What does it mean to report on the world’s hidden stories? In this episode of Twice 5 Miles Radio, I sit down with investigative journalist Sean Williams, co-host of the Underworld podcast, which reaches a million listeners every month. Sean’s reporting has taken him into the depths of organized crime, political corruption, and human resilience, from the slums of Manila to the frontlines of war zones.

We met in Manila, a city he describes as “organized chaos,” where he was researching an in-depth Harper’s Magazine feature on Duterte’s brutal drug war and the lives caught in its grip. In our conversation, we discuss the sharp economic divides in Manila, the rise of disinformation, and how journalists like Sean navigate truth in a world increasingly shaped by propaganda.

Sean shares his radical skepticism of social media, how digital platforms distort narratives, and why long-form journalism remains one of the last bastions of in-depth storytelling. We also explore the personal side of his work—how walking clears his mind, the discipline behind crafting a great feature, and why he believes every good story starts with listening.

Whether you’re a writer, a journalist, or simply someone who cares about understanding the world beyond the headlines, this episode is for you. Join me, James Navé, as we take a deep dive into the art of investigative storytelling, the ethics of journalism, and the unseen forces shaping our global reality.

Tune in to Twice 5 Miles Radio for this eye-opening conversation. Listen now on your favorite podcast platform.

Manila's Organized Chaos with investigative reporter Sean Williams

In this solo episode of Twice 5 Miles Radio, I reflect on my final days in Paris after 40 years of coming and going. I’m sitting in a small studio at 38 Rue Dauphine—a place that’s been a quiet touchstone in my life and a silent witness to the legacy of the Paris literary scene. As I look back, I think about this little apartment and time, memory, and the places we carry with us.

I share stories from 1968 when the world was turning upside down—when I graduated high school the night Robert F. Kennedy was shot. I talk about growing up on Pine Lane in western North Carolina, driving through the dark toward Myrtle Beach, and listening to the news on an old AM radio. I wonder what it means to feel the passing of time—and to feel its presence, too.

You’ll hear a recitation of Dylan Thomas’s Fern Hill, a reading from my book 100 Days: Poems After Cancer, and reflections on how the echoes of the past live inside the present moment. I also talk about my ongoing work with Allegra Huston and the creative path we’ve forged together over the last five years.

This episode is a meditation on home, history, poetry, and the stillness that lives beneath the noise. It’s a way of saying thank you to Paris, Pine Lane, and the community of listeners who’ve made this radio journey possible.

Broadcast on the edge of evening, Rue Dauphine, Pine Lane, and the Eternal Now is my love letter to what’s been, a salute to what is, and a quiet nod toward whatever comes next.

Reflections on Paris, rue Dauphine, Pine Lane, and the Eternal Now with James Navé

In this episode of Twice 5 Miles Radio, I speak with Rev. Barbara Lane, author of Broken Water, a memoir of childhood trauma, foster care, and reunion with the sisters she was separated from at age three. Barbara’s story is both heartbreaking and healing—a journey through abandonment and abuse into the power of love, memory, and inner resilience.

We talk about how the light of the divine lives in each of us, even in the darkest moments. Barbara shares how the Grovian coaching method and symbolic metaphor can open new paths to healing. Her work is grounded in the belief that you're not what happened to you—you are the story you choose to live now.

If you've ever felt weighed down by the past, this conversation offers „a way through. A reminder that even if the water breaks, it still flows—and you’re still here.

Learn more about Barbara's work at www.barbaralane.info.
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Rev. Barbara Lane: Broken Water—Power of Metaphor

Welcome to Twice 5 Miles Radio, I’m your host, James Navé.

In this episode, we begin with Leandro Reyes, Manila’s dynamic “Basyang Kid”—a spoken-word artist who channels a century-old literary legacy into powerful performances, poetic craft, and cultural community-building. From open mic stages across Makati to the pages of Postscript Magazine, 

Leandro honors the legacy of his great-grandfather, Severino “Lola Basyang” Reyes—the iconic playwright and “Father of Tagalog Zarzuela”—while forging his own bold new path. His debut poem, “Sugarcoats,” contemplates loss with quiet precision, and his work in theater and advocacy reveals a deep devotion to Filipino artistry and imagination.

Then we travel from Manila to Taos for a conversation I recorded a few years ago with Ocean Vuong, bestselling author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and his current novel, The Emperor of Gladness, published on May 13, 2025.  Ocean was in Northern New Mexico for the Taos Poetry Festival, and we sat down to talk about poetry, language, loss, and what it means to carry beauty and grief in the same breath.

To close the show, I offer a short writing workshop—an invitation called “A Long Look at Yourself.” It’s a simple, powerful practice in awareness and emotional truth, designed to help you connect with your voice and see your own story in a fresh light.

Whether you're a writer, a listener, or someone simply curious about the human spirit, I hope this episode offers you something to carry with you.

A Long Look at Yourself with poets Leandro Reyes and Ocean Vuong

Today on the show, I'm pleased to welcome Donald Graham, an internationally acclaimed photographer whose portraits, landscapes, and stories span the globe—from high fashion in Paris to mountain lions prowling the wilds of Taos, New Mexico.

Don's work is housed in collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the International Center of Photography, and his black-and-white portrait book "One of a Kind" has garnered over 40 international awards.

We met by chance at an after-party in Taos and found ourselves deep in conversation about photography, light, and the animals that roam his high desert land. That moment led to this interview. In our conversation, 

Don takes us from the glamour of Vogue shoots in Paris to the quiet solitude of waiting for a bear to appear on a trail cam. 

We discuss photography as an act of presence, empathy, and uncovering stories behind the eyes of a subject. He offers technical insights, soulful reflections, and a few hard-earned truths about making a life in the arts.

So pour a cup of coffee, settle in, and join me for this intimate and far-reaching conversation with a man who's spent his life pointing a lens at the world—and seeing what most of us miss.

The Photographer's Lens with Donald Graham

Welcome to Twice 5 Miles Radio. I'm your host, James Navé. Today, I'm joined by Juliet Ewing, a dynamic jazz vocalist whose journey from Broadway stages to intimate New York jazz clubs is as lyrical as the songs she sings.
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A classically trained musical theater performer, Juliet speaks candidly about creativity, joy, and the art of telling the truth through song. We dive deep into her transformation from touring musicals like Crazy for You and Footloose to developing her sold-out cabaret "Rise Up Singing: The Music of George Gershwin," now culminating in her upcoming album Simply'S Wonderful.

Juliet unpacks the layers of perfectionism, the power of storytelling in music, and how Gershwin's lyrics still break hearts a century later. We talk rehearsal, spontaneity, roses, and the jazz of living well. Juliet's voice—clear, radiant, intelligent—carries more than a tune. Her voice carries a lifetime of artistic devotion, grit, and joy. If you've ever wondered where the magic lives in a song, this conversation will bring you home.

Lyrics Come First with Juliet Ewing on music, meaning, and Gershwin

Welcome to Provocative Conversations from Twice 5 Miles Radio. I’m your host, James Navé.  Today’s guest is PJ Ewing—a longtime friend, brilliant digital marketer, skilled podcast host of Lester the Nightfly, and one of the most thoughtful audio engineers I know.

This wide-ranging conversation explores the evolving intersection of sound, artificial intelligence, and American culture. From podcasting to tech ethics, it’s a deep dive into our digital future.

PJ and I dig into what makes good audio, the shifting podcasting landscape, how media influences identity, and whether we as a species can survive the next 400 years.

From the 1960’s Gunsmoke TV series to AI, from Alaska community radio to Malcolm Gladwell’s take on gun culture, we examine the deep questions—and share a few laughs along the way.

You’ll come away with fresh insights on creativity, society, and the risks we’re all taking to build whatever’s next.

Key Topics Covered in the Interview
The importance of high-quality audio in podcasting
Tips and gear for DIY podcasting (mics, software, editing tools)
Niche podcasting vs. general interviews
Podcast recommendations (including 20,000Hz, Pivot, Hard Fork, StarTalk)
PJ’s shift away from political media
Malcolm Gladwell and the cultural influence of Gunsmoke
Personal reflections on American gun culture
Local community resilience post-Hurricane Helene
The case for city-states over large national governments
Speculative futures: AI, gene editing, alien contact
Cultural evolution and the crisis of masculinity
Whether humanity can survive the next 400 years
The dual nature of capitalism as destructive and innovative

Aliens Are Coming: PJ Ewing on technology, culture, and the American Mind

Welcome to Provocative Conversations from Twice 5 Miles Radio; I’m your host, James Navé. What happens when a bullied 12-year-old finds her voice through a school talent show poem—and never looks back? In this powerful episode of Twice 5 Miles Radio, I sit down with Alabama-born poet E. Bailey, a rising star in the national slam poetry scene, who will be competing at this year’s LEAF Poetry Slam Championships.
Over 40 minutes, E. Bailey walks us through her poetic journey—from being mentored by a traveling poetry dad to self-publishing her first book at 15, to discovering the raw intimacy of slam poetry. Baileydoesn’t just write poems—she does poetry. She performs it, embodies it, lives it.
Her stories are vulnerable, electric, and deeply human: navigating trauma, small-town isolation, early grief, and ultimately, transformation. Whether she’s reading her two-part piece “Bad Girl / Bad Girl Becomes Woman” or reflecting on slam as a spiritual awakening, E. Bailey speaks forcefully, without hesitation.
The second half of the episode includes I  reflect on my own poetic evolution—growing into the craft later in life, the origins of the LEAF Slam, and what it means to say something true on the page and on the stage.
This is a show about poetry as survival, as connection, and as reclamation. Whether you’re 13 or 97, a seasoned poet or someone just starting out, this episode is an invitation to step through the door and speak your truth.
Tune in, take a breath, and let E. Bailey catch yo with your guard down.

Bad Girl Write Poetry with spoken word poet E. Bailey

Art in Times of Beauty and Chaos with Parks & Navé

In this episode, I sit down with Santa Fe entrepreneur and creative strategist David Lamb. From his family’s 150-year-old timber business in the Pacific Northwest to his work supporting Navajo weavers in New Mexico, David has spent a lifetime asking one essential question: How can we succeed in business without losing our soul?

David’s answer comes down to three deceptively simple words—Have Fun. Make Money. Do Right. Together, we explore how those principles have shaped his leadership, his philanthropy, and his sense of identity as a “Western man.” David shares stories of rebuilding after bankruptcy, of learning humility through humor, and of finding clarity by listening to what he calls the voice of the organization.

We also talk about creativity, community, and the hidden business acumen of Navajo grandmothers who run their weaving enterprises from sheep to finished rug. David reveals why he believes laughter is the foundation of resilience, why solvency is an act of stewardship, and why doing right—whether in commerce or art—is the truest measure of wealth.

This conversation is both practical and philosophical, rooted in the belief that joy, prosperity, and integrity are not separate goals but parts of a single practice.

Have Fun, Make Money, Do Right- David Lamb on ethical life and business

Provocative Conversations from Twice 5 Miles Radio is a podcast devoted to candid, often surprising exchanges with artists, thinkers, and cultural instigators who speak from the core. Each episode dives beneath the surface to explore the stories and questions that shape our lives.

I’m James Navé—poet, storyteller, educator, and longtime creative collaborator. With an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and decades of teaching experience across the globe, I help writers and performers tap into their authentic voices through public speaking, creative writing, and the Imaginative Storm method, which I co-developed with Allegra Huston.

My most recent book, 100 Days: A Poetic Memoir After Cancer (3: A Taos Press), documents a hundred days of healing and poetic reckoning. I’m also co-author of Write What You Don’t Know and How to Read for an Audience—practical guides for anyone seeking to speak and write with more truth and power.

I’ve directed festivals, hosted literary salons, taught with Julia Cameron, and memorized over 600 poems. I still believe in the power of a well-told story, the light through stained glass, and the open road with nothing but a podcast and a windshield full of stars.

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