Ep. 361: The Jon of All Trades 10-Year Anniversary Mailbag!

Jon of All Trades

Jon Ekstrom celebrates 10 years of the Jon of All Trades Podcast with a special mailbag episode that airs March 20, 2024.

This is the humble space where I produce this little show of mine for 10 years and counting. I’ve got my laptop, a monitor, a mic, an ergonomic upright mouse because I think I’m getting carpal tunnel from all the podcast editing I do, my Zoom recorder, pictures of my girls, sunglasses, and some of their various knickknacks on my desk. There’s some various crap in the background – an old cat bed, a box I need to deliver to my parents’ house, a sign for my kids’ lemonade stand from last summer, some receipts from a recent business trip stacked on my printer – and I tell you this only because I spend more time here professionally than any other.

I don’t really own anything in the professional sense. Everything in this office can probably be had for less than $1,500. All I truly own is my brain, my work ethic, and my reputation. And I’ve been fortunate to find great people in the 10 years I’ve done this show. The fact that I get to connect with interesting people, ask them anything I want, record it, and share it with you is one of the greatest privileges I could ever hope to have. So, to mark the occasion of this 10 year anniversary, I thought it only fair to let some guests turn it around on me and ask me anything they wanted. What you see below are their questions asked to me verbatim along with when I answer them in the episode. I sincerely hope you’ll listen to the entire thing, but if a question especially grabs you, you know exactly where to find it.

1. Josh Penry – Episode 279 (3:30): By my recollection, you were podcasting before podcasting was cool. Question 1: Did you ever in your wildest dreams believe that podcasting would become a dominant communications medium? 2: In your opinion, would podcasting have become a dominant medium in a world where sars COVID 2 wasn’t (likely) released from a lab in Wuhan?
2. Kathy Walker – Episode 184 (7:30): What are your views on the “lane” for podcasts? Can it be a great tool in a community to gather and share information?
3. Bree Davies – Episode 93 (10:40): What is the old Denver restaurant you would bring back to have your fave meal at one more time? What is that meal? And if you could bring back an old Denver restaurant or bar because it was your fave atmosphere/vibe, what would it be?
4. Christie Buchele – Episode 268 (14:15): What’s your go-to karaoke song?
5. Tom Breihan – Episodes 344 and 253 (17:00): What’s your worst mosh pit injury?
6. Kristin Crites – Episode 200 (19:10): Of the podcasts you have been on, as a guest, which has been your favorite?
7. Vic Lombardi – Episode 346 (21:50): Why do so many young people hate wealthy older people? What happened to revering success?
8. Peaches n’ Diesel – Episode 348 (26:05): What’s your personal slogan or motto?
9. R. Alan Brooks – Episodes 254, 241, and 140 (29:00): What’s one thing you would change in the past (either your past, or in history), and why? If you wouldn’t change anything, also why?
10. Ben Roy – Episode 251 (31:55): On your deathbed, what do you think you will most miss about your life?

That’s a damn fine cross section of weird shit to respond to! And there’s more coming! Part 2 of this mailbag comes in a blog post on Friday!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your life for the last 10 years. I am fulfilled creatively and professionally by work like this, and it’s because of you. Here’s to many more years together.

This episode is available on iTunes, streaming on Spotify, on podcatchers everywhere or at the Jon of All Trades homepage.