Michael is a retired New York City detective who somehow found his way from Manhattan to the Balkans. After his time with the NYPD, Michael spent two decades working internationally for the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, and the Department of Justice; He’s seen the best and worst of human behavior — often in the same afternoon.

Michael has written Land of Broken Toys: Kosovo, a work of fiction based on real events. The novel is part crime thriller, part dark comedy, and part fish-out-of-water story. There’s humor in the absurdities of peacekeeping life — Irish jokes told over Turkish coffee, UN bureaucracy that would make Kafka blush — but beneath the laughter sits something serious—the idea that belief and integrity still matter.

This was a spirited conversation! Don't miss it!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Mann is an improviser, actor, comedian and author. His book, the Law of Improv came out in paperback in 2025. He has performed in several plays, shows, commercials, and TV shows, based out of the Boston area.

He is also been a sheriff for 28 years, and uses that experience to explore how improvisational principles can help first responders communicate and strengthen leadership. The Law of Improv provides a framework for that practice.

You ought to be arrested if you don't listen to this one!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future of space may be shaped by a coming scramble for off-world resources, the rise of humans born and raised beyond Earth, and the disruptive power of AI and robotics. Genetic engineering will redefine not only crops but humanity itself, transforming survival in stark new ways. And in time, contact with alien species could spark conflicts or alliances that alter our destiny. These are some of the elements explored in a new science-fiction series set just 40–80 years from now, written by Jeremy Clift, a former journalist with two decades of global reporting experience.

His books – Born in Space and Space Vault -- have been praised heavily for their mesmerizing world-building, high-impact action, deep character development, philosophical explorations, and most of all, a realistic portrayal of what life in space could look like from the detailed eye of a reporter who has covered war zones, natural disasters, and economic crises. Clift has lived in China, Egypt, Great Britain, India, France, Philippines, Washington DC, and elsewhere. From his international experiences he was able to imagine universal struggles out in deep space.

SOOOOO Interesting! Don't miss this one!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.