The Higher Valleys Podcast
Welcome to the Higher Valleys Podcast, where former NFL teammates Spencer Paysinger and Jelani Jenkins trade real conversations about fatherhood, sports, ambition, identity, and life after the game.
Each week, we unpack the tension ambitious fathers face: chasing success, strengthening marriages, and raising emotionally secure kids… without losing ourselves along the way.
Episodes
62 episodes
Dad Clock
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani open Episode 62 asking what “culture” actually means when everything from clothes to conferences gets the label. They talk CultureCon, ComplexCon, and the difference between lasting heritage and w...
No Bumpers
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani reconnect after a week away and cover everything from large-phone-text jokes and bowling etiquette to college football’s shifting balance of power. Jelani celebrates Florida’s win over Ole Miss an...
Sh*t Yourself
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani open Episode 60 with Oregon’s rough loss to Oklahoma State and a bigger conversation about standards, discipline, and what happens when talent starts playing below its potential. They talk coachin...
A Different World
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani spend Labor Day talking about work, rest, sick kids, LA rain, and the learning curve of building a creative career outside of football. They get into Black Threads and the complicated feeling of s...
Fake It Til You Make It
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani take Episode 58 into full NFL territory, but not before opening with a wild question: what would you do if your child became a zombie? From there, they talk coyotes taking over the neighborhood, ...
Position Battles
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani open Episode 57 with legacy, image, and the people who shape how we see ourselves. From Colin Kaepernick’s hair and the branding behind Black athletes to Kobe’s young afro, James Harden’s beard, ...
Phased Out
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani ease into Episode 56 with preseason football, back-to-school energy, and the strange realization that they are officially becoming the old heads of their sports era. They talk NFL player benefits...
Antennas Up
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani close out summer talking about the stretch before school starts: expensive camps, keeping kids occupied, grandma’s house memories, family recipes, and the kind of unstructured play that used to d...
Wise Eyes
Episode Summary Spencer and Jelani spend Episode 54 in their movie and football bag, opening with camp fights, helmet-on chaos, and how fall-camp energy still lives in their bodies years after retirement. From there, they f...
A Sky Full of Fathers
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani open Episode 53 in full dad mode, talking birthday parties, boring trolley‑museum gatherings, and why kid celebrations should be about joy and movement instead of adult aesthetics or history lesso...
PAC: Shon Hart
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani keep it personal in Episode 52, opening with a conversation about being stoic versus being honest, and how hard it can feel to hold in emotion when you’re wired to talk, feel, and process out loud...
These Are The Days
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani open Episode 51 with an empty house, sitting in the ache of 15 days without wife and kids and the news that Jelani's wife’s grandmother has passed. From cleaning the garage and resetting house sta...
Father Time
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani hit Episode 50 fresh off Fourth of July, using fireworks, Palm Springs trips, and golf rounds to talk about patriotism as Black Americans and what “America” feels like in a World Cup year versus i...
Standing on Business
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani celebrate Episode 49 in the thick of a big life shift — Spencer finishing his master’s program, turning 38, and stumbling into “ice cream week” at Whole Foods with eleven pints of Jeni’s, Reese’s...
Screen Time
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani sit 24 hours removed from Father’s Day, unpacking a week that swung from Rufus Du Sol concerts and cycling‑class playlists to balcony prayers, ancestral gratitude, and the strange guilt of trying ...
Summer Rules
Episode Summary Spencer and Jelani are officially in summer mode, trading stories about first‑time dad grilling, Frankie Beverly Sundays, and why “outside is too expensive” when you can be in the backyard with kids, sandals...
Win Some, Lose Some
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani unpack why hip‑hop is the only genre that refuses to age gracefully, tracing it back to crack‑era fatherlessness, systemic design, and an industry that keeps “old heads” out of the spotlight even ...
Anthems Only
Episode SummarySpencer and Jelani start by unpacking a ten‑year anniversary that didn’t go exactly as planned, and how letting go of a “perfect” La Quinta redo opened the door to something more intimate, rooted, and family‑center...
Water Your Grass
Episode SummaryA funny electric slide moment opens the door to something deeper: confidence isn’t just personal — it’s cultural, communal, and learned in real time. Spencer and Jelani move from dance floor lessons to NBA futures (...
Empty Tank
EPISODE SUMMARYSpencer just walked across the stage for his master's, in addition to the victory lap, the room got honest. This week is about what celebration actually feels like when you're running on empty — and what burnout, su...
PAC: Alexys Feaster
Episode SummaryJelani and Spencer open up about Mother’s Day, fatherhood, and what it really means to build legacy as a dad—beyond one holiday or one “perfect” gesture. They swap stories about kids’ performances, community events,...
PAC: SOUL Cole
Episode SummaryJelani and Spencer sit down for a live Higher Valleys conversation with mindfulness leader and former NFL player Soul Cole, recorded at the Pro Athlete Community Accelerate conference in Phoenix. They open with ...
Thriller
Episode SummaryJelani and Spencer unpack what it looks like to parent with both strength and softness—especially inside youth sports, where pride, pressure, and old wounds can show up fast. From spring-break chaos to sideline coac...