Freshwater Yankee

Living in a foreign land can be lonely, especially when it means leaving a safe space of shared culture with those you grew up with. But lifelong friendships can be found in unexpected places, and common ground can exist between people from two very different backgrounds. Recorded in late 2025, Wendell sat down with Jeremy Wockenfuss to talk about how they met and connected over a shared love of horror movies, sports, and Applebee's wings. Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

In this episode Wendell discusses the pitfalls of suddenly being exposed to food culture in America when he emigrated to Maryland to study, and why his Trinidadian background made it harder for him to deal with it. Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell sits with Christopher Riley to talk about growing up in Trinidad in the 70's and 80's and how that influenced their work on comics like Terror of the Midnight Robber and Mango Chiren.  Three Quarter Comics: https://3qconline.com/Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell looks at Trinidad Carnival through the lens of spectator mas, an artform that saw an evolutionary leap in the 80's and 90's. He also chats with Kevin Crosby of Kinetic Mas about what spectator mas looks like today, and what it takes to run a carnival band throughout the year, and on the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Learn more about Kinetic Mas: https://www.kineticmas.com/synopsisSee Wendell's Carnival Photos and Videos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=61585711033362&set=a.122117776587190367 Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell gives an oral account of his experiences playing mas in Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, and he explores the personal, emotional, and spiritual journey of wearing costumes and ‘jumping up’ on the road on Monday and Tuesday. Learn more about You: The Masterpiece, presented by Kinetic Mas: https://www.kineticmas.com/synopsisSee Wendell's Photos and Videos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=61585711033362&set=a.122117776587190367 Follow Wendell Riley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell reflects on his first two pets back in Trinidad and Tobago, and explores the nature of pet ownership in America and how it differs from when he was growing up in the Caribbean. Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell Riley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell sits down with Miranda Restovic, President and Executive Director of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Executive Director of PRIME TIME, Inc. Miranda tells her story of coming to America at the age of eleven from Dubrovnik, Croatia, and discusses her work in the Humanities, what the word "home" means, and what it's like revisiting the place where you grew up when you live in another country. For more information on the LEH, visit: https://leh.org/For more information on Prime Time Inc., visit: https://primetimefamily.org/ Follow Wendell Riley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Support the show

Wendell sits down with British-born Dr. Helen Taylor, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at LSU Shreveport to discuss living in America, the importance of expanding one's horizons, raising American kids, and the difficulties of ordering at restaurants with an accent in the South.  For more information on LSUS, visit: https://www.lsus.edu/ Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell Riley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show

Wendell shares his journey as an expatriate- from his early days as a young boy growing up next to Green Corner in Port-of-Spain Trinidad, to living in Baltimore, Southwest Virginia, and now Shreveport, Louisiana, and how those stops along the way shaped who he is today. This introductory episode sets the table for the Freshwater Yankee series. You can find out more about the Robinson Film Center at: https://robinsonfilmcenter.org/Freshwater Yankee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshwateryankee Follow Wendell Riley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.riley.7 Follow Wendell Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendell.riley.7Support the show