PODCAST · society
Michael In The Middle
by Michael Johnson
Michael in the Middle is an intergenerational, relational podcast for people who are interested in better human interaction.
Episodes
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500 Miles- Episode 58
In 1988 The Proclaimers, a Scottish duo, wrote and performed one of pop music’s most singable and relatable hits of the late 20th century. The endearing theme of loyalty affirmed the commitment to endure any challenge or distance to stay with a loved one or friend. In 2014, lifelong friends…
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Episode 57- I Believe I Can Fly
Michael in the Middle is back! In his return to regular podcasting, Michael shares his thoughts on why we sometimes need a kickstart to restart projects or initiatives toward the kind of personal growth that helps others in the process. Come along as Michael looks back at his journey toward...
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It Won't Rain Always- Episode 56
When it started raining in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Bobby and Alyssa Forest had an inkling that maybe this storm would be different than anything they had ever seen. They were right. Within days of the arrival of Hurricane Helene, their home and their church, Asheville First...
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Episode 55- The Leader of the Band
Dan Fogelberg sang a memorable line in the late 1970s, “my life’s a living legacy to the leader of the band.” It hit me again as I listened to my friend, Gary Barker, tell his story of building businesses and adding value to people over the past as several years. Gary’s a successful member of the...
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More Than a Feeling (Episode 54)
Episode 54 features a frank discussion of the necessity of honesty as well as the price that is paid for true forgiveness to occur in our most significant relationships. Before the conversation gets heavy there's also a healthy dose of Boston Red Sox family lore. Jeff Scott's grandfather, Stephen...
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Don't Stop
In his return to the podcast after a long layoff, Michael talks about the temptation to give up when the going gets tough. In the pursuit of doing something worthwhile there are often moments when the simple determination to keep going is the key to breakthrough.
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Epidosde 52- I Saw The Light
My wife and I recently moved to a new home. One of the things we love most about it is the "sunroom" that looks out over a sprawling back yard. Watching the sunrise from time to time as it breaks the darkness across our yard and the 160 acre farm with which we share a fence line is never not...
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Episode 51- Centerfield
With the arrival of Episode 51, I was drawn to #51 of the St. Louis Cardinals, worn so well and for so long by Willie McGee. As a rookie center fielder for the Cards, McGee patrolled the field like a boss. He's still teaching young Cardinals outfielders how to play the game. I played a lot of...
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Episode 50- Born To Be Wild
Episode 50 of Michael in the Middle was a few weeks in the making, but it was worth the wait. Joe Drake is one of the most interesting men any of us will ever know. His life story took almost as many twists and turns as any motorcycle enthusiast ever took on a mountain road. On the verge of…
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Episode 49- Takin' Care Of Business
With a long and successful career in baseball including college and the pros, Nick Hiter knows what it takes to lead a winning team. In Episode 49, Michael and Nick talk about the similarities involved in baseball and business and how the lure of competition can bring out the best in us. Every...
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Getting Good- Episode 48
A few years back, Lauren Alaina recorded a terrific song entitled "Getting Good." The lyric expresses how we are prone to think about all that could go wrong or could be better and often miss out on all the goodness that is already surrounding us. In these days of global unrest and warring...
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Episode 47- Speak Life
Steve Pennington has been speaking life into audiences, particularly of children and their families, for almost 50 years. Episode 47 of Michael in the Middle offers insights into how giving life to creatively designed puppets allowed Steve and his "friends" to share an uplifting and fun message...
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Episode 46- Bless The Broken Road
We all have times in our lives where relationships can feel as if they're beyond repair. Maybe some are, but they don't all or always have to be. In Episode 46 Michael talks about looking for redemption whenever and wherever we can find it. Take a few minutes to consider how you can be a conduit...
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Episode 45- Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away
Dr. Ron Jackson is back for a second time on Michael in the Middle to talk about old times, old friends, and the age-old quest for finding oneself. Michael and Ron enjoy some laughs, which everyone needs to do every day, but also get reflective about the passage of time and even the passing of...
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Episode 44- This Is The Time
Episode 44 of Michael in the Middle of explores the notions of goodness and the power of a moment. Listen as Michael tells stories of goodness and challenges is to seize the moment when it is available to us.
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Episode 43- This is My Story, This is My Song with Josh Cobb
Episode 43 of Michael in the Middle is out and it's sure to be a fascinating journey for listeners. Josh Cobb can hardly remember a time when he wasn't singing. The son of immensely talented musicians, Josh has seen the way an audience can be moved to tears or shouts of joy with a well-delivered...
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Episode 42- What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life
Teachers are an indispensable, too often taken for granted, mostly underpaid group of people. Even if they are living paycheck to paycheck, it’s not unusual for them to buy essential school supplies for their students who have even less in the way of financial means. Teachers work as many hours...
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Epsiode 41- Meet In The Middle
When Michael and Rob (Varnish Media) set out build this podcast, the alliterative "Michael in the Middle" just had a nice ring to it. Now the phrase has become a working brand and a way of life. As Season 2 begins with Episode 41, Michael takes a look back at some significant excerpts from five…
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Episode 40- I Saw God Today
Moved by the death of one his dad's oldest and dearest friends, Michael focuses Episode 40 on what it's like to take a moment to remember one another and to be in touch while the opportunity presents itself. Recounting the story of a visit with his dad to see a friend in a nursing home a few…
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Episode 39- Heart and Soul
Gary Morsch is a medical doctor with a sincere heart of love for the world and an adventuresome soul that has seen most of the world. In Episode 39 of Michael in the Middle, listeners are invited into the amazing mind of one of the most interesting persons one could ever meet. With time for only…
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Episode 38- Glory Days
What's it like to tell the stories of others' days of glory on a basketball court, baseball field, or football field? Michael knows at least one good person to ask such a question. Greg Ruff is a veteran who served in the Air Force. Not only did Greg Ruff do a stint in the US Air Force, but he is...
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Episode 37- I Got A Name
In an era where name calling and labeling of others is rampant, Episode 37 seeks to redeem the way we talk about each other. We are all known by our names given at birth or by titles we've been given, but many are known by names given them by others that are less than kind. The world is longing…
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Episode 36- Humble and Kind
In a world full of people trying to get ahead, even if it means running over or around others, Episode 36 of Michael in the Middle takes a look at a better way to live. Sharing thoughts from a letter to his oldest grandson from a few years back, Michael reminds us of the a more redemptive way to...
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Episode 35- Gratitude
Real gratitude is both emotional and intentional. It is something that can only be expressed after becoming aware of its presence, perhaps even its necessity. Episode 35 of Michael In The Middle is built around personal experiences as well as a call for all of us to recognize its benefits.
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Episode 34- Feelings
Are feelings real? Do they matter? Can they be a valid source of help? In Episode 34, Michael returns with a look at life after loss and how we ought to lean into the feelings that flow out of our challenges. It's a short but important look at how we can channel the emotions that impact us in a...
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How Do You Like Me Now?
It just so happens that one of country music's biggest stars is also one of the Oklahoma Sooners' biggest fans, and one of his biggest hits included a great hook line ".... I always dreamed about livin' in your radio, how do you like me now?" Well, long before he became the radio voice of OU...
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Here Comes The Sun
Sometimes it seems like life is one dark storm after another. The current sense of malaise is real but it’s also nothing new. Sadness and despair have been a part of the human equation, at least on occasion, since the dawn of time. It would be easy to believe that our best days are behind us. In...
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Episode 31- "I Write The Songs" with Rick Lee James
For singer/songwriter Rick Lee James, the words for songs just flow out of so many life experiences. His music expresses the joys and sorrows that so often accompany living one's life and, wow, does he ever have a gift for capturing a moment. Episode 31 of Michael in the Middle explores how James...
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Episode 30- "Most of All" with Andrea and Wes Hampton
When we started Michael in the Middle, a decision was made to use song titles (chosen by Michael) as titles for the episodes. Michael's love of great songs and great singers/musicians informs so much of the ethos of the podcast, and Episode 30 is no exception. The episode features a great love...
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Episode 29- I'm Glad God Made Me
The life of the late Charles Johnson, pastor of Fitkin's Memorial Church of the Nazarene in Meridian, MS, for 61 years, is a testimony to one man's faithfulness as a gifted preacher and valiant civil rights leader. God led Charles to Mississippi, a place he initially dreaded that became a place…
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Episode 28- Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Episode 28!! In case you have missed a few segments, here are a few highlights that will serve as a good reminder of the reality that life is full of fun and occasional pain, but that it is always good!
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Episode 27- That's What Friends Are For
Borne out of a lifelong friendship with Jacob Morris, Brodrick Thomas eventually found himself on the campus Trevecca Nazarene University in 2011. Twelve years later, Thomas has earned MBA, Masters in Organizational Leadership, and more recently a Doctoral degree in Leadership and Professional...
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Episode 26- I Can See Clearly Now
It's cliche, but it's also true: You don't know what you don't know until you can see it for yourself. In Episode 26, Michael revisits moments of clarity gained from a move from Oklahoma to Mississippi as a 15 year old. Confronted with a newfound understanding of perceived racial differences,...
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Episode 25- Jesus Take The Wheel with Chonda Pierce
For a preacher's daughter whose mother never missed a show, Chonda Courtney Pierce could never have imagined when she first started performing for family and friends as a little girl where the roads of life would take her. As a best-selling comedian making records and making people laugh she…
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Episode 24- Every Kinda People
The late Robert Palmer's classic, "Every Kinda People," implies that we are all created to help "make what life's about." This thought came readily to mind during Michael's recent trip to New York City. Here in Episode 24, Michael talks about seeing people, not just as another body but as a…
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Episode 23- The Boys (Were) Back In Town
When you're a young parent and wonder whether you're going to be a good one, you just take it a day at a time. Next thing you know, it's 30-40 years later and you realize that your kids are where you were wondering how they're doing as the grownups now. Hopefully, the joy of being together and...
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Episode 22- The Middle
In 2001, Jimmy Eat World sang some lines in "The Middle" that said "it takes some time... you're in the middle of the ride, everything will be just fine..." When Rob Walls decided, with the encouragement of his wife, Courtney, to launch his own business, he had no idea where it would go. But he...
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Episode 21- It Keeps You Runnin'
Episode 21 is all about finishing well. As 2022 has drawn to a close, Michael shares lessons learned while completing a doctoral program in 2020. The comparison to running a marathon has parallels to the challenges of daily life.
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Episode 20- "In The Meantime" With Allison Speer
Marrying into the legendary Speer Family and working with Bill and Gloria Gaither, among others, has allowed Allison Speer to experience the impact of gospel music up close and personal. Here in Episode 20, Allison shares how she got her start in the business and how it ultimately became her…
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Episode 19- Where You Lead
Larry Dunlap is a pastor in a traditional sense but never let's tradition get in the way of following where he sees God leading him. Whether it's helping establish a ministry to immigrants in West Texas or giving wings to a surfing and skateboarding ministry via a mobile pizza oven, Larry's heart...
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Episode 18- Hold On Loosely
In Episode 18, Michael explores how to know when we're holding on too tightly to our fears or maybe even to our loved ones. Learning how to let go, even just a little, may well be the key to better days in our relationships and other facets of life.
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Episode 17- Sing, Sing, Sing
Here in Episode 17, Michael encourages us to find out what makes our heart sing. What is it that takes your breath away? Could it be that making someone else's life better is just what you need? Could it make the world better in the process?
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Episode 16- The Yellow Rose Of Texas
Episode 16 is a fun but reflective conversation with my brother, Dr. Jeffrey T. Johnson. Memories of our childhood give way to current realities, ultimately leading yo to the recognition of the one-year anniversary our mother's passing. Anne Genell Crawford Johnson was, and always will be, our...
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Episode 15- Story Of My Life
MATT LITTON is a bestselling collaborative writer, speaker, publishing consultant and creativity coach. He has written three #1 Wall Street Journal & Publishers Weekly bestselling books and multiple top fifty Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) non-fiction bestsellers. He is the author of The...
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Episode 14- Life's Been Good to Me So Far
Homecoming weekend at my Alma Mater is always a highlight of any year. The idea of going or coming home is one of the good things in life and Episode 14 of Michael in the Middle is a celebration of, and a challenge to live, a life of goodness. The goodness of God evokes a desire in me to share…
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Episode 13- My Town
Lucky for you, Episode 13 of Michael in the Middle was able to secure an hour with Joe Dubin, aka Nashville's Media Darling. More widely known now for his persona as "Big Joe on the Go," Dubin tells his story as a native Nashvillian whose life was greatly impacted by his late mother. Joe Dubin is…
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Episode 12- Thank You For Being A Friend
Episode 12 of Michael in the Middle is a look back at some of the best moments from the first season so far. Enduring friendships form the foundation for building bridges to better understanding and mutual respect. Michael believes we can change the often toxic atmosphere one good conversation at…
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Episode 11- You Can Do Magic
There are a lot of magical moments in the life of Stephen Bargatze and here in Episode 11 of Michael in the Middle, you can find the magic in how he overcame a serious childhood injury and in how he obtained his college degree and in what he's done for a living for over nearly four decades. The...
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Episode 10- Faithful To The End
Homer J. Adams was the ninth president of Trevecca Nazarene College (now University) from 1979-1991. His life and legacy loom large in the minds and hearts of many still today. Here in Episode 10, I offer reflections on his impact both as an administrator and as my father-in-law. The episode is...
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Episode 9- I'll Carry You Home
Great stories find their footing in simply taking the next right step. Episode 9 of Michael in the Middle is a story of how leaving home and finding her place in the world ultimately led Rondy Smith to a calling that helps seemingly hopeless women find a home for their weary bodies and souls. The...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Michael In The Middle have?
Michael In The Middle currently has 58 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Michael In The Middle about?
Michael in the Middle is an intergenerational, relational podcast for people who are interested in better human interaction.
How often does Michael In The Middle release new episodes?
Michael In The Middle has 58 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Michael In The Middle?
You can listen to Michael In The Middle on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Michael In The Middle?
Michael In The Middle is created and hosted by Michael Johnson.
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