Past Shows
Summer reading list and weekend road trips
05.24.17 | Tim and John get set for the kick-off of the summer season with books they would like to read and road trips they would like to take. But first, the founder of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and former CEO of VW have birthdays, John Water’s is hosting a Summer Camp, Connecticut outlaws Conversion Therapy for LGBT youth, John explores Anthill Art, and Tim reminds us that June 11th is the National March for Equality and Unity in D.C. Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend. Honor those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Jim Werner discusses Fagabond.com and his recent trip to Cuba
05.17.17 | The Focus Group welcomes LGBT travel expert Jim Werner, to talk about the 5th Anniversary of his travel site Fagabond and his recent trip to Cuba. Tim thinks horror and sci-fi movies are one in the same, John ponders building a Saturn V Lego rocket, and Pick That Flick features summer blockbusters.
Know anyone who has left the country to live elsewhere since the election of Donald Trump? We do!
05.10.17 | Jam packed episode this week. First, Tim and John share their results from the JobFlare app. A Focus Group frequent guest packs up and leaves the USA. Man About World Founder Ed Salvato joins the conversation as we explore his new Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality. And finally, Jude Miller Burke, Ph.D. discusses her book The Adversity Advantage, which explores how childhood hardship can lead to career and life success.
Author Erin McHugh shares stories from her new book, “Second Chances”
05.03.17 | Author Erin McHugh joins The Focus Group, marking our one year anniversary on our new format! Her latest book, Second Chances, is an inspiring collection of do-overs that have made people’s lives brighter. Erin reads a few passages that had special meaning to all of us and lets us in on her next book idea. Shop Talk explores business buzzwords that we all hate. Job Flare, a new app that John discovered, will tell you what job or career you should pursue. Tim and John will reveal what they find out next week and challenge the listeners to do the same and share their results. Oh, and if you ever fly Air Koryo to Pyongyang, let us know what you think of the Koryo Burger!
Delaying payment to small businesses is hurting the economy and is now a common practice
04.26.17 | This week on The Focus Group we address the trend where large companies are increasingly making small suppliers wait twice as long to get paid as in the recent past. It is having a devastating affect on small businesses when it comes to reinvestment, development, and human resources. But first, get out and help support your local LGBTQ non-profits. Dining Out for Life and the Keystone Gay Rodeo are two such organizations that raise money for local LGBTQ organizations. Find a “friend” through a new app: GAYBFF. Tim and John talk about the 20 year anniversary of Ellen’s coming out and the ambiguous VW commercial that ran during the broadcast—the ad with the 2 guys and a smelly chair. We’re they friends or a couple?
Kelly McDonald – How to work with and lead people not like you
04.19.17 | Kelly McDonald, marketing expert and sought after keynote speaker, catches up with Tim and John to preview her latest book, How To Work With and Lead People Not Like You. A man dies in peace thinking President Trump was Impeached, Queen Elizabeth eats this one thing every day, Ole Evinrude has a birthday, and cut flowers are big business. Listen, Laugh, and Learn with The Focus Group.
The Focus Group gets BeanBoozled
04.12.17 | This week, a poop themed child’s birthday party caught John’s eye while Tim chose Alfred Butts, the inventor of Scrabble, for The Business Birthday. From The Random Sample—The Focus Group’s take on LGBT news from around North America—annointed cake that can make you straight, Oklahoma Law Makers equate LGBT youth with cross-dressers, a Pennsylvania school system sides with a trans student’s right to use the locker room of their choice, and Tim and John talk masculine lingerie. In honor of Easter, the gang plays a few rounds of BeanBoozled.
Thinking of retiring to another state? Tim and John reveal the Top 10 states for retirement
04.05.17 | Angela Giampolo, attorney and LGBTQ Legal Expert, joins The Focus Group to discuss the latest proposed government legislation and challenges facing LGBTQ Americans. Dandelion is retired from the Crayola Crayon Box, John gives Tim a french pastry only he can pronounce, and the top ten states for retirement stumps both Tim and John, but not the listeners!
Will a “gay voice” cost you a top job?
03.29.17 | Tim and John look at a new study showing that having a “gay voice” as a male and “gruff voice” as a female might cost you a top job. Conversion therapy, RuPaul’s view of Bachelorette Parties at gay bars, LGBT History Tours in New Haven, Gay Yoga in South Dakota, Bathroom Bills in Texas, and the possibility of the USA’s first trans male judge in Philadelphia are also discussed. Pick That Flick returns with more movies to stump the audience.
Middle aged? Looking for a job? Learn how to overcome the typical hurdles
03.22.17 | Career coach and executive recruiter Bruce Hurwitz, from Hurwitz Staffing Solutions, debunks the belief that you have to be underemployed later in your career if you want to work into your 60′s and beyond. The Founder of “USA Today,” Al Nueharth, is our Business Birthday, a Thai Turtle full of coins caught John’s eye, and Tim’s List looks at the Ten Most Powerful and Influential Companies in the USA for 2017.
