Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Keanna, an esthetician who was a Richmond Police dispatcher for over fifteen years. She and I follow each other on Instagram, but I never knew that she had been a dispatcher until just recently. Now, if you’re a regular listener to the podcast, you know that police dispatchers are some of my favorite people and after you listen to our conversation, I think you’ll see why. So sit back, relax and prepare to get it straight with no chaser. I hope you enjoy it.

That’s it guys. What’d you think of Keanna? I think she’s hilarious, insightful and just an all around marvelous person. And that’s the amazing thing about doing this podcast. I talk to so many people about so many things, many of whom I’ve never met before. But the main thing that they all have in common is their positivity. And my guests come from many different backgrounds, religions, etc. But here, in this place, what matters the most is what’s inside of them. Shouldn’t that be what’s important to all of us? I think so.

Until next time, take care of one another, give it to each other straight with no chaser, and most importantly, thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is author and Instagramer James Murray. I’ve followed James on Instagram for quite awhile. After all, his IG handle is the_80’s_author and I love the 80’s and I love authors, so me following him was a forgone conclusion. Well, recently James tried a social experiment about democracy on his account and my oh my, what an experiment it was. I’m not going to tell you what it is just yet. So why don’t you sit back, relax and enjoy our conversation and then tell me.....

What’d you think? Do you approve or disapprove of James putting a Trump 2024 post on his IG? I guess the more snarky question would be, do you approve or disapprove of free speech? James lost 3000(!!) followers because they couldn’t see past their hatred and didn’t hang around for his second post explaining the experiment. It just goes to show you how brainwashed people can be. Personally, I loved his experiment and thought that it was brilliant. Anytime someone can expose ignorance and spinelessness is a good thing. We’re all on this planet together. Let’s try to take care of one another, treat each other with respect and recognize that everyone is entitled to their own political opinion and regardless of that opinion, always, and I mean always, follow The Golden Rule.

You can find James' book here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://www.amazon.com/Town-Without-Name-James-Murray-ebook/dp/B09P2RZ946/ref=pd_ybh_a_d_sccl_1/136-1681419-4674432?pd_rd_w=nYmmk&content-id=amzn1.sym.67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_p=67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_r=FDTYGNJ1REVZ1KFZV45J&pd_rd_wg=Be9QG&pd_rd_r=8bcbc27a-a913-42ef-8a7e-5e0faba51ac4&pd_rd_i=B09P2RZ946&psc=1

Until next time, respect and take care of one another. And thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. As many of you know, I’m a retired Homicide detective from Richmond, Virginia. Before becoming a Homicide detective, I was a Youth and Family Crimes detective, which meant that I often worked with Child Protective Services, also known as CPS, in the City of Richmond. Flash forward to my current position and I’ve been working with CPS again, which is where I met Abby. I thought that it would be great to have her on an episode to talk about the roles of CPS, so that’s what the first half of this episode is about. As we were talking about CPS, she mentioned that she and her mother, Brigette Combs, were involved in legislation to make child marriages illegal in the US. I had to stop her and ask her what she was talking about because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She said that in 2024, there are only thirteen states and the Virgin Islands that have ENDED child marriage. I was and am flabbergasted. So let’s cut this intro short and get right to it, shall we? I hope you enjoy this episode and, like I did, learn something from it.

Once you listen, can you BELIEVE that child marriage is still LEGAL in so many states? I still can’t wrap my head around it. Here's a list of the ONLY states that have ENDED child marriage:

Delaware

New Jersey

Vermont

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Virginia

Pennsylvania

New York

Washington

Minnesota

Michigan

And the Virgin Islands.

Check out the links below for more information:

https://search.app/NHYwEEP9DmK9PfZd9

https://search.app/Mc6zhDvnzAkVWkFq5

https://search.app/PPXSMSe9cbYxdt5j6

https://preventforcedmarriage.org/

I’d like to thank Abby and her mom for coming on and educating me about this unbelievable situation, not to mention the incredible work that CPS workers do to protect the children.

Please spread the word and get involved.

And as always, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is, hold on and let me go down the list.....

Bestselling author

Forensic Anthropologist certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology

A producer of the Fox show Bones, a show I might add is based partly on her fictional character Temperance Brennan AND the author herself.

Mother of three kids......

Kathy Reichs!!

Kathy was kind enough to come on my small podcast and let me ask her a metric ton of questions. So sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Then after you listen, don't you think that It’s absolutely staggering how much Kathy has done and still does. I can’t imagine trying to maintain the schedule that she does, yet she still finds the time to get peppered with questions by a retired homicide detective.

If you haven’t already, and if you haven’t, why not? Head over to her website or Amazon or anywhere else in the world and dig in to Kathy’s novels. And while you’re at it, check out Bones on Fox.

Check out her website here: ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://kathyreichs.com/

As usual, take care of one another, and thanks for listening.

Kathy Reichs_credit Marie-Reine Mattera.jpg

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. I’m honored to have back on the show, one of my favorite authors and more importantly, one of my favorite people: Yasmin Angoe. Now full disclosure, when I introduce her in the episode, I pronounce her name, correctly, then put my foot in my mouth ad drop the “y” and begin to call her ‘Asmin’…….how embarrassing. For me. Luckily, Yasmin is such a fantastic person that she takes it in stride and doesn’t hang up on me. Of course, when I told her about it, she said that it sounded like I was calling her an ass. Deep sigh. But I digress. So sit back, take a listen and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Ans as I said after the first time that I spoke with her that it felt as if we’d known each other for years. And since it’s been a year since we spoke last, I still feel the same way. But I’ve got a feeling that anyone who speaks to Yasmin feels the same way. She’s just such a wonderful person, you can’t help but think that you’ve known her just about forever. We absolutely need more people in this world like Yasmin and I feel lucky that she counts me as one of her friends.

Make sure you check out her book over on Amazon or at her website:

https://yasminangoe.com

So until next time, take care of each other, treat each other well and as always, thanks for listening.

What’s the first thing you noticed in the photo associated with this episode? If I were to guess, I’d say that it was the lettering on the ball cap. In fact, those four words elicit strong feelings from the left and the right. Some people who saw the photo may have clicked off the site and won’t be hearing these words or reading what I’ve written. That’s fine. This podcast is all about positivity and if people don’t want to hear about positivity, there are plenty of other podcasts that push hate and division. Along with the corporate media, local and national politicians and the entertainment industry. They make a lot of money off hate. I probably don’t make a dime off of positivity. That’s fine, too. What I do gain from this podcast is meeting and talking to fantastic people like Johnnie. So if you’re still here, sit back, relax and enjoy our conversation.

Then, after you listen....

Are you still here or did you leave once Johnnie mentioned that scary, scary word: Trump? It constantly amazes me how stubborn and hardheaded even the most educated people can be when it comes to politics. Religion, abortion and gender as well. Luckily, despite what the corporate world tries to push, regular, everyday people, no matter the color of their skin, their religious faith or lack thereof, their gender, etc. get along with one another, converse with one another and live in relative harmony with one another.

So as this contentious election draws closer and the corporate world goes into overdrive trying to get us to hate each other, remember that we’re better than they are and that they need us. Not the other way around.

And most importantly of all, take care of one another. No. Matter. What.

Thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Wes Hartkemeyer, a patrol officer in Wisconsin and co-founder of Ireport. Recently, I received an email from a listener of one of my recent episodes who introduced me to Wes. She said that Wes and his co-founder designed self-reporting software that allowed citizens to make police reports online, thereby freeing up patrol officers from lengthy report calls and instead letting them focus on establishing personal connections within the community they serve. Well, since I like cops as much as I like authors, I jumped at the chance to talk to him and here he is. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

After you check out the episode, let me know what you think of Wes.

I sure do enjoy talking to young police officers who, instead of being disenfranchised by the job, instead decide to make positive change. Change that not only affects the officers on the street, but the citizens that they serve. Because despite what many in the media want you to believe, police officers want to help people and make their lives better. Which is exactly what Wes and his co-founder want to do. If his creation sounds interesting to you, I suggest that you reach out to him to him at his website:

http://www.ireport.us

Remember, we’re all in this together and together we can all make this world a better and safer place.

Until next time, take care of one another and as always, thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. This episode’s guest is bestselling author and appellate judge David Ellis. A few months ago, I got an email from his publicist asking if I’d like to have him on as a guest. Now I’ve been before quite a few judges in my lifetime and interviewed quite a few authors so obviously it was a toss-up…….just kidding. I agreed immediately and here he is. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

After you listen, let me know what you think. Prior to recording the episode, I asked him if he’d prefer that I call him ‘David’ or ‘Judge’. He replied, “Well, do you want me to call you detective or Jamie?” We decided to go with first names and I can say without a doubt, he is the most down to earth, funny, intelligent and nicest judges and person that I’ve ever met.

How funny? Just before we were set to start recording I got a text from him that read:

Jefferson Starship and side of Cole slaw please.

Turns out that was a dinner request text to his wife. Now it’s none of my business how Jefferson Starship comes into play…. The imagination runs wild with innuendo, but it sure made for an awesome episode title.

I truly hope that he comes back on the show, because as I think you can tell, it was an absolute pleasure to talk to him. I hope you enjoyed our conversation and I highly recommend that you check out his books here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://davidellis.com/

Until next time, take care of on another, and thanks for listening.