The People We Meet with Ty Bruner

Emma's Journey: From A 20 Yard Motel Pool to the U.S. National Team

At 5 a.m., with a rope and a handful of buoys marking a makeshift lane at Benny's Inn, Emma Schanz began a quest that would carry her from a tiny Washington town to the U.S. National Team and UCLA’s record books. This episode follows her raw, relentless grind — the doubles, the tire flips, the sacrifices, and the pinch‑me moments training alongside her childhood heroes.
But it’s more than medals: it’s about identity, resilience, and learning to show up for yourself. Listen as Emma talks about the cost of chasing a dream, the lessons that shaped her life after swimming, and why perseverance can outmatch privilege. A compact, inspiring story about small‑town grit and the big choices that define us.

My Generation

Ty Bruner invites listeners on a nostalgic, unvarnished journey through Generation X — from sunlit Saturday mornings on big wheels and mixtapes that shaped young hearts, sunrises at sea, cinematic lessons in grit, and the dizzying shift from rotary phones to smartphones. With a storyteller’s eye, he threads humor, loss, and hard-earned wisdom into a narrative about loneliness turned connection, cinematic heroes that taught resilience, and the quiet stewardship Gen X now holds between older and younger worlds. This episode is a personal, reflective ride: intimate scenes, sharp images, and a steadying call to remember the bigger picture while showing up for the people and planet that matter.

Warthog Pilot: Dale Storr and the 17th Mission

On this fascinating episode, former A-10 pilot Dale Storer pulls listeners into a razor-sharp narrative that moves from Air Force bases and childhood memories to the thunder of Desert Storm. A routine mission turns into chaos—an unseen impact, a low-altitude ejection, and an immediate, brutal descent into captivity—each moment told with the quiet clarity of a man who lived it.
Ty Bruner’s interview unfolds like a tight film scene: the heat of Saudi Arabia, the scramble to targets, the clatter of interrogations, and the small, human details that anchor the story—a shared date, a whispered name, a reporter in a neighboring cell. Tension builds and loosens, and the episode balances action with reflection.
Short, vivid, and deeply humane, this episode is about survival and resilience. It’s a front-row seat to courage under fire, the complicated aftermath of war, and the slow, hopeful road back home.

Chuck Gumm: The Man, the Mustang, and the Decision

From the rail yards of Spokane to the cold English countryside, this episode follows Charles "Chuck" Gumm Jr., a Rogers High kid turned P-51 pilot, whose ordinary upbringing met an extraordinary moment in midair. Against the roar of engines and the pressure of war, one failing Merlin engine forced a decision that would ripple across an ocean.
This episode shares a moment in history that never made the books, but it made a difference.

The Trouble With Those Pesky Immigrants: Part 2 With Sam Smith

Host Ty Bruner sits down with immigration attorney Sam Smith to cut through the noise — history, policy and rhetoric collide as they reveal the human stories hidden behind headline numbers. From DACA recipients trapped in a “golden cage,” to asylum seekers facing impossible legal hurdles, this episode walks listeners through the real process, the cruel bottlenecks, and the decisions that tear families apart.
Sam translates law into living people: unlawful presence bars, visa backlogs, and third-country removals become stakes in a high-tension narrative about who we are as a nation. You’ll hear the voices of those who must choose between safety and separation, and the chilling reality of detention and displacement.
Sharp, urgent, and hopeful, this episode doesn’t just explain what’s broken — it asks what we can do next. Tune in for a clear-eyed, human-first look at immigration that asks you to rethink fear, policy, and the future we want to build.

The Trouble With Those Pesky Immigrants

This episode of The People We Meet takes a calm, story-driven walk through America’s past — from Ellis Island and the words etched at the base of the Statue of Liberty to the people who arrived carrying hope, fear, and very little else.
Along the way, we revisit moments many of us half-remember from school — the Irish, Chinese, Italians, Jews, Mexicans, Japanese Americans — not as villains or footnotes, but as neighbors who helped build the country we live in now.
Told with humor, empathy, and a firefighter’s eye for proportion, this is a reflection on who we’ve been, how we’ve grown, and why understanding our history matters when things get loud and complicated again.
It’s not a lecture. It’s not a rant.
It’s a reminder that America’s story has always been bigger — and better — than its fears.

The No-Li Journey: The Building Of A Brewhouse with John Bryant

Settle into the warm hum of the No Lie Brewhouse in Spokane as host Ty Bruner and owner John Bryant trace a line from Dust Bowl survival to a thriving riverfront brewery. Through vivid family stories—grandparents who wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, mornings with a chainsaw, and Grange Hall gatherings—this episode unfolds how grit and old‑school generosity shaped a man and his mission.
We follow John’s bootstrapped climb through the brewing world, the nights he couldn’t sleep over unpaid bills, and the moments he chose community over profit. Along the way you’ll meet the characters, stakes, and small rituals that turned a pub into a purpose-driven hub—where every pint carries a piece of legacy.
By the end, you’ll understand why No Lie is more than beer: it’s a promise to a city, a family, and the idea that generosity and uncompromising standards can change a place. Tune in for a candid, heartfelt story about leadership, sacrifice, and the taste of home.

The Title Of Ehea: A Tactical Athlete's Journey

When Ty Bruner sits down with Ehea Schuerch, a corrections officer by day and elite tactical athlete by night, a story of grit, faith, and hard-won grace unfolds. From a childhood in Spokane shaped by creativity and scarcity to the brutal discipline of the Tactical Games and a decade inside the jail, E. reveals how training became a lifeline — pushing her body, sharpening her mind, and teaching her what really matters.
Along the way she confronts the cost of ambition, the power of community, and the quiet reclaiming of faith after pain. Candid, fierce, and surprisingly tender, E.’s journey is about more than medals: it’s about resilience, belonging, and the risky work of choosing to be seen.