Jalein Abania is The Chosen TV series insider. If you're a fan of the show, you know her. Jalein brings you all the fun content through social media. You may also know her for her "Bible tea" videos on Tik Tok and Instagram, where she provides fun insights into the scripture. In this episode, Jalein and I discuss how she became an insider for The Chosen, and what she was doing in her life beforehand. We also discuss some difficult moments she's overcome and how her faith plays a pivotal role in her life. Jalein also shares some advice for people who want to get closer to their faith, but don't know where to start. Take a listen!
Andrew Gonzalez is an actor who works quite consistently in the industry. Andrew is best known for his roles in “Law and Order SVU,” “Promised Land”, “It’s always sunny in philadelphia,” “general hospital” and “Power Book 2 Ghost”
He’s a meisner trained actor, is fluent in Spanish and also teaches the craft. If you love learning more about the film world and acting, then you're going to love this episode! Enjoy!
Sophia Blum is an actor, director, producer and educator. She’s best known for her role as Martha in The Chosen. In addition to recently completing filming for season 6 of The Chosen, she is currently in post-production for a short film she wrote, produced, co-directed and starred in called MIA. She is also currently teaching acting and directing a production of Pride and Prejudice at The University of Rhode Island.
Sophie is such a fun person to be around and she’s super real which I love, so I had to have her come onto the pod so you can get to know her beyond what you see on screen. In this episode, we dive into her character development as Martha in the chosen and filming season 6, we talk about her start in the acting world, as well as some personal struggles she’s had to overcome… and of course we covered some fun topics as well. now at the very end of the episode, you’ll get to hear Sophie’s incredible hidden talent so make sure to listen til the absolute end! sit back and enjoy getting to know Sophie!
Eric Woodyard is the Detroit Lions beat reporter for ESPN. He’s an award-winning journalist from Flint, Michigan. Eric has also authored a few books, we talk about that and his personal journey growing up in flint and making it to where he is today, and the most touching story he's covered so far in his career. With the Lions playing some Monday Night Football tonight, we talk about what you can expect going into game 3 of the season, players you should keep an eye out for and more.
Nicholas Moreano is a Chicago Bears beat reporter and digital media coordinator for the Marquee Sports Network in Chicago. Nick is also a fellow DePaul grad and has been covering the Bears professionally for four years now. This week we bring you another bonus episode because of the time sensitive topics Nick and I discuss regarding the Bears week 3 preview, what you can expect and why this game against the Dallas Cowboys is important to avoid an 0-3 start. Nick breaks it all down for us and tells us what he's been seeing at practice as far as Ben Johnson and the players go. I really loved catching up with Nick, and you football fans are going to love this episode. Enjoy!
Pat Ragazzo is a Mets reporter on SI which is part of sports illustrated. He also does recurring guest spots on TV for NBC and local news PIX11...as well as radio for ESPN New York and WFAN. I sat down with Pat and dove deep into Mets news and their chances of taking a wild card spot as the MLB postseason approaches. We talked about tonight’s series against the padres and its playoff implications, the mets terrible pitching this season, how Pat envisioned Juan Soto’s performance with the mets after coming over from the Yankees and more.
You’ll also get to learn more about Pat and how he turned a moment of failure into success & the craziest moments of his career covering the MLB and more.
Demetrios Troy is an actor. You may recognize him most from his role as "Lazarus" in The Chosen TV series. He's also been on shows like Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. Demetrios also has many theatre credits, having performed in the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Demetrios is a fellow Chicagoan, we talk about his roots and how he began his acting career. We also talk about his faith, being a husband and father -- and some fun topics like some very embarrassing moments, the secret behind his curls and an irrational fear he had as a child. Enjoy this episode!
Diane Pathieu is a traffic anchor and reporter for ABC7 Chicago. Diane is Assyrian, her parents are immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. In this episode, we discuss touching topics like the recent passing of her husband Nick Adamski, who was battling brain cancer. Diane talks about dealing with grief and how she's been seeing a grief therapist. We also dive deep into her personal journey in the TV news world and how she landed her role at ABC7 Chicago. We also dive deep into her Assyrian roots and have some girl talk like skin care rituals and advice. Enjoy this episode!
Fred Mitchell is an award-winning sports journalist who formerly worked for the Chicago Tribune from 1974 to 2015 – where he became the beat writer covering the Chicago Bulls, Cubs and Bears.
He was hired as the Chicago Tribune’s first African-American sportswriter.
He’s the author of 12 books, that he's authored with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and MLB Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, as well as Tiger Woods' Dad.
In 2023 – he was inducted to the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and Indiana Football hall of fame. Enjoy this episode!
Jay Cohen is a sports writer and editor for the Associated Press. He spends half his time covering sports in Chicago and the other half on the AP’s national desk, editing stories from all over the world. He’s done the last four summer olympics for the AP, and he teaches a sports business journalism class at DePaul. Enjoy this episode!
Reza Diako is an English-Persian actor from Austria. You may know him as “Phillip” from The Chosen, he’s also been in movies like “The Covenant” – “The Diplomat” and Emmy-award winning Apple TV drama “Tehran." You’ll also be seeing him in an upcoming film “The Astronaut," which releases on September 18th.
Reza is multilingual, has a passion for psychology and mental health – hoping to open up a therapy center for young people. In this episode, we discuss topics like mental health, acting, overcoming life's challenges and the different roles Reza has played throughout his career thus far. Enjoy!
Laurence Holmes is an iconic on-air radio host for Chicago’s 670 the score, he was previously a sports anchor at NBC Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago. Laurence is an adjunct professor -- or "scholar practitioner" as he likes to call it -- at DePaul University. He also writes comic books. We discuss his journey into the sports media world and how he pays it forward to young budding journalists. Laurence is a huge icon and mentor in the Chicago sports media scene. Enjoy this episode!
Zachary James is a grammy-award-winning music artist and actor. He took home a grammy in 2022 for best opera recording in the production Akhnaten. Now, Zachary is spending his days rehearsing for “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl. He’ll be playing Caiaphas. He also just announced he'll be playing Claude Frollo in Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in London. I had to bring Zach onto the pod to talk about his awesome artistic journey on and off stage. We discuss difficult moments, embarrassing moments, how to reverse anxiety, and his message to LGBTQ+ youth. Enjoy!
Adam Rittenberg is a national college football reporter for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2008 and also worked as a sports writer for the Daily Herald prior to that. Adam is one of my closest mentors, he was my professor at DePaul University. In this episode, we discuss his journey into the sports journalism world, some of the toughest stories he's covered, how NIL has changed the college football landscape, his Jewish roots and more.
Alaa Safi is a French actor, director and producer. You may know him as Simon Z from The Chosen, or from his recent roles in Indiana Jones and Doctor Strange. He was also a world champion in Tae Kwon Do at 18 years old. He also partnered with Jackie Chan in Chinese Zodiac. We discuss many behind the scenes moments in his career, as well as insecurities, embarrassing moments, and more. Alaa is such a sweet person and I'm blessed to call him a good friend of mine. Enjoy getting to know him more in this episode!
Ben Golliver is the National NBA Writer for the Washington Post and author of "Bubble Ball," a book about his 93-day stay inside the NBA's Disney World Bubble during the 2019-2020 pandemic season. Ben is one of my dear friends, we covered NBA All-Star together, we dive into the fun stories and moments we've had together through the years. Ben also reveals some of his most difficult moments of being a busy sports journalist, an NBA athlete who gave him a hard time during a project and we uncover a more personal side of Ben this episode.
I sit down with my fellow Assyrian brother, Beneil, after his unanimous win over Renato Moicano in the UFC 317 main card. We discuss how it felt being back in the octagon for the first time since 2023, his faith and how he's a coffee connoisseur. We also talk about his youngest-born daughter and how he plans to have like 10 kids.
Inaugural episode with my fiancé Giavani Cairo. We talk about how he feels about returning to film season 6 of The Chosen, what his insecurities and struggles have been and we also have some fun banter regarding our division rival sports teams.