Out of the Loop

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features journalist and storyteller Tasneem Raja.Tasneem is the Editor-in-Chief of The Oaklandside, a local newsroom serving Oakland, California. She is also the co-founder of the Cityside Journalism Initiative, a nonprofit parent organization powering both The Oaklandside and Berkeleyside.Support the show (

NOTE: This episode may be sensitive to some listeners. In this episode, Karina said her story has tremendously changed. Her 26-year-old son, Katlin, took his life in July 2020. Karina shared how she is coping in the wake of his death. If you or a loved one need help, please call the suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255.Karina Caywood was born in Ecuador, lived in Venezuela, graduated in computer programming, and immigrated to Texas in 2004. She has lived in Tyler with her husband for about nine years.Support the show (

In this episode, we hear from Shruti Patil. Since she told her story about moving to Tyler from Hyderabad, India, Shruti has faced enormous challenges during the COVID travel ban. She's finally back in the United States and anticipating the birth of her child.Support the show (

In this episode of Out of the Loop podcsat, we catch up with season 2 storyteller La’Tashiana Washington. La'Tashiana is a community health worker at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital. She attended John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College  and Texas A&M. She volunteers with the Nurse Family Partnership, and joined the Preeclampsia Foundation to raise awareness of this condition. She loves to write poetry, read, and spend time with friends and loved ones.Support the show

Our guest in this episode is Mike Guinn, a nationally renowned spoken word, artist, author, poet actor, event organizer and mental health advocate and activist. Mike has more than 20 years of stage film, radio and public speaking experience. He is the director of Mike Guinn entertainment and founder of Uplift Your Life, a 5 0 1 C3, which addresses mental health and wellness globally. Mike has been featured in the Tyler Loop's COVID stories series and is currently working with the Texas Association against Sexual Assaults Men's Story Project.Support the show (

In this episode, we hear John Bucher's Out of the Loop story along with a life update. John lived much of his childhood through early adulthood in Tyler and graduated from John Tyler High School. He's a mythologist and storyteller based out of Hollywood, California and serves as creative director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. John is also an author, podcaster and speaker. He has worked with companies including HBO, DC comics and the History Channel and serves as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television and virtual reality projects. John the author of six books, including his latest, “The Storytelling Almanac: A weekly guide to telling a better story.” He holds a PhD in mythology and depth psychology.Support the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller and writer Jennifer Toon.Jennifer Toon’s story is about how her memories of East Texas’s peaceful woods and waters brought her comfort during the nearly two decades she spent incarcerated in Texas state prison.In prison, Toon studied French philosophers, from Voltaire to Rousseau to Camus. Toon is a survivor. She is also poetic, introspective, and uncannily attentive to life’s beauty.Toon’s story is its raw and hard-won honesty. It is a product of the culmination of years of difficulty, growth, and processing.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's special episode is the Out of the Loop season 1 finale, featuring friends and family remembering the late Dreak Scott.Dreak Scott was a storyteller during Out of the Loop's first-ever event in April 2019 at Liberty Hall in downtown Tyler. He told how his relationship with his brother Kyle saw both of them through rocky years as children and young adults. Dreak's death at age 26 on August 5, 2020, shocked and grieved those who loved him. In this special tribute episode, we hear from Dreak's mom, Tawakoni Seaton; his aunt, Anita Dunn; and his friends Brittany Jones, Megan Brantley, Chad Ali, Seth Walker, and Hannah Walker. Dreak's Out of the Loop story can be found at the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller and TylerISD School Board member Aaron Martinez.Aaron Martínez is a Certified Grounds Manager and Certified Arborist with Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Tyler Independent School District. Aaron is originally from Lubbock and his wife of 20 years is from Tyler; he’s lived in Tyler for the past 12 years. He has two boys, aged 10 and 12. Aaron loves Fightin’ Texas Aggie football, fishing, golf, and spending time with his family.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features EMT and storyteller Kaelyn Kopper Rutledge.Kaelyn Kopper Rutledge is a graduate of Winona high school. Kaelyn studied emergency medical services at TylerISD’s Career and Technology Center to become a paramedic, attended Tyler Junior College and recently married her husband, Austin.When Kaelyn signed up for paramedic training at the Career and Technology Center, she figured she'd be reading textbooks and watching the pros from a distance. Instead, her very first shift propelled her to step up during an intense event with a patient.Support the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller LaShonda Carter.LaShonda works in health care and rehabilitation. She is originally from Liberty City and has lived in Tyler for the past six years. She loves to spend her free time fishing and hanging out with her sons Ivory, Daniel, and Slade. LaShonda is proud of her large extended family—six sisters and two brothers, with lots of nieces and nephews—and says when they all get together it gets “loud, very loud.” She is grateful for her best friend Daniel Carter, Sr.Support the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Brenda McWilliamsBrenda McWilliams is retired after nearly 40 years in education and counseling. When not traveling she fills her days with community, charitable, and civic work; photography; writing and blogging at Pilgrim Seeker Heretic; reading, babysitting grandchildren, and visiting with friends. She enjoys walking at Rose Rudman or hiking at Tyler State Park. Brenda and her spouse, Lou Anne Smoot, the author of Out: A Courageous Woman’s Journey, have six children and seven grandchildren between them.Support the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Yasmeen Khalifa.Yasmeen Khalifa is a Mass Communication and English student at the University of Texas at Tyler. She worked for the student-run newspaper investigating issues on- and off-campus, exploring the changing East Texas culture, and giving students a voice.Yasmeen recently co-founded a new music series in The Patriot titled “Music in the Pines: Exploring Eclectic East Texas.” The series highlights local musicians, venues, concerts and other events as the music scene in East Texas evolves and thrives. Yasmeen also works as a lab technician in the Mass Communication department.She is the founding president of the Keep Tyler Beautiful Youth Advisory Committee, a group of students working together to encourage beautification, litter reduction and recycling in Tyler.Support the show (

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Gavin Dass.Gavin Dass is a university of Texas at Austin graduate and is a Tyler-based independent analyst. He can give you a list of the best folk-punk bands to watch live and the secret to cooking the perfect butter chicken, but the most important gift he hopes to share with Tyler is the abundance of its natural habitat restored for generations to come. In the summer of 2020, launched a new community-driven organization called Arc Habitat Restoration to mobilize Tyler residents to plant and harvest native seeds.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Amanda Martinez Beck.Amanda Martinez Beck is co-founder of the Ruah Storytellers Podcast and lives in East Texas. She is passionate about the power of storytelling, particularly through podcasting. She and her husband Zachary cohost the Arkeo Camino and she is also the co-host of the Fat & Faithful podcast. Her first book is Lovely: How I Learned to Embrace the Body God Gave Me.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Michael McClendon.Michael is a self-described East Texas cowboy who not only enjoys drinking wine with his BBQ, but helps craft it, too. This "bearded, dreadlock-wearing, African-American millennial" entrepreneur shared the story of launching his latest venture at our popular Out of the Loop storytelling event.Support the show (

Welcome to the Out of The Loop podcast - a presentation of some of the stories shared at The Tyler Loop's "Out of The Loop" events over the past few years. Executive Director Jane Neal sits down with previous storytellers to talk through the experience and learn more. Join us! the show (