The People We Meet with Ty Bruner

Under the Waves: The Soviet Who Said No

It’s October 1962.
A Soviet submarine is baking beneath the Caribbean, cut off from the world while American ships above drop depth charges—not to destroy it, but to force it to the surface.
Problem is… nobody on board knows that.
Inside, the air is thick, the temperature is climbing, and the men are running out of time—and patience.
Two officers are convinced the war has already started.
And they’re ready to fire a nuclear torpedo.
One man isn’t.
His name was Vasily Arkhipov.
And this is the story of the moment when one man’s refusal to panic may have kept the world from nuclear annihilation. 

Slapped in Paris — A Diplomat’s Wake-Up Call

When Scott Rasmussen — a husband, father of eight and former U.S. diplomat — is struck in a Paris park, a single shocking moment becomes the first page of a much larger story. That slap sparks a curiosity that sends him from the tightly controlled streets of Asmara to the anxious borders of Poland and into the volatile neighborhoods of Jerusalem, asking a simple question: how do we learn to see each other as human?
Through vivid scenes of forced national service in Eritrea, the living memory of war in Poland, and fragile peacebuilding work in Israel and Palestine, Scott shares the small, stubborn practices that actually connect people: conversations, shared projects, and the messy work of cooperation. 
Back in the U.S., he turns that hard-earned perspective inward, tracing how contempt and division creep into families and communities and how pluralism — respect, relationship, cooperation — can be a practical antidote. This episode invites listeners to sit down, listen, and rethink what it takes to rebuild trust in a polarized world.

Fire, Flight, and the Truth She Couldn't Hide: Maeve’s Journey

In this episode, host Ty Bruner sits down with Maeve Griffith — U.S. Air Force veteran and retired fire captain — to talk about a life lived on the edge of discipline, danger, and identity.
From a turbulent childhood to flying in bombers and battling structure fires, Maeve built a career defined by courage — while quietly carrying a truth she wasn’t ready to face.
This conversation traces her journey of coming out in uniform, the weight of secrecy, and the hard-won support that followed.
It’s a story about risk, identity, and what happens when one person finally stops hiding — and gives others permission to do the same.

Voices Of The Past: Bruce Lee- "Be water, my friend."

When a tiny blip on a podcast map points the host back to Hong Kong, a memory of a legend comes rushing in.
In this episode, Ty Bruner traces Bruce Lee’s journey from a restless childhood in Hong Kong to philosophy classes in Seattle, and eventually to the film sets that turned him into a global icon.
We move from backyard nunchuck rituals and the electric shock of a Long Beach demonstration to the painful compromises of Hollywood and the explosive triumph of Hong Kong cinema. Along the way we discover the thinker behind the fists — a man who refused to be boxed in and challenged the world to be water.
Warm, personal, and reflective, this episode becomes something more than a biography. It’s a bridge between eras and cultures — and a reminder that sometimes the people who feel they belong nowhere are the ones who end up connecting everywhere.

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.