Rooted Wisconsin

30/09/2025

HEALTHY Conflict and the CONSEQUENCE of Gratitude!?

Ryan Martin on the Rooted Wisconsin podcast discussing the importance of healthy conflict, the consequences to gratitude, and how we've lost the ability to disagree.

15/09/2025

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15/09/2025

Dr. Ryan Martin (aka the Anger Professor) is a leading expert on emotional wellness and anger management. He helps people master emotional challenges and harness the power of emotions—especially anger—for personal growth and success. His work focuses on delivering practical, research-backed strategies through clear, direct, and actionable advice. In his role as Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Ryan combines academic leadership with a commitment to public scholarship.🧠😡

In this episode, Brad and Ryan discuss anger and aggression, personality versus situation leading to them, normalizing deep communication about beliefs and the importance of cordial debate, and inverse correlation between gratitude and the willingness to share your voice and opinions, the ability to forge deep connection in working through conflict, and MUCH more.🔗🔥

Today, maybe more than ever, some of these topics are lessons that I believe are of the utmost importance. Recent events and discourse have cast a cloud of doubt over our ability as a society to respectfully debate people with opinions other than our own and several forces seem to be playing roles in dividing us. I hope we are able to make positive progress against that trend, for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and future generations. Much of Ryan's work, I firmly believe can help us on that path. Remember, as Paul Thorn says, "You Might Be Wrong".🫂💯

Preorder Ryan's new book, listen to his Ted Talk, and check out his podcast!📒📝

Of course, a HUGE shout-out to our sponsor Karouser ‪ They keep these episodes coming. If you dig what we do, please support them!❤️🥂

14/09/2025

Grateful for the last few days!❤️💯

The Karouser+Rooted Wisconsin tailgate was a smashing success. It was a BLAST sharing a healthier alternative to alcohol with the Packer faithful (We shared with Commander fans too. They ended up needing it more🤣). Great to have it wrap up with a dominant W for the Green and Gold.🏈💚💛

Then, we took the studio on the road for a great day of recording. First, we chatted with John Utrie, a retired pelvic surgeon about his deep and life changing story of using psychedelics to manage the symptoms of debilitating cluster headaches. Often references to as "su***de headaches", John was once at a point in his life where that moniker rang quite true, with a plan place and all. A respected medical professional who had lived a life on the straight and narrow, John took us through his experience of discovering psychedelic treatment, coming to terms with use vs stigma, and his positive experience in deciding to pursue it. He has since become a tremendous source of knowledge in the medical use of psychedelics and his eloquent and thoughtful way of communicating that knowledge will be a great listen for all when the episode goes live.🍄👨‍⚕️

Next, we chatted with Dan Lawrence, Commander in Reef of Karouser (among MANY other things). An Air Force veteran, Dan shared a moving story of attempting to turn in his wings before his second deployment after identifying glaring issues in the process of mission planning and ex*****on that he forecasted would put his team in immense danger (spoiler alert, he ultimately ended up deploying and was sadly proven exactly right). We also talked about the facets and prerequisites of effective leadership and the story of creating Karouser, born of a passion for a better and healthier alternative to alcohol. Another can't miss episode.🥤🛬

Big shout-out to our sponsor, (see above 🤣😉). They keep these episodes coming. Check out their NEW and IMPROVED website to take a first step to a healthier alternative to alcohol.💯🤙

09/09/2025

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01/09/2025

NEW EPISODE!!🔥💯

Buckle up... I have been WAITING to drop this one since it was recorded.🤯

Born into a Wisconsin-based cult, Shifrah Morgan (and MANY others) endured a life of abuse, trauma, and manipulation until she was able to escape. The Shawano based group, known by several names including the "Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology (SIST) and the "Rama Cult", has left a wake of negative impact since being founded in the early 70's by a man formerly known as Rama Behera (he has changed his name several times over the years and is now thought to go by Avraham Cohen).😲🤐

In this episode, Shifrah bravely details her personal story along with striking and unsettling first hand accounts of physical, mental, and sexual abuse, manipulation, and the inner workings of the cult. Children being locked in barrels, members punished by getting their heads shaved and spit on by the members, horrific sexual abuse, and punishment by cattle prod are just a few of the MANY stories that Shifrah details in our conversation. We also discuss her exit (abandoned by her biological family at 13 years old) from the cult and life afterward, including finding who she now calls her family after being banished, her military service, the death of her first husband, motherhood, business ownership, bass fishing, and more.😰😵

I was, and still am, truly in awe of Shifrah's courage and strength. The poise she exhibited while sharing such personal and trauma-filled stories was nothing less than extraordinary. I see this as a testament to her amazing ability to persist and, against staggering odds, build a life she is happy to live. Shifrah's purpose for coming on the podcast was largely driven by the hope of bringing awareness to the situation. Please share this far and wide if you are as moved by her story as I was.🏋️‍♀️🌟

As always, a MASSIVE shout-out to our sponsors Karouser and Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay! They keep these episodes coming. If you dig what we do, please support them!❤️🙌

18/08/2025

NEW EPISODE!🔥💯

Arts Fishing Club is a Nashville-based indie-folk band known for their energetic live performances and heartfelt lyricism. Led by Christopher Kessenich (from Appleton Wisconsin), the band blends elements of rock, folk, and indie music. Their music captures a sense of adventure and camaraderie, reflecting themes of love, life, and the journey of chasing dreams. The band’s name is a tribute to Kessenich’s grandfathers and symbolizes perseverance and the joy of the journey rather than the end result—a philosophy that ties into the band’s approach to both music and life.🎸🎙️

In this episode, recorded in Northern Wisconsin at Christopher's family cabin, Brad and Christopher discuss the life of a touring musician, the evolution of Arts Fishing Club, songwriting and creativity, Bob Dylan and searching for diamonds, emotions and beliefs, and much, MUCH more. Another can't miss.🤙✌️

As always, a HUGE shout-out to our sponsors at Karouser and Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay They keep these coming! If you dig what we do, please support them!🤝🙌

10/08/2025

What a great recording day!!💯🔥

Kicked the day off with Ryan Martin! We had a deep and engaging chat about anger, his career in higher education, choosing psychology and where his interest in studying anger started with the "Martin temper", passion for teaching and supporting success, why I get so mad driving, and much more. Outside of being a great conversation, I am especially pumped about him coming on because I draw some of my creative vision for Rooted Wisconsin from and his podcast, Ryan had the opportunity to be a guest on his show a few years ago! The degrees of separation are few! We got so into discussing what Ryan does, that I wish we would have shared his more of his personal journey! Nonetheless, 10/10.🤙🙌

Next, I had the opportunity to hear one of the most heart wrenching, roller coaster rides of a story I have ever heard from Shifrah Morgan (I can't tag her here but her larger following is on TikTok. Search for "Rama Cult). We discussed her being born into a cult based in Northeast Wisconsin (Shawano). In a comprehensive deep-dive, Shifrah shared many stories from her life that will absolutely shake you to the core. Cattle prods, kids in barrels, cult dynamics and leadership, getting kicked out (of home and the cult) as a young teen with literally nothing, physical, mental, and sexual abuse and trauma, heartache, control, losing loved ones, and so much more. The tears flowed at many times throughout the conversation (and the audio laptop died and was quickly plugged back in). The episode ended on a high note with Shifra sharing her love of life and the gratitude of where she has gotten to with the people around her. Her path there though, is one no one should have to walk. It is truly astounding that she has persisted how she has. In what turned out to be, by far, the longest episode of Rooted Wisconsin EVER at three hours, I could have kept asking her more questions for another three. I could see a part two coming from this one. You certainly won't want to miss this.

As always, thanks to our sponsors at and They keep the episodes coming!

04/08/2025

NEW EPISODE‼️🔥

Sophie Herriot is a Wisconsin track and field athlete, who graduated from Arrowhead High School, moving on to pole vault at UW-Madison before transferring to Marquette last season.🏃‍♀️🎽

In this episode, Brad and Sophie discuss her passion for vaulting, having her Dad as a coach, mental and physical hurdles she has faced in being a D1 college athlete, NIL and marketing, being an influencer, the value of persistence, and much, MUCH, more!💯🧠

As always shout out to our great sponsors!

I'm excited to announce the partnership with Karouser Beverages in this episode! Great folks, with a great mission that I believe in wholeheartedly! Toss a like and share their way and check out some awesome N/A products! 💯🔥

And, of course, our friends are Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay.🍕😋

28/07/2025

NEW EPISODE!!🔥💯

12 years into a career in healthcare, with a good portion of those spent being a critical care pediatric nurse practitioner, Carey Sharpe was burned out and ready for a change. Her fist shift, transitioning into entrepreneurship as one of two owners of The Howard in Oshkosh, was a taste of life outside of healthcare. She followed that with a project rekindling one of her first loves, music. Sharpe, a classically trained violinist, along with a carefully curated team of partners are now full steam ahead with their Vampire Rock Popera, Blood/Love. Following successful runs at her theatre in Oshkosh, Los Angeles, and becoming the first theatrical production in history to debut at Cannes Film Festival, Blood/Love is coming to New York City in 2026.🎻😎

In this episode, Brad and Carey talk about creating and starring in Blood/Love, the creative roots of the show, her career in healthcare and the decision to leave it behind, music and its connection to her life, K12 education and her being instrumental in bringing the Acton Academy to Oshkosh, entrepreneurship and The Howard, and MUCH more.✌️🤙

As always, shoutout to our sponsors Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay! They keep these coming. Stop in for a mouth-watering pizza!🍕🍕

21/07/2025

New Episode!!🔥💯

Brian Johnson is the President and CEO of On Broadway, Inc. in Green Bay and an Alderman representing Green Bay's 9th District. After graduation from UW-Madison with a degree in Political Science, Brian's dream of becoming a member of Congress shifted to being an entrepreneur. After a stint in contracting, he spent 7 years as a business owner before selling and beginning work for the Green Bay Chamber. Then, in 2016, Brian became the leader of On Broadway, Inc., a position he still holds. Then, in 2018, an unsuccessful deal to bring a baseball stadium to downtown Green Bay motivated him to run for public office, ultimately winning the job of representing the constituents of the 9th District of Green Bay.🌆💼

In this episode Brian and Brad discussion the Green Bay Public Market coming to the Broadway District in Green Bay, his history and interest in politics, the importance of locally owned business to the identity and culture of a city, the bootstraps mentality, and his passion for bolstering community.😎❤️

As always a HUGE shoutout to our sponsor at Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay. They keep these coming. If you dig it, make sure to support them!

16/06/2025

Last month I ventured up to Green Bay to chat with Brad on Rooted Wisconsin. We covered a little bit of everything from my creative and farm roots growing up, to my eleven years in publishing, to what's happening now. You can watch the episode on Youtube or listen to it on all podcast platforms.

From selling drawings to classmates as a kid to his current full time income being driven by his art, Ryan Ebert has always been a creator with an entreprene...