Alumnus Celebrates ‘Your History Your Story’ on Podcast

By Rebecca Maxon

March 19, 2024 — Retired from a career in finance, James Gardner, MBA’92 (Flor), is focused on another interest: his podcast “Your History Your Story.”

James Gardner

Launched more than three years ago, the podcast is interview-based, with guests discussing topics such as the Civil War, the Underground Railroad, B-17 fighter pilots and more, and is available on Spotify, YouTube and Apple podcasts.

Gardner and his wife, Kelly, who is involved with the technical side of producing the show, are “still learning, meeting interesting people and reading interesting books,” he says. “We’ve interviewed a lot of authors, World War II veterans, people over 100 years old and old Hollywood actors and actresses.”

They’ve also spoken with the descendants of political figures including Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman and Grover Cleveland.

“The stories are either about the guests themselves, their personal experiences, their family history, a book they wrote or other topics they are interested in.”

One recent episode featured a “presidential grave hunter.” Since he was a young boy, Kurt Deion and his father set out to visit the graves of all the deceased presidents and vice presidents in a decade-long quest. Along the way he also met a couple of living presidents and saw Ronald Reagan lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda.

Another recent guest is Becky Diamond, food writer and author of The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America’s Golden Era. Not only did she find and re-create recipes that were handed down throughout the ages, she also covers popular trends of the time such as railroad dining and picnicking.

Follow the Gardners’ podcast at www.yourhistoryyourstory.com.