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The Drop the Needle Podcast

The Drop the Needle Podcast

By: Jim Alstott
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The Drop the Needle Podcast is a series of honest, open conversations built around three things that shape how we live: spirituality, mindset, and music. Host Jim Alstott sits down with teachers, healers, doctors, therapists, coaches, and artists to explore the spiritual side of life — and to show that being spiritual isn't "weird," it's human. We get into modalities like meditation, sound healing, and reflective writing, plus traditional and alternative approaches to health and mental health. And because we all carry a soundtrack, every guest shares the songs that shaped them. The goal: take the fear and mystique out of these subjects so you feel free to explore — and show how weaving them into daily life pays off, personally and professionally. New episodes every week. Subscribe and drop the needle with us. Also on YouTube. Guest & business inquiries: jim@dtnpodcast.comCopyright 2026 All rights reserved. Music Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • 82: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 82 | He Drowned and Woke Up at the Bottom of the Pool | Thayne Martin

    82: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 82 | He Drowned and Woke Up at the Bottom of the Pool | Thayne Martin
    22 Oct 2026
    He drowned in his own pool, woke up on the bottom under a full moon, and came back with an equation for happiness.For years, Thayne Martin looked like a man who had it all figured out: six-time President's Club, top 10% nationwide, a career built on breaking sales records. Underneath it he was carrying a secret from childhood, abuse that began when he was a boy in Phoenix, and a stack of diagnoses that included dissociative identity disorder, bipolar I and complex PTSD. He tells us how he hid it, how it surfaced in a board meeting, and the woman who never gave up on him.Then, on August 13, 2023, alone in the pool late at night, he had a seizure and drowned. It was his second near-death experience. He woke up at the bottom of the pool, calm, an atheist with no idea how to get out, until a voice said: move your head. What came back with him became ELAH, the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division applied to your emotional life, plus "net neutral," the "gratitude cocktail," and why he says fear is a direction, not a stop sign.And stay for the Playlist Round: ZZ Top, Propaganda, Above & Beyond, Donna Summer with the Phoenix Symphony, and the song that carried a little boy over the rainbow.This conversation includes Thayne's account of childhood sexual abuse, addiction and suicide attempts. If it brings something up for you, in the US you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Thayne shares his own experience; nothing here is medical advice.KEY TOPICSHiding childhood trauma behind a high-performing career · Dissociative identity disorder, without the Hollywood myth · Two near-death experiences by drowning · Leaving the victim story behind · ELAH: the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness · Net positive, net negative and net neutral · Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" · The principle of abundance · Music as vibrationSOUND BITES"I'm not a victim. I was never a victim. None of us are.""I woke up at the bottom of the pool. That's where I woke up.""Happiness in life comes when we're authentic, a hundred percent who we are without filters.""Fear is a sign and a direction. Fear just says I can learn something here.""There's only one thing on the other side. It's love."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:36 Phoenix, age five, and the secret he carried03:42 "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim."05:24 Every diagnosis was a coping mechanism05:55 Seven pillboxes a day, and then zero06:17 August 13, 2023: alone in the pool at night07:02 Waking up at the bottom of the pool under a full moon08:09 An atheist comes back with a "download"10:02 "Move your head": the breath that got him out12:28 Six-time President's Club: what the man on stage believed14:40 The gap between the facade and the true self17:05 A life of success, and a secret underneath it18:19 The best liar in the world20:40 Gratitude and unconditional love as neuroscience21:56 Every sunrise since September 202422:26 Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail"25:18 Which diagnosis explained the most28:11 The board meeting that ended his career28:45 A love story: the woman who never gave up29:54 What he wishes someone had said31:38 Net positive, net negative, and living in net neutral34:37 Two near-death experiences: what the first one showed him37:55 The first thing he did when he came back39:18 Love as the power that operates everything40:48 Why we remember what we feel41:59 What happened to the men responsible43:24 A lawsuit, scholarships, and a donation-based program44:24 ELAH: why math is the language of the universe45:44 Add and subtract: balancing to neutral46:49 Multiply and divide: the principle of abundance48:59 From growing up scarce to giving it away50:09 Letting go of ego, and a love that never punishes51:34 Fifty years at the piano: everything is vibration54:21 What he still gets wrong about his own equation55:12 Vasopressin, oxytocin and dopamine58:48 Playlist Round: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"59:53 Road trips: Mom's 70s records, and disco1:00:37 Senior year: ZZ Top's Eliminator1:01:17 College: Propaganda's A Secret Wish1:03:01 Pump-up: his "Shift" playlist and Above & Beyond1:04:30 Guilty pleasure: Donna Summer and the Phoenix Symphony1:05:04 The song written for him: "Blue Sky Action"1:05:48 All-time favorite: why the rainbow1:06:46 Thank-yous, where to find Thayne, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDAbove & Beyond, "Gratitude" and "Blue Sky Action"Propaganda, A Secret WishZZ Top, EliminatorDonna Summer"Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of OzCONNECT WITH THAYNE MARTINIt's Pure Love / ELAH: https://www.itspurelove.comInstagram: @itspureloveofficialTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/089P25t56cNoqYmagZ8yuRFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com ...
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    1 hr and 9 min
  • 81: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 81 | Am I on the Wrong Mountain? | Matt Ludmer

    81: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 81 | Am I on the Wrong Mountain? | Matt Ludmer
    15 Oct 2026
    What if you reach the top of your mountain and it turns out to be the wrong one?In 2000, Matt Ludmer and his partner were named the No. 1 producing team at DLJ. He walked up to collect the award, and his very next thought was, "Where do I go from here?" Earlier that year he had wandered into a matinee of a play called Wrong Mountain, and its question never left him.Matt grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a man who sold staples and nails up and down the Turnpike. He talked his way into the University of Chicago by sitting outside the dean's office, talked his way into Morgan Stanley by walking into a recruiting lunch uninvited, and spent decades building wealth for other people while quietly studying meditation, Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism on the side. For years, none of those worlds knew about the others. At his 50th birthday, none of his best friends knew each other.We talk about the thirteen years between knowing and leaving, why a risk manager decided the risk of staying was worse, the day he wrote ARTICULATION on his daughter's wall and saw her light dim, a week alone in a Vermont cabin where he started laughing on day three, and what his father knew about contentment that took Matt forty years on Wall Street to learn. His new book, The Right Mountain, comes out October 20.And stay for the Playlist Round: Led Zeppelin, Queen, Al Green, a tenor aria, and the Knicks.KEY TOPICSReaching the top and asking "where do I go from here?" · Living two lives: Wall Street and the meditation cushion · The four dimensions of true wealth · Intelligent risk and the decision to leave · Money as achievement, not fulfillment · Being spiritual in business · Parenting and the achiever mindset · A solo retreat and laughing at your own story · Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants · What a father's contentment teachesSOUND BITES"Did it ever occur to you that you may be on the wrong mountain?""I'm a wealth manager and I didn't feel wealthy.""My job is not managing money. My job is managing risk.""Money is achievement, but it's not fulfillment.""Wisdom has many, many lifetimes."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:06 Matt's thumbnail: Teaneck, a staples salesman's son, and the road to Wall Street02:14 Tibetan teachers at 18, and camping outside the dean's office03:35 Two lives: meditation in the dorm, Morgan Stanley by day04:35 Unintentional Fridays and a play called Wrong Mountain05:29 The lightning moment, and the No. 1 producer award07:04 Uncle Marvin the headhunter, and where the nerve came from08:36 A motivation box on the wall and reading Emerson10:07 Walking uninvited into Morgan Stanley's recruiting lunch11:58 The downside of the achiever mindset12:28 His daughter Grace and the word ARTICULATION14:48 Scottsdale, 2000: "Where do I go from here?"15:37 Thirteen more years, and a wealth manager who didn't feel wealthy16:15 Ken Wilber and a map for a fragmented life18:10 A 50th birthday where none of his best friends knew each other19:58 The four dimensions of true wealth21:28 Fear, money, and a family to support22:57 "My job is managing risk"23:57 Losing his light, and the decision to leave25:14 Stay with the question: advice for anyone at a crossroads27:05 What he yearns for now, and the purposes of money29:31 Money is achievement, not fulfillment30:30 You don't have to renounce the world to be spiritual31:58 Can you be spiritual and still sell?34:21 "Your dad's a really good guy"35:49 The secret life: who he hid from the longest38:26 Imams, priests and rabbis: the result that matters39:47 "I want to be wise"41:10 The kinds of wealth AI won't change43:31 2008, a cabin in Vermont, and a laugh on day three47:24 Labels, identity, and laughing at yourself48:59 Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants51:06 Having a view: a map made of other people's wisdom54:07 Being lit up about your life55:08 The Old Croton Aqueduct and the sound of a basketball56:16 What his father knew that took 40 years on Wall Street to learn58:04 Ma Tovu: arms wide open in Central Park1:01:19 Playlist Round: Led Zeppelin and an omen1:02:08 Road trips with three daughters and Diana Ross1:03:01 Senior year: Queen1:03:36 College, his friend Dave Goldberg, and Pat Metheny1:05:03 Pump-up song: the Knicks, NBA champions1:05:58 Guilty pleasure: Otis Redding and a tenor aria1:07:25 Al Green and Sly and the Family Stone1:08:40 The song that stops him: The Right Mountain album1:10:52 Healing frequencies and three bodies1:12:28 Today's song: James Taylor's "Secret O' Life"1:13:46 Where to find Matt, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDKen Wilber, A Brief History of Everything (Integral theory)George Kinder, the "father of life planning"Wrong Mountain (the play, 2000)The Aligned Center, Irvington, NYRobert Peng, qigong masterPat MethenyAl Green, "Love and Happiness"James Taylor, "Secret O' Life"CONNECT WITH MATT LUDMERThe Right Mountain (out October 20, 2026; pre-order now): https://therightmountainbook.comAligned Wealth: https://...
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    1 hr and 16 min
  • 79: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 79 | You're Carrying Energy That Isn't Yours | Connie Smock

    79: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 79 | You're Carrying Energy That Isn't Yours | Connie Smock
    1 Oct 2026
    How much of what you're carrying is actually yours?Connie Smock, Connie Warrior of Light, is back for her third visit, and this time we get practical. Her book, Shift Your Energy, Change Your Life!, is built around one word: fear. After 35 years of readings and energy healings, she says fear is what blocks most people, and a lot of what feeds it is energy they picked up somewhere else and never put down.We talk about why the people who challenge us most are our biggest teachers, what sales school taught her about celebrating the no's, and why staying in a relationship that's over can hurt the other person more than leaving. Then we get into energy clearing in plain English: what it is, how to tell what's yours from what isn't, the quick clearing she says anyone can do today, and why sage and holy water never touched what was in her own house.Then I put myself in the chair, and Connie reads me live, on the air.KEY TOPICSFear as the root of most blocks · The people who challenge us as teachers · Celebrating the no's · Why staying can hurt the other person more · Energy clearing in plain English · Body testing: what's yours and what isn't · Discarnate souls and "hitchhikers" · Interdimensionals and why sage wasn't enough · A quick daily clearing · The seven sacred flames · Developing clairsentience · A live tarot readingSOUND BITES"The people who challenge us the most… those are your biggest teachers.""Celebrate the no's… because you're that much closer to your yes.""You're hurting that other person more… that other person could be with someone who actually looks forward to seeing them every day.""If you never washed your physical body ever… how many layers of filth and dirt would you have? … It's the same thing with spiritual clearing."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:41 Connie Smock, back for a third visit01:52 The Listening Field retreat, and why she does qigong every day05:32 Why fear? The spine of her book10:01 Sales school: celebrate the no's11:47 35 years of readings. What finally made her write it14:25 "Yeah, for you": the gap between knowing and doing17:56 The skier, the toddler, and getting back up19:59 The waterfall breath21:59 Jumping timelines23:10 Who the book is for, and why staying can hurt them more27:40 What she'd change, the workbook, and Jim narrating the audiobook29:54 Energy 101: not all of it is good for you31:13 High and low vibrations, and the headless figure on the stairs33:12 The fastest clearing: Michael, Raphael and the violet flame34:44 Energy clearing in plain English: a hundred coats36:58 What's yours and what isn't: body testing41:18 If you never clear: hitchhikers and souls that don't cross45:18 What a clearing feels like: "night and day"47:37 People vs. houses, and the interdimensionals53:11 When to call a pro, and why sage isn't enough56:34 A clearing you can do today, plus the seven sacred flames1:00:33 Do you walk the house? Intention over the tool belt1:04:30 Start developing your gifts: the clairsentient truth test1:08:59 Connie reads Jim live1:15:50 Her six-day psychic mediumship course1:19:13 Where to find Connie, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDShift Your Energy, Change Your Life! by Connie SmockSpiritual Clearings by Diana BurneyCONNECT WITH CONNIE SMOCKWebsite and newsletter: https://conniewarrioroflight.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/conniewarrioroflightInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/conniewarrioroflightTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@conniewarrioroflightGuided Psychic Mediumship Program, live on Zoom, October 19–24, 2026Live Open Forum Mediumship at Red Lotus Yoga, Rochester Hills, MI, Sunday, November 8, 2026TODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/4TMGhQDIlE36PUeX3LBfN4FROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.#DropTheNeedle #ConnieWarriorOfLight #EnergyClearing #AngelMedium #Qigong #SpiritualAwakening #Mediumship #Tarot
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    1 hr and 22 min
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