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Some may wonder why two such supposedly smart and talented people have fallen into this financial pit.  It’s a cautionary tale.   Our early successes and confidence drove us blindly into a brick wall.  Julian has done some brilliant voice work, earning $75,000 in the past decade. He’s a published poet and short story writer, but the income there is almost nil.  Julian wrote seven screenplays, and several were optioned[1] by major Hollywood “players,” but ended up on the shelf gathering dust.
 

Since 1975, Rob has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from lucrative writing, directing and producing jobs for places like the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Ford Foundation, Paramount, Disney, CBS, NBC, MTV, Discovery Networks, and the Annenberg Foundation among others. He spent months writing three “socially-redeeming” screenplays, one of which was optioned by Universal Studios, but was never picked up. Rob has won numerous awards for his work, including the Emmy, a Cable ACE, the CINE Golden Eagle, and recently in partnership with Julian, the Discover Pods Award in Society and Culture.
 

Our combined income was substantial, but –- instead of saving for retirement -- between jobs we unwisely sunk our earnings into four independent production companies and a string of very expensive, socially redeeming independent projects.
 

We were naïve; it took us awhile to realize Hollywood doesn’t care about “socially-redeeming.”  Quality doesn’t count; it’s who you know, and what stars you can attach. 
 

With one company, (Lux Art & Design) we actually made a bit of money representing fine artists and developing a patent pending process of “evolving art on the edge of perception” in collaboration with artists around the world. It was chosen three years in a row by the leading hospitality trade association as the example of “the merger of art and technology,” and was shown in exhibitions around the country.  The product attracted partners like Microsoft, Cisco, Pantone, LG Electronics, and Panasonic, but two weeks before signing a contract with Hyatt Global in a deal that would have made us millions, it collapsed in the financial crash of 2008.  We came close, but the fates weren’t with us.
 

We spent four years and several thousand dollars building that business and were flat broke when it failed. Fortunately, in 2009 Julian found Rob a great job as Story Producer for the Annenberg Foundation, crafting the narrative for some excellent films and shorts over the next 9 years.   Julian started narrating audiobooks in 2013 and has made $75,000 in that line of work since.  Things were looking up, but then in 2016, Rob seriously injured his spine and had to wait two years in constant pain until he turned 65 and got Medicare, enabling him to get major surgery in 2018.  Then he was in rehab for weeks.
 

Then came the pandemic, and all business evaporated.  To survive those years, we drained our pensions, then maxed out credit cards. Since then, unemployed and deep in debt, we have been living with mounting dread and debilitating stress.  Our dear friend Sharyl Smith started a GoFundMe campaign to help, and many of you responded, for which we are deeply grateful.   
 

To resurrect our income, Julian worked hard to get his realtor’s license – a very big deal -- and was invited to join a top Beverly Hills firm, but then realized all they were giving him was a desk and a phone.  He still had to pay the high cost for a broker’s license as well as association dues.  Then, at 70, he would have to enter a brutally competitive arena overpopulated with established veterans and young go-getters. The key to success is a coveted list of high-wealth buyers, and the kind of hob-knobbing Julian hadn’t done since he was in his forties.  So, no.
 

In 2019, we started the podcast OURGENPOD.com to give purpose to our lives.  Purpose has always meant more to us than getting rich, although we can’t find adequately paying work anyway.  We took Social Security but our combined $2,634 doesn’t even cover the rent -- it goes entirely to pay installments on our debt.   Despite our steady income over the years, our benefits are low because we mostly worked as independent contractors and didn’t make sufficient deductions.  Another painful lesson.
 

So here we are.

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Now in our 70s, we’re reduced to constantly begging for donations for the podcast, which is surely an irritant to our repeat donors. We’ve borrowed from friends, which is humiliating and which we truly hate doing.  We briefly had two generous sponsors, who blessed us with a few months of self-sufficiency.  But those days have ended, and now the heavy burden of debt with its exorbitant interest rates, the enormous cost of caring for Emma, the rent ($2,615), the budget of the podcast, the soaring cost of living, and the ever-present threat of losing our home of 38 years has left us both exhausted.
 

Then last October, Rob, a bit wobbly from hypertension medications, got up too fast one night, passed out, crashed through a table and bookcase, and fell hard on his face. For hours he couldn’t even pull himself back into bed and lay on the floor bleeding.  When Julian found him, he rushed Rob to emergency.   They diagnosed a concussion and kept him in the hospital for a week.  He’s recovered but still seems to lack focus.
 

In the midst of all this, we’ve barely managed to get a few podcast episodes out.  A major sponsor would give us some breathing room, a regular income and some much-needed staff, so we could do some more lively in-the-field episodes on a regular schedule.  It would take the pressure off, make it fun.  We could advertise so people know we’re here.  OURGENPOD is very good (and award-winning!) but could be truly great and make a difference. 
 

If we can get through this, and leverage our recent award, we can attract a major sponsor for OURGENPOD.  That will build on itself.  With just a little time to breathe, we can get back on our feet again and move forward.  We might even be able to move out of this city.  We love our home, but we’ve had our fill of L.A. If you have any ideas for low-cost housing, please let us know!
 

We do not ask this just to survive.  We have legitimate high hopes for OURGENPOD,  and promise to return your generosity with fascinating, informative, amusing, helpful, caring, creative, positive and “socially redeeming” content, and a virtual community where we can connect with others, and help to conquer “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” that is silently eroding our social connections and damaging our health and longevity.[2]  With hard work and combining our skills, we think we have created in OURGENPOD a valuable and potentially impactful vehicle for communicating important and interesting information.  It can also reach a large and underserved audience with a fun and entertaining podcast recalling the halcyon days of our youth.
 

That, we think, is a worthy purpose.
 

Our audience and guests seem to agree:
 

Our guest Michael Shrieve, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer who grew up in the sixties and when still a teenager joined the powerhouse band Santana, rocking the world with his awesome solo at Woodstock, said of OURGENPOD:

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"Julian and Rob provide such a great service for the 55 Plus demographic.
It is so under-served with good, cool, hip information
and opportunities, and they do just that.”

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[1] An option in motion pictures and television is a contract that grants a producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to a source material, such as a book, play, or screenplay, if they make a film or series from it.  During the term of the option, the rights-holder agrees not to share the project or seek other options, and the producer pays the rights-holder an annual fee to extend the term of the option.
 

[2] The U.S. Surgeon General has declared loneliness a new public health epidemic in America. A recent report from his office found that loneliness can have profound effects on mental health, as well as heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 26% and isolation by 29%. Continuing to live in loneliness is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day in terms of lifespan. 

[https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf].
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/surgeon-general-discusses-health-risks-of-loneliness-and-steps-to-help-connect-with-others ]