Why Am I

What happens when a bug cookbook author builds their dream meal? It gets weird in the best way. From camp-style “bug juice” to grasshopper appetizers and a surprisingly relatable lobster debate, this Fantasy Restaurant goes places.

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A sweet tea start, a nerdy old fashioned debate, and a main course straight out of fantasy lore. In this episode of Fantasy Restaurant, Colton builds a meal that somehow goes from Southern comfort to mythical creatures without missing a beat.

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What happens when grief turns into a mission to make the world kinder?

In this episode of Why Am I, I talk with writer, filmmaker, and pie maker Beth Howard about losing her husband, traveling the world with pie, running a pie stand at the real American Gothic House, and why sharing something simple can bring people together.

It’s a conversation about grief, connection, and the surprising power of baking something for another person.

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What does it take to draw a revolver and hit a target in under half a second?

In this episode of Why Am I, I talk with Cal, better known in the sport as “Quick Cal.” He’s been competing in fast draw shooting since the 1960s, winning world championships and helping build a sport where competitors in western gear race to quick-draw and fire wax bullets in less than half a second.

We talk about reaction time, the psychology of competition, and the culture behind cowboy fast draw, a sport built around family, integrity, and what its members call “the cowboy way.

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In this episode of Why Am I, I sit down with Elizabeth Bromstein, a writer, marketer, perfumer, and tarot reader who made a late-career pivot after realizing the old path wasn’t sustainable anymore. We talk about identity in midlife, ego checks, career humiliation, addiction, skepticism, belief vs. disbelief, behavioral psychology, AI anxiety, and why tarot might be less about divination and more about self reflection.

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In this episode of Why Am I, I sit down with Dee Parson, also known as $upr Dee; a syndicated newspaper cartoonist and the creator of Rosebuds. We explore his experience growing up as the only Black family in a sundown town, losing his father at a young age, and learning to read through Garfield. Art became both refuge and identity, and over time, it became purpose.

Dee shares how he went from drawing comics in school to becoming one of the youngest syndicated cartoonists in the country. We get into legacy strips, the shrinking newspaper industry, internet culture, emotional boundaries, and why simple kindness might be the most radical move left.

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In this episode of Why Am I, I sit down with Liz Thorpe; author, educator, former Murray’s Cheese leader, and one of the most respected voices in American cheese. From eating progressively stinkier cheeses on Epicurious to helping shape the future of American dairy producers, Liz has turned her love language, food, into a career spanning books, television, consulting, and global travel.

We talk about passion, legacy, New Orleans vs. New York, raising kids around tradition, the humbling intensity of Top Chef Family Style, and why visiting cheese makers in the mountains of Switzerland can feel like touching history. We also dig into what it means to do meaningful work in a world that often feels disposable.

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Ryan Estrada has been homeless in a typhoon, thrown off a moving train by police, almost eaten by lions, and banned in multiple U.S. states, and somehow came out of all of it more optimistic than most people.

In this episode of Why Am I?, Ryan traces how growing up anxious led him to deliberately chase discomfort: moving to a new country every year, embracing failure as fuel, and turning everything that goes wrong into a story worth telling. We talk about fear, creativity, rejection, community, book banning, and why mistakes are the most valuable thing an artist can have.

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In this episode of Why Am I, Greg Soul sits down with Fatal1ty, one of the original professional gamers and a true pioneer of competitive FPS. From hustling pool halls at 12 years old to winning world championships across Quake, Unreal Tournament, Painkiller, and more, Fatal1ty breaks down the mindset, pressure, discipline, and obsession required to stay on top. This conversation goes far beyond gaming. It’s about competition, identity, confidence, legacy, and what happens when your entire life is built around being the best.

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In this episode of Why Am I, I sit down with artist and musician Ken Butler, a Brooklyn-based creator who has spent decades building musical instruments from found objects and refusing to compromise; either artistically or personally. We talk about what it means to live as both an artist and a musician, how a strong sense of self can be a survival tool, and why Ken believes it’s essential not to let the stress of the world settle into your body. From creative obsession to mindfulness, aging, and staying present, this conversation is thoughtful, funny, and deeply human.

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