 1960s and discovering there was no coordinated EMS system. Imagine lifesaving organs being lost because there was no legal framework for donation. Imagine overworked doctors without trained Physician Assistants helping bridge the gap in care. That was American healthcare before identical twin brothers Fred Sadler, M.D., and Blair Sadler, J.D. started working to...

From 14 Straight Losses to National Coach of the Year: The Chris Ayres Story Chris Ayres knows what it feels like to struggle before things finally click. Long before becoming one of college wrestling’s most respected coaches, he lost 14 straight matches as a youth wrestler. Most athletes would have quit. Instead, Ayres stayed in the fight. In this inspiring episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto speaks with the New Jersey native about resilience, leadership, and the unlikely ...

When Music Becomes Common Ground: Harvey Price and the Peace Drums Project What if the path to peace started with children simply playing music together? In this moving episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with renowned percussionist, jazz vibraphonist, educator and Peace Drums Project founder Harvey Price to explore how one unlikely instrument became a bridge across cultural and religious divides in the war-torn Middle East. After decades as a music educator and director ...

All’s Well That Ends Well: Michael Bradshaw Flynn On Bringing Back the Bard Fifteen years ago, staging Shakespeare in Scranton sounded improbable to plenty of people, especially to some New York theater types. The original production was intended as a one-time public performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Nay Aug Park. Organizers hoped a modest audience would turn out for the celebrated Bard. Instead, more than 1,000 people packed into the park. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, hos...

From the Black Forest to Honesdale: A Story Grown by Hand What does it look like to build a life slowly, intentionally, and with your hands in the soil? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Gudrun Feigl, founder of Mount Pleasant Herbary, whose journey from Germany’s Black Forest to Northeastern Pennsylvania is rooted in memory, creativity, and quiet persistence. Gudrun did not set out to become an entrepreneur. Trained as a social worker, she arrived in the U...

Scranton: The City Fans Thought They Knew How did an architect end up reshaping a city’s pop culture identity? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with Michele Dempsey, architect, entrepreneur, single mom, and one of the creative forces who helped turn Scranton’s connection to ‘The Office’ into something no one expected: pride, tourism and a renewed identity. Set as the backdrop for the cult NBC sitcom, Scranton risked becoming the butt of national jokes. But Mich...

Following a Different Beat: From State Trooper to Global Travel Guide What happens when the thing you’ve always loved becomes the center of your life? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Matt Kizis, whose journey reflects a powerful shift toward alignment and possibility. After years of service as a dedicated Pennsylvania State Trooper, Matt traded in his badge for a passport, deciding to follow his passion for travel and turn it into his life’s work. Toget...

Inside George Magazine: Lisa DePaulo on JFK Jr., Journalism, and Getting the Story Right That second call brought the Dunmore, Pennsylvania, native into one of the most influential media spaces of the 1990s. DePaulo shares what it was like to work with JFK Jr. as an editor, how he shaped her approach to reporting, and what he understood about the balance between access and restraint. She reflects on the culture inside George, where politics and celebrity met, and where strong journalism still...

What happens when a story you love becomes the life you choose? In this powerful episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with Scranton native Mike Kunda, founder of the Yo, Philly! Rocky Film Tour and one of the most recognized Rocky impersonators in the world. As a child, Mike faced bullying, insecurity, and a deep sense of not belonging. Then he discovered Rocky. What began as escape became identity. What began as imitation became transformation. Mike shares how he turned...