Shows
GRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Storytelling and Friendships - Summer of '56 and TodayIn the late spring of 1956, Wake Forest College moved from the town of Wake Forest to Winston - Salem and a new campus. Most of my friends were children of faculty members as was I, as my dad was the Chaplain of the school. Many of my friends stayed behind, and I lost contact with them. But in a twist, this past week I had lunch with one of them again, a person whom I had known since the first grade, and he told me about others just like him that I had known...
2025-09-2232 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Hope in an Uncertain TimeThis past week was a tough one for this country. Political assassination, shouts of revenge, we seem to have lost, or at least misplaced, our way.It is a time to remember the words of Nelson Mandella that "hope is the greatest weapon in the world when all else seems lost".Not that long ago, really, on April 4, 1968, Robert Kennedy spoke in Indianapolis to a group of black people in a poor area of the city and told them that Martin Luther King had been shot, and that he...
2025-09-1534 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - From Prosecuting Jeffrey MacDonald to Serving Time to Serving TablesWhen former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice and legendary lawyer Phil Carlton asked me to speak to the residents of The Cardinal, a well-known senior citizen's establishment in Raleigh, I immediately said yes.So, on Wednesday, August 27, due primarily to the interest in the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, I spoke to an overflow group of about 150 people about the case and then added parts of my own subsequent story for good measure.This podcast is the video of that presentation. It is a trip back in time.
2025-09-081h 10GRIT - Stories of ResilienceTwo Week Summer PauseAfter holding podcasts for over two years, I am hoping to make some changes and updates to my conversations with people and bring you the best podcast I can. So, for two weeks I am taking a summer pause.I look forward to a new podcast on Monday, September 8, and hope to see you then.Until then, have a great rest of the summer.Jim
2025-08-2501 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn Two Week PauseGood morning, we are pausing new podcasts for two weeks until a new one on Monday, June 23. Meanwhile have a great couple of weeks.Jim
2025-06-0900 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceDick Horgan - A Life and Career for All SeasonsDick Horgan wanted to come east, away from his home state of California, so he received a four-year scholarship to Yale, and never looked back.A lawyer with a large firm in Manhattan, handling major civil cases in federal courts, he cashed in when he turned 50, and with his wife, moved to the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, reinvented his life and career, practicing estate law and teaching adult Sunday School for just over 30 years.But that is not why his podcast is so good...
2025-06-0239 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Finding My Voice in StorytellingI love telling stories. I love to watch peoples' faces as I tell one, making sure not to go on too long, but to keep their attention to the end.I went to the small town of Plymouth this week, just off the highway on the way to the Outer Banks and met with a number of Social Workers for the county's Department of Social Services. They see the misfortunes that afflict young people every single day and often despair at their circumstances of life.So, my visit with...
2025-05-2638 min
PetroNoiaEp. 10 | Jim Blackburn, CEO at BCarbonWhat do law, the Vietnam War, and climate change have in common? In this episode, we’re joined by Jim Blackburn, CEO of BCarbon and a seasoned expert in environmental law. Jim takes us on a compelling journey from his early days in law school during the Vietnam War era to becoming a leading voice in sustainabilityIn this episode, we explore:Jim’s path to becoming an environmental advocateThe evolution and impact of the EPAThe future of climate policy and environmental regulationKey insights into the carbon market and circular economyHow compa...
2025-05-081h 00GRIT - Stories of ResilienceGlenn Blackburn - Changing a college Campus - "Saving Great Places" - Kindred Spirits and a MailboxGlenn Blackburn was an 18-year-old college freshman in April, 1960, when he started the African Student Program at Wake Forest. His goal was to bring an African student to the United States and present him to the Board of Trustees, saying he wants to become a student. Will you accept him?It took two years, and shortly after that, on behalf of the College Lecture Series, he was having dinner with Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. and introducing him to a crowd of over 2,000 in Wait Chapel.Ever the historian...
2025-03-1043 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceThe Fatal Vision Podcast - Episode 12 - Interview with Jim BlackburnThe Fatal Vision Podcast with James McGinniss, son of Joe McGinniss and Billy Glidden is a multi-episode podcast on the true crime classic and bestselling Fatal Vision, which became the forerunner of the NBC mini- series by the same name.James and Billy take a journey through the book, reading parts of it at times and talking about Joe's writing at other places.Episode 12 is when they interview me about the case and Joe. It is a wide open conversation about it all, from start to finish in the...
2025-03-0311 min
The Fatal Vision PodcastEpisode Twelve: Interview with Jim Blackburn, lead prosecutor in MacDonald trialIn this episode, James and Billy break with their usual format to welcome Jim Blackburn, the lead prosecutor in the MacDonald trial. Jim is also the host of a podcast called Grit: Stories of Resilience, in which he shares stories of overcoming adversity. Learn more about it here: https://www.jimblackburnseminars.com/Podcast.
2025-01-2856 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - SerendipitySerendipity is often referred to as something happening by accident or circumstance in your life that is happy or fortunate.
The law of Serendipity is referred to as "Lady Luck favors one who tries". This definition has much more promise for me.
Years ago, waiting tables at the 42nd Street Oyster Bar led to my writing a book Flame-Out, that led to my speaking to people everywhere in North Carolina and a number of other states as well.
I had, and still do, a...
2025-01-1357 min
Forces for NatureCapturing Carbon the Natural Way with Jim Blackburn, Ep.88Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show!This is another episode of the Forces for Nature, EarthX Conference series!How can the landscapes around us play a direct role in reducing carbon emissions? In this episode, we talk with Jim Blackburn, the CEO of BCarbon, about nature-based carbon sequestration. Jim shares how BCarbon is helping landowners restore prairies, forests, and wetlands to store carbon naturally, and why the voluntary carbon market could play a pivotal role in combating climate change. We explore how these projects contribute not only to...
2024-12-1743 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceNew Podcasts Paused for Two Weeks - resume live on Monday, November 4Hello Everyone, I am pausing new podcasts for two weeks (October 21 and October 28). I will have a new one on Monday, November 4 and hope to see you then.
I am preparing new and, I hope, entertaining podcasts that I think you will enjoy. The short comments today give you a brief preview of some of them, starting in November.
Thanks
Jim
2024-10-2103 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceA Magnificent Defeat of making Tough Decisions"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed unless it is faced."
It is in the telling of stories that we learn that life has meaning, and that things that happen to us, "happen not just by accident like leaves being blown off a tree in the wind, but that there can be a purpose to them."
These thoughts are expressed by the minister and writer, Frederick Buechner, in his acclaimed book, "A Magnificent Defeat".
But first, for certain...
2024-07-2241 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceSaving Parker - If You have ever loved an AnimalFor over two weeks, a small several weeks old, gray kitten lived alone in a parking garage in the apartment complex where I live.
Residents fed him and tried to catch him. Two wanted to adopt him. But no luck...nothing, as he would scamper away to underneath cars where he spent most of his days and nights.
Finally, on Saturday afternoon on the weekend after July 4, success! Named after the parking garage where he had lived, for who knows how long, Parker was saved.
2024-07-1521 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceWhat did You do on July 4th?"We hold these truths to be self - evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Today, we celebrate with millions of cookouts all over the country, with hot dogs, hamburgers, perhaps some chicken or shrimp, chips, baked beans, slaw, ice cream (homemade if you are lucky) swimming pools, fireworks, and lots of music and entertainment.
That is exactly what our founding fathers envisioned...to celebrate!
2024-07-0824 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJoy Comes in the MorningThe Scriptures tell us that "Weeping may stay for a Night but Joy Comes in the Morning". Inspired by those words from Psalm 30:5, this new podcast is my take on writing a letter to myself, saying and reaching for advice on starting over, doing something worthy, making a difference, finding technicolor moments and overcoming stress.
My letter makes me hopeful, as there are so many things left to do, from walking to cooking, to having new guests on my podcast, to making new friends, having a cup of coffee early on the morning on...
2024-07-0140 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceOne Wild and Precious Life"Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?"
These last lines of the poem "The Summer Day" by the Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Jane Oliver, captures perfectly the theme and title of my newest podcast about the future of each one of us.
Coming right after last week's podcast about "When you you're riding through hell, keep riding", what happens when you are out? Where do you go? How do you start over? What do...
2024-06-2445 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceStories from the Road - "When You're Riding through Hell, Keep Riding" - Wade. Joe & MePost MacDonald, and the publication of "Fatal Vision" there came more MacDonald, paper backs of Joe's book, the NBC Mini-Series, Duke Hospital, the legal process, and then a multi-years drama over whether MacDonald should get a new trial.
Though it all, there were many conversations with Wade and Joe and finally. in 2012, there was a Hearing in Federal Court, where I spent the better part of an afternoon as a witness.
It would take eleven more years, the summer of 2023, before a ruling by the Supreme Court ended it...
2024-06-1752 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceStories from the Road - Wade Smith, Joe McGinnis and Me - Part Two - Part TwoWade Smith, one of the best lawyers in the United States for over fifty years, Joe McGinniss, a well-known author of twelve books, including multiple New York Times best-selling books, and I met in 1979 during the Jeffrey MacDonald triple murder trial in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Last week, in the Podcast Stories from the Road - Wade Smith, Joe McGinniss and Me - Part One, I recounted stories from the trial as Wade was a major defense attorney for MacDonald and Joe was embedded with the defense team during the trial, ultimately writing the best-selling...
2024-06-1038 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceStories from the Road - Wade Smith, Joe McGinniss and MeWade Smith - one of North Carolina's best trial lawyers in the last fifty years
Joe McGinniss, writer of 12 books, including the New York Times best selling The Selling of the President, 1968 and the likewise best selling Fatal Vision, the story of the Jeffrey MacDonald triple murder case
I met them both during the MacDonald trial in 1979. We would all become fast friends. Wade and I would try a number of cases together, with and against each other.
Joe wrote so many wonderful books, and out of the writing of Fatal Vision, we became great friends for the rest of...
2024-06-0355 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceClark Wright - Climb Every MountainHow hard is it really? How can Mount Ranier, located in the state of Washington, in the Pacific Northwest, be so beautiful and challenging and dangerous at the same time?
That depends on whether you want to climb to the top or just visit the National Park down below.
Mount Rainer is 14,411 feet in the air, at its peak. It is almost a vertical climb, you spend a couple of nights on it during your climb, using an ice ax to carve out a wide enough space to pitch...
2024-05-2753 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceSamantha Hamilton - A Young Lawyer's Perspective - WF Law Grad '22Samantha Hamilton believes the harder you work, the easier it is to get lucky. That is not the same as the harder you the luckier you will be.
Those words have been Samantha's mantra most all of her young life, from growing up on a farm in Kentucky to undergraduate school at the University of South Carolina, with a double major, to law school at Wake Forest University with both a Master's degree as well as a J.D.
Her passion is the environment, and she was determined to...
2024-05-2056 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceClark Wright - A Lifetime of Adventure - Part Two -Appalachian Trail and Mt. KilimanjaroIt took seven years, but Clark Wright finished walking the entire Appalachian Trail, all 2,100 plus miles of it, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to the summit of Mt. Katahdin, Maine.
During his several visits to the Trail, Clark managed to successfully practice law in New Bern, North Carolina and become the proud father of two daughters.
On the last five miles to the end, he started at midnight, finding his way with a headlamp, climbing to the top of the tree line on Mt. Katahdin, until the sun broke through.
He stayed there a little more than an hour before carefully...
2024-05-1352 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceClark Wright - Hiking the Appalachian TrailClark Wright has a passion for the practice of law in New Bern, North Carolina. He has an equal passion for the outdoors in general and hiking in particular.
In this new podcast, Clark tells the story of taking some months off from his law firm in the spring of 2001, rides with his wife Joanna to Springer, Georgia, and in March of that year starts what he hopes will be the walking of the entire Appalachian Trail, which is over 2, 200 miles long, ending in Maine.
He makes it to Pennsylvania when he is called to...
2024-05-061h 02GRIT - Stories of ResilienceSongs of Mr. Wake Forest - Remembering Ed Wilson - 1923-2024No one has spoken as eloquently and passionately about Wake Forest University and its story as Dr. Edwin G. Wilson.
He came as a freshman in 1939, at the age of sixteen, and except for years in military service during the Second World War and graduate studies at Harvard, he never left.
His English classes, particularly those on the Romantic Poets, were the most sought after by students at registration time. Esquire Magazine one said it was one of the best in the country, awarding him the title of "Super Prof".
After serving for...
2024-04-2929 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceAlex Nunnally and N.C.State's Road to the Final FourAlex Nunnally , a walk on Senior with N.C. State's men basketball team, thought his last time in a Wolfpack uniform might be on March 12, when as a 10 seed, his team was playing Louisville on the first day of the ACC Tournament.
It was not to be as N. C. State played five games in five nights, winning them all and the ACC Championship and an automatic bid to March Madness and the NCAA Tournament.
Still playing at a high level, Alex and the team won the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight and found themselves at the Final Four in...
2024-04-2246 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceAbbie Earley - Mental Health & Wellness for College Students - Her Personal JourneyIn a refreshingly candid and brave conversation, Abbie Earley, UNC Class of '23, tells her story of a descent into deep depression in the spring of her junior year, and then with what she calls Team Abbie, she decides to fight back.
She graduates on time with her class and now spends her time "chasing joy".
Abbie believes two components are necessary to fighting depression and loneliness...Hope and a Support Group. She found and developed that in spades.
Abbie believes you can do that as well. You just have to be willing...
2024-04-1540 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceA Moment in Time - N.C. State & the Final Fours - The Rest of UsI so hoped the N. C. State basketball team might win it all in the Final Four. But wait! Which team, the men's or women's? Both earned tickets to this year's Final Four.
So, remember on Monday night, after the Men's Championship game is over, and they are playing the song, One Shining Moment", just remember that all the teams who participated in the tournament are honored, not just one.
And if your school did not even make the tournament, as mine did not, remember also the words, "Wait...
2024-04-0838 min
GRIT - Stories of ResilienceHaley Haislip - Much of what I needed to know in Life, I learned playing SoftballDo you ever wonder what a baseball or softball player is thinking when a fly ball is hit to his or her position, all the while waiting for the ball to come down?
How about the thrill of hitting a home run?
Starting at the age of six, Haley Haislip has played organized softball ever since, including four years in high school and now four years, starting at first base, for the Women's Softball team at N.C. State.
Perhaps most importantly are the life lessons Haley has learned such as time management, leadership, who she wants to become, self-confidence...
2024-04-0145 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJosh Traeger - Air Force JAG - The Stressful Life of a Trial LawyerJosh Traeger, a resident of Traverse City, MIchigan, by way of Pennsylvania, Wake Forest University, law school in Chicago, Air Force JAG, and ultimately senior trial lawyer, knows well the life stress of being a trial lawyer, and more specifically. a prosecutor of some of the most awful crimes that exist.
Sometimes traveling away from home for at least 200 days a year, he would leave his young wife and small son while he prosecuted murder cases and many trials of child sex abuse cases as well as those dealing with child pornography.
2024-03-2555 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceUnafraid - The Beauty of Age & What We can Learn from Our YouthWhat is it that we can learn from our Youth on questions of fears and overcoming them?
How important is it that we have a full and purposeful life? How do we get that?
Does faith play a part in all of this?
Are you afraid of change and doing new things?
What are the fears of your life?
These questions, and more, are topics in this new Podcast on Unafraid!
2024-03-1845 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceUnafraid - Overcoming the Fears of our LivesHow many fears do you have? I have many, including a fear of heights, seeking to please people way too much, getting older and not as well balanced as I used to be. Riding bikes is a challenge.
We worry about so many things...the future, our health, change, the economy, a constant stream of breaking news, getting older, getting sick, not being here one day. You name it, if there is a fear, someone you know likely has it.
So, what do we do? Is there a way...
2024-03-1146 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceEthics and Professionalism for Everyone Staying out of Trouble What to do if You Can’tIn a few days, I am speaking to a North Carolina Leaders' Institute for elected Sheriffs in this state about Ethics and Professionalism.
Like so many similar law enforcement officers all over the country, these men and women are elected to the office of Sheriff.
They are just like the rest of us. They want to succeed, win elections and tqke office. They want to please people, sometimes too much. They endure long periods of depression. They will make mistakes, some serious, some not.
I will tell them my story...of rising very high, falling very low, surviving and starting...
2024-03-0446 minGRIT - Stories of ResiliencePersonal Reflections of Robert Morgan - Keeping His PromisesThe bumper sticker in the fall of 1972 was short and simple..."Robert Morgan Keeps His Promises".
Running for and winning re-election as North Carolina's popular Attorney General, Robert Morgan was at the pinnacle of his political success.
His political secret was the same as his personal one...he kept his promises, all his life.
He was Attorney General, United States Senator, Director of the SBI, lawyer, and an unconditional friend to me and countless others, in good times and bad.
2024-02-2633 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceFebruary 17, 1970 - The MacDonald Family - Reflections on Lives LostThis past Saturday was the 54th anniversary of the deaths of Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald. Convicted by a jury in late August, Jeffrey MacDonald was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. He is still alive and serving time in a federal prison in Maryland.
This podcast is not about the facts of the case as those are well known. Rather, I attempt to answer what has made this case live for so many years in the hearts and minds of so many people.
All murders are horrendous and...
2024-02-1936 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceMeet Bernie Carbo - Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame - Founder, Diamond Club MinistryBernie Carbo made Boston Red Sox and World Series history in Game 6 of the 1975 Classic, hitting a two-strike pitch for a three-run home run with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning, evening the score with the favored Cincinnati Reds, leading to an extra inning win for the Red Sox.
That swing of the bat landed Bernie Carbo in the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Bernie would play 12 major league seasons before leaving baseball, addicted to drugs and alcohol.
While in...
2024-02-1243 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceThe Passion and Power of Story TellingWe all tell stories, almost every day of our lives, to most of our friends and many of those whom we have just met or known for long. It is what we do.
Trial lawyers do this for a living, in opening and closing arguments to judges and juries.
In a book titled In the Interest of Justice - Great Opening and Closing Arguments of the last 100 Years, Joel Seidemann, then an Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan selected 15 cases to include in his book.
...
2024-02-0541 minGRIT - Stories of Resilience"To Seek a Newer World" - Change Comes for All of UsThe long-ago poem Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, includes, near the end, these two lines...
"Tis not too late to seek a newer world...
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
This podcast is about change, which happens all the time to all of us, some benign and some not. We are told that it is not what happens, but how we respond, that is most important.
Still, change can be tough, challenging and a little fearful. But we...
2024-01-2937 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceThree Chairs in the Courtroom - Moments in TimeIn a criminal courtroom, there are three important chairs, not including those for the judge and jury. First, there is one for the prosecutor, next, there is one for the defense attorney and finally, there is one for the defendant.
In this podcast, with a little lightheartedness along the way, I discuss three trials from my past, all involving Wade Smith on the other side.
In 1979, there was the Jeffrey MacDonald murder trial. In 1981, there was the PCB Buck Ward case, dealing with a large environmental spill in northeastern...
2024-01-2239 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceLife is Short - Embracing the Invincible Summer within YouAlbert Camus, a French writer and philosopher, winner of the 1957 Nobel prize for Literature, once wrote "In the depth of winter, I found there lay within me an invincible summer".
Winter represents adversity, tough times in the world, and summer is hope, the future and resilience.
Each of us faces winter at some point in our lives, and all of us, I believe, have an invincible summer within us.
First, though, one has to find it and embrace it.
...
2024-01-1540 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceLemons and Lemonade - Starting Over AgainRegardless of whether you are responsible for the lemons in your life, or whether they are beyond your control, lemonade is what you want.
With Monday, January 8, being my first podcast of the new year, I focus on starting all over again, personal goals for this year. I do not talk about my usual topics of losing 10lbs, going for extended walks, finishing my book for the umpteenth time, practicing the piano once again, drinking less, but perhaps better wine and generally doing a better job with whatever it is I am doing.
2024-01-0837 min
GRIT - Stories of ResilienceChristmas Pause for Podcasts - New Podcast coming on January 8I am taking a Christmas Pause for Podcasts this month and will have a new epidsode on January 8 in the new year. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to listen to one or more of these podcast since April.
I look forward to new and exciting episodes starting early next month with really interesting new guests. I will give a preview of a number of them soon.
Meanwhile, I wish you Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas!
Jim
2023-12-1102 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceSummer of ‘79 - The Trial of Jeffrey MacDonald - Part OneHow do you prosecute a murder trial more than nine years after the crime? Are there witnesses still alive? Have their memories faded? Do they still want to be involved? Where are they now living, and how do we find them?
What if people agree with you that the accused committed the murders, but say with confidence, you will never prove it. Too much time has passed, and people have moved on. Just let it go.
Besides, the defendant is a doctor, an emergency room one at that, and the nurses love him. He is successful, has rebuilt his life...
2023-12-0435 minGRIT - Stories of Resilience"On The Street Where You Live" - This ThanksgivingThis Thanksgiving, as I was driving through several neighborhoods, I saw so many people out walking in the streets, after what was undoubtedly a large meal.
I could not help but think back to what is now, a long time ago, when my parents, two brothers and I lived on a street named Faculty Drive, adjacent to the campus of Wake Forest.
One Thanksgiving, my older brother Glenn and I went walking to see if we could name all the families that lived in all the homes on our street. It turned out we knew them all, as everyone had...
2023-11-2741 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceWade Smith - Legendary Lawyer - A Passion for LifeEarlier this year at a gathering in Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, after the funeral services of Wade's dear brother Roger, I saw Ann Smith, who spoke to me, introducing me to someone with the general words of "this is Jim Blackburn. He and Wade have so many stories, they can go on and on."
That story began for me in the spring of 1979, when Wade was co-counsel to Jeffrey MacDonald, and I was on the other side. From that moment on, like so many others, I was taken with the charm, wit, personality...
2023-11-201h 02GRIT - Stories of ResilienceChekeshat Hukins - Assistant District Attorney - New Bern, NC - Prosecuting Illegal Drug CasesChekesha Hukins knew from the time she was seven years old, she wanted to be a lawyer, and from the time of college, she knew she wanted to be a prosecutor. As she puts it, she does not have a defense attorney bone in her body.
For a lifetime in the law, she has become a career prosecutor, with a primary emphasis on illegal drugs, in a three-county district in eastern North Carolina, based in Craven County in the city of New Bern.
There is no one better to...
2023-11-1343 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceClark Wright - A Family's Survival - The Resilience and Triumph over Attempted Suicides - TwiceClark Wright, the son of a well-known and respected medical doctor in Raleigh, has been, for many years, a highly successful business litigation lawyer in New Bern, North Carolina with an emphasis on environmental issues.
In his spare time, Clark is an avid outdoorsman, who finds peace and happiness in hiking, rock and mountain climbing all over the world. He has walked the entire Appalachian Trail.
By nature, Clark is an optimist, a can-do person, who loves and wants to fix things and people, whether they be in his law practice or personal life.
At the same time, Clark has...
2023-11-061h 03GRIT - Stories of ResilienceProsecuting Jeffrey MacDonald - Preparing for TrialIt was the spring of 1979, more than nine years since Colette, Kimberly and Kristen MacDonald had been brutally murdered in their home at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, in the early morning hours of February 17, 1970.
Now, in a few short months, in mid-July, Brian Murtagh, an attorney with the United States Justice Department in Washington, D.C, and I were going to prosecute Jeffrey MacDonald, Colette's husband and the father of Kimberly and Kristen, for their murder.
It was a circumstantial evidence case. We were going to rely a great...
2023-10-3038 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceThe Power of Strong RelationshipsA Harvard University Medical School study, 85 years in the making, is very clear on the question of how to have happier lives in the world. As the New York Times recently reported, "strong relationships are what make for a happy life".
While I have done a recent podcast on Finding Happiness, this one is a bit different, perhaps in response to last week's podcast in which Jade Neptune, a young writer and college graduate spoke about college suicides and loneliness.
No one can say that he or she has...
2023-10-2335 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJade Neptune - Campus Suicides and the Pressure of Perfection"BENJAMIN NO!!!!!"
Jade Neptune, and a new article on College Suicides, gives us these last two words sent to Ben Salas by a father to his son moments after receiving word that he intended to kill himself that day, April 26, 2023.
In a compelling article titled The Heartbreak of College Suicides, Jade Neptune, a recent college graduate from UNC Chapel Hill, tells the story of Ben's struggles in the last months of his life as well as her own mental health problems that have been with her since at least the fourth grade.
Both Ben and Jade were high achievers growing...
2023-10-1636 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Imagine - Grit: Stories of Resilience & True CrimeIf you want to feel better about the future and the next generation, just become a client of Patrice Nealon's Digital Marketing class at N.C. State.
For more than seven weeks and counting, going towards the rest of the semester, teams of talented marketing students have worked to give me their best creative ideas as to how better to market my podcast Grit: Stories of Resilience.
Not stopping there, they are also putting together feasibility studies and marketing strategies for a second possible podcast dealing with the ever-popular...
2023-10-0941 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceThe Beauty of Small TownsWhen I was very young, I thought it was normal to ride bikes all over town, go swimming every summer day in the large community pool, where the deepest part was ten feet, a depth I thought that went on forever, walk to the Saturday afternoon movies, go to college football, basketball and baseball games every season, rarely missing any, and having sleepovers with best friends every Friday night.
My hometown was Wake Forest, North Carolina where my family lived until, like so many in town, we moved west to Winston-Salem when the college moved there in the summer of 1956.
...
2023-10-0241 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceCarla Roshitsh - Paws for Life - Saving Cats and DogsThe next time you walk into a pet store or any other place with cats and dogs and look at them playing or sleeping in cages, think for just a moment that most of them are all on a journey to hopefully a good life in what they hope will be a forever home. If you are one of those who falls in love with one or more of them, adoption will be in the air, and it will be a win for everyone.
Sadly, not every cat and dog is so lucky. Rather, many are left alone outside with...
2023-09-2536 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Finding HappinessHappiness, I believe, is what people in the world want most in their lives. Attaining that is a lifelong pursuit, with sometimes different results, depending on where we are and what we are doing.
There are lots of books, college courses and even podcasts and apps for smart phones on how to live a happier life. It is becoming a well-plowed field. I am not sure there is any one way to make that happen. Rather finding happiness is a uniquely personal trip. What will make one person happy might not work for another.
2023-09-1851 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Never Too LateOne of the most challenging things to do in life is something new, something you have never done before, such as go to college, start a new job or changing to another job, or just plain starting over in your life.
All of us have some fear of the unknown, fear of failure or at least some nervousness about the future. But if we try, if we are optimistic, if we keep on, keeping on, we just might make it after all.
I know something about getting knocked down...
2023-09-1142 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceAnne Drescher - Doctoral Student - Psychology - Mental Health & Wellness of College StudentsWhen Anne Drescher was in her second year of Doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina School of Psychology, she developed and taught a course on Mental Health and Wellness for UNC undergraduates. It was so successful that the course continues to this day and hopefully will be expanded to all freshmen at the university.
Today, Anne believes students are often stressed, overwhelmed, socially isolated and many times unprepared for the new experience of college. This is the beginning of a new school year and thus what better time than now to talk...
2023-09-0446 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJohn Drescher - Newspaperman & Writer - The Future of News ReportingJohn Drescher knew he wanted to be in the newspaper business at the age of 15 when he became a reporter for a neighborhood newspaper in Raleigh. In the following years, he was the Editor of The Daily Tar Heel, reported for The State, the newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina, wrote for the Charlotte Observer, becoming its Metro Editor, and then in Raleigh, first a Managing Editor and ultimately Executive Editor of The News & Observer.
Then came Washington, D.C. and national politics, finally landing back home in Raleigh as a Contributing Editor for the...
2023-08-2840 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceDuke Lineberry - Navigating a Life in Family LawDuke Lineberry never planned on practicing Family Law. A native of Charlotte, he interned at the United States Attorney's office in Raleigh and hoped to become an Assistant United States Attorney.
Instead, after working on an admiralty case and impressing a well-known attorney from Wilmington, he moved there, practiced in the attorney's firm for a number of years before striking out on his own and now has over thirty-nine years under his belt in the often stressful, but ultimately rewarding practice of family law.
Navigating Family Law - that...
2023-08-2144 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceFriends in Low PlacesThe partial title of the song by Garth Brooks captures both the tone and story of my time in the winter months of 1994.
From January, 1994 through almost the end of April of that same year, I spent my time learning what it was like not to be free.
But this podcast is not about that so much as it is about the experiences I had and the people I met. Some of their names are now gone from my mind. Others I could shout out at once. I have forgotten none of them.
I never saw it coming. The last...
2023-08-1456 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Accountability and My Life Back"So Wade, if I take yours and Rick's advice and plead guilty to all of the counts, everything, with no plea agreement of any kind, what do you think will happen to me?"
"Jim, if you do this, if you accept full responsibility, go into court and say I did this, I am guilty, I am responsible, and accept whatever the Court gives you, you will get your life back, and you will have more riches than you could ever imagine."
It took me some time to accept this...
2023-08-0736 minGRIT - Stories of ResiliencePaulette Wilkes - Coming to AmericaPaulette Wilkes, born and raised in England, a graduate of both high school and college there, went home one day after a particular trying time at work, and asked her husband if he was still interested in going to America and getting a job there. He said yes, and she replied, "Then do it". And they did. That one decision changed their lives forever.
Paulette's husband went first with only a guarantee of work for six months, and she followed not long after with no job or work permit, just faith and hope, and...
2023-07-3137 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJill Staton Bullard - A Consequential LifeJill Staton Bullard was a soccer mom, going lto a game one Saturday morning in north Raleigh many years ago when she and another mom decided to go to a fast food restaurant to get breakfast sandwiches and coffee for others who were going to be on their side of the field. After getting their order and now ready to leave, the server asked if they needed anything else, and they said no.
What happened next changed Jill's life and the lives of so many others. The server threw all the remaining sandwiches in the trash. Why? It was 10:30 and...
2023-07-2433 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceRufus Edmisten - The Rest of the StoryRufus Edmisten, in this Episode, does not hold back. He tells his life story of the last fifty years. There was so much success, winning the office of Attorney General three times, becoming the Democratic candidate for Governor, twice being elected Secretary of State and a hugely rewarding law practice.
There were sad and unhappy times as well. One of his best friends and chief of staff when he was Attorney General died in a private plane crash during his campaign for Governor, he did not become Governor and then left the Secretary of...
2023-07-171h 09GRIT - Stories of ResilienceWild Horses of the Currituck Outer BanksMore than 500 years ago, the first Wild Horses came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They likely came to the east coast of the United States, stretching from Virginia to South Carolina via Spain and South America. Or they could have come on Spanish ships that wrecked off the shores of North Carolina in what is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic and then swam ashore. No one knows for sure.
They were here before the first settlers, before the birth of Virgina Dare, and of course before the Wright Brothers and the first flight.
2023-07-1036 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceJim Blackburn - Waiting Tables and ResilienceIn the mid 1990's and one year in the early 2000's, I was at the 42nd Street Oyster Bar almost every night waiting tables. It was a long way from being a well known attorney, but it felt good to me. It was where I needed to be.
I needed to learn if it was possible to start over with my life and find something new to do that would give me a purpose in going forward. Working at this restaurant gave me that chance.
So many people in this country have waited tables at...
2023-07-0341 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceRufus Edmisten - A Life in the Law -Watergate, Attorney General, Secretary of StateComing from Boone, in the mountains of North Carolina, Rufus Edmisten knew he wanted to be a lawyer and work for U.S. Senator Sam Ervin in Washington, D.C. And did he succeed!
Becoming Chief Deputy Counsel to the Senate Watergate Comittee in 1973, the youngest state Attorney General in 1974, Democratic nominee for Governor in 1984, closing his public career with the office of Secretary of State, he now is in the private practice of law, all the while appearing on a weekend radio show telling listeners about gardening, a talent he learned at the hands of his mother long ago.
...
2023-06-2647 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceGeoff Hulse - Turning Darkness into LightGeoff Hulse knew two things to be true when he was young. He would never live in the relatively small eastern North Carolina city of Goldsboro, where he had grown up, and he would never be a lawyer. He was wrong on both counts. Except for college and law school, he has lived his life there, and he has done so as a lawyer. He and his wife have raised two wonderful and successful daughters.
Still, all the success was not enough to stave off the illness of alcohol, which also had touched his father. Slowly at...
2023-06-1937 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceDana Stevens - A Screenwriter's LifeDana Stevens has had a long career writing feature films and television. Her most recent movie, "The Woman King" starring Viola Davis premiered in 2022 to wide acclaim and is now on Netflix. Other films include The City of Angels, starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, Safe Haven from the book by Nicholas Sparks, For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston as well as creating and producing "Reckless" a legal drama for CBS. Upcoming projects in development include the romance "28 Summers" which will bring back memories of "Same Time, Next Year" and a biographical film about...
2023-06-1242 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceLeslie Van Der Have - Grit and Hope in her Life and the Practice of Family LawI first met Leslie Van Der Have many years ago after making a talk at the North Carolina Bar Center when she approached me and pressed a hand written note in my hand. It was a full page of hope. Leslie has practiced law for about twenty two years, most of them in her family law firm in Greenville, North Carolina. Listening to her, you soon learn that I am not the first or last person to whom she has given or expressed hope. She does that with all her clients, along with a cup of grit and optimism...
2023-06-0533 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceFreddy Kassab - The Man Who Caught Jeffrey MacDonaldFreddy Kassab, was the stepfather of Colette and by extension the grandfather of Kimberly and Kristen. When they died on February 17, 1970, a piece of Freddy went away as well. But enough was left for him to pursue justice for them, and successfully encourage others to do so as well. He felt he had no other choice. What else would you have had him do? He gladly dedicated all his remaining years for them. He pushed, he argued, he did whatever he felt he could, and then when he could not do any more, he did. He never gave up...
2023-05-2938 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceDick Horgan - Optimism and Faith- this lawyer's keys to successWhether leaving southern California for a Yale education, to a lucrative partnership as a big time litigator in a major New York law firm, to leaving it all and starting over again in Wilmington, North Carolina as a sole practitioner in Estates Practice, two character traits guide his life - an innate sense of optimism and his faith, nurtured by time as the years have gone by. It is impossible to listen to Dick for five minutes without pausing to think and then smiling. At the age of fifty, he cashed in with his New York law firm, moved to...
2023-05-2239 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceHiding in Plain Sight - Magnificent DefeatWhile the first part of this episode dealing with Mental Health and Depression challenges continues with some stumbling on my part, the fall and early winter brings the beginning of recovery and starting over. Having said no to suicide and resolved to better myself and just get through it all, I plead guilty to any and all charges against me, with no deal, get an active sentence, write a book, make speeches about my experiences and give talks to the legal profession and business groups of whatever persuasion about all that I have learned. For me, there was a...
2023-05-1532 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceHiding in Plain Sight - Part TwoDuke Psychiatric Hospital - my home for a week. Therapy sessions with my doctor sometimes twice a week. Asking me questions such as when was the last time in my life I was carefree and happy, followed by what in my life was in technicolor and what was in black and white. If all this was not enough, I learned in mid July, 1993, that I was going to be indicted by a Grand Jury. I did not want to go through that and thought of killing myself as a possible alternative. In this podcast, I talk about all of...
2023-05-0834 min2023-05-0700 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceHiding in Plain Sight - Part OneThis is the beginning of a story of someone who rose very high, fell very low in a very public way, and survived. It is also the story of mental illness in general and depression in particular and the treatment that was necessary to get well and have a second chance in life. This Episode is Part One, the beginning of it all. It happened many years ago, but of course it seems like yesterday. It is my story. I hope my retelling it will help you. Remember, whatever is happening to you, as Gracie Allen once wrote to...
2023-05-0133 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceTrue Grit - Mr. Thomas for the DefenseFor more than sixty years in Eastern North Carolina, if you got in trouble, better call Allen Thomas in Wilson. Here, he tells what he believes and how he has done it all these years, including the time, now long ago, when he faced a serious challenge to his own life and career. It wasn't easy, but using the lessons of a lifetime, including truth and a willingness to honorably do whatever it took, he prevailed. Listen to 29 of the best minutes you can spend in your life.
2023-04-2429 min
2023-04-2300 minGRIT - Stories of ResilienceA Basketball Life and the Grit of ResilienceChris Corchiani met his first basketball when he was three years old, dribbling under the tutelage of his Dad and eventual high school coach. He went on to play four successful years at NC State, making his name as Fire in the duo of Fire and Ice with his teammate Rodney Monroe, going to the NCAA Tournament three straight years, leaving school as the first person ever to make 1,000 assists in a career, and ultimately being honored with All ACC and All America awards. He played professionally with the Orlando Magic, Washington Bullets and the Boston Celtics.
...
2023-04-1735 min
GRIT - Stories of ResiliencePassion and Jeffrey MacDonaldIn the early morning hours of February 17, 1970, time stopped at 544 Castle Drive on Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, when the family of Green Beret Doctor and Captain in the Army, Jeffrey MacDonald was brutally murdered. MacDonald was the sole survivor. His wife, Colette, and two daughters, Kimberly and Kristen, were dead. MacDonald claimed hippie intruders killed his family. Not long after the investigation began, including a thorough search of the MacDonald apartment, the Army and eventually the United States Justice Department, concluded otherwise. A federal Grand Jury indicted MacDonald on three counts of murder, in 1975, and after almost four years in...
2023-04-1127 min
Energytech StartupsJim BlackburnIn this episode, we sit down with Jim Blackburn, environmental lawyer and CEO of BCarbon, to discuss how the nonprofit carbon registry—born out of Rice University’s Baker Institute—is building measurement-based carbon markets around soil, forest, and blue carbon. Jim explains why credible carbon sequestration depends on strong legal systems, active stakeholder communities, and transparent protocols, and how economics can motivate landowners to participate in nature-based climate solutions. We also explore Houston’s shift in the carbon conversation since 2020, the role of living shorelines and resilience projects, the emergence of reinsurance markets for carbon assets, and why communit...
2023-03-0758 min
American Shoreline Podcast NetworkA Christmas Card for the Coast: Inside Jim Blackburn's Texas Coastal Holiday NewsletterIn this holiday special, hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham dive deep into Jim Blackburn's 2022 Texas Coastal Newsletter with Jim Blackburn himself! For over 30 years, Jim has authored his Texas Coastal Holiday Newsletter, a detailed rundown of the issues facing Texas's coastal resources ranging from the specific to the thematic. Jim is the CEO of BCarbon, a non-profit ecosystem services registry that catalyzes widespread ecological regeneration by leveraging the power of soil, forests, and wetlands to fight climate change. He is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University...
2022-12-261h 02
Life is Life!#131 - Inflation Today, How Did We Get Here? Professor Jim Charkins ReturnsGasoline, bacon, produce, vehicles, you name it and the cost has most definitely increased in 2022. The word we have all been hearing since we were kids but was never part of the daily conversation until now... inflation. Inflation is at its highest since 1981 and a some guy named Reagan was President. Why? Well the Talk Wealth To Me team sat went to its economics expert Professor Jim Charkins. Jim is the former Executive Director of the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE) and Professor of Economics at California State University, San Bernardino. He received his Ph.D. in economics...
2022-04-2943 min
American Shoreline Podcast NetworkThe Transforming Texas Coast with Jim BlackburnThis week, Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham talk to Jim Blackburn about the incredible changes occurring on the Texas Coast. Jim is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University, teaching courses in sustainable development and environmental law. He is also a practicing environmental lawyer with the Blackburn & Carter law firm in Houston and a Rice faculty scholar at the Baker Institute. At Rice, he serves as the co-director of the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center and as director of the undergraduate minor in...
2022-01-101h 03
Life is Life!#080 Not Your Grandparent's Economics with Dr. Jim CharkinsWhen people hear the term economics they often think of graphs and a very confusing course they took in high school or college. But is that really what it is? We sit down with Dr. Jim Charkins, who likely cares more about economics and economics instruction than anyone we've met. He is the Economics Professor Emeritus and Director for Economics Education, California State University, San Bernardino, serves on many boards including the California Jump$tart Coalition, CCEE and California Association of School Economics Teachers. He is thoughtful and funny and will give you a whole new appreciation of (and...
2021-04-0947 min
Only One Shot GolfSeason 3: Episode 4. Mark Blackburn. Top 50 Golf Instructor in America. Teaches junior golfers to PGA/LPGA Players.Jim has Mark Blackburn a Top 50 Golf Instructor in America on today's podcast. Mark relives his journey from growing up in England and not picking up the game until 13 years old, playing college golf in America, and now one of the top golf instructors in America. He coaches all levels of golf, from juniors to PGA/LPGA Tour players. Great information on instruction and inside to improving your game. @VTROLIO #GreystoneGolf&CountryClub #BlackburnGolfAcademy
2021-02-0137 min
American Shoreline Podcast NetworkJim Blackburn on CO2 Sequestration Using Natural Coastal EcosystemsOn this episode, Peter and Tyler are joined by Jim Blackburn to discuss the Texas Coastal Exchange, a nonprofit organization designed to be both a new land conservation tool and a means to establish and mitigate for carbon dioxide emissions by creating a framework that allows landowners who provide ongoing carbon sequestration, on a metric ton/acre/year basis, a financial incentive. The money comes from donations from individuals and organizations seeking to mitigate their carbon footprints and facilitate land conservation.
Jim Blackburn is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the...
2019-06-0347 min
American Shoreline Podcast NetworkLocal Control | Jim Blackburn on the Mid-Bay OptionJim Blackburn is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University, teaching courses in sustainable development and environmental law. He is also a practicing environmental lawyer with the Blackburn & Carter law firm in Houston and a Rice faculty scholar at the Baker Institute. At Rice, he serves as the co-director of the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center and as director of the undergraduate minor in energy and water sustainability. At the SSPEED Center, Blackburn has been responsible for the development of landscape-scale green space...
2019-05-0652 min
How Legends are Made PodcastJim VitaleMy interview with Jim Vitale
I love hearing from you! Thanks for all your comments and shares. Keep them coming and share this week’s Interview with your friends, family and colleagues.
Remember to keep dreaming, planning and executing your way to a legendary life! #BOOYAH
Your friend,
Dan
2018-10-0400 minHow Legends are Made PodcastJim VitaleMy interview with Jim Vitale
I love hearing from you! Thanks for all your comments and shares. Keep them coming and share this week’s Interview with your friends, family and colleagues.
Remember to keep dreaming, planning and executing your way to a legendary life! #BOOYAH
Your friend,
Dan
2018-10-0400 min
Stories from the StormPhil Bedient + Jim BlackburnRice University professors Phil Bedient and Jim Blackburn view Hurricane Harvey as a pivotal event for Houston – a wake-up call to rethink our relationship with nature and our understanding of climate change; and an opportunity to implement changes that will make the region more resilient to future storms.Part 10 of 10-part series, "Stories from the Storm". More at houstonpublicmedia.org/harvey.
2018-07-3017 min
Policy MattersA Look at Houston’s Hurricane Preparedness with Jim BlackburnHurricane Harvey was many things — a monstrous storm, a destroyer of homes and neighborhoods, an indiscriminate killer. But Harvey was, and is, something else: a wakeup call for Houston, Harris Country and the entire Texas Coast. As we rebuild, there is a need to rethink Houston’s approach to flood control and create a Greater Houston resilient enough to survive and thrive in an era when storms like Harvey may be the new normal.
In this episode, Jim Blackburn, Baker Institute scholar and professor in the practice of environmental law at Rice University, discusses Hurricane Harvey, Houston’s prep...
2018-01-1718 min
Cultures of EnergyEp. #88 - Harvey's Aftermath (feat. Jim Blackburn)The sun is finally shining again over Houston but the process of coming to terms with Hurricane Harvey's catastrophic impact on the city and region has only just begun. Cymene and Dominic share their thoughts about how the storm will affect Houston's future. Then (24:29) we are joined by our Rice colleague, celebrated environmental attorney and advocate Jim Blackburn, who is the co-director of Rice's Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) center. Jim shares his perspective on what made Harvey an exceptional event but also explains why Harvey is not even the worst kind of hurricane strike...
2017-08-3100 min