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  • Kendra Erika TALKS ‘License to Thrill’ & Overcoming Being Tone-Deaf | JTWJE 412

    Kendra Erika TALKS ‘License to Thrill’ & Overcoming Being Tone-Deaf | JTWJE 412
    Feb 19 2026
    It is a privilege to welcome singer, songwriter, and actress Kendra Erika to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Kendra’s unmistakable voice, cinematic flair, and fearless creativity have made her one of today’s compelling emerging artists. With five Billboard Top 10 dance hits, including her number one re-imaging of Laura Branigan’s “Self-Control,” Kendra has carved a signature lane in pop, dance, jazz-fusion, and sophisticated theatrical storytelling.

    On February 13, Kendra released her new full-length studio album, License to Thrill. Inspired by the timeless world of James Bond glamour, the project blends cinematic jazz, sultry vocals, and modern sophistication—showcasing Kendra’s evolution from dance-floor powerhouse to a multidimensional artist with global appeal.

    On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Kendra Erika shared the stories behind her most-streamed Spotify songs, how she overcame being tone-deaf to have a superb recording career, and License to Thrill.

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    27 Min.
  • Jake Jensen TALKS ‘Challengers,’ ‘Believe’ & Radio Show | JTWJE EP 411

    Jake Jensen TALKS ‘Challengers,’ ‘Believe’ & Radio Show | JTWJE EP 411
    Feb 16 2026
    It is a privilege to welcome actor, model, and producer Jake Jensen to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Jake is a former professional tennis player turned actor, producer, sports psychologist, and mental health performance coach. He brings a rare blend of grit, intellect, and emotional depth to every role he inhabits – on screen and in life. His portrayal of Finn Larsen in Challengers is a profound statement of his ability to channel lived experience into cinematic authenticity. As a trash-talking Scandinavian tennis pro, Jensen’s character embodies the psychological warfare and raw ambition that define the sport’s most competitive tiers.

    Yet Jake’s story doesn’t begin—or end—on the court. He holds a PhD in Sport & Performance Psychology and serves as a tenured professor at California State University, Northridge. His work with elite athletes, actors, and creatives focuses on optimizing mental performance through mindfulness, emotional regulation, and strategic mindset training. Whether coaching one-on-one or lecturing in the classroom, Jake’s approach is grounded, intuitive, and transformative.

    As a producer and creative collaborator, Jake is currently leading the romantic fantasy drama Believe, where he stars as a war veteran entangled in a mysterious love story with Eve from the Bible. He’s also a gifted pianist and composer, scoring original work while developing new scripts that fuse psychological insight with artistic storytelling.

    On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Jake Jensen spoke about the lessons that he learned from the Challengers and King Richard sets, previewed Believe and Power 98.5’s In the Actors and Athletes Studio, where he co-hosts with Steven Cuoco.

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    30 Min.
  • Tony Berardo RETURNS + TALKS ‘Humanity & Hashtags’ & Human Dad | JTWJE EP #410

    Tony Berardo RETURNS + TALKS ‘Humanity & Hashtags’ & Human Dad | JTWJE EP #410
    Feb 12 2026
    It is a privilege to welcome back my friend, content creator, entrepreneur and podcast host Tony Berardo, to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Tony is a content and podcast expert. He offers various services, including sponsorship opportunities for his two successful podcasts and podcast coaching services to help people start a podcast. He also specializes in creating UGC (user-generated content) videos to help customers engage more with their websites and social media channels. Previous clients include AeroTrunk, HighKey, LifePro, Ninja Creami, and Superfat + Whole Foods.

    Tony also hosts the show, Humanity & Hashtags (formerly The Berardo Project). The show focuses on what it really means to stay human in a digital age world. From wellness and mindset to social media, parenting, and productivity, he keeps it real with honest conversations, humor, and objective thinking. Previous guests include actors Annie Korzen (Seinfeld) and Whitney Caskey (HBO Max’s Somewhat Familiar), filmmaker Jason Manchester, Emmy-nominated reporter and comedian Garin Flowers, and podcast hosts Jeff Dwoskin and Natalie and Rebecca Davey (Reframeables).

    Tony Berardo also launched the Human Dad brand. Human Dad was not born in a group chat looking for laughs. It was born in the quiet moments – when responsibility hits harder than you expected, and there’s no manual, no applause, and no reset button. Tony got tired of seeing fatherhood turned into a punchline – the jokes, the novelty merchandise, and the “Best Dad Ever” energy that disappears the second things get hard. Human Dad exists for the men who take that seriously – the ones breaking cycles, learning in real time, showing up exhausted, and doing the work even when no one’s watching.

    On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Tony Berardo spoke about Humanity & Hashtags and the creation of the Human Dad Club.

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    29 Min.
  • Woody Woodbeck TALKS Reality TV, ‘The Challenge’ & NewsNation | JTWJE EP #409

    Woody Woodbeck TALKS Reality TV, ‘The Challenge’ & NewsNation | JTWJE EP #409
    Feb 9 2026
    It is a privilege to welcome Woody Woodbeck to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    For over 20 years, Woody has been taking the world of entertainment by storm, starting in radio and quickly expanding to TV, entertainment news, and social media. He is an TELLY, EMMY & GLAAD award winning TV producer, former producer for Dr. Phil, former member of President Obama's Leadership Council of 2012, previously a producer for former Vice President Al Gore and CURRENT TV, and has been featured in PEOPLE, OUT magazine, Entertainment Tonight, Huffington Post and The Advocate magazine for his work within the LGBTQ community, high profile events and celeb relationships.

    Over the past several years, Woody was part of the production teams on projects for Hulu, MTV, OWN, Bravo, and his first feature-length sports documentary. He has worked on shows like Real Housewives of Potomac (BRAVO), Queer Eye (NETFLIX), Southern Hospitality (BRAVO), The Challenge USA: Season 2 (CBS), Beyond the Pole (WEtv), Love after Lockup (WEtv), The Real World (MTV), and more.

    Woody Woodbeck spent years dominating the entertainment news world as West Coast Editor-at-Large for LIFE & STYLE Weekly, coordinating producer at E! News Now, and a freelance writer for US Weekly. He hails from upstate New York, where he learned to treat everyone with respect and to wear his heart on his sleeve, allowing him to form genuine connections with anyone he meets. He is currently developing unscripted TV shows and is a producer at NewsNation.

    On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Woody Woodbeck spoke about being on the ground floors of iconic Reality TV shows such as America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, and Top Chef, his time in The Challenge universe, and how working for NewsNation is similar or different to working on Reality TV!

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.
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    57 Min.
  • Jeff Richards TALKS ‘MadTV,’ ‘SNL’ & ‘Don’t Know You’ | JTWJE EP. 408

    Jeff Richards TALKS ‘MadTV,’ ‘SNL’ & ‘Don’t Know You’ | JTWJE EP. 408
    Feb 5 2026
    It is a privilege to welcome comedian and musician Jeff Richards to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Jeff is one of two cast members to have performed on both late-night comedy shows – MADTV and Saturday Night Live (SNL). On January 23, he released a 31-track collection called Don’t Know You (But I Miss You). The collection brings together the best of his music from years of projects, characters, and his alter ego, Ditto Kitto, all released under his own name.

    The album swings from lo-fi 80s weird-pop to sharp, funny mini-anthems, several of which also appear in his upcoming horror comedy, Pay to Die, co-starring Robert Carradine. Jeff recently went viral with his Gary Busey impression on his show, The Jeff Richards Show (“Buttered Sausage”), pulling in hundreds of millions of views and introducing a new audience to his signature chaotic brilliance.

    On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Jeff Richards talked about working on both MADTV and SNL, the stories behind several songs that are featured on Don’t Know You (But I Miss You), and previewed Pay to Die.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.
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    25 Min.
  • Tristan TALKS Songwriting & We Are Dancing Again | JTWJE EP #407

    Tristan TALKS Songwriting & We Are Dancing Again | JTWJE EP #407
    Feb 2 2026
    A Note from Jacob: Since the recording of our podcast, Israel found and returned the body of Ran Gvilii from Gaza, marking the return of all hostages.

    It is a privilege to welcome singer-songwriter Tristan to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Tristan is a Generation Z recording artist with a growing social media following thanks to his music and activism. Since the October 7 attacks, he has raised his voice on social media, calling out against the raging antisemitism and anti-Zionism. He also launched the We Are Dancing Again movement, which honors the victims and survivors of the Nova Music Festival who were brutally attacked by the terrorist organization Hamas.

    On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Tristan gave the stories behind his songs, including “Take You Dancing,” “We Don’t Have to Talk,” and “Some Kind of Way.” He also spoke about the We Are Dancing Again movement and his fight to combat anti-Jewish hate online.

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    32 Min.
  • MIKE LEWIS & OSCAR CHARK TALK ‘The Challenge’ Future | JTWJE EP #406

    MIKE LEWIS & OSCAR CHARK TALK ‘The Challenge’ Future | JTWJE EP #406
    Jan 29 2026
    A Note from Jacob: Since the recording of this podcast, MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast has announced that it has concluded filming new episodes. Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar thanks show co-hosts Aneesa Ferreira, Da’Vonne Rogers, Devyn Simone, and Tori Deal, and the Official Challenge Podcast crew for taking fans behind the scenes of the show.

    For the first time ever, content creators Mike Lewis and Oscar Chark sat down together exclusively for Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Mike Lewis is a mental health advocate and host of The Mike Lewis Podcast. Since launching his show in March 2020, Mike has welcomed a plethora of The Challenge cast members, ranging from OGs Beth Stolarczyk, Jon Brennan, Rachel Robinson, and Syrus Yarbrough, and iconic heavy hitters Cara Maria Sorbello, Frank Sweeney Fox, Kellyanne Judd, Landon Lueck, and Wes Bergmann, to modern cast members such as Asaf Goren, Corey Lay, Marie Roda, Paulie Calafiore, and Tula “Big T” Fazakerley. He also welcomed Survivor alums, including Benjamin “Coach” Wade and Jessica “Sugar” Piper; 9/11 survivor Mikalia Cruz; and wrestlers Melina, Mr. Kennedy, Santino Marella, and Victoria to his platform.

    In August 2020, Oscar Chark joined YouTube as the host of Rookie Revolution. Over the past several years, Rookie Revolution has built a following for its takes on the long-running MTV reality competition show The Challenge. Some of his topics include ranking the Top 10 Best Reunions, the Best Seasons to Watch for Beginners or New Fans, and “What Ifs” in show history. On September 26, 2025, Oscar announced he was the channel’s host and that he might be done with MTV’s The Challenge. He also revealed that he was pursuing an acting career. Since 2021, he has made appearances on various hit shows, including Allegiance (Sebastian), Riverdale (Teen Fan), So Help Me Todd (Juror #2 – Cole Winbar), and Yellowjackets (Teen #1). Oscar also starred as Young David (Age 15) in Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, Jacob in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, and Philip in Can I Get a Witness.

    On this special episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, both Mike Lewis and Oscar Chark talk about the issues that The Challenge franchise is facing, the fights that were left on The Challenge 41: Vets & New Threats cutting room floor, and which cast members should return to the flagship show!

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    1 Std. und 5 Min.
  • WESTON & AMANDA BERGMANN TALK 20 YEARS ON REALITY TV & BRAND + COMMUNITY BUILDING | JTWJE PODCAST 405

    WESTON & AMANDA BERGMANN TALK 20 YEARS ON REALITY TV & BRAND + COMMUNITY BUILDING | JTWJE PODCAST 405
    Jan 26 2026
    It is an honor to welcome both Weston “Wes” & Amanda Bergmann to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

    Reality TV fans first met Weston Bergmann in 2006’s The Real World: Austin. On the show, he met longtime friends Melinda (Stolp) Collins and Nehemiah Clark, and once filming completed, Weston and the rest of the Austin cast headed off to compete on the long-running MTV competition, The Challenge.

    Throughout his time on the show, he appeared on 14 flagship seasons, both Champs vs. Stars seasons, The Challenge USA 2, The Challenge All-Stars: Season Three, and The Challenge: World Championship. He has cumulatively won three championships, 30 eliminations, 44 daily challenges, and $553,000.

    Outside of The Challenge, Weston Bergmann also competed on several Reality TV shows. In 2024, he competed on House of Villains and finished second. Last year, he appeared on the popular Peacock Reality TV series, The Traitors, and made it to the final four on Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America.

    When he is not competing on Reality TV, Weston Bergmann is working at his company, BetaBlox. BetaBlox is a business incubator that helps entrepreneurs launch their businesses. Entrepreneurs who work with BetaBlox are statistically twice as likely to stay in business as those who don’t. BetaBlox’s combined annual client revenues have reached over a quarter of a billion US dollars! BetaBlox also produces The Blox, a gamified, five-day educational bootcamp for entrepreneurs. The Blox is also the most intense, game-changing, community-building experience of their lives and will impact participants’ bank accounts.

    In 2016, Weston proposed to Amanda at a Kansas City Royals game, and they married in June 2018. Amanda Bergmann is a yoga teacher and fitness enthusiast who is always on the hunt for deals. She specializes in fashion, family, and food, and shares those finds with her 40K Instagram followers. Amanda has also been a massive supporter of local and regional Midwest businesses. Durrie Vision, Hy-Vee, Radiant Color Studio, Urban Egg, and Woodhouse Spa Leawood have previously been featured on Amanda’s Instagram (@nomastayinkc).

    On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Weston and Amanda spoke about their proposal’s tenth anniversary, Weston celebrating 20 years on Reality TV, his iconic Pole Wrestle battle with Derrick Kosinski, and building their distinguished brands and communities.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.
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    54 Min.