Up + Adam with Adam Montiel

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Sincere Thanks to the current supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

Life Elements

City of SLO

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

Be Water, Be Human: From Immigrant to Icon, What This Well Known Actor Taught Us About Power & Pride Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Up+Adam, we welcome award-winning author and cultural historian Jeff Chang for a powerful conversation about his upcoming book, Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.

This isn’t just about Bruce Lee the legend, it’s about the human behind the icon. The immigrant. The artist. The man navigating masculinity, identity, and expectation in a world that demanded he be a symbol before he could even be himself. Drawing from never-before-seen letters, intimate interviews, and rare archives, Jeff’s new book paints a bold, deeply emotional portrait of Bruce Lee, and the rise of Asian America alongside him.

Adam and Jeff talk about what Bruce Lee still teaches us about power, softness, representation, and why his legacy feels even more relevant today than it did in 1973. If you’ve ever felt the tension between who you are and what the world wants you to be, this conversation’s for you.

• Get the book: Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America (HarperCollins)

• Follow Jeff on Instagram: @zentronix

• Learn more about Jeff’s work: https://www.jeffchang.net

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Adam will be leading a live workshop on The Art of the Interview at this year’s Central Coast Writers Conference, happening September 26–27, 2025 at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. For details and registration, visit cuesta.edu/writers-conference

Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

• Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist - Buy it on Bookshop.org

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

Genius Is a Team Sport (Just Ask Lin-Manuel Miranda) or his Biographer | Pet of the Week Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

What do you get when you think you're interviewing Lin-Manuel Miranda… but instead end up with the scholar who might know him even better?

In this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with Daniel Pollack-Pelzner - New Yorker contributor, Shakespeare scholar, and author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist. Daniel spent years talking with over 150 people from Lin’s world, his family, mentors, collaborators, and Lin himself - to unpack how a sweet, curious kid from Washington Heights became the most transformative voice in modern musical theater.

This conversation isn’t just about Lin, it’s about genius as a slow build, creativity as collaboration, and what it really takes to find your artistic voice. Whether you're a theater geek, a Miranda superfan, or just someone trying to turn inspiration into something real, this one hits deep.

Check out Daniel’s book, available now:

Follow Daniel:

• Twitter/X: @dpppollack

• Instagram: @danielpollackpelzner

• More about Daniel’s work: danielpollackpelzner.com

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

What Rocket Science Taught Me About Making People Laugh: Artober, Improv, and the Central Coast Comedy Theater Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

What do you get when you combine aerospace engineering with live comedy? You get Dane Larkin. As Director and founding board member of the Central Coast Comedy Theater, Dane is helping to shape a community where laughter isn’t just entertainment, it’s healing. From designing rocket thrust-vectoring systems in college to now teaching improv two nights a week, Dane brings left-brain brilliance and right-brain heart to the local arts scene.

In this special Artober edition of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel dives deep with Dane about how the Theater is using comedy to support mental health, what it takes to build a nonprofit from the ground up, and yes, we even get into his Cal Poly engineering days for a surprising, nerdy, and fun moment.

• Learn more about Central Coast Comedy Theater: https://centralcoastcomedytheater.com

• Support or donate to the nonprofit: https://centralcoastcomedytheater.com/support-us

• Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centralcoastcomedytheater

• Explore Artober with the City of SLO: https://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/parks-and-recreation/artober

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

The Creston Effect: Small Town, Big Pours - Grenache Takes Over the Loading Chute Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

Grenache Giddy-Up at The Loading Chute Barn

Creston is calling. One grape in three colors - Paso powerhouses pouring in Creston. One grape in three colors inside the Loading Chute Barn. Meghan Ball and Kristen Parker join Adam to talk why Grenache hits in white, rosé, and red, who is pouring, what to pair with a Chute bite, and how that barn turns into a Sunday afternoon party.

Event details

Sunday, October 26, 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.

The Loading Chute Barn, 6350 Webster Rd, Creston, CA 93432

Tickets: Grenache Passport $45, General Admission $20, Kids $10, under 3 free

Sample pour list

Adelaida, Alta Colina, Booker, Caliza, Dilecta, End of the Day, Hawks Hill Ranch, Justin, Shale Oak, Site, Zanoli, Zobèto, Ruakh, and more.

Make it a night

Pick up bottles at the event, then head into The Loading Chute for dinner after.

Links

Event info and tickets: Loading Chute Events (Select PICK UP) - (they are using their to go order platform to sell tickets)

Venue Instagram: @loadingchute

Meghan Ball Instagram: @vinlumia

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Life Elements

City of SLO

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

Delta Force to Bestseller: The Gray Zone Is Real. Brad Taylor’s Been There. #TrueCrimeTuesday Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

Delta Force to Bestseller: The Brad Taylor Debrief

In this episode of Up+Adam, we step into the shadows with Brad Taylor, former Delta Force commander and New York Times bestselling author whose thrillers hit harder because they come from real-world experience. With 21 years in the Army, including eight inside the elite and secretive 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, Brad knows exactly how modern conflict moves… quietly, strategically, and often without headlines.

His newest novel Into the Gray Zone drops us into modern-day India (pretty damn timely if you ask me), where a lavish wedding turns into a targeted massacre and where terrorism might actually be a high-level play for economic dominance. Through Pike Logan, the relentless Taskforce operator at the heart of the series, we’re pulled through cyber sabotage, rare earth conflicts, and the dark politics of separatism. This is where war lives now…in the space between diplomacy and disaster.

We talk about the origin of Pike, the real stories behind Brad’s fiction, and how close we really are to the chaos his novels predict. Spoiler: closer than you think.

Into the Gray Zone is out now:

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Life Elements

City of SLO

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

Unfinished Business and Other Beautiful Wrecks with Jonathan Goldstein of Heavyweight! Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

On today's episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with Jonathan Goldstein, the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Heavyweight. Known for helping real people revisit the moments that still weigh on them—lost friendships, family fallouts, the apology that never happened—Jonathan brings his signature mix of humor, depth, and emotional precision to a conversation that’s part storytelling masterclass, part human excavation.

They talk about the origins of Heavyweight, the ethics of revisiting pain, the stories that still haunt him, and how silence can sometimes say more than any scripted line. This episode is for anyone who’s ever stayed up late thinking, What if I had just said something back then...?

If you’re new to Heavyweight, consider this your sign to dive in. And if you’re already a fan, you’re going to love hearing the man behind the mic get a little reflective himself.

• Listen to Heavyweight: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/heavyweight

• Follow Jonathan on Instagram

• More about Jonathan’s work: https://www.pushkin.fm/hosts/jonathan-goldstein

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-made-for-this-mountain-po-273843630/

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

You Were Made for This Mountain - Encouragement for the Weekend & Beyond! Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

What if the mountain in front of you wasn’t meant to break you, but to build you?

On today’s episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with Joshua Rosa, a nationally recognized speaker, author, and the voice behind the powerful podcast Made For This Mountain. Joshua shares his journey through trauma, redemption, and obedience, inviting listeners into a deeper understanding of faith, failure, and healing.

Raised in New Jersey by a proud Dominican mother, Joshua has become a force in the space where authenticity meets ministry. With nearly a million followers across platforms, his message is clear and raw: your scars don’t disqualify you, they qualify you. This conversation dives into manhood, generational cycles, self-betrayal, the spiritual weight of healing, and the cost of choosing purpose over comfort.

If you’ve ever felt stuck at the bottom of your own mountain, this episode will remind you—you were made to climb.

Connect with Joshua Rosa:

• Made For This Mountain Podcast:

• Book – Choosing to Do Wrong, Failing to Do Good:

https://www.amazon.com/Choosing-wrong-Failing-good-Joshua/dp/B0D4B15QS8

• Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_joshuarosa/?hl=en

• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmnIP09gWXqdvB6CX8lRUNg

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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Life Elements

City of SLO

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

Through the Lens of Chaos: Jill Furmanovsky on Oasis and the Art of Mayhem Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

She’s photographed the gods of rock, from Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan to Amy Winehouse and Leonard Cohen, and somehow, in the eye of Britpop’s loudest storm, she captured the rise and fall of Oasis like no one else ever could.

In this episode of Up+Adam, award-winning music photographer Jill Furmanovsky joins Adam to talk about her stunning new book, Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere, created in collaboration with Noel Gallagher. Featuring over 500 never-before-seen images and raw backstage commentary, this is more than a photography book. It’s a visual memoir of chaos, brotherhood, ego, and art.

Even if you weren’t a die-hard Oasis fan, this conversation opens up a world of creative tension, trust, and the magic that happens when a camera becomes a passport into cultural history.

Whether you’re a music lover, a photography nerd, or just someone who remembers what “Wonderwall” felt like in the ‘90s, this one’s for you.

GET THE BOOK

• Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere: Buy on Amazon

Follow Jill Furmanovsky

• Instagram: @jillfurmanovsky

• Official Archive: rockarchive.com

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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********

*********

Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!

Original Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner Collective

Moonshiner on Spotify HERE

Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com

One-Legged Trainers, Drunk QBs, and Civil Rights: The Team the NFL Tried to Erase Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

What happens when a football team becomes a time capsule for a country on the edge of change? In this episode, Adam sits down with award-winning journalist and author David Fleming to unpack A Big Mess in Texas, the jaw-dropping, hilarious, and deeply human true story of the 1952 Dallas Texans.

You don’t have to know a first down from a fumble to love this story. Whether you're a sports fan or not, this one grabs you with its chaos, characters, and cultural crossroads.

From drunken halftime quarterbacks and elephant-dung-covered fields to civil rights standoffs and Klan bombings, this isn’t just the most dysfunctional season in NFL history, it’s a forgotten American epic. David takes us behind the scenes of his years-long research journey, the characters too wild for fiction, and why this story had to be told now.

This episode is for the football fan, the history buff, the curious soul, and anyone who knows that sometimes the biggest messes leave the deepest marks.

Guest: David Fleming

• Book: A Big Mess in Texas: The Incredible True Story of the Dallas Texans

• Learn more: https://www.abigmessintexas.com

• Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Mess-Texas-Incredible-Dysfunctional/dp/1250374305

• Follow David: https://twitter.com/FlemFile

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Listen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:

Official Website: adammontiel.com
Apple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Up+Adam on Spotify
iHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadio
YouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music

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********

*********

Sincere Thanks to the supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!