Rob Konrad: Conversations
18 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 5 years ago -Engaging and captivating conversations with extraordinary people from all over the world. People that couldn’t be more diverse from each other – but have in common that they make an incredible impact on this world, in their own unique way.
Whether it’s people that shape the future of our planet through science, thinking, and taking action; whether it’s people that inspire others by overcoming their very own hurdles, traumas and demons; or whether it’s people that inspire others to do good for themselves and others:
In each of my conversations, I try to uncover as much of their story in order to see things through their eyes. I delve into stories that can inspire, touch, but also provoke you. I ask the questions you wish you could ask, and with time, attention and candor try to learn all about their motivation and what got them to where they are today – their successes, but also setbacks and challenges, to get the full story.
Each conversation is full of lessons to be learned, from all over the world; a source of inspiration, motivation, innovation, courage and change.
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Episodes
017. Raped at Age 14, She Became a Right-Wing Extremist - And Turned Her Life Around
July 07, 2019 01:21 - 2 hours - 114 MBWhen she was 14 years old, Shannon Martinez was raped at a party by two men who took advantage of the fact that she was intoxicated. Overwhelmed with self-hate and anger, her life spiraled downwards - and she joined a violent right-wing extremist organization, where she would channel her rage and emotions against anyone who was "different". Luckily, after several years in this supremacist organization, she was saved by a family who took her in and helped her to deal with her trauma - and...
016. How The Subway Wizard Of New York Became A Wizard: Devin Person
June 25, 2019 00:12 - 1 hour - 128 MBIn 2014, Devin Person decided to re-invent himself and create for him what he calls the "best possible reality". And part of that reality was to become - a Wizard. In a freak coincidence, after the initial decision to become a Wizard, a side effect of a medicine he had to take turned all of his hair white... As the "Subway Wizard of New York", he new brings magic into our lives, and in personal sessions and seminars helps people to create a better reality for themselves. In this enter...
015. He Was Almost A School Shooter: Aaron Stark
June 12, 2019 11:07 - 1 hour - 117 MBAfter years of physical and mental abuse in a chaotic and violent home, being bullied at the almost 40 schools he went to in his youth (due to the constant relocations of his drug-addicted parents), and battles with depression and self-harm, Aaron Stark reached a point where he could no longer take it. He decided to get a gun and do the unspeakable - take revenge on a world that seemingly had forgotten him. Luckily, before the unspeakable could happen, Aaron was saved by simple acts of kin...
014. Curiosity Show host Dr. Rob Morrison on how to teach science
June 05, 2019 21:37 - 2 hours - 114 MBThe Curiosity Show was - and still is - one of the most loved science shows that ever existed. Hosted by Dr. Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton from Australia, it was syndicated to 14 countries worldwide from 1972-1990 and sparked the interest for science in millions of kids worldwide, myself included. The famous curiosity show intro still rings in my head, and the fact that the Curiosity Show YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/CuriosityShow ) reached 100'000 subscribers in a short t...
013. The Day My Son Killed My Daughter: Charity Lee
May 28, 2019 22:55 - 2 hours - 126 MBFebruary 5th, 2007, is a day that has forever changed the life of Charity Lee. It is the day she learned that her 4-year old daughter Ella was murdered by Charity's other child, Ellas 13-year old brother Paris. It's a situation that's beyond comprehension for any parent, and it's a situation that raises questions like: Is it even possible to forgive your own child for taking the life of your other child? How do you deal with a situation like this? How do you manage to find hope, to find th...
012. DMT, our Brain and the Prophetic Experience
May 22, 2019 00:14 - 3 hours - 133 MBIn the early 1990s Dr. Rick Strassman, was granted approval to conduct research with one of the strongest hallucinogens, DMT. At the time he was the first scientist in over 2 decades allowed to test the effects of psychedelic drugs on live subjects, and his results were groundbreaking and led him to call DMT the “Spirit Molecule”. But after he completed his research he still felt that a major question had been left unanswered: Could the vivid hallucinogenic experiences caused by DMT possibl...
011. The Youngest Person To Solo Sail Around The World: Laura Dekker
April 11, 2019 02:56 - 1 hour - 87.2 MBThere are ordinary teenagers... and then there's Laura, who at 13 years of age, ventured to become the youngest person to ever sail the planet - alone, without support boats or checkpoints along her way. What followed was a lengthy legal battle that included Duch authorities, wiretaps, her parents losing custody over Laura and much more... but after a lot of media coverage and public outcry from people including Richard Branson, a Dutch court finally decided in her favor, and the record-bre...
010. The Scientist Who Believes He Can Make Us Immortal: Dr. Aubrey De Grey
April 10, 2019 03:45 - 46 minutes - 65 MBDr Aubrey de Grey doesn’t just believe that ageing, and the suffering that comes with it, can be slowed down - he believes it can be undone altogether. What’s more, he thinks we are merely a few years away from making the scientific breakthroughs that will enable the medical field to put an end to death related to ageing - for good. His independently funded non-profit, the SENS Foundation, is at the forefront of radical research that combines the problem solving approaches of technology wi...
009. The "Backwords Dude" - An Autist With A Unique Talent: John Austin
April 09, 2019 01:34 - 1 hour - 89.3 MBGrowing up, John Sevier Austin knew he was different from other kids. But what he didn’t know was that he had an incredible gift. One day John accidentally played a vinyl record backwards, and discovered not only that he quite liked listening to music backwards, but that he also found it pretty easy to sing along. This was the beginning of his long journey to becoming “Backwords Dude”, a YouTube sensation famous for being able to speak backwards - which is not the same as just spelling...
008. How To Start A Global Movement: Shanti Hodges
April 08, 2019 16:47 - 1 hour - 117 MBFive years ago, shortly after giving birth to her son, Mason, Shanti Hodges put him in a baby carrier and went for a hike. This was the beginning of "Hike it, Baby"... Today Hike It Baby serves over 250 000 families and has over 300 branches around the world! It is a worldwide outdoors community that connects families through hiking, and empowers new parents to pursue adventure with their newborns strapped to them. In this episode of Rob Konrad: Conversations, Rob and Shanti talk abou...
007 - "King of Pickpockets" & Safety Expert: Bob Arno
April 07, 2019 13:02 - 2 hours - 112 MB“How do you become a pickpocket?” Bob Arno, a Swedish-born American entertainer, author, and criminologist gets asked this a lot. And if you had the chance to ask him yourself, in person, he would have your wallet long before you had your answer (you would get it back though). Recounting his journey from a career on stage as a comedic magician to using his expertise to help Europol crack down on crime syndicates, the “Pickpocket King” tells Rob Konrad everything he’s learned about the ...
006. The Man Who Died 9 Times - And Lived To Tell The Tale: Jamie Poole
April 06, 2019 20:21 - 1 hour - 144 MBThe first time Jamie Pool died, he was wearing a suit. That suit turned out to be the difference between his cardiac arrest going unnoticed by passers-by, and him getting medical help that would save his life. Jamie suffers from a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an often undetectable, but fairly widespread, genetic disease that causes unpredictable cardiac arrests. Today Jamie copes with his illness through the use of a subcutaneous device called an implantable cardio...
005. The World's First Pilot Born Without Arms: Jessica Cox
April 05, 2019 11:29 - 1 hour - 113 MBWhen Jessica Cox was born without both arms, her parents didn’t grieve. In fact, her father has never shed a single tear over his daughter’s life-altering disability. Instead, Jessica’s parents challenged her to be great. And that’s exactly what she did. Jessica is the world’s first, and only, licensed pilot without arms who flies unmodified airplanes with her feet. She is a motivational speaker who has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to overcome their own challenges and to find p...
004. Sick and Bullied Child Turned Fighting Legend and Hollywood Star: Bas Rutten
April 04, 2019 14:14 - 1 hour - 138 MBAs one of the earliest Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champions, former King of Pancrase and Thai Boxer, Bas Rutten has faced some pretty tough opponents. But none challenged him as much as his personal struggles, from chronic illness and bullying as a kid, to beating an opioid addiction, to strange happenings in his family home. In this episode Bas tells Rob Konrad a rollicking tale of learning to swing through trees, standing up to bullies, knocking many people out, com...
003. This "Fat Girl Running" Defies All Ultramarathon Stereotypes: Mirna Valerio
April 03, 2019 12:58 - 1 hour - 107 MBOn the first day of high school, Mirna Valerio went to hockey practice - and suffered. She was larger than the other players, and a lot less fit. Her coach, instead of telling her she was no good, encouraged her to keep going - and that’s why today Mirna is an ultramarathoner, speaker, author, and the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. The name of Mirna’s first blog, “Fat Girl Running”, describes exactly who she is - a body-positive larger woman who lives to run (and when she ...
002. From Neo-Nazi Leader To Peace Advocate: Christian Picciolini
April 02, 2019 11:31 - 56 minutes - 77.6 MBWhen Christian Picciolini was 14 years old, he joined America’s first organized neo-Nazi white power movement and remained there for 8 years. He became a leader in the organization and recruited hundreds of others to join. He ran a record store specializing in music that promoted Neo-Nazi ideology and committed countless acts of violence and hate. And then…. he changed his life. This is the story of how Christian lost everything to radicalization, and then rebuilt his life on an entirely n...
001. The man who gave his kidney to a stranger: Harold Mintz
April 01, 2019 11:28 - 1 hour - 125 MBWhen Harold Mintz met Gennet Belay, a stranger to whom he had donated one of his kidneys some months earlier, he wondered how that kidney could have possibly fit inside her. He was a 6’5” tall man, and she was a “tiny” immigrant from Ethiopia, that had suffered for years and years due to an increasingly failing kidney... But then she showed him the site of the surgery, and there it was: a little lump on the left side of her back, clearly visible under her skin – Harold’s giant kidney workin...
000. Introduction to Rob Konrad: Conversations With Extraordinary People
March 31, 2019 18:28 - 1 minute - 3.17 MBWhat drives extraordinary people? That’s the one question that I’ve always been fascinated with. What drives outstanding athletes, adventurers, artists and entertainers? What drives exceptional scientists, great thinkers, those who give up their own comfort to help others, and those who dare to be different? What drives people who were affected by tragedy, illness, disability and violence, but who manage to not only survive, but to thrive and to inspire? What makes these people go fu...