Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Epizodes

• A Philly Artist Turns Trauma Into Abstract Acrylic Paintings 30.06.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail A paintbrush can be a turning point, and this conversation proves it. We sit down with Philadelphia based multidisciplinarian artist, writer, curator, and creative facilitator Ayana Viviana to unpack how neurographic art and abstract acrylic painting can pull buried emotions to the surface and turn them into meaning, color, and forward motion. Ayana breaks down her neurographic art process in plain language: intuitive lines first, interpretation second. From there, we talk a...
• How A Former NFL Lineman Builds Cash Flow And Legacy 15.06.2026 55min

  Send us Fan Mail Undrafted doesn’t mean unprepared. We sit down with Mike, a Chesapeake native and former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle, to trace the real path from instability to ownership. He opens up about growing up with a single mom, experiencing eviction and shelter living, and how that early fear forged discipline instead of defeat. The result is a money mindset built on survival, patience, and respect for every dollar. From Oscar Smith to junior college to the University of Miam...
• Visible. Unapologetic. | Celeste Entity - ListenUp Podcast 08.06.2026 41min

  Send us Fan Mail She’s a rhinestone-soaked showgirl on Friday night and an IV tech preparing chemo and dialysis meds during the day, and somehow both roles make perfect sense when you hear her story. We’re joined by Cyleste Entity, a transgender burlesque performer from Virginia Beach who’s built a name in Norfolk-area bars and clubs by treating glamour like a craft and self-expression like a necessity. We talk about where she performs, how her striptease style evolves from classic inspirati...
• A Working Mom And Army Veteran Explains Why Accountability Beats Party Loyalty 04.05.2026 32min

  Send us Fan Mail Congress doesn’t just make laws, it sets the moral temperature for the whole country. When that temperature feels off, people notice, and they stop trusting everything downstream. We sit down with Haley Dollar, a mother of four, Army veteran, author, and Libertarian candidate running for Congress in Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District, to talk about what she thinks voters are sensing right now and why she refuses to squeeze her views into the usual Democrat vs Republican bo...
• How Clover Stokes Built A Modern Classic Rock Band 27.04.2026 34min

  Send us Fan Mail You can look fearless under stage lights and still be shaking inside. That’s the truth Clover Stokes shares with us, and it’s exactly why her story hits. Clover is the frontwoman of Monarch, a Virginia Beach local band making waves across the 757 with classic rock covers, a growing original catalog, and a live show that pulls people in fast. We talk about the real work behind becoming “larger than life” and what it costs and gives back when you choose a public creative life.&...
• Who's Controlling the Narrative | Community Advocate Jessica Sanchez - ListenUp Podcast 20.04.2026 59min

  Send us Fan Mail Democracy feels abstract until it shows up in your therapy office, your workplace, or your child’s school. We sit down with Jessica Sanchez, an author, advocate, and founder of Daughters Of Both Suns, to talk about what it really takes to support Black and Latina women with culturally responsive therapy, resource navigation, and community-based healing. Jessica explains why “mental health is health care” only becomes true when people can actually access care that fits their l...
• A Third-Generation Woodturner Explains How Craft Keeps Culture Alive 13.04.2026 45min

  Send us Fan Mail A storm knocks down a cedar limb, and most people see yard waste. We see a whole philosophy. We’re joined by Nathan Elliott, a third-generation woodturner and woodcarver with roots connected to the Nansemond, Nottoway, and Saponi tribes in Eastern Virginia, and he walks us through how a spinning block of wood on a lathe becomes a bowl that carries memory, place, and purpose. From there, we follow the sound. Nathan explains the Native American flute, why he records real natur...
• What Makes a Real MC? | Musician & Rapper Sunny Black - ListenUp Podcast 23.03.2026 41min

  Send us Fan Mail He’s built for the stage, obsessed with style, and still chasing that feeling hip hop gave him the first time he saw Run DMC. We sit down with Sunny Black, a Paterson, New Jersey rapper now active in the Virginia hip hop scene, and get the kind of story you only hear from someone who’s lived multiple eras of the culture. From cardboard breakdancing at home to sharpening his pen around the golden era sound, Sonny explains how the roots shaped his voice, presence, and the way h...
• From Fear to Art: Rhythm, Identity & Photography | Ashley Cayon - ListenUp Podcast 09.03.2026 47min

  Send us Fan Mail What if the rhythm that shaped your childhood could also guide your future? We sit down with Miami-born, Cuban American artist and photographer Ashie Kaon to trace a bold journey from Little Havana to Virginia Beach—through Chicago snow, COVID pivots, and a creative awakening that turned fear into fuel. Ashie brings the sound of la clave, the stories of exile, and a grounded philosophy of faith and balance to a conversation about identity, trauma, and the power of local art c...
• The Body Holds the Truth | SB Cutts on Fascia & Trauma – ListenUp Podcast 02.03.2026 55min

  Send us Fan Mail Fascia tells the truth your words skip. We sit down with SB Cuts—fasciologist, integrative wellness coach, and founder of Fascia Fusion Wellness—to map how trauma, surgery, and everyday stress shape the body’s connective web and how hands-on work can help you rewrite that story. From 18 years of gymnastics to 27 surgeries and a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, SB brings rare clarity to hypermobility, scar tissue, and why pain so often echoes through old injuries. We unpa...
• Art that Restores | Artist Trevor Lucas - ListenUp Podcast 18.02.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail A colorblind muralist who sees more clearly than most. That’s Trevor Lucas—founder of Anomaly Art Studio—whose life spans rural Louisiana, a military move to Virginia, and a bold career painting community stories on brick and concrete. We dive into faith as a daily practice, not a slogan, and how a solid moral compass reshapes conflict, marriage, fatherhood, and creative decisions. Trevor’s lens is simple: judge by fruit, love with courage, and let the work serve people first...
• Introvert on Stage | Rome Davis - ListenUp Podcast 11.02.2026 47min

  Send us Fan Mail A shy loan officer from Norfolk turned his nerves into rocket fuel and found a home under the lights. We sit with comedian Rome Davis to unpack the seven-year grind behind a “90 seconds or nothing” America’s Got Talent audition, the nightly rituals that calm the shakes, and the hard lesson that changed his voice: stop faking it and tell the truth. Rome walks us through early reps at the Venue on 35th Street, where poets, musicians, and even wrestlers sharpened timing and sta...
• Funny without Swear Words | Comedian Quincy Carr - ListenUp Podcast 04.02.2026 1h 5min

  Send us Fan Mail What if the cleanest joke in the room is also the funniest? We sit down with Quincy Carr—the self-styled “Quality Comedy King”—to unpack how a Navy vet from Austin built a stand-up career that wins over churches, cruise ships, comedy clubs, and television without leaning on profanity. The turning point came when a church booker heard past the curses and saw the core: an act that connects. From there, Quincy refined a simple promise—respect the audience, read the room, and be ...
• From Hurt to Healing | Malik Jordan with "Teens with a Purpose" – ListenUp Podcast 28.01.2026 43min

  Send us Fan Mail A poem can carry what a kid can’t say out loud. That truth runs through our conversation with Malik Jordan, facilitator and Safe Passage team member at Teens With A Purpose in Norfolk. Malik traces his path from an angry 11-year-old to a mentor who helps teens express emotion, find purpose, and build safer neighborhoods—with art, with gardens, and with consistent care. We dig into how creative youth development turns vulnerability into strength. Poetry, music, and visual art...
• Building a Creative City | Producer Jamar Davis - ListenUp Podcast 21.01.2026 39min

  Send us Fan Mail What does it take to turn a region into a creative hub? We sit down with executive producer and community leader Jamar C. Davis to unpack the strategy, grit, and heart behind building large-scale festivals, leading Hampton Roads Pride, and launching programs that actually change lives. Jamar traces his path from Governor’s School tech theater to founding JAM Entertainment after leaving a corporate event role during the pandemic. He shares how connection—not stages or lights—...
• An Artist at 12 Years Old? | Jalani Vickers – ListenUp Podcast 12.01.2026 33min

  Send us Fan Mail A quiet swing, a rooftop at sunset, a barbershop buzz—sometimes the places we know best say the most. We sit with 12-year-old artist Jalani Vickers to explore how ordinary scenes become emotionally rich portraits, and why small choices like a hoodie slogan or a jersey number can carry unexpected weight. His world is part city dream, part neighborhood memory, and fully intentional about mood and meaning. Jalani walks us through his process from pencil sketches at his bedroom ...
• The Taste of Art | Chef Jeremiah Cardinal – ListenUp Podcast 07.01.2026 39min

  Send us Fan Mail A plate can be beautiful, but the real magic is what it makes you feel. That’s where we go with Chef Jeremiah Cardinal—a cook who treats cuisine like an art you practice daily, not a badge you wear. From early days flipping burgers at sixteen to corporate chef heights and then a leap across the Atlantic, Jeremiah traces how Germany and Finland broadened his base while Poland’s top kitchens reshaped his standards. He shares the trial he failed on the hot line, the cold station...
• Pushed Out of Work | Al Neely – ListenUp Podcast 26.12.2025 17min

  Send us Fan Mail The numbers don’t add up—or do they? We break down why black women, the most educated segment among black Americans and a cornerstone of the middle class, are experiencing historic job losses across government, healthcare, manufacturing, and construction. With unemployment touching a post-2020 high and roughly 300,000 black women exiting the labor force this year, we track how payroll cuts translate into household strain, reduced consumer spending, and community headwinds. W...
• From Immigrant to Icon | Chef Yasmine Charles – ListenUp Podcast 24.12.2025 51min

  Send us Fan Mail A teenage diary named Nancy. A snowstorm walk after a father’s refusal. A boot camp commander who sees what no one else did. Yasmin Charles joins us for a fearless conversation that traces a path from Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn to the Navy—and into the kitchen where healing meets hunger. We open with the shock of migration and the ache of colorism, not in headlines but inside a blended family. Yasmin describes bullying, parentification, and the quiet violence of church masks...
• When Art Gets Censored | Artist Jessica Chevon - ListenUp Podcast 17.12.2025 39min

  Send us Fan Mail A decorated high school art teacher walks away from the system—and finds a bigger canvas. Jessica Chivon joins us to share how she traded classroom constraints for a studio-first life, why students are hungry for handwriting and analog craft, and how sketchbooks can quietly reveal anxiety, resilience, and hope. Her story threads personal transformation with a larger cultural shift toward authenticity in an age of AI and instant everything. We dig into the tensions inside mod...