Welcome to Behind The Story Show, a long-form interview podcast hosted by Jelani Gonzalez that goes beyond the headlines to uncover the real journeys behind extraordinary people and powerful ideas. Each week, Jelani sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, creators, leaders, and change-makers to explore the defining moments, hard-earned lessons, personal challenges, and bold decisions that shaped their path. From business and creativity to leadership, culture, innovation, and reinvention, Behind The Story brings you candid conversations that reveal not just what people achieved, but what it took to get there. If you are building something, chasing a vision, navigating change, or looking for stories that educate, inspire, and challenge the way you think, this show is for you. Join us as we go behind the success, behind the struggle, and Behind The Story.
The Type of Diabetes Doctors Miss in Adults (LADA)
Send us Fan Mail Manny Hernandez grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, in a world that no longer exists — and left in 2000 as the country changed around him. Years later, a routine checkup in the U.S. led to a diabetes diagnosis, and then a misdiagnosis: he was told he had type 2, when he actually had LADA, sometimes called type 1.5, a form that's often missed in adults. In this episode, Manny sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to trace the full arc — the shock of diagnosis, the pizza-and-insulin-pump meeting where he first realized he'd found "his people," and how that single moment of not feeling alone became the seed for everything that followed. He co-founded the Diabetes Hands Foundation, built the TuDiabetes and EsTuDiabetes online communities, later handed them to Beyond Type 1, and today leads The Diabetes Link, supporting young adults ages 18–30 living with all types of diabetes. Manny is candid about the parts people don't see: winding down the foundation to care for his mother, an unforgettable send-off in a San Diego bar, the honest limits of diabetes technology, the fight over access and the Insulin Act, and why — after 24 years — he still hasn't "figured it out." His message stays simple throughout: find your community, and take it one day at a time.
The Laptop Landlord: How Naresh Turned a Side Hustle Into 9 Properties and 5 Books
Send us Fan Mail Naresh built the kind of business most people are told doesn't exist: one that funds his life instead of consuming it. In this episode of Behind the Story, he sits down with Jelani Gonzalez to trace the road from a Duke degree and a coveted banking offer to becoming a self-described “laptop landlord” — a work-from-home founder running two companies, raising two sons, and owning nine investment properties he scaled up starting in 2017. He opens up about the real mechanics of a lifestyle business (and why he stopped chasing the “get acquired” dream), the intrapreneur years that gave him a safety net before he went out on his own, and the five books — including a #1 bestseller with a foreword by Philip Kotler — that became his real business card. He also shares his four-part “focus formula” for physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health, and why he's no fan of retirement. From there the conversation opens up into something rarer: an honest, good-faith exchange about media, culture, and how we lost the ability to tell fact from opinion. A former journalist, Naresh explains why he trades news for books, and he and Jelani — who calls himself an independent with libertarian leanings — disagree, agree, and think out loud about politics and belief without the usual heat. It's a two-part story: how to build a life of focus, and how to keep your head clear while you do it.
Warrior of Light: Turning Chaos Into Purpose
Send us Fan Mail Theresa Garcia didn't set out to become a coach — she set out to survive. After losing her fiancé and her mother six months apart, she rebuilt her life from the ground up, eventually writing the book Warrior of Light and founding Ruby's Positive Empowerment. In this conversation, Theresa opens up about the difference between survival and real strength, the years-long crisis that forced her to shut down her business and start over, and why she believes healing doesn't have to be as hard as we make it. She shares the exact process she uses with clients to find the gift in painful experiences, why alignment — not hustle — is what actually moves the needle in her life and business, and the hardest truth she had to face about her own role in her chaos. A raw, honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and choosing light on purpose.
The Career Crisis No One Talks About
Send us Fan Mail Why do so many smart, capable, successful people still feel disconnected from their work? Sarah Aviram has spent her career answering that question — first as a director of talent development, then as the person who convinced her CEO to let her work from 12 countries in 12 months (before remote work was normal), and now as an author, keynote speaker, and leadership coach. In this conversation, Sarah unpacks the six core drivers of fulfillment at work, why raises and promotions rarely fix burnout, why some high performers quietly check out instead of quitting, and how hybrid and return-to-office policies have created new equity gaps — especially for women. She also shares the personal side of her year abroad: the Buddhist monastery in Thailand, the flamenco dancers in Spain, and the surprising life lesson tying it all together in her new memoir, The Scenic Route. If you've ever felt successful on paper but empty in practice, this episode is for you.
The American Slumber Party: Sam Daley-Harris on Waking Up Democracy
Send us Fan Mail Sam Daley-Harris spent twelve years as a professional percussionist and a career as a music teacher before a single question changed the direction of his life: does your member of Congress know your name? In 1978, he asked 7,000 high school students, classroom by classroom, if they could name their own representative. Fewer than three percent could. That gap became the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS, and nearly five decades of work teaching ordinary citizens how to find and use their power. In this conversation, Sam and Jelani trace his path from music to movement-building — co-founding the Microcredit Summit alongside Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and developing the idea of "transformational advocacy," where the people who show up to change something are changed themselves. Sam shares the stories of two volunteers, Maxine Thomas and Ellie Sparks, whose journeys from "clueless" and "climate trauma" to "euphoric" and "sacred and profound" illustrate what's possible when citizens are trained, not just recruited. They also talk about what Sam calls the "American Slumber Party" — the pattern of low civic participation he's tracked since the 1970s — and how small, organized groups of trained volunteers have recently helped shape the outcome of proposed federal budget cuts to programs like the EPA and global maternal and child health funding. It's a conversation about cynicism, hope, and the practical, unglamorous work of reclaiming a voice in your own democracy. Chapters: 00:03 — From percussion to purpose: Sam's unlikely path into activism 02:45 — The question that started it all: naming your member of Congress 06:25 — Co-founding the Microcredit Summit and meeting Muhammad Yunus 13:17 — Transactional vs. transformational advocacy 13:47 — Maxine's story: from "clueless" to "euphoric" 14:44 — Ellie's story: from "climate trauma" to "sacred and profound" 21:19 — Three questions to ask someone you disagree with 33:53 — How organized advocacy shaped a maternal and child health funding decision 39:02 — How a small grassroots network engaged on a proposed EPA budget cut 44:11 — The eighteen commitments behind transformational advocacy 53:15 — Where to start tomorrow: reclaimingourdemocracy.com Guest's book: Reclaiming Our Democracy — reclaimingourdemocracy.com Get connected with an advocacy group near you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCQuqj-4O2eh4Sfy_E-dfVntbPlqg1A4T4oQ8E2J0nuZbD-w/viewform
The Physician Taking Her Fight From the Exam Room to Washington
Send us Fan Mail Dr. Neelam Perry spent over two decades practicing internal medicine and treating HIV/AIDS patients before a personal health crisis changed the direction of her life. After surviving seven strokes and fighting to access a costly medication she says her insurance wouldn't approve, she made a decision: leave medicine and try to fix the system from the inside. In this conversation, Dr. Perry talks with Jelani Gonzalez about her path from the exam room to the campaign trail, her 2024 congressional run, the election-integrity concerns she says she witnessed firsthand, and what's driving her current U.S. Senate campaign in Florida. The two also dig into her positions on federal power, healthcare policy, and where she stands with the current administration. This is a conversation about resilience, conviction, and what happens when a healer decides the healthiest thing she can do is challenge the system itself.
The Diabetes Theory Doctors Don't Want You to Hear
Send us Fan Mail After 27 years practicing as a pediatrician and allergist in Texas, Dr. John Poothullil noticed something in his own body that medical textbooks couldn't explain: weight that crept on every winter and refused to leave by spring. The standard answer — "improper diet and lack of exercise" — wasn't an answer at all. So he spent the next several decades building his own. In this conversation, Dr. John walks Jelani through the "fatty acid burn switch" — his alternative explanation for Type 2 diabetes that challenges the textbook theory of insulin resistance — and the personal story that radicalized his skepticism of mainstream treatment: a relative whose husband, a medical professor, kept her blood sugar perfectly controlled with insulin for years, only for her to lose a limb anyway. They also get into why "blood sugar" and "table sugar" are not the same thing, how grain-based carbohydrates became the hidden driver of the obesity epidemic, whether low-carb eating can help starve cancer cells, and what's really happening in your body on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound — including the question Dr. John says almost nobody asks before starting one. This is a conversation about the difference between treating a number and treating a person — and why understanding your own hunger might matter more than any prescription.
The Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Too Late
Send us Fan Mail Scherrie L. Prince did not take a straight path into law. Before becoming an attorney, entrepreneur, business coach, and podcast host, she worked in operations, real estate, mortgage brokerage, and business ownership. Then the 2008 mortgage crisis hit, and she lost everything while raising two young children. In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Scherrie to talk about the personal experiences that shaped her legal work today — losing her mother at 16, watching family conflict unfold after her grandparents passed without a plan, losing her own business during the mortgage crisis, and deciding to rebuild through law school. Scherrie shares why she now helps entrepreneurs protect their businesses, personal assets, families, and future legacy. She breaks down why forming an LLC is not enough, what it means to build a “legal moat” around your business, why business planning and estate planning should work together, and how families lose generational wealth when there is no clear plan in place. This conversation is about entrepreneurship, resilience, legal protection, legacy, family, and the hard lessons that can become a mission.
Birthright Citizenship: The Story Behind the 14th Amendment
Send us Fan Mail For more than 150 years, birth on American soil has been understood as one of the clearest paths to U.S. citizenship. But after President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160 on the first day of his second term, the country was forced back into a constitutional debate many people thought had already been settled. In this BTS Exposé Special Edition of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez goes beyond the headlines to unpack the deeper history behind birthright citizenship: English common law, Dred Scott v. Sandford , the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark . This episode explores the phrase at the center of today’s legal battle — “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” — and why those words now sit at the heart of one of the most important citizenship fights in modern American history. Jelani breaks down what the Constitution says, what the Trump administration is arguing, why courts have challenged the executive order, and what is at stake for children, families, immigrants, and the future definition of American citizenship. This is not just a legal story. It is a story about belonging, power, history, and who gets to be recognized as fully American.
George Tinsley Sr. on Legacy, Faith, Family, and Franchising
Send us Fan Mail George Tinsley Sr.’s story begins in Smoketown, Louisville, where he was raised by Willie Tinsley, a woman with one leg who could not read or write but gave him the foundation of loyalty, responsibility, and resilience. In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with George to talk about the journey behind the championships, the businesses, the book, and the legacy. George shares what it was like growing up during segregation-era Louisville, discovering basketball, winning three NCAA Division II national championships with Kentucky Wesleyan, being selected as an Olympic alternate in 1968, and later making the unexpected transition from professional basketball to teaching, coaching, corporate America, and franchising. George also opens up about working alongside Colonel Sanders at KFC, becoming a franchise owner, building a family business, founding the KFC Minority Franchise Association, and the deeper meaning of legacy after reconnecting with his birth family later in life. This conversation is about more than success. It is about family, faith, discipline, leadership, reinvention, and learning how to turn obstacles into opportunities.
Can AI Help Musicians Create Without Replacing Them?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when an award-winning vocalist and songwriter sits down with an AI music producer building a weekly online producer battle? In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez is joined by Gerard Barnes and David Nichol for a timely, honest, and surprisingly personal conversation about AI music, creativity, ownership, and the future of performance. David shares how AI is helping him reimagine his music, update live shows, and explore new possibilities as a singer and frontman. Gerard opens up about building A Idol , a TikTok-based AI music producer community where creators battle, learn, and push the limits of what AI-generated music can become. Together, they explore the tension between technology and artistry, why human creativity still matters, what artists need to understand about copyright, and how AI could remove gatekeepers while creating new questions around ownership, authenticity, and live performance. This conversation goes beyond the fear of AI replacing musicians. It asks a bigger question: What happens when real artists learn how to use AI as a creative partner? Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts
Caring Leadership in the Age of AI with Germain St-Denis
Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to lead people well? In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Germain St-Denis , author of Empowering People Through Caring Leadership , for a thoughtful conversation about the difference between managing tasks and truly leading people. Germain shares lessons from his long career in technology, strategy, management, and executive leadership, including why leaders must train, equip, trust, empower, and genuinely care for their teams. He also explains why human connection matters more than ever in the age of AI, remote work, hybrid teams, and constant workplace change. This conversation explores what happens when employees feel unseen, how leaders can rebuild trust, why succession planning often fails, and why younger professionals need leaders who help them grow. If you care about leadership, workplace culture, personal development, or building teams where people can do their best work, this episode offers practical and human-centered insight. Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Subscribe to Behind the Story for more conversations that go beyond the surface.
Gerard Barnes: The Man Who Built A Battle Show for AI Music Producers
Send us Fan Mail Gerard Barnes is back on Behind the Story — and this time, the conversation goes deep into the world of AI music. Gerard is the creator of A-Idol, a TikTok-based AI music battle competition where producers from around the world go head-to-head using nothing but their imagination and a machine. Think American Idol — but the artists are the producers, the instrument is AI, and the competition is fierce. In this episode, Jelani and Gerard explore the real story behind A-Idol's creation, what it actually takes to be a great AI music producer, how Gerard is helping businesses, brands, and older artists find relevance again through AI, and why the old arguments about "real music" keep showing up every time the industry evolves — from sampling to autotune to AI. They also get into a song that made Gerard cry live on camera, why his famous father Sidney Barnes now has his own AI-produced album, and why Gerard believes the imagination is the most important instrument in music today. This one is for creators, music lovers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who's ever been told that the new thing isn't real. Follow Behind the Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Watch A-Idol live on TikTok @UncleFeeelGood.
Why Success Doesn’t Fix Your Patterns with Daune Thompson
Send us Fan Mail Why do so many successful people still feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected? In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Daune Thompson , speaker, coach, and creator of the Soul CEO and Lighthouse Mastery approach, for a conversation about success, burnout, subconscious patterns, alignment, and self-understanding. Daune shares why she believes burnout is not simply about doing too much, but about being out of alignment with who you are for too long. She also explains why high achievers often keep repeating the same patterns in relationships, health, money, and purpose — even after they have built the life they thought they wanted. This conversation explores hustle culture, emotional triggers, blind spots, self-mastery, spirituality, science, relationships, and what it means to stop managing your life from the outside and start leading from the inside. If you have ever looked successful on paper but still felt like something was missing, this episode will give you a deeper way to think about alignment, identity, and the patterns quietly shaping your life. Learn more about Daune at: ideserveitnow.com daunethompson.com
From Special Ed to Doctorate: Dr. Brian Arnold’s Journey of Resilience
Send us Fan Mail Dr. Brian Arnold’s story is a powerful reminder that where you start does not have to define where you finish. In this episode of Behind the Story , host Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dr. Brian Arnold to explore his journey from struggling to read as a child and being placed in special education classes, to becoming an educator, entrepreneur, leadership consultant, podcast host, and doctorate holder. Dr. Brian opens up about growing up in Colorado as one of the few Black students in his school, the pain of being underestimated, the mentors who helped him see his own potential, and the role faith, family, sports, and education played in shaping his life. He also shares why earning his doctorate meant more than a credential—it was proof that the labels placed on him did not have the final word. The conversation also explores entrepreneurship, reinvention after the 2008 financial crisis, the meaning of freedom, the mission behind Journey to Freedom, and why highlighting everyday successful Black men matters for the next generation. This is a conversation about resilience, opportunity, purpose, leadership, education, and the people who help us believe we are enough. Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Subscribe to Behind the Story for more conversations that go beyond the surface.
Helping Young People Find Their Voice
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dale Novella Anderson Lee , a singer, songwriter, music producer, educator, and leader in teaching artistry. Dale shares how music became a source of healing in her own life and how that calling eventually led her into classrooms, workshops, and community spaces where young people learn to trust their voices. Through her work with Community-Word Project and the Teaching Artist Project, Dale helps artists and students use music, poetry, movement, storytelling, and visual art as tools for expression, confidence, and connection. This conversation explores what it really means to help young people feel seen, how art can create safety in under-resourced communities, why teaching artists need emotional grounding, and the responsibility that comes with shaping the next generation. At the heart of the episode is a simple but powerful message: every young person has a voice, and that voice matters.
Source Intelligence: The Inner Clarity Modern Leaders Are Missing with Anthony Nayagan
Send us Fan Mail What if the future of leadership is not about having more information, but accessing a deeper form of intelligence within? In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani sits down with Anthony Nayagan , a modern mystic, executive mentor, author, Tamil Siddhar, and Rajarishi, whose work bridges Eastern wisdom traditions and Christian mysticism. Anthony shares his perspective on source intelligence , the difference between external intelligence and internal intelligence, and why today’s leaders need more than strategy, credentials, and information to navigate a noisy world. The conversation explores Samadhi, conscious leadership, spiritual clarity, the state of witnessing, and what it means to lead from calmness rather than chaos. Anthony also discusses why ancient wisdom is being brought forward now, how Christian faith and Eastern spiritual traditions can coexist, and how everyday people—not just CEOs or public leaders—can begin accessing deeper clarity in their own lives. This is a powerful conversation for leaders, creators, seekers, and anyone asking: How do I stay centered, clear, and grounded in a world that constantly pulls me outward? Listen now on Behind the Story .
Rethink Retirement: Why the Next Chapter Needs a New Identity
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Dr. Andrea “Andi” Simon, a corporate anthropologist, culture change expert, author, and speaker who helps people and organizations learn to see, feel, and think differently. Andi explains why change is so difficult, why leaders often misunderstand culture, and how people protect identity, status, and certainty when they feel disruption coming. She also shares why true transformation begins with curiosity, listening, small wins, and a willingness to see what customers, employees, and communities are really experiencing. The conversation then turns to one of Andi’s most powerful ideas: retirement may be the biggest culture change many people will ever face. Instead of treating retirement as an ending, Andi invites us to rethink it as a new beginning that requires identity, structure, purpose, community, and adaptability. This episode is for leaders, business owners, high achievers, and anyone preparing for a personal or professional transition.
Sandy Knight on Healing, Journaling, and Trusting Your Inner Voice
Send us Fan Mail What happens when your life keeps falling apart — and you decide to rise anyway? In this episode of Behind the Story , I sit down with Sandy Knight, author of Phoenix Rising Guided Journal for Your Renewal and founder of Spirit Knight, for a conversation about healing, transformation, intuition, and what it really means to rebuild yourself from the inside out. Sandy shares the deeper story behind her work, including the personal pain, spiritual searching, and emotional breakthroughs that shaped her path. We talk about guided journaling, releasing the weight of the past, shifting your relationship with trauma, and why self-awareness can become the first step toward real renewal. This conversation explores healing, spiritual growth, emotional resilience, journaling for transformation, and learning how to trust your own inner voice even when life feels uncertain. If you’ve been navigating grief, change, burnout, identity shifts, or a season of deep personal growth, this episode will speak to you.
Why Creative Businesses Stay Busy but Not Profitable
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Behind the Story , Jelani Gonzalez sits down with Michelle Williams , founder of Scarlet Thread Consulting and host of Profit is a Choice , for a powerful conversation about what creative entrepreneurs often miss when building a business. Michelle works with interior designers, architects, builders, stagers, upholsterers, drapery workrooms, and other creative business owners to help them turn talent into profit. In this conversation, she explains why many creatives are busy, booked, and talented — but still not making the money they should. Michelle breaks down pricing for profit, knowing your numbers, cash-flow timing, discount pressure, gross profit margins, strategic planning, and why financial shame keeps so many business owners stuck. This episode is a must-listen for creative entrepreneurs, interior designers, coaches, consultants, and small business owners who want to build a business that is not only successful on the outside, but sustainable behind the scenes.
