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John Edmonds Kozma's Unimpressed Podcast
Author & Lawyer Justin Brooks: California Innocence Project
Season 3, Ep. 102
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Attorney Justin Brooks is known for the extensive legal work he has done over many years to overturn wrongful criminal convictions. He has dedicated his career to this cause and currently serves as the Director and Co-Founder of the California Innocence Project. He has practiced in the area of criminal defense in many states, including Michigan and Illinois. He has also taught courses at Georgetown Law Center and Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is presently a tenured professor at California Western School of Law. Justin Brooks is also the author of the only legal case book focused on the topic of wrongful convictions.
Justin has received a number of accolades throughout his career, including the designation as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal, as well as receiving recognition as “Lawyer of the Year” in 2010 and 2012 by California Lawyer Magazine. He has also worked in Latin America to train lawyers for the past twenty years. As a co-founder of Red Inocente, an organization that is devoted to founding and supporting various innocence organizations in Latin America, he continues to devote his career to the cause of overturning wrongful criminal convictions.
The Exoneration of Brian Banks
Justin Brooks and The California Innocence Project worked tirelessly to overturn the wrongful conviction of Brian Banks, who was charged with rape and kidnapping after a consensual sexual encounter. At the time, Brian Banks was only seventeen years old and was widely considered to have a bright future playing football in the NFL. The false rape accusation drastically changed the course of his life, as he was faced with the difficult decision of choosing whether to proceed to trial and risk forty-one years to life in prison if found guilty or to accept a plea deal for just over five years in prison. Brian chose to accept the plea deal, which also came with the cost of destroying his dream of playing football and requiring him to register as a sex offender.
Together with The California Innocence Project, attorney Justin Brooks presented evidence of Brian Banks’ innocence of these crimes. Evidence in his favor included the alleged victim stating that she fabricated the story. After another review of the evidence, the District Attorney’s Office agreed that Banks was wrongfully convicted; and in May of 2012, a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court reversed his conviction.
Banks’ story has a particularly happy ending. After his exoneration, Justin Brooks spoke out to the press on behalf of his client and asked NFL teams to give Brian a chance at playing football. Shortly after, Brian received calls from six different NFL teams expressing interest.
Ultimately, Brian Banks played for the Cincinnati Bengals during one NFL season. Though his time playing in the NFL was brief; following the 2013 football season, Brian accepted a position working for the NFL’s Department of Operations in the replay center. In this position, he also helped contribute to the league’s social media.
Brian’s story garnered such public interest that his story was made into a film which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in September of 2018. The movie features Academy Award-nominated actor Greg Kinnear playing the role of Professor Justin Brooks, and will premiere in the US in August 2019.
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134. Pulse Nightclub Survivor & Activist Brandon Wolf: How to Survive a Tragedy
28:32Brandon Wolf is a nationally recognized gun safety and LGBTQ civil rights advocate and dynamic public speaker. He serves as the Press Secretary for Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ civil rights organization.On June 12, life changed for Brandon. He crouched in a bathroom while a gunman opened fire at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, killing his best friends, Drew Leinonen & Juan Guerrero, and 47 others. Rather than be swallowed by the anger and fear of tragedy, Brandon set out to honor the victims’ legacies with action. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Brandon co-founded The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that works to empower youth and provide funding for higher education for future leaders in the LGBTQ community. The organization has given over $100,000 in college scholarships to rising leaders. He also became an outspoken activist in the gun violence prevention movement, partnering with March For Our Lives, Everytown, Giffords, and others to demand legislative solutions to the epidemic. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub to testify before Congress.A powerful public speaker, Brandon Wolf is a frequent guest on MSNBC (The Reid Out & American Voices), CNN, and in print publications (CNN.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, Washington Post, The Advocate, Out Magazine) weaving his story into calls to action. HuffPost has recognized him as one of “30 modern-day LGBTQ pioneers” and Business Equality Magazine as one of 40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40.In all things, Brandon is driven by the reminder that we are obligated to honor those we’ve lost, not with empty words or hollow platitudes - but with action.133. Pastor Kimberly Jones, known as Real Talk Kim: How to Change Your Life
33:48Pastor Kimberly Jones, known as Real Talk Kim, travels the world fulfilling her passion and purpose of loving people back to life. She is a mother, pastor, entrepreneur, mentor, motivational speaker, entertainer, and best-selling author.She is using her influence to mentor people all over the world through her mentorship program, RTK Inner Circle. Real Talk Kim is an advocate for GIVE Culture Foundation for Impact, a nonprofit organization that teaches mindfulness and generosity to the next generation of leaders.Real Talk Kim has a successful weekly syndicated podcast and has appeared on Preachers of Atlanta, Dr. Oz, Chatter Talk Show, BET, Nightline News and numerous podcasts, webinars, and radio programs.Real Talk Kim is a true worshiper after God’s own heart, a testament of God’s redemption plan in action. She is the Senior Pastor at Limitless Church with campuses in Fayetteville, GA and Atlanta, GA. She is the proud mother of two sons, Morgan and Lyncoln.132. University of Cambridge Professor Giles Yeo MBE: How the Calorie System is Wrong
32:08Giles Yeo MBE is a British-American biologist. He is the professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit and scientific director of the Genomics/Transcriptomics Core at the University of Cambridge. "Why Calories Don't Count" The calorie information is ubiquitous. On packaged food, restaurant menus, and online recipes, we see authoritative numbers that tell us the calorie count of what we're about to consume. And we treat these numbers as gospel—counting, cutting, intermittently consuming, and, if you believe some 'experts' out there, magically making them disappear. We all know, and governments advise, that losing weight is just a matter of burning more calories than we consume. But it's all wrong.In Why Calories Don't Count, Dr. Giles Yeo, an obesity researcher at Cambridge University, challenges the conventional model and demonstrates that all calories are not created equal. He addresses why popular diets succeed, at least in the short term, and why they ultimately fail, and what your environment has to do with your body weight.131. America Ninja Warrior Daniel Gil: How to Win a TV Show Competition
35:50Daniel was born and raised in Houston, Tx. The second oldest of five kids who were all homeschooled, Daniel was always a fun-loving adventurer. Growing up, he spent a lot of time outdoors, climbing trees and playing sports. Fun fact: he wasn’t very good at any of the sports he played as a kid. He just loved being active and was competitive enough to not quit when things got tough. During his high school years his focus turned to new passions such as singing, dancing, acting and the performing arts. He also became more involved in his home church through music ministry.After graduating high school, he attended a two-year ministry school and received an associates degree and simultaneously began coaching & training at Iron Sports Ninja Gym. In 2015 he began his rookie year competing on season 8 of American Ninja Warrior and thus his journey to becoming one of the top athletes on the show. That season launched him into his athletic career with accomplishments like 8 x National Finalist and title of 2020 Champion of American Ninja Warrior. He was also selected to compete on multiple All-Stars episodes as well as multiple USA VS. The World competitions. He was a team captain of seasons 1-3 of Ninja vs. Ninja and even had the opportunity to travel abroad to compete internationally in Ninja Warrior Indonesia representing team USA.This recognition and success gave Daniel opportunities to begin traveling and become a motivational speaker. His goal is to use his platform to help inspire people to get back up when they inevitably fall or fail, overcome the obstacles they will face in life and never stop pursuing their God-given dreams.
130. The Dubai Housewife Linda Andrade: How to Hustle in Dubai
22:19Dubai-based socialite and entrepreneur Linda Andrade recently took to TikTok to reveal the downsides of living a life of wealth, as the wife of millionaire Ricky Andrade, a renowned Forex and Crypto trader.The 23-year-old Jordanian-born influencer, also known as the 'Original Dubai Housewife,' has accumulated over 529,000 followers, who tune in to learn about her glamorous life. Linda, who married Ricky at the tender age of 19, has been living a life of opulence, a stark contrast to her earlier life in the US, where she grew up in a one-bedroom apartment with her family. In a video that garnered over 11 million views, Linda listed the 'worst things about being with a millionaire,' expressing concerns over 'always having to look 10/10', 'being bought too much stuff', and the fear of getting robbed due to her expansive collection of designer bags and luxury jewelry.Despite living a life that many fantasize about, Linda shared that 'the novelty of riches can soon wear off.' The couple's constant traveling is another cause of discontent for her, along with the fact that 'women want my man' and the struggle to drive herself anywhere. Linda's complaints, however, were met with little sympathy from social media users, with many offering to trade lives with her or questioning if she was being ungrateful.Even so, the stunning spa owner and beauty influencer continues to use her growing social media platforms to offer an insider's view of the wealthy lifestyle and promote her husband's business ventures. From the Maldives to Hawaii and Miami, Linda's Instagram showcases her travels, life of luxury, and her entrepreneurial journey as the owner of a fat-freezing spa.Despite the pushback from some viewers on TikTok, others used humor to respond to Linda's video or expressed admiration for her lifestyle, proving once more that the opulent lives of the wealthy will always be a source of fascination and controversy.129. Chef & Author Keith Corbin: How to Make California Soul Food
31:10Chef Keith Corbin is the two-time James Beard Award nominated executive chef and co-owner of Alta Adams, The Los Angeles Times bestselling author of “California Soul”, and a sought-after public speaker. During his youth growing up in the Jordan Downs housing projects in Watts, Corbin was involved with gangs and drug dealing, which eventually lead to his incarceration. It was in prison when he first started cooking and working in kitchens, which eventually led to a job with the LocoL restaurant group run by celebrity chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson. From there, Corbin partnered with Patterson on Alta Adams, a "California Soul" food restaurant utilizing local produce and healthier ingredients to put Corbin's own spin on the food he grew up cooking and eating with his grandmother. Alta was named one of the best restaurants in the country by Esquire, Thrillist, and the Los Angeles Times, and called "Black Hollywood's top restaurant" by The Hollywood Reporter. Corbin's bestselling memoir, “California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival" was published in 2022 by Random House, named the LA Times Book Club pick of the month for August, and quickly optioned by a major studio to be made into a television series. Since the book’s release, Corbin has appeared on Dr. Phil, The CBS Morning Show, and many other national programs to share more about his incredible story and inspire others. His words have been featured across multiple media outlets including KCRW, The Grio, ABC7, Salon, Shondaland and Thrillist. In 2023, the book was nominated for a James Beard Media Award in the Literary Writing category.Consistently giving back, Corbin regularly mentors youth from underserved communities and speaks at colleges and educational programs across the nation. Corbin has been invited to share his story from coast to coast with readers and food-fanatics alike on book tours, festivals and other inspirational events including the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Philly Chef’s Conference, Tucson Book Festival, San Diego Writer’s Festival and The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
128. Fighter Pilot Hasard Lee: How to Think Clearly
30:31HASARD LEE is a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who began his career flying the F-16, where he was selected as the 'Top Instructor Pilot of the Year' for the Air Force's largest F-16 Combat Wing. As a flight commander, he led his pilots into combat during one of the most intense periods during the War in Afghanistan. There he flew over eighty combat missions and became the only fighter pilot to ever fly two different types of jets into combat on the same day while supporting troops under fire.Hasard was then hand-picked to fly the F-35―the most advanced and expensive weapons system in history―which was still in development at the time. During his last role on active duty, Hasard became the Chief of Training Systems for the largest training base in the world, leading the development of new technology and teaching methods to train future fighter pilots. Hasard's first book, "The Art of Clear Thinking," was a #2 Wall Street Journal Bestseller. In the book, he distills what he’s learned during his career flying some of the Air Force’s most advanced aircraft. With gripping firsthand accounts from his time as a fighter pilot and fascinating turning points throughout history, Hasard reveals powerful decision-making principles that can be used in business and in life. Hasard is also a content-creator with one of the most viewed military aviation channels on YouTube. Since the start of 2021 he has over 100 million views on YouTube and has reached over 290 million people across social media.Hasard regularly speaks to organizations and businesses on how to improve their decision-making, how to increase innovation, and how to cultivate mental toughness.
127. Former Death Investigator Barbara Butcher: How to Approach a Autopsy
29:35Barbara Butcher was early in her recovery from alcoholism when she found an unexpected lifeline: a job at the Medical Examiner’s Office in New York City. The second woman ever hired for the role of Death Investigator in Manhattan, she was the first to last more than three months. The work was gritty, demanding, morbid, and sometimes dangerous—and she loved it. WHAT THE DEAD KNOW: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator is the page-turning memoir of Barbara Butcher’s more than twenty-year career. Butcher (yes, that is her real name, and she has heard all the jokes) spent day in and day out investigating double homicides, gruesome suicides, and most heartbreaking of all, underage rape victims who had also been murdered. In WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, she writes with the kind of New York attitude and bravado you might expect from decades in the field, investigating more than 5,500 death scenes, 680 of which were homicides. In the opening chapter, she describes how just from sheer luck of having her arm in cast, she avoided a boobytrapped suicide. Later in her career, she describes working the nation’s largest mass murder, the attack on 9/11, where she and her colleagues initially relied on family members’ descriptions to help distinguish among the 21,900 body parts of the victims. This is the fascinating and stunning real-life story of a woman who, in dealing with death every day, learned surprising lessons about life—and how some of those lessons saved her from becoming a statistic herself. Fans of Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, and true crime won’t be able to put this one down.
126. Extraterrestrial Radio Show Host George Noory: How to Search For The Truth
27:59George Noory, host of the nationally syndicated program, Coast to Coast AM, says if he weren’t a national radio talk show host he’d be in politics. Heard by millions of listeners, Coast To Coast AM airs on nearly 620 stations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Guam.While hosting The Nighthawk, a wildly successful, late-night program on KTRS in St. Louis, Noory was recruited by Premiere Radio Networks to guest host on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell. He became the permanent host of the phenomenally successful over-night program on January 1, 2003, following Bell’s retirement. Since then, Noory’s audience has continued to grow.Noory captivates program listeners with his discussions of paranormal phenomena, time travel, alien abductions, conspiracies and all things curious and unexplained. He is driven, he has said, by the desire to solve the great mysteries of our time. From his first days as a radio broadcaster he says, “I’ve wanted to cover stories that the mainstream media never touch—the unusual, the paranormal and things like that. I learned that broadcast was the best business for exploring these issues, and I’ve been doing it for 33 years.”He dates his interest in these matters to a book by Walter Sullivan, We Are Not Alone, that his mother gave him when he was 13. He was hooked.Noory released his first book in 2006. "Worker In The Light: Unlock Your Five Senses And Liberate Your Limitless Potential," co-written by best-selling author William J. Birnes, is Noory’s revolutionary guide to spiritual enlightenment, human empowerment, ultimate productivity and absolute happiness. Noory and Birnes co-authored a follow up in 2009 entitled Journey to the Light, in which they present amazing first-hand accounts of how ordinary people changed their own lives, transcended their doubts and fears, and unlocked the secrets to their spiritual growth. In October 2011, Noory released his third book, Talking To The Dead. Co-written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, a leading expert on the paranormal and supernatural, the book explores the colorful history and personalities behind spirit communications, weaving together spirituality, metaphysics, science and technology. Noory, along with Richard Belzer and David Wayne, released "Someone is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?" in February 2015. Scrutinizing the theories the media and politicians claim are the "most likely" reasons the plane crashed, they argue that if a year after a huge Boeing 777 has gone missing, and there’s still no sign of it whatsoever, it’s time to think outside the box.In December 2012, GAIAM TV launched "Beyond Belief with George Noory," a new TV show exploring the unknown and mysteries of the universe. The one-hour, weekly series features Noory’s informative, investigative and dynamic conversations, as well as some of his favorite guests from the radio program. Taped at GAIAM studios in Boulder, Colo., Beyond Belief with George Noory is available exclusively at beyondbelief.com. Noory has also appeared on the History Channel's Ancient Aliens, SYFY, The Larry King Show and numerous others.He was born, raised and educated in Detroit. He has three children and six grandchildren. He served nine years in the U.S. Naval Reserve.