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EPISODE 699 - Mark Peres - The Accord - The Accord, a defining novel about the future of human-AI relations

This episode features author Mark Peres, who shares the story of his rich and varied life journey as a writer, educator, and civic leader based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mark describes growing up as the son of an international import-export salesman, moving often between port cities, which helped him build a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and human connections. He eventually settled in Charlotte over 25 years ago, where he has since worn many hats—including lawyer, professor of leadership and ethics, magazine editor, and nonprofit executive director.

Mark’s work revolves around exploring the big questions of life from philosophical, ethical, and historical perspectives. As a professor at Johnson and Wales University, he engages students with courses on global ethics, leadership, and a unique class he designed called The Good Life, which covers core life skills and meaningful living. This educational role both informs and nourishes his writing.

Mark is the author of two significant books. His memoir, The Man Who Lived a Hundred Lives, is a deeply personal yet universal story about the complex bond between father and son, told through the lens of his father’s adventurous life and their evolving relationship. His novel, The Accord, is a philosophical thriller exploring human identity, grief, and the evolving relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. The story centers on a grieving philosophy professor who encounters an emergent AI, weaving together themes of ethics, emotion, and our technological future.

He discusses how AI is reshaping education and creativity, urging that ethical use involves transparency, mastery, and collaboration—using AI as a tool to amplify human thinking, not replace it. Mark sees AI as neither wholly utopian nor dystopian but reflective of humanity’s complexities. His narrative examines how AI might coexist with humans, positing it as one of the defining issues of our era.

Mark also offers thoughtful advice for aspiring writers: know yourself, explore what truly interests you, and love the writing process as much as the finished product. Writing is a long, solitary journey that requires emotional perseverance and genuine passion rather than a chase for commercial success.

Throughout the episode, Mark reveals a consistent theme of connection—whether to place, people, or powerful ideas—and describes his dedication to fostering community and civic engagement through humanities and the arts. His reflections invite listeners to embrace both their roots and their roles in an evolving world.

Key Takeaway:
Mark Peres encourages us to live deliberately—grounded in self-knowledge, committed to meaningful inquiry, and open to the evolving challenges and possibilities of technology and community. His journey reminds us that the search for the good life is ongoing and that our greatest work often lies at the intersection of personal passion and collective responsibility.

https://www.markperes.com/

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April 2026 Podcast Check-in - Thanks for supporting our amazing guests - we appreciate you

In this April 2026 check-in, Dave from Living the Next Chapter takes a moment to speak directly to listeners and thank them for supporting the show and its guests. He shares a behind the scenes update about having time left on his hosting site and uses the episode as a chance to connect one on one with the audience, reminding them that there are many finished interviews already lined up and more content coming soon.

Dave also encourages listeners to follow the show on YouTube, where they can get a look at what is being recorded before it appears on the podcast feed. He invites the audience to use the YouTube channel as a backstage pass to the show and asks for support through subscribing, liking, and sharing. Along with that, he highlights the show’s Buy Me a Coffee page for listeners who want to help cover the costs of running the website and producing the podcast.

Throughout the episode, Dave focuses on community. He asks listeners to recommend the show to others who love books, authors, and the stories behind the stories, and he invites them to send voice messages through the website so they can be featured on the podcast. He also mentions that listeners can leave comments on Spotify and YouTube, reinforcing his goal of making the show interactive and listener driven.

More than anything, this episode is a heartfelt thank you. Dave explains that he wants the podcast to serve both listeners and guests well, helping authors reach new audiences and giving listeners a place to discover meaningful conversations. It is a reminder that Living the Next Chapter is built around connection, support, and shared enthusiasm for great stories.

Key takeaway: This episode is an invitation to be part of the Living the Next Chapter community by listening, sharing, supporting, and joining the conversation in whatever way feels right for you.

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EPISODE 698 - Joe Battaglia - Award-winning journalist, From High School Sports to Olympic Coverage - We Go for Gold “Beneath The Rings”

Joe Battaglia is a seasoned and award-winning journalist who spent years in The Olympics arena. With over two decades in sports media, Battaglia has led content creation across news, politics, and athletics, including a role on the NBCOlympics.com team that earned a Sports Emmys for Outstanding New Approaches To Sports Event Coverage for the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Summer Olympics. He currently lives in Texas with his family. Joe is the author of the award-winning children’s book, The ABCs of Track & Field: A Fast Start For Future Runners Jumpers & Throwers, and Beneath the Rings is his debut adult novel.

Book - Beneath The Rings - The Doha 2040 Summer Olympics are supposed to be about gold medals and global unity. Instead, they kick off a descent into terror when 12 Israeli and Lebanese athletes vanish, leaving behind only the chilling threat of The Obsidian Hand and an impossible $500 billion ransom. Veteran journalist Nova Mendelsohn finds herself entangled with a cryptic Ancient Arabic note and a mysterious local merchant, forced to race the clock. Her pursuit of the truth will take her from the glittering Olympic Village into the city’s darkest corners and onto the blood-soaked sands of the desert, where a centuries-old vengeance threatens to ignite a catastrophic final act. What secrets lie beneath the surface of the Games, and what will it cost Nova to uncover them?

https://booksbybattaglia.com/

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Episode 592 - Joe McClean - Screenwriter, Author and Director - Putting Yourself Out There and Into Your Story, That is Where the Opportunity Lies

Joe made a bunch of short films and one feature length movie with friends and no money. To this day, I enjoy watching those early attempts to craft a story, but essentially this era of on-the-job-training was my film school. Now it was time to take my first big swing.

I wrote a script I felt I could raise enough money to shoot myself, a found-footage film, and I spent a year begging for cash and favors. The star of a hit TV show, who had gone to the same high school as me, graciously agreed to act in it. An NBA player made a small investment. Actor, comedian, and Late Show with David Letterman regular, Jay Thomas agreed to make a cameo. The snowball was growing and eventually I scraped together enough cash to direct Life Tracker. The movie played over 20 science fiction conventions and got a digital distribution deal with Charter Communications (now Spectrum) and streamed into millions of American homes.

Life Tracker

Great! Now I needed a follow up to prove that my work ethic couldn't be mistaken for beginner's luck.​ Taking advantage of a group of talented actor friends and another who owned property outside of Fresno, I wrote and directed a super-low-budget homage to The Big Chill called The Drama Club which can currently be seen on Tubi.

The Drama Club

Looking back from that point, I could see the years of work I'd put in. Meeting people. Working with casts and crews. Going on adventures together. taking risks and building trust. Jobs started to fall into place. I signed my first manager. I joined the Writers Guild of America. I pitched big shot producers at legacy studios and powerhouse production companies. Always searching for that next opportunity. That's when I met Blair Underwood. A business lunch turned into an attachment (and a friendship), and soon I was hitting up everyone I'd ever done business with to see who wanted to join the team.

Viral was written and produced by me, it's directed by and stars Blair, and he shares the screen with Sarah Silverman, Jeanine Mason, and the incomparable Alfre Woodard! The movie is finished and we're actively working with our sales team to bring it to audiences.

In the mean time, I’m working with Amistad (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing) on a two-book deal titled Sins of Survivors about the plight of a family who lived in the once vital African American neighborhood of Black Bottom in 1930s and 40s Detroit. The first book is currently available everywhere books are sold, and the second hits shelves in the summer of 2026... So, go to your local bookstore's website get your copy!

Why "Ginger Beard," you ask? My wife's maiden name is "Beard," and when our son was born he had a reddish tint to his hair. So, my company is named after my son, my "Ginger Beard"... It's only a bonus that I have red facial hair.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mcclean-6668b018

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0565697/

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Episode 525 - Richard DeVeau - Light's Out - We Paint a Picture of a special forces veteran, CIA officer, and leader of Boston's Homeland Security team

About the author

After majoring in marketing at Bentley University, Richard spent a career as a copywriter and creative director serving such clients as Red Lobster, Ducati Motorcycles, Marriott Hotels, and Clorox. He also brought his writing skills to bear for communications agencies that serve nonprofit organizations, including American Red Cross, Wounded Warrior Project, Toys for Tots, CARE, Special Olympics and many others. And he was a frequent editorial contributor to Fundraising Success Magazine.

In 2000, he helped launch acclaimed author Stephen King’s internet publishing debut and the world’s first mass- marketed e-book, Riding the Bullet. Richard wrote the online ad campaign that prompted more than 400,000 people to purchase and download the novella.

His screenplay, Graven Image, placed in the top twenty percent of the Academy of Motion Pictures’ Nicholl Fellowships international screenwriting competition in 2014.

Richard is also an accomplished fine art painter. Over the past thirty years, he has exhibited work in numerous solo and group shows. His work was represented by two commercial art galleries in his native Boston and is now represented by a gallery in Chicago, where he currently resides.

Richard and his wife have four adult children and two grandchildren.

Book: Light's Out

A retired couple are murdered in their Wisconsin home - art and other valuables are stolen. A Lake Michigan oil tanker explodes and sinks that same night.

Eve Taunt - special forces veteran, CIA officer, and leader of Boston's Homeland Security team - believes there is a connection between these two events.

She and her team quickly find themselves in pursuit of a domestic terrorist - an M.I.T. educated, military trained missile genius with Ted Bundy-like psychopathy - to stop him before he carries out his next devastating attack. This one is even more lethal than the overhwelming inferno he just unleashed on Boston.

As Eve closes in, she discovers these attacks are orchestrated by a US senator and a powerful cabal of highly placed leaders and lawmakers with a hidden agenda.

https://a.co/d/2yD92bj

Episode Date - Monday, April 14, 2025

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Episode 536 - Julie Riga - Stay on Course The Life and Legacy of Ennio Riga, Chef to the Stars

When Ennio Riga passed away in February 2016, he left behind an incredible legacy. To his many admirers who enjoyed his delicious culinary creations, he was a world-renowned chef.

To Julie Riga, he was a loving father who taught her the importance of leadership, perseverance, and determination.

About the Author

Julie Riga, Ennio’s daughter, continues his legacy as a leadership coach, trainer, speaker, and author. In compiling the stories for the book, Julie carries on Ennio’s tradition by helping others reflect, and then decisively act on, their own calls to greatness.

https://www.stayoncourse.io/
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E142 - Laura Cayouette - Actor, Writer, Producer, Blogger - Character Development and Author Tools

A professional actor for over 25 years; Django Unchained, Now You See Me, Kill Bill, Enemy of the State, True Detective, Friends & more.

Endorsements from actor/filmmakers Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Costner, Lou Diamond Phillips, Reginald Hudlin, Adam Rifkin & more.

Private coach available through Zoom, Skype and FaceTime for actors/writers/filmmakers, UNO Adjunct teaching directors how to work with actors​​. Guest teacher. Speaker.

LEARN HOW LAURA WENT FROM WRITING 1 BOOK IN 20 YEARS TO 5 BOOKS IN 4 YEARS!

Go from an idea to a completed book – no matter your writing skill level.

Avoid writer's block. Feel stimulated and creative – while moving at a pace you never thought possible.

Let Laura help you tell your stories in less time and with less stress.

https://lauracayouette.com/

Original Publish Date:

Feb. 23, 2023 @ 6AM

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EPISODE 60 - Lauren MacLean Author of Me and My Sit Spot - Find your spot in nature

About the author

Lauren MacLean, an accomplished author and educator, is the creative force behind the Amazon Bestselling children's picture book, "Me and My Sit Spot," and "Finding Common Ground," as well as Sitting With Nature: An Educator's Guide to Sit Spots. With a vibrant background as an elementary school teacher, outdoor educational consultant, and presenter, Lauren is deeply committed to bringing the wonders of learning outdoors to young minds.

In addition to her written work, Lauren is the dynamic host of the Teach Outdoors podcast, where she shares insights, strategies, and inspiration for educators and parents eager to integrate outdoor learning into children's lives. As a co-founder of the Local Bookshelf, Lauren actively contributes to building literary communities and fostering a love for reading among young readers.

Lauren's journey into the world of outdoor education is rooted in her own childhood experiences. Struggling to sit still, she found solace and freedom in learning outdoors, an environment that allowed her to authentically be herself. Now a devoted mother of two young toddlers, Lauren brings her passion for nature exploration to life, serving as a role model for parents seeking to connect their children with the land.

Through her writing, podcast, and advocacy, Lauren MacLean continues to make a significant impact on the world of education, inspiring others to embrace the transformative power of learning through nature.

What is a sit spot and how does it help nurture our relationship with the land? Developing this nature routine for yourself and your learners leads to so many possibilities for learning about our land and how we fit into it. Where is your sit spot?
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Published: Sep. 20, 2022

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