Episodes

Dalton Hessel's goal being @thenorthernnerd3325 is to create a platform where stories are shared, art is composed, and community in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is experienced. A second grade teacher in Hayward, Dalton melds his professional and personal life as a Dad, Husband, and just overall good dude, into an online presence that authentically draws folks in. In this episode, Brad and Dalton discuss the evolution of the Northern Nerd, teaching, appreciation of small town Wisconsin life, socia...

Being raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan holds a special place in the hearts of Anders and Davin Lindwall. It almost pours out of them in conversation. Following formative years, both have been on a journey of creativity, of which the most recent product, "Green and Gold", tells the story of a farmer (Craig T. Nelson) who bets it ALL on the Packers. The brothers aim to tell the story of the unsung heroes who shape communities, preserve traditions, and steadfastly anchor the world through ...

Nathan Deming is an award winning filmmaker from Wisconsin, based in Los Angeles, who got his Master's in Filmmaking at the London Film School. In addition to his feature work, he is working on a multi-year project called "The Year Project" about small town life in Wisconsin. The second of twelve, "February", which recently won the top prize and audience award at the 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival, shares the story of Miguel, a recent immigrant struggling to fit in until he is invited ice fishing ...

Laken James is a professional basketball player, mentor, speaker, and advocate for empowering young female athletes. A decorated Wisconsin high school (Oconto), college (UWGB), and professional (Germany, Scotland, soon to be Australia) athlete who is also pursuing her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, Laken launched her Five Star Academy to give young female athletes the tools, mentorship, and inspiration to excel in sports, and in life. In this episode, Brad and Laken discuss her hoops career...

Pat Cavanaugh was on a seemingly scripted career path in educational administration until his grade school friend, who was working for the Green Bay Packers, call with a lead on a job with the organization. Taking a calculated risk, Pat and his family moved to Wisconsin and never looked back. Following 5 years with the Packers, Pat was drawn to Jadin | Jones after reading (and gifting several copies of) the book, "The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Teams", where he is now the Director of ...

Paul Yanzer is a research and development scientist and entrepreneur with several years of experience in the food and beverage space. In 2023, Paul and his wife Amy decided to start Forward Beverage with the intention of shifting the non-alcoholic drink space in Wisconsin (and far beyond). In this episode, Brad and Paul discuss Forward Beverage's first year and their products and scope, THC, CBD, hemp, and cannabis in Wisconsin, the science behind the drinks, the positive experience of leaving a...

Matt Ramage is a podcaster, streamer, and content creator centered around the Green Bay Packers. Since the days of Vine, he has been passionate about (and successful at) making people laugh with online content. In this episode Brad and Matt talk about content creation, imposter syndrome, the value of persistence, Packers guests, virality, and much more!

A fixture in northeast Wisconsin news and sports television, Bill Jartz has spent nearly 45 years delivering stories to the people of Wisconsin. Born and raised in Clintonville, the self-described "hay shaker" was an all state football player who went on to play at Northwestern while pursuing a degree in journalism. In this episode, Bill and Brad chat about the early years, his time in front of the camera, being the gameday voice of Lambeau field as the PA announcer for the Green Bay Packers, li...

Adam Krause is a Wisconsin based film writer and director, best known for being the creative force behind Gags the Clown, 2016 Viral sensation turned short, turned feature film. In this episode, Adam and Brad discuss how he got into filmmaking, what led up to Gags virally storming news stations and social media channels throughout the country, the short and the feature film, new projects coming up, and much more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7A7uUUUojM https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3386768/ ...

Sarah Elizabeth Conery is a travel writer, content creator, and published author of the book, "100 Things to do in Green Bay Before you Die". Growing up in a small Upper Peninsula town, Sarah moved to Green Bay in 2015. In this episode, Sarah and Brad chat about becoming a published author, content creation and blogging, influencing, social media, and much more! https://creativeandambitious.com/ https://www.instagram.com/creativeandambitious/?hl=en https://www.amazon.com/100-Things-Green-Bay-Be...

Marissa Michalkiewicz is a project environmental scientist passionate about diverting waste from landfills and bringing awareness to the value of recycling, waste diversion, and sustainability. In this episode Brad and Marissa talk about being a division 1 college athlete, entrepreneur and founder of Giveadaam Ventures, going viral with waste reduction, and much more! https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-michalkiewicz/

Adam Greuel is a Wisconsin based musician, known for his work with Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Berens and Greuel, Rucksack Revolution, Adam Greuel and the Space Burritos, and The High Hawks. In the few spare minutes he has not on stage, Adam is called to the river (evidenced by his songs) as an avid fly fisherman. In this episode, Adam and Brad discuss his music career, the history of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, his work with Charlie Berens and other great musicians, fly fishing, mental heal...

Entering his 26th year doing play by play for the Green Bay Packers, Wayne Larrivee's voice, and signature, "DAGGER", is cemented is the minds of sports fans all over the World. From hearing Marv Albert call Knicks games as a youngster, honing his craft while air checking himself in the top of the Boston Garden, all the way to calling two Super Bowls (for the Packers and the Bears nonetheless!), Wayne Larrivee is living his childhood dream calling games for the Green Bay Packers. In this episode...

Taylor Jacobson is a digital marketer, content creator and producer, avid outdoorsman, musician, and business owner. In this episode, Taylor and Brad talk about marketing, passions in life, playing live music, fishing and bow hunting (while filming), Aaron Rodgers, and more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorjacobson1/

Paul 'Coot' Williams has dedicated over 35 years to the fishing industry, notably contributing to the restoration of Saugers in the Winnebago system. An innovative entrepreneur, Williams has created several products, including The Rattlin Wasp, custom trolling rods, the Mag Net Go, and the Fire Fly Night Light for trolling boards. His passion for improving and inventing is also reflected in his 29-year career as a firefighter, where he continually sought to enhance tools and equipment. In this e...

Days out from welcoming his first child into the world, Travis is focused on fatherhood and his golf game. Like most who know the game of golf well, Travis has had stretches very close to the game, and stretches far away from it. A mentally taxing career in security and personal protection had him looking for a release, which led him back to the golf course. At 35 he is going all in and taking a run a professional golf. In this episode, Travis and Brad discuss golf, his career path, fatherhood, ...

Andy Strand, a.k.a. Byron Sweeney, is a coach, teacher, father, husband, outdoorsman, and one half of the creative drive of the Wisconsin band, Shad Rapp. Spoiler alert! They've got the band back together and have a new song coming out soon (featuring Charlie Berens)! In this episode, Andy and Brad talk about the history of Shad Rapp, Wisconsin and Midwest comedy, his coaching and teaching career, and several other things along the way. https://shadrapp.com/

Following a fine art degree from UW - Stout, Alexis Arnold has been capturing people, places, and events for over 20 years with her photography business. Now, she finds herself getting back to her fine art roots working with encaustics and serving as President and Founder of the not-for-profit, "Art Connective", which has a goal of bolstering artists' business acumen and helping creatives make money with their work. https://www.artconnective.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-art/

A chance interaction led to Christiana Trapani having the opportunity to buy the Door County Candle Company. She never could have expected what was to come next. Months later, her support of Ukraine with a candle created as a fundraiser went viral and sent the small Door County, Wisconsin business into a whirlwind of trying to fulfill thousands of orders from around the world. In this episode, Christiana and Brad discuss her Ukrainian roots, path to business ownership, the Door County Candle Com...

Following a 30 year military career, beating cancer, and a lifetime of adventure, John Craemer's latest pursuit is taking his passion for photography to the next level with Master Sargeant Media. In this episode Brad and John discuss his military career, cancer, photography, and his passion for ships and Ural motorcycles. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554662259731 https://mastersergeantmedia.com/

Kaitlin Kernosky, in her 14th years as a Conservation Warden for the Wisconsin DNR, is just as happy and satisfied with the role as she was the day she began. Always being drawn to something in law enforcement, Kaitlin was exposed to a career as a conservation warden in college. She followed that path and hasn't looked back. In this episode Brad and Kaitlin discuss her career as a conservation warden, passion for upland bird hunting in Wisconsin and throughout the country, her quail bucket list...

After attending UWGB and Marquette Law School, Ryan Ruzziconi has enjoyed a successful career serving as general counsel and in leadership positions for several organizations, along with being named the "Top General Counsel in Michigan" by Crain's Business Magazine. Now, having evolved into ownership roles in several businesses, Ruzziconi Restaurant Group, LLC built the first franchise expansion of Riverside Pizzeria in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The original Riverside Pizzeria has been located in Ir...

Navigating tumultuous formative years, Steve Brenzel was drawn to the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay by none other than a Cheesesteak from Zeppelin's Subs. While earning a degree, Steve began his career in television and it wasn't long before happenstance born "Ned the Dead" and "Chiller Theater. Behind the makeup, comedic quips, and horror movie lead-ins, is a man who's spent a lifetime as a father, editor, broadcaster, producer, husband, friend, and much more. In this episode Brad and Ned...

From early dreams to play for the Yankees, to following in the footsteps of his family in showbusiness, Steve March-Torme has lived a wild ride centered around music. In this episode, Brad and Steve discuss his career as a musician, growing up with with parents in showbusiness, how he got to Wisconsin, his work at 91.1 The Avenue, fatherhood, Yankees Fantasy Camp, and so much more (along with a bunch of Steve's quick wit on display). https://www.stevemarchtorme.com/