Episodes
Dan Lambert - American Top Team & AEW
Summary: In this episode of the Tragedy Academy, Jay welcomes Dan Lambert, owner of American Top Team, the legendary MMA gym. Dan grew American Top Team from an amateur MMA gym, doing it only for the love of the game, to one ...
Heather Jess - Momma Squad
Are you a parent? This episode is for you! Tune in as Jay welcomes Heather Jess to talk about post-partum depression, the challenges of being a parent, and the power of community support in raising children. Heather Jess is t...
Kerri McKinney ”Perfectly Imperfect”
In this episode, Jay and Gary welcome Kerri McKinney to talk about the highs and lows of being an alcoholic and getting sober. Kerri is an empowerment coach, energy healer, and speaker who is also a recovering alcoholic who s...
”The Art of Survival: Iden Crockett on PTSD, Trans Rights, and Living Authentically”
Summary *TW: This episode contains discussions of suicide; please listen with caution.* This week on the podcast, Jay welcomes Iden Crockett. Iden is a true Renaissance woman: artist, writer, photographer, musician, and so mu...
Olivia Blair - Body Dysmorphia
Summary This week Jay welcomes actress Olivia Blair to the podcast. Today, Olivia pursues her passions of acting and film, however she hasn't always been able to live as her authentic self. Olivia first began to struggle with...
Sip The Motivational Kid, Deandre Smith
Summary *TW* - This episode discusses experiences with death and violence that may be upsetting for some listeners. Please listen with caution. This week The Tragedy Academy is honored to have Deandre "Sip the Kid" Smith on t...
TRUJETTY, Jetty Nieuwenhuis - The Rebel Influencer
Summary This week's episode of The Tragedy Academy features speaker, model, and wellness advocate, Jetty Nieuwenhuis. Despite having the following of an influencer, Jetty rejects the perfect curated image of the influencer an...
The Tragedy Academy Library
Summary The Tragedy Academy is excited to present a new regular feature for the show: TA Library. In this episode, TA librarian Jennifer steps out from behind the curtain to talk about what academics can expect from these aft...
Artem Lobov - The Russian Hammer
Summary Gary brings another inspiring guest to the show: Artem Lobov. A former MMA fighter and boxer, Artem is taking the opportunity of an early retirement to not only protect his health, but explore who he is outside of the...
"Detention Diaries: Rule-Breaking, Rental Wrecks, and Retro Beats"
Summary Welcome to the Tragedy Academy's very first detention episode! With the teachers away, Jay and Gary get up to more shenanigans and our favorite delinquents have brought some seriously heavy-hitting topics. From Teddy ...
"Ink and Integrity: Sam 'High Noon' Suarez on Tattooing Tales and Artistic Truths"
Summary This week, tattoo artist and actor Sam Suarez, a.k.a. High Noon, is on the show. A star of Tattoo Nightmares Miami, Sam offers a unique insider perspective into the art of tattooing and how he has translated that expe...
UFC Fighter Vince Murdock | Fighting through a traumatic brain disorder
Summary This week we're joined by professional fighter and Moyamoya survivor Vince Murdock. Vince has gone through a lot of setbacks in life: A Moyamoya diagnosis led to brain surgery. Injuries dogged his career. A car accide...
Fighter's Philosophy: How Bobby Maximus Knocks Out Fear with Kindness
Summary In this episode, we welcome professional fighter Bobby Maximus to the show. A long-time friend of Gary's, the two first met on the set of The Ultimate Fighter years ago and discussed their shared experience on the sho...
An Immigrant’s Journey: From Basketball Star in Colombia to Street Baller in NYC
Summary This week Jay and Gary are joined by an extra special guest: Jay’s father-in-law, Gabriel Torres…and he’s got quite the story to tell. Gabe grew up in Colombia where as a student he was a basketball star. After gradua...
Matthew Scheall "The Battle of the Inner Critic"
Summary Jay and Gary are joined in the studio by musician and rapper, Matthew Scheall. Matthew came to music a little later in the game, not starting his journey until college when he was inspired and encouraged by close frie...
The Power of Love and Wrestling: A Conversation with Ellie Neidhart
Summary To kick off the third season of The Tragedy Academy, Jay and Gary are joined by Ellie Neidhart, the wife of late WWE legend, Jim The Anvil Neidhart. Jay and Gary are able to geek out over their shared childhood experi...
The Tragedy Academy 2.0
Summary Welcome to The Tragedy Academy... 2.0! In this episode get the scoop on what we have in store for our relaunch. Jay sits down with our new co-host, Gary, to talk about this new era of TA - from new team members to new...
Lessons Learned
This week on The Tragedy Academy, Jay welcomes back musician and executive producer, Gary DeFranco, for a very special episode: The Tragedy Academy’s season finale! This is TA’s last episode before taking a short hiatus to co...
Special Guest: Katie Chonacas - Kyriaki
Summary This week on the Tragedy Academy podcast, Jay rolls out a very big welcome for the talented multi-disciplinary artist, Katie Chonacas (aka KYRIAKI). Not only has Katie acted in numerous productions with A-list stars, ...
Special Guest: Ben Dykstra - The Rolling Dragon
Summary This week on the Tragedy Academy, Jay introduces Ben Dykstra, a.k.a. The Rolling Dragon. Born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy, Ben hasn’t let his disability limit his potential. Ben is a talented voice actor with tireless...
Special Guest: Michael Anthony - Think Unbroken
In this episode of the Tragedy Academy, Jay brings trauma survivor and life coach, Michael Unbroken, on to the show. Michael is the host of his own podcast, “Think Unbroken”, where he invites experts, researchers, psychologis...
Just Be Kind - Living Unapologetically as a Queer Muslim with Amir Yass
Summary In this episode of the Tragedy Academy, we sit down with Amir Yass, digital creator, and LGBTQ activist. As a queer Muslim man, Amir has faced discrimination from all sides - even from other LGBTQ individuals. This di...
Exploring the Unknown: A Conversation on Astrophotography and Deep Space with Damien Boath
Summary: Welcome back to another episode of The Tragedy Academy; today, Jay meets Australian native Damien Boath. Damien shares with us his fascination for deep space and his love for pondering the unknown. Through his discov...
Finding Self-Discovery Through Art and Superheroes with Christian Valera
Summary: In this episode of The Tragedy Academy, we meet Christian Valera. Christian runs a YouTube channel where he dives deep into the Marvel and DC universe and details each superhero. Christian used art and superheroes to...