Episodes

  • Peter Conners | The Deadhead Running the Poetry Press That Put Rochester on the Map

    Peter Conners | The Deadhead Running the Poetry Press That Put Rochester on the Map
    Apr 29 2026
    Before Peter Conners ran one of America's most respected poetry presses, he was following the Grateful Dead across the country in a van.

    Conners is the Publisher and Executive Director of BOA Editions — a Rochester-based nonprofit that has quietly won Pulitzer Prizes, national awards, and the respect of the entire literary world for 50 years, while most Rochesterians have no idea it exists. He joins Fitz at ROC Vox to talk about how a self-described troublemaker from Sutherland High School ended up running an institution — and why, at its 50th anniversary, losing its federal funding isn't going to stop it.
    In this episode: BOA's controversial first book by a Pulitzer Prize winner no one else would publish, why nonprofit publishers are the only thing standing between the world and the end of new poetry, the brutal economics of audiobooks (sell 1,000 copies, make $100), and what a decade of sobriety taught Peter about what publishing is really for.

    CHAPTERS
    00:00 Welcome to Positive Blatherings
    00:56 Meet Peter Conners and BOA Editions
    02:18 The Founding Story: First Book to First Pulitzer
    07:44 Why Poetry Needs Nonprofit Publishers
    09:09 20 Years of Publishing's Digital Revolution
    13:28 The Hard Truth About Audiobook Economics
    18:28 From Troublemaker to Writer: Peter's Origin Story
    22:00 A Family Defined by Service
    25:20 How Peter Became BOA's Publisher
    31:49 Going Public: Writing His Own Story
    36:38 Sobriety, Recovery, and Giving Back
    42:05 BOA's Future: Surviving the NEA Cut

    CONNECT
    BOA Editions → https://www.boaeditions.org
    Peter Conners → https://www.peterconners.net
    Growing Up Dead: The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deadhead → https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Dead-Hallucinated-Confessions/dp/0306817330
    Merch Table Blues → https://www.amazon.com/Merch-Table-Blues-Peter-Conners/dp/1945665319
    Box of Rain documentary → https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Box-Rain/dp/B0D19TCPPM
    Writers & Books Rochester → https://wab.org
    ROC Vox → https://rocvox.com

    New episodes every Tuesday.

    #BOAEditions #Poetry #IndependentPublishing #Rochester #RochesterNY #LiteraryPublishing #PoetryBooks #NonprofitArts #GratefulDead #PeterConners #PositiveBlatherings #ROCVox #Memoir #BookPublishing #IndependentPress #ArtsAdvocacy #SmallPress #WritingLife #AuthorInterview #BookCommunity #LiteraryWorld #ReadMorePoetry #RochesterArts #Deadhead #GratefulDeadCommunity #NEAFunding #PoetryLovers #WritersAndBooks #Sobriety #PublishingIndustry
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    46 mins
  • The Neuroscience of Motivation and What Leaders Get Wrong

    The Neuroscience of Motivation and What Leaders Get Wrong
    Apr 28 2026
    Most conversations — at work, across the dinner table, across the political divide — are failing. Executive coach Keith Greer says the reason is simple: we're all addicted to being right.

    Keith Greer, Executive Coach and leadership development specialist, joins Fitz at ROC Vox for a return visit six years in the making. With 40+ years spanning clinical social work, family therapy, and executive coaching, Keith brings the full weight of his career to one question: why do most conversations miss the mark — and what actually works? In this episode you'll hear the neuroscience behind why certain leadership behaviors destroy team trust, how Conversational Intelligence explains what happens in your team's brain during that conference room pitch, and why the single most powerful thing any of us can do right now — in the office, at the Thanksgiving table, or across the political divide — is stop talking and listen.

    CHAPTERS
    00:00 Intro: Keith Returns After Six Years
    01:23 The Grandpa Gig: Love, Fun, and Three Grandsons
    07:50 Building a Coaching Practice on His Own Terms
    10:00 Why Technical Brilliance Doesn't Make a Leader
    14:51 Family Businesses: Where Bloodlines Meet Business
    20:44 Why You Can't Inject Motivation Into Someone
    22:38 Conversational Intelligence and the Neuroscience of Trust
    26:23 The "Addiction to Being Right" Kills Conversations
    33:50 Self-Awareness Is Courageous Work, Not "Touchy-Feely"
    35:04 Shut Up and Listen: The #1 Conversation Strategy
    38:40 Productive Disagreement Across the Political Divide
    46:21 Finding Common Ground Through Shared Humanity

    CONNECT
    Keith Greer Coaching → https://www.keithgreercoaching.com
    ROC Vox → https://www.rocvox.com
    Fresh doses of Positivity every Tuesday and Wednesday.

    #ConversationalIntelligence #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #MotivationalInterviewing #LeadershipSkills #FamilyBusiness #SelfAwareness #ActiveListening #NeuroscienceOfLeadership #PositiveBlatherings #ROCVox #Rochester #CommunicationSkills #TeamBuilding #LeadershipCoaching #PersonalDevelopment #MindsetShift #WorkplaceWellness #ProductiveConversations #EmotionalIntelligence
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    1 hr
  • My Cousin Meg | She Lost Her Son Then Found the Secret to Living

    My Cousin Meg | She Lost Her Son Then Found the Secret to Living
    Apr 27 2026
    She heard a voice say "pain is coming" — and ten days later, her seven-year-old son was gone.

    Meg Fitzgerald joins her cousin Scott Fitzgerald at ROC Vox to talk about what happens when you decide grief is going to mean something. In this episode of Positive Blatherings, Meg shares the story behind her new book Don't Miss the Magic — a twelve-year journey through loss, spiritual awakening, synchronicities that defy explanation, and the daily practices that kept her alive when survival felt impossible.

    You'll hear how Meg built a personal prescription for grief that anyone going through a hard season can use, how she discovered that internal energy changes outcomes in ways that words and body language alone cannot, what it felt like to receive undeniable signs from her son Ryan across multiple mediums and years, and how a voice at a stoplight — and a seven-year-old's dream of a million stuffed animals — shaped the rest of her life.

    CHAPTERS
    0:00 Welcome Back to Positive Blatherings
    1:37 Meet Meg Fitzgerald
    5:01 Ryan's Story: The Accident and the First Night
    7:47 The Voice That Said Pain Is Coming
    10:00 The First Signs: Ryan's Name in the Lake
    11:51 Searching for Meaning: Spirituality and Survival
    17:00 The Daily Prescription for Grief
    23:00 The Ryan Batchelder Foundation and Little Hugs
    25:00 Energy, Intention, and What Changes Outcomes
    28:20 Sending Love to Every Situation
    35:38 Don't Miss the Magic: About the Book
    37:30 How a Medium Told Meg She Was Writing a Book
    43:30 What's Next: Speaking and a Book for Young People
    45:50 Celebrate Your Life Conference and Lisa Williams
    56:08 The Pink Tutu Meditation and Tina's Daughter Mia
    58:13 How You Win the Game

    #interviewpodcast #tragedy #tragicloss #lifelessons #grief #losingachid #movingforward #boatingaccident
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    1 hr
  • SoccerSam | Founding Salvatore's, Losing His Memory, and Rochester's Soccer Secret

    SoccerSam | Founding Salvatore's, Losing His Memory, and Rochester's Soccer Secret
    Apr 7 2026
    SoccerSam Fantauzzo built Salvatore's Pizza from a high school home economics project into 35 Rochester locations — then lost his memory and had to learn everything over again.
    Salvatore "SoccerSam" Fantauzzo, CEO and founder of Salvatore's Pizza, joins Scott Fitzgerald at ROC Vox for the season opener of Positive Blathering. Sam tells the full story: a grandfather who never stopped loving Rochester, going to work at 12 after his father's heart attack, opening the first Salvatore's on East Main Street in 1978, surviving a near-death experience during gastric bypass surgery that erased his memory completely — and how an indoor soccer team he started to reconnect with his past accidentally became the executive team that took Salvatore's from 15 locations to 35.

    In this episode you'll hear how Fred's Meat Market built Sam's standard for quality, why he deliberately walks away the moment a new franchise opens, what it takes to build consistency across 35 locations, and why at 65 he still can't let go of the one part of the business he loves most.

    CHAPTERS
    00:00 The Perfectionist Behind Salvatore's Pizza
    01:02 Welcome to Positive Blathering — Meet SoccerSam
    02:35 Grandpa Charlie and the Love of Rochester
    03:21 A Father's Heart Attack and Working at 12
    06:57 Fred's Meat Market and the Standard of Quality
    09:41 How Fitz First Heard SoccerSam's Story
    10:43 Gastric Bypass, Memory Loss, and Coming Back
    14:00 Where Salvatore's Was When It All Happened
    15:11 How the Rochester Lancers Built His Executive Team
    19:06 The Mindset Shift After Losing Everything
    21:10 SoccerSam's Cameo in Bottom Feeders
    26:27 Building a Family Culture at Salvatore's
    28:01 Franchisee Autonomy and the Art of Letting Go
    31:29 Why He Can't Walk Away From Marketing
    33:02 Advice for Young Entrepreneurs: Find What You Love
    34:19 The Early Salvatore's — Competition and Starting From Nothing
    35:20 Delivery, Pizza Conventions, and Two Radio Accidents
    38:16 Never Stop Learning: The Pizza Convention Philosophy
    39:54 What's Next for Salvatore's
    44:28 Consistency Across 35 Locations — How It Got Built
    46:37 Proprietary Recipes Protect the Brand
    48:00 Luck Is Preparation Meeting Opportunity
    50:08 The Thin Thin Pizza and Always-On Marketing
    52:02 Wrapping Up — Thank You SoccerSam

    CONNECT
    Salvatore's Pizza → salvatores.com
    ROC Vox → rocvox.com
    Bottom Feeders → Amazon Prime - https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B091XKZJ7X/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

    New interviews every Wednesday at 10AM

    #SoccerSam #SalvatoresPizza #Rochester #RochesterNY #Entrepreneurship #PizzaBusiness #FranchiseBusiness #SmallBusiness #FounderStory #BusinessMindset #PositiveBlathering #ROCVox #Resilience #LocalBusiness #StartupStory #BusinessGrowth #Franchising #FamilyBusiness #PersonalDevelopment #Persistence #WorkEthic #MindsetMatters #RochesterFood #PizzaLovers #BusinessLeadership #SuccessStory #Pivot #GrowthMindset #CommunityFirst #ROCFood
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    53 mins
  • From Broke Social Worker to Thriving Coach: Stacey Steinmiller’s Radical Transformation

    From Broke Social Worker to Thriving Coach: Stacey Steinmiller’s Radical Transformation
    Feb 28 2025
    In this episode of Positive Blatherings, Scott sits down with Stacey Steinmiller, founder of Radical Evolution, to explore the power of personal growth and self-awareness. Stacey shares her inspiring journey from running her own therapy practice to launching a thriving coaching business. Learn how embracing self-responsibility, managing reactions, and overcoming resistance can transform your business and personal life. If you’re looking to improve your mindset, achieve business success, or simply become a better version of yourself, this conversation is packed with valuable insights and practical advice.
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    46 mins
  • Lights, Camera, Autovino! A candid conversation with David Autovino

    Lights, Camera, Autovino! A candid conversation with David Autovino
    Oct 1 2024
    David Autovino gave me the impression of someone who accidentally fell into performing and just kept doing it. It's because, for David, performance seems effortless, but he works as hard at his craft as any successful performer. David graces the stage, the screen and the booth but doesn't stop there - he shares his knowledge with people who want to improve their acting or voice chops. He's the real deal: talented and humble.

    He's also a husband, father and super nice chap. Drop by and listen to this Blathering with one of my favorite talents, David Autovino.

    Find him on socials and the interwebs: https://davidautovino.wixsite.com/actor
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    59 mins
  • Life Done RIGHT with Scott Grates

    Life Done RIGHT with Scott Grates
    Sep 11 2024
    Scott Grates is a self made success story. I was fortunate to meet him when he was a guest on Uptown Girls podcast, a show produced at ROC Vox about marketing and success, hosted by Martina Barley.

    I immediately liked Scott's approach to business and life in general, so I asked him to Blather with me. His latest book, Referrals Done Right, is a master class in relationships. When you think of Referrals, you think of business - but it goes deeper.

    Scott and I blather about my favorite success principles, I tee up the questions and he crushes them - straight down the fairway. Join me with Scott Grates and make sure you take notes!

    Find Scott at

    ScottGrates.com
    ReferralsDoneRightBook.com
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    52 mins
  • Writing Your Reality with Best-Selling Author Allen Eskens

    Writing Your Reality with Best-Selling Author Allen Eskens
    Jun 18 2024
    I'm an audiobook aficionado and sometimes I don't know what to listen to. I will scan Audible for hours just trying to decide on a book to listen to. One day I decided to take a chance on an author I had never heard of and knew nothing about. The book is called "The Life We Bury" and I loved it. It enticed me to look into the author, Allen Eskens. A former attorney from Minnesota who went from lawyer to novelist and has been quite successful at taking his knowledge of the law and his love of writing to create a new career. Visit AllenEskens.com for his entire library of books, many of which have reoccurring characters and stories that connect in some really creative and exciting ways.
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    1 hr and 4 mins