PODCAST

You Seem Exceptional

WSUM

You Seem Exceptional features a guest each week so that we can get to know them and their story.

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All Episodes

40:18

Ranvir Rajesh Raheja

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/09/24

On this episode of You Seem Exceptional, Oliver and Jeb talk to Oliver's Roommate Ranvir. They discuss in-depth where Ranvir is from, going through what it means to say you are from India, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and San Diego. They also talk about immigration, green cards, citizenship and being a Boy Scout in all of those places. Ranvir also ends the episode by telling the listeners to do what they love to do.

49:52

UWPD Chief Brent Plisch on Campus Safety

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/09/18

On this episode of You Seem Exceptional, Oliver and Jeb talk to Brent Plisch, the Chief of UW-Madison's Police Department. Chief Plisch talks about UWPD policy on underage drinking and smoking on campus, the change in public perception of his job over 20 years at UWPD and the struggle to connect UWPD to the campus community. However, they also discuss about the path he has taken from a child mauled by a dog being comforted by his local police to a K-9 officer meeting the Dalai Lama to the

49:08

Mariel Barnes on the Manosphere

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/04/29

This week our guest is Mariel Barnes, an Assistant Professor of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. We dive into her research into the highly online group of hypermasculine sexists called the Manosphere and look at her work in housing policy for victims of domestic abuse.

46:40

Shawn Steen 2

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/04/27

This week our guest is Shawn Steen, a family friend of Oliver's who has had a long career in the nonprofit sector. We discuss the culture shock of growing up in rural Wisconsin before coming to UW-Madison in the 90s, some stories about Shawn Steen and Matt Gerharz in College, the digital divide Shawn encounters in nonprofit work, and open mic nights.

52:24

Pediatrician Dipesh Navsaria

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/04/07

In this week's episode Oliver and Jeb talk to Dr. Dipesh Navsaria of the nonprofit organization Reach out and Read about his medical work, the benefits of early childhood literacy, the program he is a part of, his bowties, and flags.You can listen to the Reach out and Read podcast here: https://reachoutandread.org/podcast/You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Monday at 6PM

50:41

The Haunted Horror Friends

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/03/16

In this week's episode Oliver spoke to Nick Doermann and Hayden Woodard, the hosts of the Haunted Horror Hour, a horror movie review show at WSUM. We talk about Inside Out 2, other Horror Movies, a character named "jokey" with a magnetic hat who is not a clown, what Hayden is hiding under his tongue, how the Haunted Horror Hour gets its sponsors, the month, the bald story and the Moth story hour. This episode originally aired in December of 2024, but took a while to edit because of an

40:53

Storyteller and Educator Noelle Mariano

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/03/11

In this week's episode we spoke to Noelle Mariano, the assistant producer at the Moth StorySLAM, a monthly storytelling event at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. We discuss how Oliver was once a student in Noelle's class, the tricks that Noelle uses when telling stories at the High Noon, some of the stories that Noelle has told and Noelle's ideas about teaching.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Monday at 6PM

51:41

Professor Jacob Thebault-Spieker on Information Gaps

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/03/04

In this week's episode we spoke to Jacob Thebault-Spieker, a professor in UW-Madison's Information School. We discuss fountain pens, Wikipedia, the village of Black Earth in Wisconsin, the rural/urban divide, Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, and all the other exceptional work that Jacob is doing.You can learn about the microscopic bees in your computer here: https://www.hivesystems.com/blog/this-major-vulnerability-could-fill-your-computer-with-beesYou can listen to You Seem Exceptional

51:45

Emeritus Professor Tom Eggert

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/02/26

In this week's episode we spoke to Emeritus Professor Tom Eggert about the intersection between business and finance. We discussed his teaching the University's first sustainability class, what sustainable businesses look like, and Wisconsin Microfinance's role in Haiti.You can learn more about Wisconsin Microfinance here: https://wisconsinmicrofinance.com/You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Monday at 6PM.

45:17

Jeanne Gomoll on Feminism and Science Fiction

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/02/26

In this week's episode we spoke to Jeanne Gomoll, the winner of February's Moth StorySLAM and a significant figure in the feminist science fiction fandom. We discussed her story for the theme of "Love Hurts," her work on the fanzine Janus when she was a student at UW-Madison, and the fascinating intersection between feminism and science fiction.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Monday at 6PM

47:46

EMMIE Editor-in-Chief Easton Parks

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/02/08

In this episode of You Seem Exceptional, EMMIE Magazine's Fun Director Oliver Gerharz and non-member Jeb Blossom talk to Editor-in-Chief Easton Parks about EMMIE Magazine. They discuss UW-Madison's Supply Chain Management Major, Easton's Passion for Music, Kenosha, Easton's year at UW-Parkside, and EMMIE Magazine's history. Access the EMMIE Podcast at https://feeds.transistor.fm/emmie-podcast.

48:12

Gun Culture with Professor Nick Buttrick

You Seem Exceptional ·

2025/02/04

In this episode of You Seem Exceptional, hosts Oliver Gerharz and Jeb Blossom talk to Professor Nick Buttrick, a Professor in UW-Madison's Department of Psychology. They extensively discuss the research that Professor Buttrick has been doing into the culture surrounding gun ownership in America, including safety, politics and responsibility.

51:10

Jackson Antonow and the "Enemy in Your Pocket"

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/12/15

In this episode of You Seem Exceptional, hosts Oliver Gerharz and Jeb Blossom talk to Jackson Antonow, a Junior at UW-Madison who recently wrote a book about phone addiction called "Enemy in Your Pocket." We talk to Jackson about the negative effects of heavy phone use, the benefits of having more time off of your phone, social media culture and his personal journey with both phone addiction and writing a book about breaking those same habits. You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on

10:31

Cornell Professor Neil Lewis Jr. on Higher Education

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/12/15

In this episode of You Seem Exceptional, hosts Oliver Gerharz and Jeb Blossom talk to Neil Lewis Jr., a behavioral scientist working in the department of communications at Cornell University.

47:08

Eagle Scout Kenny MacAskill

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/11/19

This week, Oliver's friend Kenny was in town, so we had a discussion of some of the pressing issues over at Marquette University, UW-Madison's campus rumors and our ancestry. We talk about RFK Jr. a lot more than usual in this one because Kenny is a Political Science Major.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Tuesday at 4PM.

45:47

Election Day Special with Professor Howard Schweber

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/11/05

The two most significant things that regularly happen on Tuesdays are Election Day and new interviews on You Seem Exceptional. To commemorate a very special overlap, we spoke to retired UW-Madison Political Theory Professor Howard Schweber. We discussed some of the possibilities of both a Trump and Harris presidency in 2025, how Trump is more comparable to the crooked criminal Nixon than he is to the fascist dictator Mussolini, the value of youth turnout, comparisons between politics here

48:39

Moth GrandSLAM Winner Cheri Miller

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/11/04

On October 26th, the Moth Madison held the yearly GrandSLAM event, where the best storytellers in city get together to tell stories. Cheri Miller was the winner among winners that night, so we invited her on the show. We discussed her schooling, her teaching, her work in the toilet seat factory and the joy of storytelling.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Tuesday at 4 PM.

42:16

Professor Cody Wenthur

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/10/21

In this week's episode, we spoke to Professor Cody Wenthur, an Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin0Madison who heads the University's Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation programs. We discuss how addiction works at the general and the chemical level, what a hypothetical addiction vaccine might look like, psychedelics and how Cody became interested in this line of work.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every Tuesday at 4PM.You

57:12

"Sitting Pretty" with Go Big Read Author Rebekah Taussig

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/10/13

Every year, UW-Madison distributes a book to thousands of students as a part of the Go Big Read. This year, the university handed out copies of Rebekah Taussig's "Sitting Pretty: The View from my Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body". We got the chance to sit down with her this week to discuss the book, our takeaways from reading it, the Go Big Read and her experiences as a disabled woman, mother, teacher, and author.You can listen to You Seem Exceptional live on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison every

48:13

Professor Ramzi Fawaz and the Transformative Power of...

You Seem Exceptional ·

2024/10/07

This week, we talk to English Professor Ramzi Fawaz. We discuss his research into the transformative powers of a psychedelic humanities education, the relationship between American popular culture (superheroes) and social justice movements and the career in education that led to and has followed his PhD in American Studies. Catch You Seem Exceptional Live at 4PM every Tuesday on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison.

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