The Ethan C. Lewin Podcast

#52 — Tony Rose - Turns the Tables on Ethan

I would like to say 52 weeks and 52 episodes flew by but I really can't. It's been long, rewarding, uncomfortable at times, and... really, really good for me. I was reluctant to be in the guest seat but Tony refused to let me off the hook and I'm glad he didn't. Tony did a great job keeping it grounded, using me as the lens to reflect on the podcast, the people, the stories, and what it's actually meant to show up 52 times in a row. We talk about how this journey has helped me become more present and curious, why I'm drawn to uncomfortable conversations, and how a lot of that comes from wanting answers myself. Most of all, this one is a thank you. To every guest who trusted me enough to share their story. To everyone who's listened, reached out, or told me to keep going. Tony ends by asking what's next and the answer is simple: we're going to keep chuggin'. I cannot believe I am saying this… and at the same time I can. Welcome to Episode 52. Check Out: Episodes 0-51  [https://open.spotify.com/show/1ItHkx8TweBbwIv6ZNige3?si=dd2fd8551d5c4583] Elevate the Experience Help bring better audio, video, and filmed episodes to life: Venmo [https://www.venmo.com/u/TheEthanCLewinPodcast]. I tithe 10% of all contributions—half to the All Secure Foundation [https://allsecurefoundation.org/donate] (supporting soldiers’ transition home) and half to the Academy of the New Church High School [https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aotnc]. Stay Connected Contact: https://ethanchaselewin.com/contacthttps://ethanclewin.com/ [https://ethanclewin.com/] A Note from Me I’m inspired by the stories people carry, the power of honest feedback, and the magic that happens when creative minds connect. If you’re a brand interested in partnering, let’s talk: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanlewin]. Thanks for being part of this journey—PEACE!

#51 - Ben Pendleton - Milk & Honey

“This is going to be a pretty dark interview… with suicide, Islamic dreaming, jihad… it may get a little dark. But anyhow, it is what it is, I guess. Welcome to my life.” There you have it — straight from Ben himself. Hard to top an introduction like that. But I will add this: beneath all the darkness Ben deeply cares. And despite the weight of the conversation, we shared a lot of laughs too. Ben Pendleton was born into a family deeply affected by mental illness — and as he openly shares, he didn’t quite dodge that bullet himself either. As we discover, his love of religion and inner spiritual struggle have helped him make meaning of his own suffering, his sibling’s, and others’. Ben served in the United States Marine Corps, reported from Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War in 1983, and in 1991 photographed and interviewed legendary Afghan resistance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. Ben introduced me to a side of Islam, poetry, and the Middle East I likely never would have explored on my own. As Ben says, afterward he went back to working construction — “boringly, scraping paint.” Well… I’m not sure I quite buy that. You can decide for yourself. I feel genuinely lucky to bring Ben’s story, and in many ways the parts of ourselves we often wrestle with most, to you. Welcome to Episode 51. Check Out: Ben’s page: The Use of Dreams in Islamic Jihad (@benyameenp) [https://x.com/benyameenp] Caleb’s Café: 583 Hawk Mountain Road, Kempton, PA (normally open Saturdays 8am–2pm) Book Recs & Related Material: Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader — Marcela Grad [https://www.amazon.com/Massoud-Intimate-Portrait-Legendary-Afghan/dp/0982161506] To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan — Abdullah Anas [https://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Life-Jihad-Algeria-Afghanistan-ebook/dp/B07PC347J5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UX7ZCDL6GVA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lNyFqM86RZtDuv-UZGCOOQ.K9fVNM1w5pcS4jA4Q5oixlUv3ch6Qdxovm07xKcXEhM&dib_tag=se&keywords=To+the+Mountains%3A+My+Life+in+Jihad+from+Algeria+to+Afghanistan+%E2%80%94+Abdullah+Anas&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1778861250&s=books&sprefix=to+the+mountains+my+life+in+jihad+from+algeria+to+afghanistan+abdullah+anas%2Cstripbooks%2C110&sr=1-1] The Dream in Islam: From Qur’anic Tradition to Jihadist Inspiration — Iain R. Edgar [https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Islam-Tradition-Jihadist-Inspiration-ebook/dp/B01H6A7WH0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WGE97TD256V2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._DlQuRPoO4AsXwC2BncsKfLKf4hd6UMjYhrbzlji2JXnbWL2Mc4ur8NryWOlZEDt27gGJ9c4WknktsB8g-I7NIdvt3fg0JZC_6yPvqWWKuk656C5Os_RVJy_Wse8HNiSmV_2g_4qLkq_UlGY0dmPpkQC16g_BygODeLQjgIA0-L5-Sl6ohmMy7UnUWOcVx1yTVTmxZC7xG8o2cPSOqjvfdSbE-bIBFbKstolgZKv9bA.9Gqn1wlX2Rd7MyQnfT8FxzNweV8uTCuueijZaxLvezU&dib_tag=se&keywords=The+Dream+in+Islam%3A+From+Qur%E2%80%99anic+Tradition+to+Jihadist+Inspiration+%E2%80%94+Iain+R.+Edgar&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1778861267&s=books&sprefix=the+dream+in+islam+from+qur+anic+tradition+to+jihadist+inspiration+iain+r.+edgar%2Cstripbooks%2C67&sr=1-1] Surah Yusuf (Qur’an, Chapter 12) [https://quran.com/12]  “Song of the Bow” (David’s lament for Saul) [https://youtu.be/XXy-gU8-xi4]  New Church Writings Arcana Coelestia (full text archive) [https://dn790000.ca.archive.org/0/items/arcanacoelestiah01swed/arcanacoelestiah01swed.pdf] - see numbers 1975-1983 Arcana Coelestia (Elliott), AC 5091 [https://www.e-swedenborg.com/writings/static/d8086/5091.htm] Spiritual Experiences (#8) [https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/exposition/translation/spiritual-experiences-odhner/contents/80]  The Heavenly City, A Spiritual Guidebook #269 [https://share.google/enVFa1g99e2Fs3cMy] Divine Providence 326 [https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/gtw?l=123&w=18&p=326] Elevate the Experience Help bring better audio, video, and filmed episodes to life: Venmo [https://www.venmo.com/u/TheEthanCLewinPodcast]. I tithe 10% of all contributions—half to the All Secure Foundation [https://allsecurefoundation.org/donate] (supporting soldiers’ transition home) and half to the Academy of the New Church High School [https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aotnc]. Stay Connected Contact: https://ethanchaselewin.com/contacthttps://ethanclewin.com/ [https://ethanclewin.com/] A Note from Me I’m inspired by the stories people carry, the power of honest feedback, and the magic that happens when creative minds connect. If you’re a brand interested in partnering, let’s talk: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanlewin]. Thanks for being part of this journey—PEACE!

#50 - John Rienstra - Under the Helmet

John Rienstra was drafted ninth overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and later played for the Cleveland Browns. He played under Chuck Noll, Bill Belichick, and Bruce Arians — coaches who combined for 11 Super Bowl rings. He was nicknamed The Raging Rhino. At his peak, he could total over 2,000 pounds in powerlifting.But there was always an unseen side. Since his first year at Temple, John battled crippling anxiety and panic attacks — often so severe that the only way through them was to vomit before every game. He hid it for a long time. And when coaches eventually did find out, the way they handled it said a lot about the era he played in. What John and I really dig into today is the full arc — from a boarding school dorm room in Bryn Athyn to the NFL, and everything that came after: More than 20 surgeries. Teammates who died and were posthumously diagnosed with CTE. Going from a first-round pick salary to essentially starting over. From lifting 2,000 pounds to not being able to bench 10.  John is living with the cognitive effects of a career's worth of repetitive head injuries and has been part of the NFL concussion lawsuit for over two decades. His story is a hard one. But John tells it like it is, and I admire him for it — and I think you'll walk away seeing football, and a lot of other things, in a completely different light. Check Out: Penn Sports Live Podcast with John Rienstra [https://pennsports.live/podcast/talking-college-football-history-john-rienstra] A Quiet Warrior, The Story of Former NFL Player [https://www.summitdaily.com/news/a-quiet-warrior-the-story-of-former-nfl-player-frisco-local-john-rienstra/#:~:text=Despite%20his%20athletic%20abilities%2C%20Rienstra,only%20relieve%20them%20by%20vomiting]   Elevate the Experience Help bring better audio, video, and filmed episodes to life: Venmo [https://www.venmo.com/u/TheEthanCLewinPodcast]. I tithe 10% of all contributions—half to the All Secure Foundation [https://allsecurefoundation.org/donate] (supporting soldiers’ transition home) and half to the Academy of the New Church High School [https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aotnc]. Stay ConnectedContact: https://ethanchaselewin.com/contacthttps://ethanclewin.com/ [https://ethanclewin.com/] A Note from Me I’m inspired by the stories people carry, the power of honest feedback, and the magic that happens when creative minds connect. If you’re a brand interested in partnering, let’s talk: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanlewin]. Thanks for being part of this journey—PEACE!

#49 - Martha Pitcairn - Too Soon to Tell

Martha is a coach, a listener, and what she calls a "lay midwife for women's spirits" — someone who helps people come home to themselves. She’s also my godmother. She's known me since before I knew myself. That should be enough said. In this episode, we talk about what it means to truly see someone, why anger is almost always thwarted love, the stories we carry that keep us small, and why the hardest parts of our lives might be exactly what we were handed on purpose. Just Martha and me, doing what we've always done. Welcome to Episode 49. Elevate the Experience Help bring better audio, video, and filmed episodes to life: Venmo [https://www.venmo.com/u/TheEthanCLewinPodcast]. I tithe 10% of all contributions—half to the All Secure Foundation [https://allsecurefoundation.org/donate] (supporting soldiers’ transition home) and half to the Academy of the New Church High School [https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aotnc]. Stay Connected Contact: https://ethanchaselewin.com/contacthttps://ethanclewin.com/ [https://ethanclewin.com/] A Note from Me I’m inspired by the stories people carry, the power of honest feedback, and the magic that happens when creative minds connect. If you’re a brand interested in partnering, let’s talk: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanlewin]. Thanks for being part of this journey—PEACE!

#48 - Lach Brown - The Noble Warrior

If you asked a room full of ten-year-old boys what they wanted to be when they grew up, Lach Brown became all of them: a Vietnam War Cobra attack helicopter pilot, police officer, firefighter, and decorated veteran, holding the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and Air Medal among others. In the traditional sense of what it means to be a man, he checks every box. But Lach is the first to tell you: he was asleep for most of it. The real journey of masculinity, he’ll tell you, is the distance between a man’s mind and his heart. That journey led him to his wife Dorothy—50 years and counting—who taught him the things of the heart that no cockpit or firehouse could—and supported him in finding brotherhood with other men on the same path. That realization—that a man needs other men, and that the hardest war most men fight is the one within themselves—eventually led Lach to become a founding member of SWET (Spiritual Warfare Effectiveness Training), volunteer at halfway houses helping people reintegrate into society, and adopt five children. What Lach ultimately shows us is that the measure of a man isn’t necessarily found in titles or medals—it’s found in the ordinary person who simply does right. In their conduct, their work, their home, and their community. That’s the example worth looking up to. And the reason that matters? It means any of us can live it. Welcome to Episode 48. Check Out: SWET (Spiritual Warfare Effectiveness Training) [https://www.swet.org/] Bryn Athyn Police Department [https://www.facebook.com/BAPDBorough/] Bryn Athyn Fire Company [https://www.bafireco.org/] Elevate the Experience Help bring better audio, video, and filmed episodes to life: Venmo [https://www.venmo.com/u/TheEthanCLewinPodcast]. I tithe 10% of all contributions—half to the All Secure Foundation [https://allsecurefoundation.org/donate] (supporting soldiers’ transition home) and half to the Academy of the New Church High School [https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aotnc]. Stay Connected Contact: https://ethanchaselewin.com/contacthttps://ethanclewin.com/ [https://ethanclewin.com/] A Note from Me I’m inspired by the stories people carry, the power of honest feedback, and the magic that happens when creative minds connect. If you’re a brand interested in partnering, let’s talk: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanlewin]. Thanks for being part of this journey—PEACE!