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PODCAST

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman

Jason Freeman is a professional speaker, author, and podcaster who makes his living using the very same voice and speech impediment that he spent nearly thirty years of his life trying to hide, proving that sometimes our most awkward obstacles can be our most awesome gifts. Awkwardly Awesome Podcast is a show founded on the belief that EVERYONE has an important and engaging story to tell. Sometimes profound, sometimes funny, educational and always motivational. May you, dear listener, use this

education self-improvement

All Episodes

68:46

Ep. 236 - Patience Appreciation w/ Mecca Rutherford

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/06/04

You know, the results I created in my grade school art classes definitely encouraged me NOT to be a painter. In retrospect, even more than lack of talent, I didn’t have the patience to work with watercolors, oils and acrylics. Yet, somehow, I still managed to find appreciation for the skill itself and the artists who master it. A while back, I went to an event where former Awkwardly Awesome guest, Mecca Rutherford, was demonstrating her texturing and painting process on canvas. As I watched her

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62:43

Ep. 235 - Among the Stars w/ Maddie Wadman

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/05/28

"Shoot For The Moon. Even If You Miss, You'll Land Among The Stars." ~ Norman Vincent Peale Our guest this week is a WSET level 3 sommelier, who has a passion for attending to tables and connecting her patrons with new wines and dishes that have the potential of expanding their enjoyment of life. Maddie Wadman is no stranger to trying new things, she’s been doing it her whole life. Her parents must have had some sense of hope for this when they named her Madison after Daryl Hannah’s mermaid in

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64:02

Ep. 234 - Hard Talks w/ Kristine Kopperud

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/05/21

“All the baggage that comes with deep, intimate relationships ends up around the bedside at the end of life. So it can become an impromptu reunion tour.” ~ Kristine Kopperud What do these things have in common? Advocating for the needs of a child who is a neurodivergent learner; Determining when business partners should go their separate ways; Communicating patiently and clearly with doctors, nurses, and family members as a loved one receives end of life care? All involve having what is often

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62:43

Ep. 233 - Dream, Once Again w/ Carol Spader, MS

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/05/14

“The dreaming we do by day is so important because it gives birth to a deeper purpose and is what ultimately forms our future.” ~ Carol Spader I was out with a group of people on a brutally cold January afternoon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was miserable, the type of weather where dreams wither up and die. But, on this particular day, spring seemingly light years away, I met Carol Spader, a Certified Dream Manager®. Carol thrives on coaching people, many of whom are gainfully employed, to

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66:52

Ep. 232 - The Multi-Dimensionalist w/ Erik Paparozzi

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/05/07

“There’s no ladder for the kind of career I’ve had. I would like to just play one instrument, but hey I do what’s needed.” ~ Erik Paparozzi Once Erik Paparozzi embraced his love of music and dedicated himself to honing his talents as a multi-instrumentalist, his entire life changed. Over the course of one year, he went from playing in a karaoke band to opening for Gnarls Barkley and the Flaming Lips! As the band leader and multi-instrumentalist for Cat Power, he’s toured the world several times

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63:26

Ep. 231 - Roses & Lattes w/ Kristine Reiner

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/04/30

“I didn’t realize how important art was for me until I had to get through some really tough times in my youth. Sometimes when you have no words to express what you are feeling it’s easier to create some form of visual representation of your emotions than to write about them. Art itself is an emotion.” ~ Kristine Reiner I was eating with a group of friends at a cafe recently when a trip to the bathroom, to wash my hands, turned into a profound discovery. I noticed a woman painting on a canvas.

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62:28

Ep. 230 - Teaching Positive w/ Chase Mielke, M.Ed

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/04/23

Some weeks ago a colleague and I were at the South Dakota Special Education Conference offering a breakout session designed to inspire teachers to recognize the profoundly positive effects their efforts can have on their students throughout their lives. During the conference, I opened a door into a room I hoped contained breakfast. Instead I walked into Chase Mielke’s keynote address. I was immediately hooked. He’s very funny with standup comedian timing. He has a light heart. The audience

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64:12

Ep. 229 - Drive & Hope w/ Meagan Justus

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/04/16

“Life is not always easy, but I do desire to encourage everyone to find what brings them peace and calm, and to remind people that we all have gifts and talents to share that make this world a better place!” ~ Meagan Justus I was introduced to Meagan Justus by a college friend who told me that, “she’s on a quest to live her best life, one stubborn health challenge at a time.” Meagan experienced the first symptoms of her illness when she was about 7 years old. As she reached the latter years of

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77:40

Ep. 228 - The Destined Pair w/ Lucas Michaels &...

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/04/09

I met Lucas Michaels a little over a year ago while enjoying some wonderful Italian food at Maribella Ristorante. What impressed me was the amount of heart he put into his work. He seems to dedicate himself to focusing on doing his best down to the smallest detail, all the while bringing an energetic delightfulness to his work. This level of detail and focus might belong on the resume of an entrepreneur or business owner, but Lucas takes care of the patrons at Maribella. He’s a waiter. An

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65:28

Ep. 227 - Coming Alive w/ Cuyla Coogan

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/04/02

In third grade, my next guest asked her Mom if she could cut her hair short. Embracing the curiosity and exploration present in her daughter, her mom obliged. But Cuyla Coogan’s confident first steps along this path quickly turned stressful after her haircut led to her being called a boy and sometimes mistaken as one. So began Cuyla’s journey with anxiety. In high school she grew her hair long, hoping to mask the severe acne she was forced to deal with, which further fanned anxiety’s flame.

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72:32

Ep. 226 - Dare To Rethink w/ Ty Vuong

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/03/26

“Life has handed you new puzzles to solve and an adventure that people rarely experience. But you're never alone. We're in this together.” Ty Vuong on what he would tell someone who has been newly diagnosed as a quadriplegic. What do we do when our reality suddenly changes in a fundamental way? The local news is ripe with stories of horrible accidents and the people who survive them, but how often do we hear the follow up stories? How often does the word “survivor” carry with it the

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63:21

Ep. 225 - Those Who Are Next w/ Matt Krall

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/03/19

I have to admit, Matt Krall is my next guest on Awkwardly Awesome Podcast due to a case of mistaken identity. Let me explain, between sessions at a conference I attended recently, I noticed someone wearing a shirt with “ND” emblazoned on it. Being from South Dakota my mind instantaneously thought it was initials for our northern counterpart, so I approached and asked, “Did you go to North Dakota?” The shirt wearer replied, “No, I went to Notre Dame.” Despite my incorrect assumption, Matt and I

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68:44

Ep. 224 - Beyond What We Do w/ David Tollefson

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/03/12

Do you ever notice how easy it is to only focus on one dimension of a person’s life when you first meet them? A lot of times it's “Nice to meet you, my name’s Jason, what do you do for a living?” And gradually over time you just start thinking of that person solely based on that. Each time you talk it’s “How’s that one dimension I know about you going?” I fall into this pattern more than I care to admit. Thus, I love that hosting Awkwardly Awesome Podcast repeatedly reminds me how limiting

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72:06

Ep. 223 - Right Until It's Not w/ Gaspar Tovmasyan &...

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/03/05

Hollywood is a place, at least according to the stereotype, which is always right except for when it’s not, where glamor reigns supreme and actors and actresses get facelifts rather than contemplate mortality. But, maybe that goes for all of us in a way. Mariam Azolyan and Gaspar Tovmasyan both grew up in California and met in Hollywood, they fell in love, married and had three wonderful boys. Gaspar became an MRI technologist, and worked in healthcare for over eleven years; while Mariam earned

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56:53

Ep. 222 - Far & Wide w/ Terry Hershey

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/02/26

“Here’s the deal, if you don’t say ‘no’ at some point in your life, ‘no’ will end up being said for you by default, and if you don’t say ‘no’, then you will end up saying ‘no’ to the people you love the most.” ~ Terry Hershey The power of a person’s words can travel far and wide. They certainly did from my next guest, Terry Hershey, all the way from the Puget Sound in Washington State to little ol’ Brandon, South Dakota. See, former guest Jennifer Jinks Hoffmann started forwarding Terry’s

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67:33

Ep. 221 - Winter Woman w/ Jennifer Soule

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/02/19

I’m not sure exactly when poetry had its heyday, but it was probably about a century ago, or so. In this day and age, it’s not a cake walk being a committed poet. Poetry just can’t hold a candle to TikTok or scrolling Reels; even movies and music are going through a massive transformation, and books, well they seem to be headed the same direction as poetry. I say this as someone who fell in love with writing poems in high school, got my BFA in poetry, and has been writing them ever since. And

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60:31

Ep. 220 - Storytelling w/ Josh Munce

Awkwardly Awesome Podcast w/ Jason Freeman ·

2025/02/12

I’ve known my next guest, Josh Munce, since we were in highschool together. His life’s ambition at that age was one he’d carried with him since childhood: He wanted to be a big time movie director. Josh followed his dream into film school in Montana, but during his first semester there he was overcome with a strong sense that he needed to return home to South Dakota. He returned just in time to spend deeply meaningful months with his father before he passed away from cancer. After losing his

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