PodCounty

Episode 39: Benjamin Wagner

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer interviews former Benjamin Wagner in this episode of PodCounty. Wagner discusses his experiences leading MTV News, Facebook's "Trending" service and journalism project and moving to Delaware with his wife where he's now produced and movie and hosts his own podcast.

Episode 38: Nurse-Family Partnership

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer speaks with Kirsten Olson, the CEO of Children and Families First, and New Castle County Land Use General Manager, and former Director of Economic Development, Char Patibanda about the county's unique Nurse-Family Partnership support and the "Pay For Success" funding model for public and private partnerships.

Episode 37: Rob Coupe

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer speaks with Rob Coupe, the Commissioner of the Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, and the person in charge of implementing Delaware's marijuana legalization legislation. 

County Executive Meyer and Commissioner Coupe discuss the challenges to setting up a legal recreational market while implementing the law's social equity provisions and ensuring medical marijuana shops and users aren't overlooked.

Episode 36: Vacant Spaces to Livable Places

County Executive Matt Meyer speaks with the leaders of New Castle County's Vacant Spaces to Livable Places initiative. The program has transformed dozens of vacant houses from blights on neighborhoods dragging down property values to livable homes enhancing their neighborhoods and supporting county programs with property taxes.

Episode 35: Adriana Camacho-Church

New Castle County librarian Adriana Camacho-Church discusses the inspiration for her first book, her path to becoming a librarian and author and discusses her upcoming book due out in May in this episode of PodCounty.

Episode 34: Evolve

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer interviews Tesla's former head of global service and the CEO and founder of Evolve Auto, John Sweigart in this episode of PodCounty. John discusses Evolve's mission as a third-party repair and maintenance company for electric vehicles, the different between "digital" and "analog" EVs and the future of the electric vehicle industry.

Episode 33: Project SEED

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer interviews New Castle County Economic Development Director C.J. Bell, retired NCCPD Lt. Gerald Tatum and attorney Jordan Perry as they discuss New Castle County's Building Better Communities initiative and Project SEED, which aims to address crime prevention and violence reduction in a multidisciplinary fashion by improving neighborhoods from the ground up and providing youth mentorship and skills. The initiatives are part of New Castle County's ARPA projects, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Episode 32: Blood Bank of Delmarva

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer speaks with Blood Bank of Delmarva Vice President of Operations Emily Cunningham in the latest episode of PodCounty. Listen to learn all the different ways you can make a difference by donating blood!

Episode 31: Food Bank of Delaware

Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Cathy Kanefsky joins PodCounty to discuss the Food Bank of Delaware's recent expansion in Milford, the need in the community, and the programs the Food Bank offers outside of feeding those in need.

Episode 30: Stephen Kellogg

Recording artist, songwriter and author Stephen Kellogg joins PodCounty before his performance at The Queen with Matt Nathanson on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Stephen shares his memories of touring with Delaware legend George Thorogood, insights from a life on the road and balancing life as a professional musician with being a dad. 

Episode 29: Bud Martin

Delaware Theatre Company's Executive Director, Bud Martin, joined PodCounty to discuss his lengthy career in the theatre ahead of his retirement. Martin's final show will be "One Man, Two Guvnors," playing now. To find tickets, visit https://www.delawaretheatre.org/one-man-two-guvnors

Episode 28: A-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament

The A-10 Women's Basketball Tournament is coming back to Wilmington at The Chase Fieldhouse from March 1-5th. To learn more about the tournament or purchase tickets, visit: https://atlantic10.com/sports/2022/8/8/WBB23.aspx

Episode 27: Nester

Brendan Kennealey, formerly the president of Salesianum School, joins PodCounty to talk about his new platform, Nester. Nester is a site for homeowners and prospective home buyers that can give insights into the long-term costs of home ownership based on individual home factors.

Episode 26: Black Angels Over Tuskegee

Thaddeus Daniels, David Roberts and Layon Gray join PodCounty to discuss their play, "Black Angels over Tuskegee" which is playing at the Delaware Theatre Company through October 30, 2022. The play brings to life the stories of the Tuskegee Airman, an all-Black squadron that featured some of the best fighter-pilots of World War II.

Episode 25: BMW Championship

From August 16-21st the PGA Tour's top 70 golfers will find themselves at Wilmington Country Club for the BMW Championship in the penultimate tournament of their quest for the FedEx Cup. We talk with local tournament chair Tom Humphrey about how Wilmington was selected for the tournament by the Western Golf Association, what the PGA Tour is bringing to the course and what New Castle County residents can expect when over 100,000 golf fans descend on Delaware to see the best golfers in the world.

Episode 24: Michael Scuse

Delaware's Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse joins PodCounty for our latest episode! Secretary Scuse is serving his second stint as the Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Delaware after previously serving from 2001-2008. He was also the undersecretary for the federal Department of Agriculture under President Obama, briefly serving as the acting secretary. Secretary Scuse discusses the challenges food producers in Delaware face, the effects of the supply chain on food prices and the future of agriculture in Delaware.

Episode 23: Tom Carper

Delaware's senior U.S. Senator, Tom Carper, joins PodCounty to discuss his undefeated election streak, his career as Delaware's Treasurer, Congressman, Governor and Senator, his service in Vietnam, and the war in Ukraine.

Episode 22: Tyler Hill

Former DMA baseball star and Wilmington Blue Rocks hero Tyler Hill joins PodCounty for a wide-ranging podcast where we talk about life in the minor leagues, Tyler's journey through professional baseball, his passion for coaching, and Tyler shares his hot takes on everything from proposed changes to baseball's rules to the streaming wars and what to watch on Netflix.

Episode 21: Chris Coons

U.S. Senator Chris Coons joins PodCounty and shares his experience with AmeriCorps, his start in politics with the New Castle County Government, bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate and other stories from his career in politics.

Episode 20: Cynthia Primo Martin

Cynthia Primo Martin joins PodCounty to discuss her new book, "The Handbooks for Nonprofit Leadership: Recruiting, Training and Engaging Trustees of Color" and her career in the nonprofit and corporate worlds. Cynthia has worked throughout her career to diversify corporate and nonprofit leadership.

Episode 19: Nicole Majeski

Nicole Majeski was sworn in as the 11th Secretary of the Delaware Department of Transportation on January 13, 2021 where she leads an organization responsible for 90% of the state’s transportation network. Before joining the state, Nicole worked for New Castle County Government for seven years, serving as chief of staff to then County Executive Chris Coons. She's also a graduate of the University of Delaware. Nicole joins PodCounty to discuss DelDOT's ongoing projects, how the state is planning to keep infrastructure sound as mounting challenges from climate change force the agency to adapt, and what may come for DelDOT in the future.

Episode 18: Ray Didinger

Ray Didinger is a Philadelphia sports journalism legend and member of the NFL Hall of Fame having covered the Philadelphia Eagles for print publications for 25 years before moving on the NFL Films and rolls in broadcasting with 94WIP and NBC Sports Philadelphia. In addition to his years writing and broadcast, Ray has also written 12 books and is now a play write with his new play Tommy & Me, which chronicles his relationship with Eagles great Tommy McDonald. Ray joins PodCounty to discuss his career and the new play, showing at the Delaware Theatre Company through October 17th. For tickets, visit https://bit.ly/3paXwCn

Episode 17: Matt O'Donnell

6ABC Action News Anchor Matt O'Donnell joins PodCounty for a wide-ranging interview on journalism, his life and current events. O'Donnell, a 1994 graduate of the University of Delaware, has been a member of the 6ABC morning show anchor team since 2004, and an 6ABC journalist since 1996. O'Donnell also hosts his own podcast, True Philadelphia, which features "movers and shakers" of the Philadelphia region.

Episode 16: Kathy Canavan

Kathy Canavan started her career as a true-crime writer in the 1970's, covering the gentlemen bandit case for The News Journal over a long and eventful career in journalism. After stepping away from newspapers, she stumbled into a story on the "ordinary" people who surrounded Lincoln in the hours after he was shot and what started as a freelance piece became a renowned book on Lincoln's final hours. Now Cathy's next book on true-crime in Philadelphia is set to debut in November. Cathy joins PodCounty to share her career highlights and what she learned writing her books.

Episode 15: First State FC

Announced as the newest expansion team for the National Premier Soccer League in 2019, First State FC debuted in the league's Keystone Conference in May with their first home game held at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington. Club President Dave Holloway and Head Coach Abdul Faisal Chibsah (Chibsah for short) join PodCounty to talk all things soccer and the Midnight Riders' inaugural season. For more information on First State FC, or to purchase tickets, visit their website: https://firststatefc.com/

Episode 14: Ivan Thomas

The talk of the town, Mr. DETV, Ivan Thomas joins PodCounty to share the story of his rise to one of Wilmington's leading media moguls. After losing everything in the Great Recession, Thomas built DETV from the ground up with the mission of shining a light on the positive things happening in Wilmington. A Glasgow High graduate, Thomas credits his time at Delaware State University with changing his perspective and offering inspiration to never stop fighting.

Episode 13: Dr. Jackie Jenkins

New Castle County's Chief Human Resources Officer, Dr. Jackie Jenkins, joins PodCounty to discuss a wide range of topics from the importance of Human Resources, her first book and plans for more, and her life and career before joining the New Castle County Government 15 months ago. Dr. Jenkins oversees human resource issues for the over 2,000 employees across New Castle County after previously working in administrative roles at the City of Wilmington and Delaware Technical and Community College.

Episode 12: Ruth Lytle-Barnaby

Ruth Lytle-Barnaby is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Delaware, but she's also a survivor of COVID-19, beating the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in mid-May. Ruth joins PodCounty to share what it's like to fight COVID-19, what happens when you test positive, and share how Planned Parenthood is serving the community during the pandemic.

Episode 11: Dr. Meghan Walls

Dr. Meghan Walls is a pediatric psychologist in the Division of Behavioral Health at Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, she is also serving on Governor Carney's task force for reopening and returning students to school safely as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Walls joins PodCounty to discuss maintaining mental health as our community begins to navigate a Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Governor Carney's reopening plan for the State of Delaware, and why it's ok to be not okay.

Episode 10: Keith Law

Keith Law, senior baseball writer for The Athletic, joins PodCounty to talk all things baseball. We discuss the prospects for an MLB season during the COVID-19 pandemic, minor league baseball contraction, the MLB draft, Keith's path through the MLB universe, his new book "The Inside Game," and what Keith loves about New Castle County and the local food scene. Keith is also a former writer for Baseball Prospectus, Toronto Blue Jays data analyst and senior baseball reporter for ESPN.

Episode 9: Dr. Amy Cheng Vollmer

Dr. Amy Cheng Vollmer joins New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer for a special live taping of PodCounty, to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Amy Cheng Vollmer has been a professor at Swarthmore College since 1989 where she teaches microbiology and biotechnology.

Episode 8: Dr. Timothy Dowling

University of Delaware Director of Student Health Services Dr. Timothy Dowling joins PodCounty to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak and dispel myths about the virus with host Kyle Grantham and County Executive Matt Meyer. This is the first live broadcast episode of PodCounty, which was streamed live on Facebook during the recording. Dr. Dowling took questions live from viewers and provided information on how the University of Delaware has responded to the Coronavirus outbreak after the first cases in Delaware were reported at the university.

Episode 7: Fred Comegys

If you're a Delawarean there's a good chance Fred Comegys has taken your photo. For over 50 years Fred worked at The News Journal, working his way from errand boy to the most well-known photojournalist in Delaware and one of the premier newspaper photojournalists in the country in the 1970's. Fred joins us to talk about starting out as a photo engraver, scaling the Delaware Memorial Bridge, covering Muhammad Ali, Karl Wallenda, and the career of Joe Biden - and that time he got thrown out of The White House.

Since we reference a few images during the podcast, we've provided links to what we could find so you can see what we're seeing:

Muhammad Ali

https://www.delawareonline.com/videos/news/local/firststatefocus/2016/06/11/85782150/

Fred's Delaware Memorial Bridge selfie

https://www.artartworks.com/exhibitions/fred-comegys-photographs-at-delaware-art-museum-wilmington-usa-4735/ 

Iron workers in Wilmington and the roller coaster

https://delawaretoday.com/life-style/comegys-five-decades-of-photography/

Karl Wallenda

https://www.facebook.com/fredcomegysphotography/posts/2299045300350438

KISS back in 1977

https://www.facebook.com/fredcomegysphotography/photos/a.1645681989020109/2447091072212526/?type=3&theater

And a great video on how photo engraving was done in the 1950's

https://vimeo.com/134626010

Episode 6: Jack Markell

Jack Markell joins PodCounty to discuss his time as governor of Delaware, bringing the state through the worst financial crisis to hit the country since the Great Depression, biking across the country and what led him to politics after a successful career in telecommunications after joining Nextel in its early days.

Episode 5: Lisa Blunt Rochester

When Lisa Blunt Rochester was elected in 2016 she became the first woman and first person of color to represent the State of Delaware in Congress. She joins PodCounty to talk about the importance of family, finding purpose after the loss of her husband Charles Rochester, and what's been lost as politics has become more divisive in Washington, D.C..

Episode 4: Bebe Coker

Bebe Coker has had worked behind the scenes throughout her decades in Delaware to shape education policy in the state. She's been a friend, mentor and sounding board for countless Delaware leaders, including former vice president and presidential candidate Joe Biden. Now in her 80's, she hasn't stopped fighting to improve the education system in Delaware.

Episode 3: Sarah McBride

In 2016, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender person to deliver a speech at a major political convention when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, but she had already accomplished so much before then. Sarah served on Jack Markell's campaign team, interned at the White House and led the fight for transgender equality in Delaware. 

Episode 2: Penrose Hollins

New Castle County's longest serving councilman shares what led him to pursue office in Delaware over 30 years ago, his efforts to fight the apartheid in South Africa, his time on Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign, his work to change Delaware from a caucus to a primary state and his commitment to making affordable housing a reality for Delawareans in New Castle County.

Episode 1: Ken Boulden

How old do you have to be to get married in Delaware? What's the shortest time between marriage and divorce the New Castle County Clerk of the Peace has seen? What does a Clerk of the Peace do? We talk to Ken Boulden to find out the answer to these questions and more in the first podcast produced by New Castle County, Delaware.