Split Peak Soup
Welcome to Split Peak Soup Podcast! I’m your host, Neal Kearney. I feel very blessed to have been born and raised here in Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz is a hotbed for talented individuals, including, but not limited to: professional surfers and skaters, master surfboard shapers, internationally renowned artists, expert musicians, boundary pushing intellectual thinkers, and out-of-this-world explorers of consciousness.
Working as a professional journalist for the past twenty-plus years, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with these extraordinary humans and in-depth and insightful chats. While these discussions have helped inform many written pieces that I’m proud of, I oftentimes felt that I was leaving a lot of meat left on the bone, as the few quotes I’d incorporate into my writing oftentimes seemed to strip my interviewees of their own authentic voices.
Luckily, we are entering a brave new world, where the podcast has risen as a popular form of storytelling and media consumption. From Joe Rogan to Conan O’Brien, podcasters have officially taken over. And now, I’m joining the fray. The Split Peak Soup Podcast is my way of using my skills as a story-teller to offer long format conversations with those whose stories deserve to be told.
So, what are you waiting for? Pull up a cozy chair, grab a napkin and your favorite spoon, and get ready to dig into another savory serving of Split Peak Soup!
Split Peak Soup
Latest Episodes
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 29--Ryan Augenstein
For many Santa Cruz surfers, the giant, perilous waves that break at Mavericks, located off Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, hold a certain charm. Every Winter, the break produces waves that regularly reach the heights of large buildings, that, w...
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 28--Tony Roberts
Sixty-one year-old filmmaker and photographer Tony Roberts is a true original, a trailblazer who never felt content to follow the crowd. He's dedicated his entire life to chasing those fleeting moments we all wish we could preserve forever...th...
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 27--John Mel
Growing up in the shadow of one of surfing’s all time greats must be a daunting task. Not only are there a great deal of expectations to live up to, but theres also a paradoxical assumption that one must blaze their own trail, lest they appear ...
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 26--Kyle Buthman
Like most young surfers growing up in Santa Cruz, California, Kyle Buthman had his eyes set on becoming a professional surfer. Not only did he have perfect waves in his backyard and tons of talented peers to push his performance, he had access ...
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 25--Neftali Espino
Every once in a while you meet someone who is so unique and far from ordinary that they leave an indelible mark in your memory. Neftali Espino of Davenport, California, is one such character. Known to his friends simply as "Nef", this kind hear...
