Eddie Sotto had a long career designing public entertainment spaces like high-end car dealerships, destination retail stores, and theme parks, having served as Senior Vice President of Concept Design at Walt Disney Imagineering. In this archived conversation from May, 2020, Eddie and Heath discuss the parallels between filmmaking and theme park design, the challenges to public venues during COVID, and using creative thinking to safely entertain theme park guests. Eddie Sotto passed away in December, 2025 at the age of 67.

Sarah Kendzior’s new book is The Last American Road Trip, a chronicle of trips that she and her family have made across the vast U.S. beginning in 2016 and continuing through 2024. It’s an examination of American identity, the changes that the last decade have brought to our soil, how Americans retell our history, and how 2020 became the clarifying dividing line of our modern era.

The book travels to towns along the Mississippi River, to the Ozarks, Route 66, the desert Southwest, underground caves, outlaw hideouts, and countless National Parks, all with the goal of taking an honest look at where we are as a nation.

Sarah last joined this podcast in August, 2020, while still quarantined at home to avoid the pandemic. Despite the threats from COVID though, the summer of 2020 was also a time of great promise, where Americans turned out in vast numbers to protest racial injustice after the police murder of George Floyd.

This conversation also touches on the role technology has played in isolating and dividing us and how crafting and working with our hands can be a form of resistance.

Ben Napier is the co-host of HGTV’s Home Town, Home Town Takeover, and Home Town Kickstart along with his wife Erin.

In his third appearance on this podcast, Ben discusses the work he and Erin are doing with Osprey, a group they co-founded in 2023 that helps connect parents who want to limit screen time and social media access for their kids.

Ben and Heath discuss how their own attitudes towards social media have shifted over the last decade or so, what kids are giving up by spending time on screens, and how to have a healthy relationship with media.

To learn more about Osprey’s work, please check out their website.

Heath also discussed his experience with Waldorf Education, which de-emphasizes screen based learning. To learn more and find a Waldorf School near you, visit the website for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.