Nick Montesano is so many things: a father, director, mentor, educator, husband, brother, institution of NJ Community Theater, and the list goes on. I first met Nick as a 16 year old who had just lost his mother, and he gave me the gift of casting me in the NJ premiere of &quot;Tommy&quot;. Over the ensuing 25 years, I&apos;ve gotten to know Nick as a warm, compassionate, thoughtful human being, whose contributions to the world of theater are immeasurable, and yet make up only a small part of what makes Nick Montesano so special.  We talked about everything you could possibly imagine, and I loved every moment. <a rel="payment" href="http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast">Support the show</a> (http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast)

Deep Tissue Massage with Irene Radley

It started as a weight loss podcast, which quickly became a mental health podcast, which somehow became a pandemic podcast.  Jay, your host  (anxiety/depression/OCD/childhood trauma/family addiction)  lost 185 lbs after having bariatric surgery.  Guests have ranged from actor Ken Marino to a woman you have never heard of who lost 250 lbs, to a recovering addict, to essential workers during COVID-19. In 2020, the show became daily and ran for 100 episodes in 100 days. The culmination of everything The Lighter Side strove to be, Jay created an oral history of the pandemic, as told through the voices of the people who lived through it. There's something for everyone on the Lighter Side.