Brought to the Table was dreamt up in late 2017 as a way for these 5 goofballs to collaborate on something together and get together with each other online after they all parted ways after college. The show regularly will feature a massive range of topics from psychology to music to advancements in computing to the group's favorite foods. Diana, Ian, Carter, Kaitlyn, and Scott hope that this podcast will provide an entry point into new interests for not only the listener, but also themselves.
Brought to the Table episodes will split the five of us up into one host and two teams of two. Each team talks about a topic that they want to share with the rest of the cast and the audience. The host will decide which team goes first and start the conversation. Occasionally, the teams will sound prepared for the discussion.
Diana Schulberg can always be found with a cup of coffee either in hand or making a new one. Having a pen and a pad of paper always on hand are leftovers of her years in journalism, but a classic book never goes out of style and a pair of headphones will never stop being useful. Diana Schulberg specializes in political discourse and literature but she also holds a passion for video games, plants, and spending time listening to her friends tell her about things they like.
Treading the line between "nerdy" and "crunchy" (or so he thinks), Ian Walker is often bouncing among his varied interests. Whether it's writing up a story's universe for the nineteenth time that day, having fun doing acroyoga, attempting to avoid injuries when learning new hobbies, or getting lost while researching online, he makes sure that something is always going on when not working as a counselor. Being interested in how experiences and perceptions shape the world, Ian earned a degree in psychology and picked up biology, philosophy, and religious studies as minors. Improvement is the purpose of life and so working towards better tomorrows is what pushes Ian into many different areas.
Carter VanHuss's love of games, good story telling, and being surrounded by friends often defines what he is doing during his free time. He can regularly be found bringing board games to breweries, losing at competitive video games, or discussing his latest Dungeons and Dragons storyline to any ear that will listen. Aside from these passions, Carter's curiosity about natural phenomenon led him to pursue (and acquire) a degree in physics. Even though his day job is in the field of software development he can still regularly be found on Wikipedia investigating what makes the world go round.
Kaitlyn Phillips has always loved science and nature, and treated the theory of evolution as if it were a religion when she was growing up. The naturally led to a BS in Biology, which then led to an MS in Public Health when she was interested in a more human-centric career path but refused to go to med school. In her free time, she will most likely be found reading indoors or hiking at one of her favorite local sites. Other distinct possibilities include: playing video games, trying to convince her work friends to play a board game with her, re-organizing and de-cluttering her apartment for the fifth time, or researching Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Scott Pruett is just a huge computer nerd. By day, he works as a software developer on distributed storage systems. By night, you can probably also find him in front of a screen, playing games or catching up on the latest tech news. Aside from computers, he enjoys practicing guitar (or other instruments), playing board games with friends and watching TV.