Big Blend Radio

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast, host/producer Lisa D. Smith talks with clean energy executive Jared Schoch, founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy and author of "Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry, One Man's Journey Leading with Soul" (Regalo Press, November 10, 2026). 
Jared has spent more than two decades in the industry and has managed more than 3 gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in solar and energy efficiency investments.
The conversation starts with what a gigawatt means in terms of homes, then looks at why solar took so long to take hold in the U.S. From there it moves to how AI data centers are straining the grid, why Jared says solar and wind can be built faster than gas or nuclear, and how battery storage is changing what solar can do. They also cover small solar plants near cities, agrivoltaics, what happens to old batteries, why crypto and data center companies are asking for solar, and what the dot-com crash can teach us about a possible AI bubble.
Along the way, Jared explains why he says the industry has to adapt to survive and why it takes purpose as well as profit. He also shares that he isn't making money from the book. He says every dollar he earns earn goes to charity, supporting environmental causes, poverty relief, education, and spiritual growth. Jared will be back on Big Blend Radio in November to go deeper on the book.
Visit & Pre-order: https://SolarCoasterProject.com 

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Before They Vanish" Podcast, explorer and author James Michael Dorsey returns to talk about the gray whales he has spent decades getting to know in Baja's San Ignacio Lagoon, and about his book, "The Lagoon: Encounters with the Whales of San Ignacio." Once hunted to the edge of extinction, these forty-ton animals now swim right up to the boats to be petted, and James explains why he calls the lagoon the only place on earth where wild animals in their natural habitat routinely seek out human contact.
James traces his love of whales to a sea kayaking trip in British Columbia in 1996, when a pod of three orcas swam close enough to touch, and to his first trip to Baja in 1998. He describes hearing whales through the hull of a kayak, how gray whales navigate the coast without echolocation, and how the lagoon works as a nursery where mothers train their calves and then bring them to the boats to play.
The conversation also covers the challenges the whales face, including warming waters, starvation, ship strikes, and the need for stronger protections. It also covers Mexico's protection of the lagoon, the difference between whales and dolphins, whether a whale could really swallow a person, why whales don't belong in captivity, and a whale-human connection that reaches back at least ten thousand years.RESOURCE LINKS: - Get the book: https://JamesMichaelDorseyAuthor.com/books/the-lagoon-encounters-with-the-whales-of-san-ignacio-james-michael-dorsey/9781635768428- Travel with James: https://www.BajaEcoTours.com/- Enjoy more episodes of Before They Vanish: https://www.BigBlendMediaHouse.com/p/before-they-vanish-podcast- Learn more about James: https://JamesMichaelDorseyAuthor.com/

September is National Preparedness Month, and getting your paperwork in order is part of being ready. Estate planning attorney Lauren Corman joins Lisa D. Smith on Big Blend Radio to break down wills vs. trusts, how to avoid probate, powers of attorney and health care directives, protecting a business, and the everyday details families overlook, like titling assets and storing passwords.
In this conversation:- Wills vs. trusts, and why California probate is costly and slow- Protecting founders, startups, and business owners- Naming successor trustees and backups- Why a trust only works if your assets are titled in it- Guardians for your kids, handwritten wills, and the no-contest clause- Originals, safe deposit boxes, and documenting your belongings- Health care directives, passwords, and digital accounts
About Lauren T. Corman: Lauren is the Managing Attorney at the Corman Law Offices, a boutique estate planning firm serving individuals, families, and business owners in Santa Cruz, San Jose, and the greater Bay Area. She is a California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. 
📥 FREE ESTATE PLANNING CHECKLIST: Download it at https://www.cormanlaw.net. It appears in a popup on the home page, and no email is required.

In honor of World Tourism Day, we're at Tiffany's Bed & Breakfast in Bismarck, Arkansas with innkeeper Tiffany Bertram for this Big Blend Radio Success Insider — a stop we make every year, and one that happens to sit right on the historic Jefferson Highway.
Tiffany takes us through her whole path into hospitality: a hotel management degree from UNLV, working her way up from housekeeping to general manager, and a career that carried her through six cities and multiple hotel brands before she and her husband Bob bought a Hot Springs-area bed and breakfast twenty-some years ago — a purchase she almost talked herself out of ("No one would go there").
We get into what actually separates a bed and breakfast from an Airbnb, the daily headaches of online travel agencies, and how AI is already reshaping the back end of small hospitality businesses. Tiffany also shares one of her favorite guest story (the couple with no TV in their room), and her hospitality-adjacent dream job. Plus: the history behind Hot Springs' bathhouses, gangsters, and 4,000-year-old spring water.
Tiffany answers our 10-question Success Insider Q&A too — check it out here:  https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/getting-to-know-innkeeper-tiffany-bertram 
Learn more about Tiffany's B&B: https://www.tiffanysbedandbreakfast.com/ 

Every fourth Sunday, Big Blend Radio's "Music Talks" series brings together host/producer Lisa D. Smith and co-host Joey Stuckey — the award-winning musician, producer, and Macon's own "Music Ambassador." This time, the mic turns toward Joey's own milestone year.
Joey opens up about "Alive Day" — the anniversary of surviving a childhood brain tumor doctors once called inoperable — and the moment his parents reframed it forever: "September 29th is not the day you almost died. It is the day you lived." What began as a quiet family tradition has grown into a free, all-ages concert in downtown Macon, now in its ninth year.
This year's celebration doubles as the grand reopening of Joey's Shadow Sound Studio, newly outfitted with an SSL Origin Evo console, with longtime friend and Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall joining him for a day of recording, a special in-studio taping of Joey's own podcast Stuck on Sound, and a free hour-long concert. It's all part of marking 30 years in the music business — and Joey's got a new record taking shape too, tracked in part at the historic Les Paul Recording Studio in Hollywood. We'll dig into the album itself next month.
Learn more at: https://joeystuckey.com
Listen to more episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/joey-stuckey
Photos courtest of Maryann Bates and Matthew Odom.

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, Glynn Burrows takes us for a wander through England's forests — ancient and modern, native and man-made — and what a single tree can teach us about history, health, and home.From Sherwood's legendary (and ailing) Major Oak to Thetford's man-made pine forest, from tree-ring dendrochronology to the real origin of the word "underdog," this one covers a lot of ground. Along the way: tree equity and environmental justice in American cities, why a felled tree feels like a genuine loss, cemetery bird-watching, England's Heritage Open Days, and a closing reading of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees." Read the companion article, "England's Ancient Trees: A Personal Tour of Britain's Forests," and check out Glynn's Digital Magazine at the links below. And what a great episode with today (Sept. 26) being National Public Lands Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, and Lumberjack Day! Resource Links: - Article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/englands-ancient-trees - Check out Glynn's "English Connection" Podcast & Magazine on his website https://www.englishconnection.uk/- Glynn's new English Connection Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594366433338 

It's World Contraception Day and acclaimed Director/Producer Vaishali Sinha (Made in India and Ask the Sexpert) joins Big Blend Radio to talk about her documentary "Give It A Shot," which follows the decades-long global race to develop the first reversible male contraceptive since the modern condom. At the center of the story is 83-year-old Indian researcher Dr. Sujoy Guha, who has spent nearly 50 years on the technology, alongside a US-based team working toward the same goal.
Vaishali shares the personal story behind the film, why men currently have only three contraception options compared to more than fifteen for women, and why she believes this conversation matters now more than ever — including for reproductive rights in the US.
Watch the trailer and find screenings near you:https://www.giveitashotfilm.com/ 

It's World Contraception Day and acclaimed Director/Producer Vaishali Sinha (Made in India and Ask the Sexpert) joins Big Blend Radio to talk about her documentary "Give It A Shot," which follows the decades-long global race to develop the first reversible male contraceptive since the modern condom. At the center of the story is 83-year-old Indian researcher Dr. Sujoy Guha, who has spent nearly 50 years on the technology, alongside a US-based team working toward the same goal. Vaishali shares the personal story behind the film, why men currently have only three contraception options compared to more than fifteen for women, and why she believes this conversation matters now more than ever — including for reproductive rights in the US. Watch the trailer and find screenings near you: https://www.giveitashotfilm.com/