What's the CO2?

Autism diagnoses have climbed from roughly 1-in-88 to 1-in-31 kids, but is that a crisis, or just better fishing? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nate Noble, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and clinical geneticist who helped build Des Moines' developmental pediatrics practice essentially from scratch.

Dr. Noble pulls back the curtain on what a real autism evaluation looks like (spoiler: it involves bubbles, thrown toys,...

For years, Jessica Fraser tried to be the perfect chameleon at work, bending herself into whatever her job needed her to be. It worked, until it didn't. In this episode, she opens up about the moment she stopped stuffing her real self into a "neat container," took the leap to start her own company, and learned to see failure as fuel instead of something to fear.

Jessica is the founder of ElucidCX, a company she started just over a y...

Zane Chapman had no guarantees it would work. Just a conviction that coaching throws was what he wanted to do with his life, and the willingness to take an unpaid volunteer job to prove it.

That decision took him from Eastern Illinois University to a volunteer position at Wisconsin, working alongside an Olympic discus thrower, to Drake University, where there was no throws program at all. Zane started with a pole vaulter, a soccer p...

What does it take to lead a 23 year old nonprofit through its next chapter, while honoring everything the founder built before you?

In this episode, I sit down with Emmanuel (Manny) Caraballo, Executive Director of Freedom for Youth, a faith based nonprofit serving at risk youth in the Des Moines metro. Manny's path here wasn't a straight line, Army chaplain's assistant, youth pastor in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Northern Virginia, be...

Travis Shelton is a financial coach, founder of Shelton Consulting, and host of the Meaning Over Money podcast. But his path here wasn't straight — it ran through a job loss at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, $236,000 in debt, and an involuntary move back to Iowa three days into his engagement. What came out of that season was a completely different philosophy about money, work, and what it actually means to win.

In t...

What does it take to leave everything you know behind, and then figure out who you actually are when the thing that defined you is gone?

In this episode of What's the CO2?, Matt sits down with Ross Moffat, therapist, soccer coach, and Glasgow native, for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about identity, mental health, and what it really means to grow up.

Ross shares his journey from the streets of Clydebank, Scotland to the Scottish P...

What do Chick-fil-A, a gas station taco stand, and a top 1% real estate career have in common?

Jake Moore.

Jake Moore is the founder of the Jake Moore Group and one of the most successful realtors in the country, but his path there was anything but a straight line. From burning out at a booming software company, to a brief (very brief) stint in fast food, to running a taco stand three hours from home while juggling a corporate job, J...

We sit down with Pastor Scott Rains from Lutheran Church of Hope in Ankeny, Iowa to explore the profound intersection of healthcare, spirituality, and the human experience of grief. The conversation delves into the "meaning making model," examining how we bridge the gap between our foundational beliefs and the often-traumatic realities of life, while emphasizing that a truly "full life" requires embracing the low side of emotions l...

Dr. Yechan (YC) Kim is an Internal Medicine doctor with a focus on Sports Medicine. Dr. Kim shares his journey from South Korea to the United States and discusses the challenges he faced adapting to a new culture and language as well as the impact of his families personal challenges. He reflects on his faith journey and how it helped him overcome adversity. Dr. Kim also talks about his passion for medicine, particularly sports medi...