Business

Dr. Stephen Klasko – The Most Honest Man in Healthcare

Dr. Steven Klasko is the CEO of Jefferson Health, named the #2 Most Influential Person in Healthcare, and probably the most honest healthcare executive in the country. In this interview he spills the dirt on the issues of government, healthcare providers, insurance companies, and pharmaceuticals and how to make the country better and healthier for all citizens.

Dr. Klasko, born in South Philly, started his career out as Little Stevie Kent, a radio disc jockey on WYSP in Philadelphia. After being fired, a counselor told him to consider taking the MCATs. He went on to become an OB/GYN, delivering thousands of babies. He transitioned to the management side of healthcare after earning his MBA. On top of that, he’s an author having written numerous books on America’s healthcare industry.

He pulls no punches in discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Philadelphia or America’s healthcare crisis.

Dr. Klasko professes what we already know—healthcare in America is broken. He provides valuable insight into the absurdities that exist between insurance companies, the government and providers and how they often fail the American citizens.

The discrepancies in healthcare between the wealthy and the poor is a major concern on Dr. Klasko’s. He talks about how two zip codes in Philadelphia, a mere mile or two apart, can have a twenty year difference in life expectancy and steps that we, as a nation, can do to combat this.

Klasko thinks out of the box. He is changing the way medical schools select students and the training they receive. He wants to change the way healthcare is delivered, provide broadband to all citizens, and work with other health institutions in the city to make Philadelphia as healthy a city as possible.

This is easily the most honest and informative discussion over healthcare, government, and insurance you will hear from a true visionary in the industry.

LINKS:
Dr. Stephen Klasko

Terrill Haigler – Philly’s Favorite Trash Man

Philly’s favorite trash man, Terrill Haigler, joins us to talk Philly trash.

In a city that prides itself on being blue collar, it should come as no surprise that its latest viral sensation is a sanitation worker.

Terrill Haigler saw that a storm was brewing Philly, people angry at the trash department without understanding why trash was running so late. So he decided to start an instagram page where he’d explain exactly why they were running late. In about 6 weeks, he’s gotten over 9000 followers and his regular video updates get anywhere from 1000-6000 views. 

Terrill talked about a typical work day, about his theatre background, and about how he had to stay on the waiting list for 2 years before he landed the job. But most importantly, he talked about how difficult the job is in the COVID age. Going into work with not enough PPE, dealing with the heat and the Karens and the fact that people are throwing out way more trash than they used to. We discussed the good (engaging with people on route), the bad (almost a third of the workforce being quarantined because they either have COVID or were in the truck with someone who tested positive), and the ugly (sh*tboxes, which are….you’ll have to listen and find out). It’s a fascinating look at what goes on behind the scenes after you take your trash out, and Terrill has an infectious personality, which has a lot to do with the IG pages success. Informative, fun, and hilarious: this episode is really the epitome of what the Blunt is all about. 
 
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Undertaker John – Inside the Mortuary World

Undertaker John joined us for the LIVE BLUNTCAST #10 to discuss what life in general is like as a Last Responder (Undertaker) during a pandemic and raising a family while living in a funeral home.

Undertaker John, known better as John Barnes of McCafferty Sweeney Slabinski Barnes Funerals and Cremations has been in the funeral business since he was in high school. He talks about how a kid from Frankford born and raised under the becomes an undertaker with no family connections. He had no idea washing limousines as a teenager would turn into a career.

Most importantly, he sheds important and useful information about how COVID-19 has affected the industry and the families of loved ones who have passed during these social distancing times.

We discuss the precautions and hazards of the industry during a pandemic and how funeral directors everywhere are scrambling to keep up with current CDC recommendations, as well as securing enough PPE supplies.

While we are all doing our best to avoid any contact with COVID-19, John has had over 30 people who have passed due to the virus brought into his home, where he both lives and works.

This is a must-listen where we think you’ll both learn and laugh.

We hope you enjoy and that you and your loved ones are safe.

Don’t forget, if you have Facebook, you can watch these Friday night BLUNTCASTS LIVE and you comment real-time. If you don’t have Facebook, you can check out the videos of the interviews on our YouTube page, just search for “The Philly Blunt Podcast”.

LINKS:

McCafferty Sweeney Slabinski Barnes Funerals & Cremations

The Philly Blunt YouTube Channel

Cecelia The Cuddler: Inside the World of Professional Cuddling

In this episode we sit down with a professional, certified, cuddler named Cecelia. Cecelia is a student who pays her bills cuddling people. Yes, cuddling.

We have become an isolated society with the help of electronic devices, headphones, in-home entertainment options like Netflix and Hulu, and online gaming. Human touch has become harder for many of our population to experience. A recent study by The Guardian found that there is a growing population of individuals who have no human interactions outside of the workplace. For these folks, they do not talk, let alone touch, another person between the end of the work day Friday and Monday morning.

As a result, many individuals are deprived of any meaningful human touch. That’s were professional cuddling comes into play.

Cecelia informs and educates us on the history of professional cuddling, her training, and her clients. Safety is a major issue for many and having someone cuddle you without the pressure of sexual interactions can often help.

We also discuss how she deals with clients who may become aroused during sessions and cuddling clients with poor hygiene.

Cecelia is a Philly-lifer from Northeast Philly, near the Roosevelt Mall. She is very candid about her journey to professional cuddling, which started as an exotic dancer right out of high school.

This is a fascinating interview about a world most of us know nothing about or have never heard of.

We conducted this interview at The Post at 30th & Chestnut Street, which happens to be the same location as our two-part interview with John Bolaris.

LINKS:

Cuddlist.com

The Post

Cecelia Instagram

Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz: Culture and Coolness with the Strings Diva

This episode we bring you a little culture and coolness. Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz was a bit of a child prodigy on the violin. She landed at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester where she eventually earned a Masters degree. A drunk driver almost ended her career. Ironically, it was a grandchild of the founder of the Eastman School of music that struck her. Doctors told her she’d never play professionally again and to find a new career. They were wrong.

Alexandra went on to a successful violin career playing with the likes of Brandford Marsalis, Elvis Costello, Jill Scott, Peter Gabriel, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Harry Connick Jr., Rod Stewart, Julie Andrews, Styx, The Who, and more.

She currently holds a tenured position in the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and she is also Founder and CEO of Philly Music Labs, which specializes in connecting high-quality, genre-crossing musicians to new audiences and other like-minded musicians and artists.

We discuss her musical inspirations and how to make Classical Music and the Orchestra more accessible to a larger audience. She also educates us on the values of classical musical instruments, which we had no idea could reach upwards of $250,000.

We recorded this episode at Front Street Cafe in Fishtown. Front Street is a favorite of Alexandra’s because of the food and their support of the local arts scene.

LINKS:
Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz
Philly Music Lab
Front Street Cafe

TOM KEHOE – The Man Behind Yards, Philly’s Most Successful Brewery

When one thinks of the face of Philly beer, Tom Kehoe’s large, happy, face usually comes to mind. He’s the owner and face of Yards Brewing Company, Philadelphia largest brewery.

A Haddonfield native, Tom started brewing beers with a hot-plate in his dorm room at Western Maryland University—now known as McDaniel College. While in college, he started volunteering and then working at a local brewery. Upon graduation, he moved to Philly’s Manayunk neighborhood and started brewing Yards beers out of his garage.

The rest is history.

Yards now has a 70,000-square-foot facility at 5th & Spring Garden containing a tasting room, brewery, canning line, and private event room. They currently produce over 100,000 barrels of beer each year. And, they have the Brew Unto Others campaign in which they donate three tractor trailers of beer each year to local non-profits to help support their fundraising events.

Tom sat with us at the Yards tasting room, of course. Reef couldn’t make this episode as he’s currently on tour throughout Europe. We discussed the early days of Yards, bringing new products to market, how Philly can make things easier for businesses starting up, Yuengling, and Tom’s early acting career.

This episode’s Philly Blunt segment has listener questions, including one from Philly Mag’s Victor Fiorillo and one from 97.5 Fanatic Morning Show producer Jamie Lynch. In the Blunt, we find out Tom’s finishing move while being a college wrestler and a most surprising song that he’d like played if he was in a movie and kicked in a door during the scene.

Links:

Yards Brewing Company: www/FB/Instagram/Twitter

Maleek Jackson: An extraordinary Tale of Incarceration to Inspiration

The 5th of 13 kids in a family that had no adult guidance, Maleek Jackson found himself in trouble early and often. Drug dealing, burglary, B&E, as he says, “I did it all except rape and murder.” At age 16, he was tried as an adult and sent to prison on an 8 to 16 year sentence. Inspired by a friend in prison who kept asking him, “What’s your plan when you get out?”, Maleek started to think more and more about that plan. He decided to get his GED, then started boxing and leading workouts for fellow prisoners.

Released after 10 years, he had an encounter with Bernard Hopkins, who hired a trainer to work with him. When Maleek’s trainer, boxing manager Danny Davis, had to leave the city for bouts, he left Maleek in charge of the gym. Gaining confidence through experience, Maleek discovered that he had a knack for personal training. He began to pick up his own clients, and within a few years, he decided to strike out on his own.

You can find Maleek now at Maleek Jackson Gym in Northern Liberties, where he trains people such as rapper Meek Mill, chef Mike Solomonov (Zahav, Federal Donuts), and NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. As remarkable of a personal narrative as you will ever hear, this is the most inspiring interview we’ve done yet.

Thanks to El Camino Real for being a most gracious host.

If you enjoy it, do us a solid and give us a 5 star review and even better, a short review. Thanks for listening! 

LINKS:
Maleek Jackson: Instagram/Twitter/Gym

El Camino Real: Instagram/Twitter/Facebook

Tayyib Smith: Race, the Roots, and Cultural Appropriation

There are few people in Philadelphia with a more varied resume than Tayyib Smith: from working at Le Bec Fin to producing events for the Roots to starting Two. One. Five magazine to founding the coworking space Pipeline, he’s done it all. His company, Little Giant Creative, has also produced an exhibit showing at 600 Spring Garden from now until November 17th. Called Dream Deferred, it looks at redlining, a practice of systematically denying housing opportunity based on race. Growing up in what is now Northern Liberties, Tayyib saw redlining first hand. 

In this podcast, we discussed with him other forms of racism in our society as well. We talk about things such as cultural appropriation, white privilege, and his views on race in hip-hop (including his thoughts on Kanye.) At a time where discussion on these topics often veers off into angry arguments and talking points, if you’d like to hear four adults discuss it maturely, this is well worth a listen. Tayyib also discusses politics, the “branding” of Philadelphia, and why he doesn’t like Gritty. 
 
We recorded at Pipeline Philly, a co-working space in Center City that Tayyib is co-owner of. 
 
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