Podcast
Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Hosted by Kevin Gentry · EN
Welcome to Going Big! — the podcast where we share the stories of people who have truly gone big in their own lives. Hosted by Kevin Gentry, Going Big! has consistently ranked as a top podcast on iTunes in its category and has earned multiple national honors, including the 2024 MarCom Gold Award for Non-Profit Podcast, the 2024 Viddy Gold Award for Non-Profit and Marketing Podcast, the 2025 Viddy Award, and the 2025 Communicator Award.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with business owners, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, political figures, and other trailblazers who have achieved extraordinary impact in their work and communities. You’ll hear firsthand how they pursued bold ideas, took major risks, overcame challenges, and built something remarkable.
We no longer focus solely on fundraising and marketing. Instead, Going Big! explores the full spectrum of leadership, innovation, and personal drive — uncovering the lessons, values, and pivotal moments that propelled our guests to think bigger and push further.
Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a nonprofit leader, a political changemaker, or simply someone inspired by real stories of ambition and achievement, Going Big! offers insights and inspiration to help you take your own next leap.
Listen on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and YouTube. Follow us on social media and visit TenXStrategies.com for more great content and resources.
92episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bringing D-Day Veterans Back to Normandy with Drake Springer and Meredith Danluck (Why We Dream)
May 2501:03:19Summary readyIn this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with producer Drake Springer and director Meredith Danluck to discuss Why We Dream, a documentary that follows World War II veterans returning to Normandy 80 years after D-Day. With many of the veterans now more than 100 years old, the film captures a vanishing generation’s memories of war, service, sacrifice, and the lives they built afterward. Together, they explore how to tell a World War II story in a way that feels fresh and deeply human; why the filmmakers fought to keep the veterans, not the brand, at the center; and how storytelling can preserve living memory before it disappears. The conversation also examines risk, leadership, and the hunger many people feel today for meaning, connection, and a renewed sense of duty to one another.
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Turning Pain into Purpose with Amy Looney Heffernan (Travis Manion Foundation)
May 1800:43:53Summary readyAfter losing her husband, Navy SEAL Lieutenant Brendan Looney, in Afghanistan, Amy Looney Heffernan could have stepped back from the world. Instead, she chose a harder path: building a life of service, leadership, and impact in his memory. On this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry talks with Amy, now President of the Travis Manion Foundation, about grief, resilience, Memorial Day, and how service can help turn pain into purpose. She shares the deeply personal story behind her journey, the values Brendan lived by, and how the Foundation is equipping veterans, families of the fallen, and young people to lead with character in communities across America. Learn more about The Honor Project
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Mike Pence on Reagan, Trump, and What Conservatives Believe
May 1100:51:34Summary readyIn this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with former Vice President Mike Pence for a conversation about faith, conviction, public service, and the moments that test a leader’s character. Pence reflects on his journey from a young Democrat inspired by John F. Kennedy to a Reagan conservative, the hard lessons he learned from early political defeats, and the principles that shaped his years in Congress, as governor of Indiana, and in the White House. They also discuss January 6, the constitutional duty Pence believed he was bound to uphold, and his continued work to defend traditional conservative ideas through Advancing American Freedom and his new book, What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience. For anyone interested in leadership under pressure and the future of the conservative movement, this is a conversation worth hearing.
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The Entrepreneur Who Challenged Canada's Healthcare Monopoly with Kip Woodward
May 400:59:49Summary readyIn this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry talks with Kip Woodward, a Canadian business leader, investor, and public-policy advocate whose career has spanned family enterprise, ranching, health care governance, and reform efforts around some of Canada’s most entrenched institutional challenges. Kip reflects on what it takes to lead at scale, challenge broken systems, and take risks without losing perspective. From entrepreneurial pivots to public controversy, this conversation explores curiosity, resilience, governance, and the kind of leadership required when the answers are neither simple nor popular.
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How Love and Enterprise Are Rescuing Thousands with Becca Stevens (Thistle Farms)
Apr 2700:40:31Summary readyHuman trafficking and exploitation are often hidden in plain sight. In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms, to explore how one home for five women became a survivor-led movement serving around 1,500 women each year through housing, employment, and long-term support. Stevens shares what most people still misunderstand about trafficking, why punishment alone cannot heal deep wounds, and how Thistle Farms built a distinctive model of restorative justice through social enterprise, community, and love put into practice. It’s a conversation about healing, entrepreneurship, faith, and what it takes to build something big enough to help women find their way home again.
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Why Retirement Culture Has Work Backwards with David Bahnsen
Apr 2000:46:39Summary readyMost people spend their lives trying to escape work. David Bahnsen thinks that’s a tragedy — and a recipe for emptiness. In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with David, founder and CIO of a wealth management firm overseeing more than $9 billion, to unpack a countercultural claim: human beings were made to contribute, not just consume. They talk about why the “non-essential worker” language of the COVID era still matters, why shorter work weeks and universal basic income can miss something deeper, and why “more purpose, more work, more endeavor” might actually be part of the solution to rising isolation and despair. Watch now if you're looking for practice advice for a life marked by meaning, responsibility, and contribution.
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How CarePortal Has Served 600,000+ Children and Families with Adrien Lewis
Apr 1300:49:13Summary readyIn this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry interviews Adrien Lewis, Founder and President of CarePortal, about building a “care-sharing network” that connects vetted needs for kids and families in crisis with local churches, businesses, and neighbors who can respond quickly. CarePortal connects the real-time needs of community members (submitted by caseworkers and agencies) with neighbors who can step in fast — strangers helping strangers. Adrien shares his personal origin story, the challenges of scaling a new model, and real examples of how one small need (like a crib) can become long-term support and stability. Learn how CarePortal works, why trust is central to the model, and how anyone can get involved in their own community.
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Going Big with Paul Atkins: Why Public Companies Have Been Disappearing—and What Comes Next
Apr 600:34:26Summary readySEC Chairman Paul Atkins joins host Kevin Gentry on Going Big! to discuss his "minimum dose" philosophy of regulation—and why information overload can be just as harmful as too little disclosure. They cover the decline of public markets and Paul's push to revive IPOs, the role of institutional ownership and politicized shareholder activism, and why he believes crypto belongs under U.S. oversight with clearer rules rather than pushed offshore.
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Going Big with Heather Rice-Minus: Hope Behind Bars and the Power of Second Chances
Mar 3000:47:00Summary readyMost people never step inside a prison. But what if some of the most compelling stories of change in America are happening there? In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry interviews Heather Rice-Minus, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship, about what she has seen in prisons across the country and why she believes hope can grow in the hardest places. The conversation traces the origins of Prison Fellowship through the story of Chuck Colson, whose conversion and time in prison helped spark a movement that now serves incarcerated men and women, supports families, and partners with churches nationwide. Heather shares vivid, personal stories from inside prison walls, including a woman known as “Turtle” who is serving a life sentence yet has become a leader and mentor to others. She also challenges the “us vs. them” mindset and explains why defining people by the worst thing they’ve ever done can block real restoration. The episode also explores the scale of incarceration in the United States, the impact on children and families, and the growing focus on second chances through community engagement and practical next steps. Heather closes with a quote from Colson that captures the theme of the conversation: “My greatest humiliation being sent to prison was actually the beginning of God’s greatest use in my life.”
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Going Big with Arthur Brooks: Finding the Meaning of Your Life in an Age of Emptiness
Mar 2300:57:29Summary readyMillions of people say life feels empty, even when they’re achieving more than ever. Why is that happening, and how do you reverse it? In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with Arthur C. Brooks — Harvard professor, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading voices on happiness and meaning — to unpack what Brooks calls the “meaning gap.” Arthur shares his own journey of reinvention: from professional musician to public policy leader, and then a deliberate pivot into the science of happiness, purpose, love, and faith. They explore how modern technology can keep people trapped in “complicated problems,” while the biggest human questions live elsewhere — and why so many people feel they can’t even ask the right questions anymore. Along the way, Arthur gives listeners practical tools they can use immediately: a simple decision framework (excitement vs. fear vs. deadness), daily “phone protocols” that protect relationships, and a concrete way to reconnect with meaning when you’re feeling stuck. They also discuss Arthur's new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, and his upcoming virtual event tied to the launch. Join Arthur’s free “The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience” on March 27, a live, immersive journey designed around the groundbreaking findings in his new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. Throughout the day, Arthur will be joined by an extraordinary lineup of guests for deep, unscripted conversations that go far beyond the surface. Together, they will pull back the curtain on why the modern world—with its rapid technological and cultural shifts—has effectively rewired our brains to make meaning feel so elusive. Learn more about The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience at themeaningofyourlife.com
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