The Story Forge

Hosted by Lyle Smith

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Jun 2026

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About the show

The collected stories of people making things that matter and inspiring others to do the same.

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60 recent

September 10, 2026Episode 671 hr 1 min

You Are Just Beginning - Jim Ridgway

Jim Ridgway is a good friend and author of You are Just Beginning we published this past year under the Zolly House imprint. There are so many leadership books out there in the marketplace, and so many of them authored by former military officers and leaders. While this one falls into that silo, Jim’s approach is quite different from most. He covers both stories from his military experience and further on from his life in the private sector. We’ll get into the structure of the book, itself, but as you’ll see, it’s not a pure educational course in how to be a leader, it’s rather a collection of anecdotes supporting a series of tips learned and earned over time that build upon each other from the basics to the most advanced tenants that actually helped the author become a truly effective leader, boss, and professional mentor. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

June 2, 2026Episode 661 hr 8 min

Inside the Ocean - Jeff Milisen

Every night, while most of us are asleep, something incredible is happening beneath the ocean's surface. Countless marine creatures rise up from the cold, dark depths of the open ocean to its surface waters — and almost nobody knows it's happening. Almost nobody. My guest today is Jeff Milisen — marine biologist, underwater photographer, and the go-to written authority on blackwater diving. If you want to understand what's living in the open ocean at night, his Field Guide to Blackwater Diving in Hawaii is the book. Full stop. As the blackwater diving community has exploded around the world — from Hawaii and Florida to the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia — Jeff's work has become the reference everyone turns to. We're working together on the second edition right now, and I wanted to sit down with him and let you hear what makes this world so hard to walk away from. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

March 10, 2026Episode 651 hr 13 min

Run Wise. Run Healthy. - Bjorn Anderson

In this episode, we sit down with Bjorn Anderson , founder of RunWise , a new platform built to help runners train smarter and stay healthy. A lifelong student of endurance sport, Bjorn has become increasingly focused on one question: why do so many runners get hurt while trying to get better? Drawing from coaching insight, training data, and the lived experience of thousands of runners, Bjorn explains how small daily decisions—mileage, recovery, intensity, and life stress—combine to shape injury risk. His answer is RunWise: a system designed to evaluate a runner’s training day by day, offering a simple red, yellow, green risk assessment that helps athletes avoid the mistakes that derail seasons. We talk about marathon training, the unique challenges facing masters runners, and the philosophy behind sustainable performance. If you care about running longer, healthier, and wiser, this conversation will change the way you think about training. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

April 24, 2025Episode 741 min

Friday at the Carnival - Dave Johnson

The Penn Relays is the biggest and most historical track and field meet in America and, founded in 1895, one of the longest-running sporting events in the country and the world. Every year over the last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in April, track fans from across the country and around the world descend on Philadelphia to witness some of the best sprinters, jumpers, throwers, and distance runners compete in all manner of relay events. Athletes from grammar school to high school to college and beyond dream of stepping onto Franklin Field to take their place in the pantheon. Learn more about this amazing tradition - https://pennrelays.com/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

April 19, 2025Episode 641 hr 4 min

ENCORE: Coogan's Finish Line - RIP Peter Walsh

April 18, 2025. NEW YORK - Peter Walsh passed away today at 1pm Eastern time. He was a saloon keeper, a musician, a poet, an entrepreneur, an employer, a father, a husband and a friend. But mostly, he was joy wrapped up in a human-shaped package. He was known to us as a track fan and one of the owners of Coogan's Bar just up the street from The Armory. Here, we post the interview we did with him in 2020 just after Coogan's closed for good, an unfortunate victim of the COVID pandemic. Today we bid Peter a fond and tearful farewell and say we'll look forward to meeting him again on the other side of the track. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

August 29, 2024Episode 631 hr 15 min

Turning it Upside Down - James Whittaker

Learn more about James and his business at The Ambitious Exec >>> OR Download his free white paper from his LinkedIn profile. This, alone, is worth the price of admission. Link here >>> ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

August 20, 2024Episode 6210 min

Hot Type - Why The Sting Matters - to me

Visit Nymblesmith to learn more about The Sheet and how it developed. https://www.nymblesmith.com/the-sheet ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

July 19, 2024Episode 611 hr 30 min

Voicing a Sport - Alex Cuesta & Dave Hyatt

Alex Cuesta and Dave Hyatt are first and foremost, fans. They’ve been athletes themselves. And coaches. They’re teachers and friends. But maybe more than anything, they’re fans. They love track & field and cross country. And that is what inspired them to start the Running in Ovals podcast dedicated to the sport, the practitioners of the sport, fans of the sport, and they’ve adopted a mission of building and growing the sports of track & field and cross country running from the grass roots. They talk to everyone from the high school level to the pro level. They talk to the reporters and promoters of the sport. Officials and parents and try to address everything in between as advocates for a sport that deserves more. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

July 11, 2024Episode 6057 min

Above and Beyond - Chris Miller

Today, we're talking about helping people. Specifically in their careers. What we've landed on is that sometimes, maybe more than sometimes, old school makes all the difference. I've known Chris Miller for - sheesh - more than the last two decades. I got to know him when he was placing me for some creative jobs. He's recently - that is over the past couple of years - gone out on his own to create a creative staffing agency called Topfolio. His approach has always been particularly human, which is why I liked him right off the bat. He wasn't just about numbers, because he understood the quality work we were all after in that field was never JUST about numbers. It was about the people and how they felt and what they believed about things. And I think that matters. I think that will always matter. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

June 27, 2024Episode 591 hr 2 min

Learning from Leaders - Dave Armstrong

Dave Armstrong is an entrepreneur, a retired Lt. Col. in the US Marine Corps, board member of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and host and creator of the Moments in Leadership podcast where he talks every episode with highly accomplished career military people about their experiences in leadership, with other leaders, good and bad. Some of whom he knows, many of whom he doesn't. And what we non-military people can take away from all that experience into our own lives and businesses and families. He's an old friend, a great guy and a terrific storyteller in his own right. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★