Outrageou.s.

One of the MOST, if not the MOST, outrageous issues in the United States.  Obesity.

Everyone feels like they need to follow the status quo because it's the right thing to do.  The common path doesn't work for everyone and it becomes a problem when people feel like they are forced to follow it.  Do what you need to do to build the life that you want not what society says you should do.

It's been a little while since I have uploaded an episode.  Over the break, I decided to make a pivot with the show. 

Matt, Rob, and Jonathan join me in the first roundtable episode to discuss the ongoing opioid crisis.  Matt, Rob, and Jonathan share their different encounters with the problem and we talk about how we as individuals can step up and help solve the problem.  Jonathan shared this link https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html with me that really shows how real this problem is.  He also shared a report that you can see here.

Scott struggled with an alcohol addiction for 15 years before overcoming his struggle and becoming sober.  He now uses that experience to help other people overcome their struggle with alcohol.  Be sure to check out Scott's podcast "Moving Through" on May 21, 2018.  To find out more about his work you can visit https://www.scottpinyard.com/.

My guest for this episode, Russell Creed, talks with me about the challenges that people in need of an organ transplant face.  He is an organ recipient himself because of his rare disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC).  There is a shortage of organ donors in the US, which makes it challenging to receive the organ that some people need to save their lives.  If you are willing and able to donate an organ and are not already an organ donor, then consider signing up to be one.  You can find out how to become a donor at  https://organdonor.gov/register.html. Here are the links to the organizations that Russell mentioned in the interview: http://pscpartners.org/ https://chrisklugfoundation.org/ https://unos.org/

Alex is the owner of Trajectory Arms and he is very passionate about firearms and the topic of gun control.  In this episode, we talk about the gun control issue and why taking guns away is not the answer that our country needs.  

I apologize, no full episode for this week.  I did want to make a couple of announcements, so this week's episode is dedicated to that.  The new website is finally available www.outrageouspodcast.com.  I have some great episodes planned including Alcoholism, Organ Donation, Gun Control, Immigration, Human Trafficking, and more, so you won't want to miss any episodes in the future.  You can contact me through the Contact Us form on the website with any feedback, episode or guests suggestions, or questions. Thanks for listening!  

Liberal vs. Conservative, Republican vs, Democrat, we hear it all the time.  What we don't realize is that we are people vs. people.  We argue constantly about issues for no reason.  We all want the same outcome, positive change.  No one wants to see something that is causing a problem continue to happen, yet we constantly argue about them and never make any progress.  Drop the titles, educate yourself, and come up with new ideas and new ways to fix the problems that you see.  

Having a safe learning environment is critical to a student's development.  Safe Havens International works to ensure that schools can provide that safe environment.  Senior Analyst Chris Dorn talks with me about Safe Havens International, challenges in securing a school, and what we as individuals can do help solve this problem. http://safehavensinternational.org/ Twitter Facebook

We have so many privileges that come with living in a first world country and too often we take advantage of them.  Josh Guerrero from the All Around Adventure Podcast joins us to talk about some of his experiences living in a third world country.  We discuss the trivial things that we complain about on a daily basis and why we shouldn't be. Be sure to check out Josh's podcast The All-Around Adventure Podcast Website  Facebook Twitter  

In this episode, we talk with Megan Hustings, Interim Director NCH, about homelessness.  NCH takes a different approach toward the homelessness issue than our previous guest, so we are glad to be able to share the work of NCH with our listeners! To find out more about NCH, visit their website at http://nationalhomeless.org/ You can also find them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

The American prison system has derailed over the last few decades.  With mass incarceration and the growing issues of violence, rape, and many other issues in prisons, a change needs to be made.  Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy joins us to talk about his Wordsuncaged program that is taking the necessary action to improve our current prison situation in the US. Be sure to check out the upcoming WORDSUNCAGED Event on their website! WORDSUNCAGED Website WORDSUNCAGED Facebook Page WORDSUNCAGED Instagram

The American media is a hot topic in today's world.  With the rising of non-mainstream media and the amount of exposure we have to the media every day, it has evolved into a whole new beast.  Chris Gachko joins us to tell about what he has learned in his experience with following the workings of the media.    

This episode is a little bit different than our typical discussion.  We give our own view on a problem that we see in our country, that being the outrageous amount of people that are living their lives working a miserable job.  We even give you some tips on how to solve the problem.  Enjoy!

The lack of masculinity in our country, and throughout the world is widely overlooked.  Ryan Michler, host and founder of the Order of Man, joins us to talk about why this has happened and how we can help fix it.  Ryan's book Sovereignty is available here and be sure to check out his podcast.

Poverty is a widely overlooked issue in our country.  In 2016 the poverty rate was at 12.7%, which means there are over 40 million people living in poverty.  Laura Sams, founder and president of RAM Ministries joins us to talk about her encounters with poverty and how we as individuals can address the problem and help out.  

Recently we have seen a large movement to call out the ones guilty of sexual misconduct in our society.  Sadly, this is a much bigger issue than it should be.  Hopefully, this episode along with the movements in action today will raise awareness of what needs to be done.  While the problem still exists, we can thank organizations like the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC), for the awesome work that they do.  Sondra Miller, President and CEO of the CRCC joins us in this episode to tell us about what they do, how big the problem is, and what we can do to help fix it.  

In this episode, we talk about the concerning air pollution issue in the US.  Lauren Pagel, Policy Director at Earthworks, joins us to tell us how bad the issue really is, and what we as individuals can do to help solve the problem. To support Earthworks you can donate to our GoFund Me campaign here.  To learn more about Earthworks visit their website.  Enjoy!  

In this episode of OutrageoU.S., we talk about the gang issue in America.  A little less personal problem, but one to be aware of none the less.  John Hagedorn,  from the University of Illinois at Chicago, joins us and provides us with some great information.  Enjoy the episode!