Caller ID
Caller ID is a conversation-driven podcast exploring calling, career, and identity through real stories and honest dialogue.
Hosted by Brandon Davis Wells, who has served in many roles from career coach, to college baseball coach, to broadcast professional for major networks like ESPN, IheartMedia, and more. Each episode features thoughtful conversations with professionals, creatives, leaders, and everyday people wrestling with the same questions we all face:
Who am I called to be?
What work fits who I’m becoming?
How do faith, values, and purpose shape the way we work?
This isn’t a podcast about quick career hacks or hustle culture. It’s about work that forms us, choices that matter, and finding meaning in the long, often winding path of vocation. Whether you’re a student, early-career professional, parent, or someone navigating change, Caller ID offers clarity, perspective, and encouragement for the work ahead.
Episodes
30 episodes
Caller ID S2:E3 with JD Hamilton | Behind the Scenes at the NCAA: Servanthood, Rules, and Identity with JD Hamilton
On Caller ID, Brandon Davis Wells talks with JD, a longtime NCAA staffer and former ESPN spotter, about identity beyond work and the behind-the-scenes roles that keep college sports running. JD explains his current job as assistant director of ...
Caller ID S2:E2 Adam Amin on Finding Joy, Earning Confidence, and Navigating Pressure in Broadcasting
Adam Amin, the Chicago Bulls’ TV voice and a versatile play-by-play broadcaster for Fox Sports, reflects on finding joy in broadcasting despite early family skepticism shaped by his Pakistani immigrant upbringing, including his mother telling r...
Caller ID - S2:E1 - Golden Threads
Caller ID Season 2 Kickoff: Golden Threads from Season 1 (Work, Worth, Purpose & Community)Host B.Davis Wells kicks off season two of Caller ID by reflecting on season one’s 25 calls with 21 guests from div...
Season 1 Highlight Show: The Best Clips of Each Call
Purpose Is Now: Mentorship, Faith, and Choosing What MattersThis season 1 highlight episode reflects on responsibility, identity, and purpose through stories about career growth, faith, and relationships. The guests discuss wh...
S1:E25 Caller ID Podcast with Miles Larson (Calling in Seasons: Miles Larson on Leadership, Identity, and Holy Discontent)
Calling in Seasons: Miles Larson on Leadership, Identity, and Holy Discontent | Caller IDOn Caller ID, host B. Davis Wells talks with Miles Larson, executive director of the Brethren Church, about calling as seasonal rather than permanen...
S1E24 - Sarah Johnson (Chief Communications Officer - City of Cleveland)
Sarah Johnson joins the Caller ID Podcast to talk about her path from healthcare marketing to Case Western Reserve and now Chief Communications Officer for the City of Cleveland under Mayor Justin Bibb, overseeing everything from media and soci...
S1E23 - Dr. Mohsine Bensaid | More Than Your Output: Dr. Bensaid on Language, Faith, and Not Losing Yourself
In this episode of Caller ID, Brandon Davis Wells talks with Dr. Mohsine Bensaid—Ashland University assistant professor and TESOL program director—about identity beyond the usual “what do you do?” question. Bensaid shares how growing up in Moro...
Lessons in Leadership with Linda Rutherford (Part 2 of 2)
In part two of our 2-part call, Linda and I dive into all kinds of topics, including:why someone stays at a company like Southwest Airlines for a long time, mentorship, what growing up in a single parent household meant, mentorship, paying it f...
500 Times in a Spiral Notebook: Lessons in Listening with Linda Rutherford (Part 1)
What does it take to go from an entry-level employee to the Chief Administration Officer of one of America's most beloved companies?In Part 1 of my conversation with Linda Rutherford, we explore Linda's remarkable career journey from the...
Practice? We're Talking About Practice? Part 2 with Ashland University Head Men's Basketball Coach John Ellenwood
In part two of our call, Coach Ellenwood talks about his desire to keep learning and how he deal with getting a little bored. He also leans into his calling as someone who isn't a hoops expert (although I'll tell you having spent co...
Talking About Practice...Not A Game (Part 1 of 2 with Men's Basketball Coach, John Ellenwood)
This week is part one of my call with Ashland University Head Men's Basketball Coach, John Ellenwood. Coaching basketball wasn't the original plan, but it's definitely turned into a calling. Turning down opportunities with the FBI and other maj...
I Wanna Be A Producer (Cleveland Cavs Television Producer, Brent Valenti)
This week, I catch up with a former boss, Cleveland Cavaliers television producer, Brent Valenti. Brent has produced live Cavalier basketball for the last fifteen years. I served on his home crew for years in the truck. We talk lead...
The Road to ESPN (ESPN Director, Adam Bryant III)
ESPN Director, Adam Bryant, joins me this week on the call, as we talk what it takes to work in sports broadcasting, being an African-American in the tv industry, and you'll hear my old nickname with the worldwide leader. Adam has d...
She's On A Roll (Part 2 with Dr. Maura Grady)
On part two of our fascinating call, Dr. Grady talks about how she went from grad school to getting a full-time professor role, the impact of AI on higher ed, her amazing work with corrections ed, and some great career wisdom. You'l...
Germans? Forget it, She's on a roll. (Part 1 of 2)
Dr. Maura Grady joins me this week as we talk about higher ed careers, but also more than that as usual. It's not just her career path to higher ed, but what she learned along the way about herself, how to not attach outcomes to identity, and w...
I Didn’t Know What I Wanted at 18… And That Was the Point | Suella Russell
If you can’t be yourself in the interview… you don’t want the job.This episode is a real conversation about authenticity, career alignment, and why so many people feel stuck in work that doesn’t fit.We get into: R...
More Than A Haircut
Every once in a while you meet someone who reminds you that the most meaningful work does not come with a flashy title. It comes through presence, curiosity, and the ability to truly listen.Matt Trukovich is a barber, but what happens in...
Don’t Write Off Gen Z: Ashley Davis on Earning Your Shot at Work
Ashley Davis joins the Caller ID Podcast to share her journey from intern to full-time HR Generalist at School Specialty—and what the transition from college to the professional world actually feels like.In this conversation, Ashley refl...
Why Our Friendships Matter In Relation To Our Career and Identity
In Part 2 of this conversation, B.Davis and Dr. Jason Barnhart turn to the topic of friendship and the challenge of being truly known. Drawing from Jason’s upcoming book, they explore why meaningful friendships can feel so difficult, especially...
Listening to Your Life
In this episode, B. Davis sits down with Dr. Jason Barnhart, Professor of Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary, to explore how our sense of calling is shaped over time. Jason shares his journey from youth ministry to the classroom and refle...
Calling, Creativity, and Paying Attention with Sarah Wells
This week on Caller ID, I’m joined by my wife, writer Sarah Wells, on the day her new book Say One Million Times, Wow! Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America’s Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms)
When Comfort Isn’t an Option: Risk, Calling, and Reinvention
Firefighter. Cornell grad. Serial entrepreneur. Real estate investor. Risk-taker.Keith Saffles has lived several lives in one — and each chapter has required bold decisions, deep resilience, and a willingness to start over.In this...
Bootstrappin'
Kris Mowry joins me on the show today, and we talk about the influence of growing up in rural Ohio, succeeding without a college degree, sales, faith, quitting drinking. It's a jam packed 40 minutes of wisdom, with a few laughs mixed in too.&nb...
Shaken, Not Shattered
What happens when God interrupts your comfortable plan? Former high school teammate and lifelong friend Art McMahon joins Caller ID to share his journey from teaching and coaching at CVCA to becoming a missionary educator in Hai...
One Dollar Changed Everything
Imagine being pulled out of 5th grade because your parents didn't have a dollar to help send you to school. One dollar. This kind of thing can break you, or it can make you into the person you're called to be. On this week's episode of Caller I...