Episode 4 - Berdetta Hodge: Public Service Under Pressure

Episode 4 - Berdetta Hodge: Public Service Under Pressure

In Episode 4 of ReActivated, Michael sits down with Tempe City Councilmember Burdetta Hodge for a candid conversation about public service, personal resilience, housing, homelessness, local politics, race, gender, and the emotional cost of leadership. From growing up through struggle to becoming the first Black woman elected to the Tempe City Council, Hodge reflects on what it means to serve a city during a time of division, scrutiny, and difficult decisions.

Episode 3 - Before the Loss

Michael sits down with Jewel for an honest conversation about caregiving, anticipatory grief, motherhood, and the complicated reality of moving forward after loss. As she reflects on her husband’s long health decline, the emotional toll it took on their home, and the weight of becoming a mother in the middle of it all, this episode makes space for a kind of grief people do not always understand. It is a conversation about pain, resilience, and learning how to keep living when life no longer looks the way you planned.

Episode 2 - The Things I Couldn’t Outrun

In Episode 2 of ReActivated, Michael gets more honest than he probably should. In “The Things I Couldn’t Outrun,” he opens up about childhood instability, identity, mental health struggles, addiction, politics, marriage, divorce, and fatherhood—and the hard truth that the parts of ourselves we refuse to face never stay contained. This is a deeply personal episode about pain, pride, accountability, and the long road toward becoming a better man. Because before we can answer the question who do we want to be? we have to be honest about who we are.

Special Episode: My Voice

In this special episode of ReActivated, Michael explains why he came back to this work—and why this conversation matters now more than ever. After listening to the President address the nation, he reflects on the growing disconnect between everyday Americans and the people governing them, the division shaping our political culture, and the deeper crisis underneath it all: character, truth, and personal responsibility. This is a candid monologue about power, struggle, self-reflection, and why common ground will never be rebuilt unless we are willing to confront ourselves first.

Episode 1: This isn’t the life I was supposed to be living

“I know I’m not the first middle-aged, divorced, single dad to say this… but I really thought I’d be somewhere else by now.” In this inaugural episode of ReActivated, Michael Martinez opens up about the moment everything came to a head and the realization that changed how he sees his life, his choices, and who he’s becoming. This isn’t a story about having it all figured out. It’s about what happens when you finally stop avoiding the questions you’ve been running from: * How did I get here? * Is this who I want to be? * Is this who I want to be? * And what am I willing to change? From burnout and loss to a hard reset in perspective, this episode lays the foundation for what ReActivated is really about: Becoming intentional about who we are so we can become who we’re meant to be. Because if we want to change our lives, our communities, or even our country… it starts with changing ourselves.