What if the greatest challenges of your life were preparing you for your greatest purpose?Resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it is built through adversity, difficult choices, and the moments that quietly redefine who we become. In this cinematic conversation, Michael sits down with Jim Paulk to explore how life’s unexpected setbacks can become the foundation for purpose, personal growth, and lasting strength.

Jim shares the defining moments that tested his character, the lessons he learned when life refused to follow the script, and why resilience is less about surviving hardship than discovering who you become because of it. Together, Michael and Jim explore what it means to live intentionally, embrace uncertainty, and find meaning even in life’s most difficult seasons.

If you’ve ever questioned your direction, struggled through adversity, or wondered whether your hardest chapter has a greater purpose, this conversation offers hope, perspective, and practical wisdom you’ll carry long after it ends.

This episode explores resilience, purpose, overcoming adversity, personal growth, mindset, intentional living, and the courage to keep moving forward—even when the path isn’t clear.

One More Thing Before You Go is a cinematic interview podcast where every conversation begins with curiosity, deepens through presence, and reveals the stories that shape who we become.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcas

What happens when a man chooses to honor his late mother and grandmother by opening a restaurant run entirely by grandmothers?

That question sparked one of our most beloved conversations — and inspired Nonna’s, the heartwarming new film starring Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro.

In this special Over the Teacup Sunday replay, Michael and Diane — joined by guest co‑host Nicole — revisit the extraordinary true story of Joe Scaravella, founder of Staten Island’s iconic Enoteca Maria, where grandmothers from around the world cook the dishes of their heritage, one night at a time.

This episode explores:

Joe Scaravella’s journey — how grief, love, and legacy led to a restaurant unlike any other

Vince Vaughn’s connection to the role and why he was the perfect choice

The all‑star cast and the emotional weight each actor brings to this Italian‑American story

The cultural power of food — and why Nonna’s is more than a movie; it’s a celebration of identity, memory, and the women who keep tradition alive

Whether you’re discovering this story for the first time or revisiting it with us, this episode is filled with culture, heart, history, and the kind of warmth only a grandmother’s kitchen can create.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

What if the future isn't something we're trying to predict... but something we're trying to understand about ourselves?

The stories we tell about tomorrow often reveal more about today than we realize.

In this thoughtful conversation, Michael sits down with author and cultural thinker Amy Bernstein to explore why speculative fiction has become one of the most powerful ways to make sense of an uncertain world. Together, they examine how imagination helps us process fear, hope, identity, and the questions that refuse to leave us alone.

Their conversation moves beyond books into something deeply human—why creativity matters when the world feels unsettled, what art can say that facts alone never can, and how the stories we create often become the mirrors that help us recognize ourselves.

Along the way, they explore:

• Why speculative fiction is having a cultural moment.

• How imagined futures help us navigate real-world uncertainty.

• The courage it takes to keep creating when doubt is loud.

• Why artists often challenge the stories society tells us to accept.

• What fiction reveals about identity, belonging, and the future we're quietly building together.

If you've ever wondered why certain stories stay with you long after you've closed the book, this conversation offers an answer—and perhaps a few new questions worth carrying with you.

Because sometimes the most revealing stories aren't about the future at all.

They're about who we're becoming.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

In this episode, Diane and Michael take a deep dive into Elle, the new prequel series that reimagines Elle Woods’ early life. With their personal connection to Karen McCullah Lutz, the screenwriter behind the original Legally Blonde, they bring a fresh, intimate perspective to the conversation.

They discuss:

• The show’s premise

• Cast, producers & creative team

• The 1990s Seattle setting

• Themes of identity, belonging & early empowerment

• Mixed reviews & audience reactions

• Why this prequel matters today

A cinematic, heartfelt exploration of Elle Woods before she became Elle Woods.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

Some lives force us to ask uncomfortable questions: Who decides who we become? What happens when the identities we’ve built our lives around suddenly disappear? And how do we begin again without pretending the past never happened?

In this thoughtful, unhurried conversation, Michael sits down with Hakeem Bourne McFarlane, founder of the Choose Yourself movement, to explore identity, belonging, resilience, and the quiet work of becoming whole.

Growing up mixed-race in a home marked by addiction and silence, Hakeem learned early to earn acceptance instead of expecting it. Athletics became his purpose. Achievement became his language. But after five knee surgeries, chronic pain, addiction, and ultimately incarceration, the life he’d built around performance came undone.

What followed wasn’t a dramatic overnight transformation—it was something far more difficult: radical honesty.

Together, Michael and Hakeem explore how identity is shaped by family, culture, trauma, and expectation; why discipline can become a pathway to freedom; and what it truly means to choose yourself—not as a slogan, but as a daily practice.

A cinematic, deeply human conversation about belonging, self-worth, and the stories we inherit—and the ones we decide to write for ourselves.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

Welcome to Part Two of our special two‑part conversation with Leah Renee — the only ex‑Mormon housewife turned stand‑up comedian she’s ever met.

In Part One, we explored the life she lived before everything changed: her Mormon upbringing, the early cracks in her identity, the pressure of motherhood, and the moment she realized the life she was living wasn’t truly hers.

Now, in Part Two, we step directly into the transformation itself — the unraveling, the rebuilding, and the wild, hilarious, deeply human reinvention that followed.

In this episode, Leah shares:

• The moment she knew she had to leave Mormonism

• How her entire identity unraveled — and why that was necessary

• Giving birth to a ten‑pound baby in her kitchen

• Losing 90 pounds and reclaiming her body

• Living nomadically across the UK & USA

• Becoming a four‑time Edinburgh Fringe performer

• How comedy became her lifeline, her voice, and her freedom

• The creation of her sold‑out show Best Cult Ever

• What she wants people to understand about belief, belonging, and starting over

This is the part of her story where everything shifts — the courage, the chaos, the comedy, and the rebirth.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

What happens when the identity you were handed… no longer fits the person you’re becoming?

In Part One of this special two‑part cinematic conversation, Michael sits down with Leah Renee — the only ex‑Mormon housewife turned stand‑up comedian she’s ever met. Before the comedy stages, before the sold‑out shows, before the reinvention… there was a life built inside a belief system she once thought she’d never leave.

In this first half of her story, Leah opens up about:

• Growing up devout Mormon in a single‑parent military home

• The early cracks in her identity

• The moment she realized the life she was living wasn’t truly hers

• The pressure of being a Mormon mother of three

• The creative spark she buried for years

• The internal unraveling that set her transformation in motion

This episode is raw, funny, emotional, and deeply human — the origin story of a woman who would go on to rebuild her entire life from the ground up.

And just when we reach the moment everything begins to shift… Part One ends.

Because Part Two — dropping this Sunday — dives into the transformation itself:

• Leaving Mormonism • The kitchen birth • Losing 90 pounds • Touring Europe • Becoming a four‑time Edinburgh Fringe performer • Finding her comedic voice • Rebuilding her identity from scratch

If you’ve ever felt the pull toward a life you haven’t yet lived, this two‑part episode is for you.

Stay tuned — Part Two arrives Sunday, taking the place of our usual Over the Teacup special.

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts

Art is more than color on canvas — it’s memory, identity, and the way a culture says, “We were here.” In this powerful conversation, Michael sits down with Dr. Archana Srivastava, TEDx speaker, PhD historian, award‑winning artist, and founder of ArtSage and Les Trésors Art Gallery. Her mission is urgent: to save India’s vanishing folk and tribal art forms, some preserved by only a few families left.

Together, they explore how art becomes activism, why creativity is the most underrated leadership skill, and what we stand to lose when cultural traditions fade. Dr. Archana shares her journey as an “artrepreneur,” her work bridging legendary masters with emerging artists, and her fight to protect the stories that shaped a civilization.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on legacy, identity, and the responsibility we all share in preserving the beauty and wisdom of the past.

This episode explores:

• Why artists are the original disruptors

• How creativity shapes leadership and innovation

• The disappearance of India’s folk & tribal art

• What’s at stake when cultural memory fades

• The founding of Les Trésors Art Gallery

• How ArtSage supports artists with resources, technology & opportunity

• What legacy truly means in a changing world

Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcast

Want to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- Podcasts