Libsyn Directory

GenX Journeys: 1980s Now & GenX Always — A Conversation with Will Padilla

Release Date: 12/10/2025

Federal Prison, Resilience & Reinvention (Part 2) | Dr. Linda Varisco

GenX Journeys

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Linda Varisco, we continue her remarkable story where Part 1 left off. After being sentenced to federal prison for a crime that began with a devastating scam, Linda shares what life was really like behind prison walls. From self-surrender and prison routines to unexpected friendships, creative survival, and finding purpose in the most difficult circumstances, she offers an honest and deeply human look at incarceration. You'll hear stories about: Adjusting to life in a federal prison camp Using her chiropractic skills to help fellow inmates Teaching...

Heartbreak, Betrayal, and Resilience (Part 1) | Dr. Linda Varisco

GenX Journeys

What happens when the life you've carefully built begins to unravel? In this powerful first installment of a two-part conversation, Paul sits down with Dr. Linda Varisco, bestselling author of The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile, to explore a journey marked by heartbreak, betrayal, resilience, and the courage to keep moving forward. Linda shares her early life on Long Island, the path that led her to a successful chiropractic career, and the personal and professional challenges that slowly transformed everything she thought she knew. Along the way, she opens up about marriage, family, loss,...

A Thousand Questions, A Hundred Answers | Lara Brenckle Malmont's Journey to Three Rivers Home

GenX Journeys

Every family has stories. Some are passed down from generation to generation, while others are nearly lost to time. In this episode of GenX Journeys, Paul Stroessner and Suzanne Mattaboni welcome author Lara Brenckle Malmont to share the remarkable true story that inspired her debut novel, Three Rivers Home. What began as childhood curiosity about a grandfather she never met turned into a twenty-year journey through family records, newspaper archives, courthouse documents, and long-forgotten letters. Along the way, Lara discovered a little-known chapter of Pittsburgh history involving children...

GenX Book Club: The Last Mixtape with Steve Matsumoto

GenX Journeys

What if the songs that shaped your life could also help you heal? In this episode of GenX Book Club, Paul Stroessner and Suzanne Mattaboni welcome author Steve Matsumoto to discuss his heartfelt debut novel, The Last Mixtape. Set against the backdrop of the 1990s, The Last Mixtape follows first-grade teacher James Nakamura as he struggles to navigate life after the loss of his sister. Through grief, friendship, romance, and the music that defined a generation, Steve explores how memories can both haunt us and help us move forward. Together, we discuss: The real-life experiences that inspired...

It's Never Too Late to Chase Your Dreams with Stacie Jones

GenX Journeys

What if the dream you had at five years old was still waiting for you? In this inspiring episode of GenX Journeys, Paul welcomes Stacie Jones, founder of AB & J Travel Agency, certified travel advisor, entrepreneur, stroke survivor, Guinness World Record holder, and someone who proves it's never too late to reinvent your life. As a little girl growing up in the 1970s, Stacie dreamed of seeing the world. Life took her in a different direction, leading her into a successful corporate career. But after suffering multiple strokes in 2022, she was forced to slow down and re-evaluate everything....

There Are Places I Remember with Mike Di Leo

GenX Journeys

What if you could step back into the neighborhoods, friendships, and moments that shaped your life? In this episode of GenX Journeys, Paul welcomes author Mike Di Leo to discuss his remarkable book, There Are Places I Remember. More than a collection of short stories, the book is a tapestry of interconnected memories spanning the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Through themes of family, friendship, music, loss, nostalgia, and the passage of time, Mike captures experiences that resonate with Gen X and anyone who has ever looked back on the places and people who shaped them. Mike shares how the...

GenX Book Club: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

GenX Journeys

What do an arrow through the head, a white suit, a banjo, and two wild and crazy guys have in common? Steve Martin. In this episode of the GenX Book Club, Paul Stroessner, Suzanne Mattaboni, and Del Roehling take a nostalgic look back at Steve Martin's memoir Born Standing Up, a fascinating behind-the-scenes story of one of comedy's most innovative performers. The conversation explores Martin's journey from working in the magic shops of Disneyland to becoming one of the biggest stand-up comedians in America. Along the way, we discuss the discipline, persistence, and creativity that fueled his...

Finding Your Way Back with Greg Amici

GenX Journeys

What happens when the thing you love most is suddenly taken away? In this episode of GenX Journeys, Paul sits down with singer-songwriter Greg Amici to explore a story of resilience, reinvention, and returning to a passion that never truly left. After building momentum with his band Big Honey in New York City's music scene, Greg's journey took an unexpected turn when a vocal cord injury forced him away from music. What followed was a 16-year detour through screenwriting, acting, graduate school, and caring for aging parents before he finally found his way back to songwriting and recording....

From Vietnam to Burnout Recovery with Keith Cole

GenX Journeys

In this episode of GenX Journeys, Paul welcomes Marine Corps combat veteran and author Keith Cole for a deeply honest conversation about trauma, burnout, faith, resilience, and recovery. Keith shares his journey from growing up wanting to become a Methodist minister to serving as a machine gunner in Vietnam, where he was wounded three times in combat. After returning home, he carried decades of emotional weight in silence while building a successful career as a CPA, raising his younger siblings after the loss of his mother, and pushing himself beyond exhaustion. Eventually, burnout caught up...

The End of the Chapter, Not the Book with Devin Fish

GenX Journeys

For this episode of GenX Journeys, Paul sits down with Devin Fish for one of the most honest and emotionally powerful conversations the show has featured yet. Growing up in poverty, constantly moving from place to place, and surrounded by addiction and instability, Devin entered adulthood carrying more weight than most people face in a lifetime. Before even beginning his Army career, he experienced trauma that would shape the years ahead — including family addiction, loss, depression, online exploitation, blackmail, and moments where he seriously questioned whether he wanted to keep going at...

More Episodes

This week on GenX Journeys, I’m joined by the multi-talented and endlessly creative Will Padilla — host of the hit podcast 1980s Now, composer, writer, actor, and author of Totally Bogus But True: Tales of the 1980s.

If you grew up loving breakdancing battles, MTV, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Beastie Boys, or the neon-soaked energy of the 80s… this conversation will feel like coming home.

But this episode isn’t just nostalgia.
It’s creative reinvention, GenX resilience, and the reminder that it’s never too late to return to the passions you thought you left behind.

✨ In This Episode We Dive Into:

🔥 Will’s journey from the theater world of NYC to rediscovering his creative voice decades later
🔥 How podcasting became his gateway back into storytelling and the arts
🔥 Why the 1980s still captivate us — and how the decade continues to influence pop culture today
🔥 Landing interviews with icons like Nina Blackwood, Diane Franklin, and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira)
🔥 Writing his book of bizarre-but-true 80s stories — and the massive leap into publishing
🔥 The parallels between writing a book and running a marathon
🔥 The GenX creative comeback: why so many of us are returning to the passions we buried long ago
🔥 Breakdancing battles, Beastie Boys fandom, and chasing down DMC as a dream guest
🔥 Our lightning round: favorite 80s music, celebrity crushes, and the shows that shaped us

This conversation is packed with heart, humor, creativity, and classic GenX spirit — the drive to reinvent, rediscover, and keep moving forward, one step at a time.