Joe Bunting's Character Test

#24 Hamody Jasim and How to Take a Stand

In this episode, we test Hamody Jasim author of The Terrorist Whisperer and discuss how to take a stand. The Terrorist Whisperer (documentary)The Terrorist Whisper (book)Hamody Jasim's websiteHamody Jasim grew up in Iraq under the height of Sadam Hussein’s rule. He was arrested and tortured as a young teenager for getting on the wrong side of a corrupt police officer. Then he came of age just as the Iraq War was breaking out, and decided to join the newly formed Iraqi military. He went on to lead a security team that foiled several terrorist attacks on Americans, including catching a mole high up within the Iraq military who was assembling a suicide vest in the Iraq ministry of defense. He now lives in North Carolina with his family.After our interview, Alice and I will talk about what makes Hamody’s story so powerful.Character Test Challenge: What do you stand for? What would you die for? I want you to take out a piece of paper and spend ten minutes reflecting and writing down what you stand for. If you were put into a situation where you had to fight or die for something, what would it be.Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community

#23 State Champ Coach Gary Skop, Knives Out Review, and How to Win

In this episode, we test Marta Cabrera from Knives Out, talk to state champion high school wrestling coach Gary Skop, and discuss how to win.Gary Skop is high school football coach and high school wrestling coach, and in 2019, one of his wrestlers won the state wrestling championship in Michigan.When we’re talking about how to live a good story, sometimes that involves competition. Many good stories are about winning, and knowing how to win and how to think about competing so that you can win can be an important part of living a good story. We also talk about how to lead others to win and, if you’re a parent, how to help your children have a healthy relationship with competition.Message Gary by emailAfter the interview, Alice and I talk more about how to compete effectively, and how to create small challenges to grow in areas that are easy for you right now.Character Test Challenge: Think of a way to challenge yourself, preferrably an area that you’re comfortable in right now or that’s easy, and then start the challenge. Do it for at least a week. Once you’re done, send us an email letting us know how it went at charactertestshow@gmail.com .Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community

#22 Seth Barnes, Noelle Kringle, and How to Take a Risk

In this episode, we test Noelle Kringle from the film Noelle on Disney+, interview Seth Barnes, author of Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering Pilgrimage, and talk about how taking risks can change your life.Seth Barnes, the leader of a large nonprofit and the author of a book about pilgrimage, Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering the Lost Spiritual Discipline. Seth also happens to be my father-in-law, and in my book Crowdsourcing Paris, he’s the one who challenged me to add more adventure to my book project, which completely transformed the book and my whole trip.Seth Barnes' blogKingdom Journeys (book)Camino de SantiagoLiminal spaceNoelle (film)In this interview we talk about some of Seth’s biggest adventures, including a journey to Cambodia as a young man to work with refugees during the Cambodian genocide and his frequent hikes along the Camino del Santiago pilgrimage trail in Spain and France. At the end of our conversation we talk about the nature of adventure and our need for risk in our lives so that we can live better stories.  

#21 Personality Disorders, Frozen 2, and How to Avoid Drama

In this episode, we test Anna and Elsa from Frozen 2, interview therapist Lynn Bunting, an expert on personality disorders, and talk about how to avoid drama in your relationships.Lynn Bunting has been a licensed therapist for over 40 years, specializing in reconciliation in relationships and emotional management. She also happens to be my mom, which is kind of fun. Together, we're working on a new book, called Crazy: What to Do With the People in Your Life Who Make You Feel Crazy. If you’ve ever gotten into a conflict with someone, whether with someone at a work, a romantic relationship, or a friend, and you’ve felt like a crazy person, like you don’t know what is happening but it’s not normal and you’ve felt hurt and attacked but most of all, confused, this is for you. If you're interested in learning more about the book as we work on it, or if you want to "vote" for us to write the book, Crazy, please sign up for our interest list here: Crazy book project interest listAfter the interview, Alice and I talk about how to avoid drama in your life, and the ethics (and benefits) of identifying the people in your life who make you feel crazy.Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community

#20 Navy SEAL, NY Times Best-selling author Jason Redman

Jason Redman is a retired NAVY SEAL, a wounded warrior, and a New York Times bestselling author. His book, OVERCOME, comes out in just a few weeks and it’s so good. If you’ve ever had something HARD or traumatic happen to you and frozen or just not known how to get through it and start making progress in your life again, Jason’s message is for you. It’s really powerful and I think more people need to listen to it.Jason Redman is a retired Navy SEAL and NY Times bestselling author of *The Trident* and the upcoming book *Overcome: Crush Adversity with the Leadership Techniques of America's Toughest Warriors*. In this interview Jason tells his story of surviving being horrifically wounded in Iraq, how he overcame life ambushes, and the biggest piece of advice he gives to wounded warriors and anyone experiencing tough times (which is all of us, at some point).We also examine Alice Quinn, a character from *The Magicians* and ask whether she is actually a good character.Also, there's a free prize.Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community here.