Episodes

Dec. 24, 2020

The Role of Compassion and Authenticity in Business with Isaac Addae

This week in the Diner, I’m joined by Isaac Addae – a proud Ghanaian-American, father, and business professor. Per usual, we kicked things off with discussion around late night eats and our love of chicken wings. After food,…
Dec. 17, 2020

The Power of Self-Advocating as an Accommodator with Tara Fuller

This episode, advocate, educator, and speaker Tara Fuller joined me in the diner. We jumped right in laughing and bonding over the joy of being accommodators. Tara has done some personal power work to try and shift that abou…
Dec. 10, 2020

The Power of Interdependence with World Blind Golf Champion, Jeremy Poincenot

This week, World Blind Golf Champion, Jeremy Poincenot stepped into the diner. Jeremy has an incredible story, he lost his site in his sophomore year in college and it was super powerful to hear him share the story about the…
Dec. 3, 2020

Wanting more of the addictive drug called Validation with Antonio Neves

My man, Antonio Neves joined me in the booth this week! He is an author, host of The Best Thing podcast, internationally recognized speaker, and a success coach. We jumped in by Antonio discussing his current relationship wi…
Nov. 26, 2020

Is social media connecting us or dividing us more? With Dr. Josie Ahlquist

This week I am joined in the Diner by social media expert, Dr. Josie Ahlquist! We kicked it off by randomly talking about Josie’s high school dating life. We then discussed her huge transition moving from Wyoming and South D…
Nov. 19, 2020

Comedy is a Survival Mechanism with Douglas Widick

Douglas Widick, hysterical actor, music producer and improviser, joins me in the diner this week! Fun fact, he created the theme song for Diner Talks with James and he and I are the co-owners of the internationally known hip…
Nov. 12, 2020

Why Black Women are Invisible with Sara Lowery

Sara Lowery hopped into the diner with me for this episode and it was enlightening, to say the least. Before we dove into deeper topics we first had to debate about the correct way to to order Waffle House hashbrowns and gri…
Nov. 5, 2020

Pregnancy loss and powerful parenting with my wife, Tina VanSteenbergen!

This week’s diner guest is my favorite human, because it’s my wife - Tina VanSteenbergen Robilotta!!! We kicked off the conversation learning about Tina’s love of bourbon and bubbly water then we dove off deep end. Tina told…
Oct. 29, 2020

Processing the fall out of a million dollar business with Tom Krieglstein

Tom Krieglstein became my first guest to actually eat while he was in the diner! Since he was munching on a veggie pizaa, we started by chatting about the impact The Simpsons had on Tom’s dietary choices. We then dove into T…
Oct. 22, 2020

Confronting an absent father with curiousity with Justin Jones-Fosu

Justin Jones-Fosu jumped joyfully into the Diner this (j)episode. We kicked it off commiserating about how to grieve what you miss in quarantine/Covid-19 times and what it’s like parenting in this madness. Justin then spoke …
Oct. 15, 2020

Being in Your Underwear in Times Square with Stacy Nadeau

Joining me this episode in the Diner is body image expert, coach, speaker, and badass mom, Stacy Nadeau! She and I first discuss why she was in her underwear in Times Square and the journey to being comfortable in your body …
Oct. 8, 2020

Being Latina While Black Lives Matter with Cristina Perez-Simmons

Cristina Perez-Simmons and I kicked in the diner this episode. She told me what life as a coffee snob is like and the importance of buying fair trade. We then talked about her move away from California and shifting from a La…
Oct. 2, 2020

Is being famous a good goal? With Lloyd Ahlquist

EpicLLOYD Ahlquist of Epic Rap Battles of History joined me in the diner booth this week! We talked about his gymnast background and then the skill it takes to play a great antagonist. Then we talked about making the decisio…
Oct. 2, 2020

Falling in love with being Black with Rick Daniels

Rick Daniels dropped all of the knowledge in this episode. He and I recorded this the week that George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis so you already know that we had a lot to talk about. We discussed parenting in the midd…
Oct. 2, 2020

Competing ambitions in relationships and trust building with Jess Ekstrom

I got to sit down with entrepreneur, speaker, and great friend Jess Ekstrom and we jumped right in with their decision to sell their apartment and move into an Airstream. Hearing about her relationship and having different a…
Oct. 2, 2020

Winning in business while failing at love with Sam Davidson

Sam and I had a powerful conversation about relationships, fatherhood, and entrepreneurship. We discussed becoming a father in the middle of the most successful month ever as an entrepreneur. And how you need to your network…
Sept. 30, 2020

Welcome to Diner Talks with James!

Friends! Welcome to the first episode of Diner Talks with James! In this episode I introduce the why, who, and what behind this podcast. I also make myself laugh a little because the internet is a quiet place when you’re tal…