The Drop the Needle Podcast

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.com

The Drop the Needle Podcast is a religion podcast hosted by Jim Alstott, with 82 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jim Alstott hosts The Drop the Needle Podcast, a religion show with 82 episodes published.

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  Episode #79

  79: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 79 | You're Carrying Energy That Isn't Yours | Connie Smock

  Oct 1, 20261h 22m

  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 TOPICS Fear 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 reading SOUND 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." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:41 Connie Smock, back for a third visit 01:52 The Listening Field retreat, and why she does qigong every day 05:32 Why fear? The spine of her book 10:01 Sales school: celebrate the no's 11:47 35 years of readings. What finally made her write it 14:25 "Yeah, for you": the gap between knowing and doing 17:56 The skier, the toddler, and getting back up 19:59 The waterfall breath 21:59 Jumping timelines 23:10 Who the book is for, and why staying can hurt them more 27:40 What she'd change, the workbook, and Jim narrating the audiobook 29:54 Energy 101: not all of it is good for you 31:13 High and low vibrations, and the headless figure on the stairs 33:12 The fastest clearing: Michael, Raphael and the violet flame 34:44 Energy clearing in plain English: a hundred coats 36:58 What's yours and what isn't: body testing 41:18 If you never clear: hitchhikers and souls that don't cross 45:18 What a clearing feels like: "night and day" 47:37 People vs. houses, and the interdimensionals 53:11 When to call a pro, and why sage isn't enough 56:34 A clearing you can do today, plus the seven sacred flames 1:00:33 Do you walk the house? Intention over the tool belt 1:04:30 Start developing your gifts: the clairsentient truth test 1:08:59 Connie reads Jim live 1:15:50 Her six-day psychic mediumship course 1:19:13 Where to find Connie, and we drop the needle RESOURCES MENTIONED Shift Your Energy, Change Your Life! by Connie Smock Spiritual Clearings by Diana Burney CONNECT WITH CONNIE SMOCK Website and newsletter: https://conniewarrioroflight.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conniewarrioroflight Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conniewarrioroflight TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@conniewarrioroflight Guided Psychic Mediumship Program, live on Zoom, October 19–24, 2026 Live Open Forum Mediumship at Red Lotus Yoga, Rochester Hills, MI, Sunday, November 8, 2026 TODAY'S PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4TMGhQDIlE36PUeX3LBfN4 FROM YOUR HOST Mentioned 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.com If 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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  Episode #78

  78: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 78 | Joey's Song: He Couldn't Speak. The Music Did. | Mike Gomoll

  Sep 24, 20261h 4m

  What does a child who never spoke a word leave behind? Mike Gomoll's son Joey died at five. With Butch Vig, he built Joey's Song: $2 million raised for epilepsy research, zero paid staff. Dravet syndrome, Freezing Man, 35 artists playing free. Joey couldn't speak. When the music came on, he'd find whoever was in the room, grab a finger, and make sure they were dancing. Fifteen years later his dad runs Joey's Song and Freezing Man, two nights at a 2,500-seat room in Madison with members of Guns N' Roses, Cheap Trick, Tears for Fears, The Bangles and the Goo Goo Dolls, all of them playing for nothing. Mike on the misdiagnosis years, the brain's "blue screen of death," the night Butch Vig asked what he could do to help, and why one in 26 people have epilepsy and hardly anyone says so out loud. ✨ In this episode: ✅ Joey, Dravet syndrome, and two years of misdiagnosis ✅ Why music got through when words couldn't ✅ Epilepsy as the brain's blue screen of death ✅ Zone defense: protecting Julia and Sam ✅ Grace for the people who say the wrong thing ✅ How a CD release party became Joey's Song ✅ The night Butch Vig asked how he could help ✅ Freezing Man: 35 artists, two nights, nobody paid ✅ One in 26: why epilepsy stays in the shadows ✅ Making the ask for Joey's Song Sound bites "Then we lost Joe, and it was time to help the next family." "You saw the sun in his face." "My five-year-old son died. I need your help." Chapters 00:00 The kid who made sure you were dancing 01:46 Welcome, Mike 02:10 Headliners, IBM, and the road back to Wisconsin 04:50 Three kids from Guatemala, and Joey's first seizure 05:20 "Then we lost Joe, and it was time to help the next family" 06:42 Why music got through when words couldn't 07:37 Epilepsy as the brain's blue screen of death 10:00 What you saw in Joey's face 11:35 Two years of misdiagnosis 12:11 The small breakthroughs that carried them 17:50 Zone defense: protecting Julia and Sam 18:55 Grace for the people who say the wrong thing 20:05 Joey's Song begins as a CD release party 22:23 Butch Vig makes the fatal mistake of asking how he can help 24:17 "You never know who's going to show up" 27:52 Rock camp for musicians 32:44 Boyfriends vs. Girlfriends: the battle of the bands 35:41 Why epilepsy stays in the shadows 39:58 One in 26: every seventh house on your block 41:37 "My five-year-old son died. I need your help." 43:21 What Joey would make of all this 45:03 The playlist round 46:56 Three songs that always filled the dance floor 48:56 Carry On Wayward Son 51:52 Start Me Up 52:49 Guilty pleasure: Call Me Maybe and Harry Styles 54:15 The song the world needs right now: Everybody Hurts 56:13 "Name," and the breakup that still stings 1:01:34 How to help Joey's Song Today's Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1o15TNcLS2oNtfEHU50tWs QUESTION FOR YOU Who taught you something important without ever saying a word? Share your story in the comments. Like, Subscribe, and Share to help others discover meaningful conversations about music, loss, and what we do with it. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Joey's Song and the Freezing Man concerts, The Sylvee, Madison, WI Butch Vig Dravet syndrome and epilepsy research CONNECT WITH MIKE GOMOLL AND JOEY'S SONG Website: https://www.joeyssong.org Instagram: @joeyssong Facebook: @joeyssong Follow the Joey's Song podcast. The Freezing Man shows stream free on the Joey's Song YouTube channel the night of the show. ️ CONNECT WITH JIM ALSTOTT Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH https://www.jimalstott.com ️ https://www.dtnpodcast.com #DropTheNeedle #JoeysSong #FreezingMan #Epilepsy #DravetSyndrome #ButchVig #MusicAndGrief #EpilepsyAwareness

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  Episode #77

  77: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 77 | God Told Me to Make This Record | Drew McManus of Satsang

  Sep 17, 20261h 10m

  Drew McManus learned the word that would become his band's name on a mountain pass in Nepal. It means sitting in the company of truth. He's built ten years and six records on it. The new one is called Elohim, and he didn't pick the title. He was told to. We talk about the revelatory experience that preceded it and the illness that followed, about a father who was a preacher and told a skateboarding punk rock kid he had a minister's heart, and about the question Drew asked for years growing up poor in a house he doesn't pretend was safe: why did all of this happen to me? The answer, when it arrived, had changed shape. Perhaps none of it happened to him. Perhaps it happened for him. We also get into why he won't play two of his early songs anymore, what the music industry looks like from the inside when you've refused to play along, the one sentence a Buddhist said to him at a merch table that became a mantra, and a hidden Nipsey Hussle track that he heard on the Pacific Coast Highway beside a friend who'd been in federal prison three hundred days earlier. Elohim is out now. Twenty seven minutes, built to be played start to finish. Satsang plays Garcia's Chicago on November 4th. Every song Drew named, in the order he named them, 21 tracks from Jackson Browne to Nipsey Hussle. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lrJeDuNf7H8TIAMjd3lXY Elohim: https://satsang.ffm.to/elohim Satsang: https://satsangmovement.com Instagram: @satsang Chicago: Garcia's Chicago, 4 November 2026 Drew McManus is the founder and frontman of Satsang. He named the band after a word he learned on a mountain pass in Nepal in 2013, meaning to sit in the company of truth. Six records later he remains independent and owns all of his music. His new album, Elohim, released 4 September 2026, and the Elohim Tour runs through the autumn. Press photo credit: Drew Korf. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:36 The word on a mountain pass in Nepal 13:18 How Elohim was made backward 28:27 Brian's voicemail as the album intro 31:03 A preacher father, and the phrase said most in the Bible 36:30 Being told to make a record called Elohim 40:25 Malachi, and the name he knew before his son was born 49:57 The music round: the songs that made him 59:04 Why Bob Marley's lyrics are scripture 1:01:17 The hidden Nipsey Hussle track, and the drive down the coast 1:08:56 Garcia's Chicago, November 4th

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  The Drop the Needle Podcast

  DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 76 | Fire, Brimstone and Converse | Rev. Dr. Rob Zahn

  Sep 10, 20261h 24m

  What if the sacred and the secular were never two different things to begin with? Rev. Dr. Rob Zahn is a Lutheran pastor, a theologian, a semiotician, and a musician. He wears Converse under his liturgical robes. He also wrote a book about LSD, a drug smuggling ring, and the birth of contemporary Christian music. To him, none of that is a contradiction. That is the whole point. In this episode of The Drop the Needle Podcast, Jim Alstott sits down with Rob to trace a life that runs from a small town childhood with an absent father, through a doctorate in semiotics, to the hidden history behind his book, LSD to Galilee: Incarnation in the Psychedelic Subculture. Rob explains why he does not frame his father's absence as a forgiveness issue, even after a reunion that surfaced anger, grief, and questions nobody answered. He walks Jim through the line that runs from the Brotherhood of Eternal Love to the Jesus People movement to Maranatha Music, and why Lonnie Frisbee got quietly written out of the cleaner version of that story. Then there is the music. Mumford and Sons in a stadium full of strangers singing the same words. Dave Matthews Band. Meatloaf. Hamilton. Disney soundtracks he refuses to apologize for. Can a pastor tell the truth about where his faith came from and still keep his pulpit? ✨ In this episode: ✅ Growing up in small town America, raised by a single mother ✅ Why forgiveness may be the wrong frame for an absent father ✅ The father he found through one mailed letter, and the Las Vegas hotel room ✅ What semiotics reveals about culture, congregations, and blind spots ✅ Why the sacred and secular divide does not hold ✅ Converse under the robes, and other small acts of resistance ✅ The Brotherhood of Eternal Love to the Jesus People to Maranatha Music ✅ How Lonnie Frisbee was written out of the story ✅ Psychedelics, sacrament, and music as portals to the divine ✅ Why the church has to keep being put in check by people, not power Sound bites "I'm not sure forgiveness is necessary." "There's no division between the sacred and secular. I think that's a made up thing." "I don't know if there's a more human experience than music." "Which means he wasn't paranoid. He was still underground." Chapters 00:00 Welcome: a pastor, a semiotician, a musician 01:24 Rob's childhood, music upbringing, and path into ministry 03:41 Questioning father absence through theology and identity 06:48 Why forgiveness may not be the right frame 12:07 The anger and grief that surfaced anyway 13:59 What semiotics reveals about signs, culture, and the church 19:35 Mumford and Sons, spirituality, and a stadium full of shared meaning 22:58 Why the sacred and secular divide doesn't hold 26:46 How psychedelic culture and Jesus music are historically connected 30:46 Why Lonnie Frisbee was written out of the cleaner church narrative 35:14 How Rob's congregation responds to his full story 39:42 The Chosen, outsiders, and meeting people where they are 46:53 Doubting certainty and embracing the unknown 56:43 Music, worship styles, and Rob's first ministry in Las Vegas 01:02:26 Rob's father, cancer, and the Brotherhood's underground history 01:08:01 Jim shares his own father story and reconnection 01:10:57 The music round begins: first radio song, road trip songs, high school anthem 01:15:15 Guilty pleasure soundtrack and Disney singalongs 01:16:55 A song that could change how people see the world 01:18:38 A song that feels written for Rob's life right now 01:22:12 Where to find Rob, and we drop the needle Today's Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7C9T8To450S3f03qK4Gelq QUESTION FOR YOU Where have you been told the sacred stops and the ordinary starts, and who decided that? Share your story in the comments. Like, Subscribe, and Share to help others discover meaningful conversations about faith, music, and meaning. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE LSD to Galilee: Incarnation in the Psychedelic Subculture , by Rob Zahn Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, MN The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, Lonnie Frisbee, Calvary Chapel and Maranatha Music CONNECT WITH REV. DR. ROB ZAHN Website: robzahn.com Instagram: @rzahn001 Facebook: rob.zahn LinkedIn: robzahn ️ CONNECT WITH JIM ALSTOTT Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? jimalstott.com ️ dtnpodcast.com #DropTheNeedlePodcast #RobZahn #LSDtoGalilee #JesusPeople #LonnieFrisbee #Semiotics #Faith #Deconstruction #ChristianMusic #Psychedelics #Lutheran #SacredAndSecular

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  The Drop the Needle Podcast

  DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 75 | She Quit God. God Stayed. | Sunshine Witchski, The Sober Witch

  Sep 3, 20261h 3m

  What if walking away from the religion you were raised in isn't losing your faith — it's the first honest thing you ever did with it? Sunshine Witchski was eleven years old when she noticed the contradictions in what she was being taught in Catholic school. She asked. Nobody had an answer she could live with. What followed was decades of addiction, a rock bottom in Costa Rica, and a long walk back — not to the Church, but to something she could finally call her own. Today she is a psychic medium, soul healer, Reiki master, high priestess, and the founder of Sunshine Readings. She calls herself the Sober Witch. Can you lose your religion and keep your faith? In this candid episode of The Drop the Needle Podcast, Jim Alstott sits down with Sunshine Witchski to talk about growing up Catholic in Detroit, the question at age eleven that started everything, the years she spent numbing what she couldn't name, and how she built a spiritual life on her own terms — one with room for tarot, recovery, shadow work, and every part of herself she was once told to hide. Sunshine shares the moment she stopped performing belief, what rock bottom actually looked like, and the day she walked into a room full of strangers and heard the only thing that could have reached her: you are not alone, and there is hope. Together, Jim and Sunshine get into the difference between prescribed religion and personal faith, why shadow work isn't optional, why receiving help is harder than giving it, and what changes when you decide the universe might be conspiring in your favor. ✨ In this episode: ✔️ Growing up Catholic in Detroit ✔️ The question at age eleven that changed everything ✔️ Rock bottom in Costa Rica ✔️ The room where hope came back ✔️ Prescribed religion vs. personal faith ✔️ Shadow work and healing old wounds ✔️ Why receiving is more vulnerable than giving ✔️ Personal sovereignty and self-acceptance ✔️ Pronoia — the opposite of paranoia ✔️ Music as the soundtrack of a life "Walking into a room with other alcoholics told me I was not alone, there was hope." Whether you're in recovery, quietly questioning what you were raised to believe, or just tired of carrying something by yourself, this conversation is an invitation to stop hiding and start showing up whole. Playlist link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5gLQWLHy75QE25XypLW2cW?si=71c4568692d94bc3 QUESTION FOR YOU What part of yourself were you told to hide — and what would change if you stopped? Sound bites "Walking into a room with other alcoholics told me I was not alone, there was hope." "Receiving is a very vulnerable thing, showing emotion many are not comfortable with." "Pro Noia is the opposite of paranoia, believing the universe is conspiring in your favor." Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Sunshine's background and work 02:00 Growing up Catholic and questioning authority 06:28 Realization of religious contradictions at age 11 12:49 Transition from religion to personal spirituality 26:53 Rock bottom in Costa Rica and the path to sobriety 36:25 The power of community in overcoming addiction 45:28 Shadow work and healing past wounds 52:26 The vulnerability of receiving help 59:37 Music as a reflection of life and emotions 01:00:15 Closing remarks and contact information Playlist link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5gLQWLHy75QE25XypLW2cW?si=71c4568692d94bc3 Share your story in the comments. Like, Subscribe, and Share to help others discover meaningful conversations about spirituality, healing, and connection. CONNECT WITH SUNSHINE WITCHSKI Website: Sober Witch Life Readings: Sunshine Readings Instagram: @sunshine_readings Illuminate: Sober Witch ️ CONNECT WITH JIM ALSTOTT Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? jimalstott.com ️ dtnpodcast.com #DropTheNeedlePodcast #SunshineWitchski #SoberWitch #Sobriety #Recovery #ShadowWork #SpiritualAwakening #PsychicMedium #Tarot #Deconstruction #PersonalSovereignty #Pronoia

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