Best Toby Hanson Ainslie Heilich Mike Duminiak Podcasts (2025)

1
Evangelicals And Odd Fellowship 1:34:29

15d ago1:34:29

1:34:29

Not everyone understands fraternalism or takes the groups at face value. The suspicion of Freemasonry by the Roman Catholic Church is well known. Lesser known is the skepticism of so-called "secret societies" by Evangelical Christians. In response to a listener question, we asked Paul Michaels (not his real name), an Evangelical pastor, to come on …

1
New Perspectives On Odd Fellowship 1:40:20

1M ago1:40:20

1:40:20

Brothers Aiden Brink and Will Sparks both joined their respective lodges in the past couple of years. Each have become very active and spurred growth in their areas. They were both kind enough to join us to discuss their perspective on Odd Fellowship: what we get right, what we get wrong, and what we can do to build a solid future for our Order. So…

1
Ritual And Regalia Changes 1:52:12

2M ago1:52:12

1:52:12

Although it's tempting to think that Odd Fellowship has been handed down from the past completely unchanged from some visionaries at an ancient building site, that's not the case. Odd Fellowship has adapted and changed through its history to meet the needs of members and the Order as those needs have changed. In this episode, Kris Gratz of Virginia…

1
Mystery And Benevolence 1:41:57

2M ago1:41:57

1:41:57

In 2016, an exhibit opened at the American Folk Art Museum showcasing various artifacts from American fraternal orders, most notably the Odd Fellows and Freemasons. The collection shared the best of fraternal folk art with the wider world. One of the curators of that exhibition, Dr. Aimee Newell, joined us to talk about the collection and give us s…

1
How Global Are We? 1:39:21

3M ago1:39:21

1:39:21

Most of us know about our local lodge and may be familiar with a couple other lodges in our area. However, Odd Fellowship is global in scope and scale—or is it? Brother Chuck Hillberry of the State Of The Order Committee of Sovereign Grand Lodge joins us to discuss exactly how much global reach Odd Fellowship has and how various overseas groups are…

1
Digging Up Our Roots 2:03:20

3M ago2:03:20

2:03:20

We think we all know the story of how Odd Fellowship began in North America: five brave souls, led by Thomas Wildey, held the first meeting in Baltimore in 1819 and, from there, Odd Fellowship exploded across the continent spreading friendship, love, and truth from sea to shining sea. The reality, though, has a lot more detail and challenges than w…

1
Growing In The Sunshine 2:05:26

4M ago2:05:26

2:05:26

Thirty years ago, in a small town in Washington State, a young twenty-something man stood surrounded by five elderly men in a leaky, damp building doing something that would change the trajectory of his entire life. In that moment, Kelly Hughes made a commitment that would shape his destiny and give him a new purpose in life. From that time forward…

1
Mixing Old And New Members 1:12:52

4M ago1:12:52

1:12:52

Every lodge wants to grow—but how many lodges are actually able to incorporate new members successfully in such a way that the new members feel valued? Brother Matthew Thornton, NG of Houston Heights Lodge #225 in Texas, joins us to talk about how his lodge maintains a healthy lodge culture with a mix of everyone from oil workers to urban hippies. …

1
It's A Wonderful Lodge 33:06

5M ago33:06

33:06

Based on the classic holiday film "It's A Wonderful Life," this year's Christmas episode is an Odd Fellows' retelling of the old favorite in which George Bailey is the harried Past Grand of Bedford Falls Lodge #310. Straining under the weight of his lodge's expectations, he finally breaks and wishes he had never been an Odd Fellow. The ghost of Tho…

1
Eating Oddly 1:22:56

5M ago1:22:56

1:22:56

Eating together is an integral part of Odd Fellowship and has a long tradition of inclusion within our Order, from formal banquets at Grand and Sovereign Grand Lodge meetings to sandwich platters during a Degree Rally, to tried-and-true fraternal staples like spaghetti feeds, pancake breakfasts, and pie auctions. Mike, Ainslie, and Toby discuss the…

1
Growing Prosperity 1:26:16

6M ago1:26:16

1:26:16

In high school, Dustin used to wander past the dusty old Odd Fellows Hall in Wenatchee, Washington. Intrigued by the music blaring out on to the sidewalk one evening, he went in to find an all-ages punk rock concert. Joel was the producer of those concerts and made sure the teens and young adults of Wenatchee had a safe, fun place on Friday nights.…

1
Sovereign Grand Master Workman 1:29:19

6M ago1:29:19

1:29:19

Our Sovereign Grand Master, the Honorable Gerald V. Workman of West Virginia, sat down with us for a wide-ranging discussion about his path in Odd Fellowship and how it led him to the top job in the Order. He tells about his early days joining the Junior Lodge, his many years working in his local lodge, his eventual path through the chairs of the G…

1
Odd Fellows' Rest Revisited 1:34:22

7M ago1:34:22

1:34:22

As has become tradition at the Three Links Odd Cast, we like to take a turn to the spooky for Halloween and talk cemeteries. We're joined by Brother Michael Duplantier to discuss the progress on restoring New Orleans' famous Odd Fellows' Rest Cemetery. Brother Duplantier does a wonderful job of giving us the history and background on the cemetery a…

1
Lodge Is Bustin' Out All Over 1:09:19

8M ago1:09:19

1:09:19

Usually, by the time we at the Three Links Odd Cast hear about a new lodge being chartered, it's already meeting regularly. However, in this instance, we got to talk to Brother Garrett Hite of Oklahoma as he's in the process of re-chartering Durant Lodge #57. Brother Garrett shares his story of how he first came to join the Odd Fellows, his time aw…

1
Sovereign Grand Lodge: Reactions 1:26:04

8M ago1:26:04

1:26:04

Mike, Toby, and Ainslie are all safely home from their trip to Pittsburgh and back to their usual lodge activities. The brothers got together to discuss their experiences at Sovereign Grand Lodge and how they felt the Order was progressing as a result. They all had wonderful experiences at the event and enjoyed the fellowship and are energized with…

1
Live From Sovereign Grand Lodge! 1:31:06

9M ago1:31:06

1:31:06

The 2024 Annual Communication of the Sovereign Grand Lodge was noteworthy for many reasons, not least of which was our live recording of the first episode of Season Five of the Three Links Odd Cast. We had a packed meeting room full of members from jurisdictions all across the US and Canada on hand for this lively discussion of the state of Odd Fel…

1
Anniversary IV: More Of The Best 1:25:08

10M ago1:25:08

1:25:08

One might think that after four seasons and over 30,000 downloads of the Three Links Odd Cast that there would be nothing left for the hosts to talk about. Au contraire, mon frère! Mike, Toby, and Ainslie are very opinionated and love hearing themselves talk so it was easy for them to take some time to talk about the highlights of the previous seas…

1
The Lord's Prayer: Reactions 2:07:04

12M ago2:07:04

2:07:04

Our recent episode on inclusion of the Lord's Prayer in the lodge opening generated some of the greatest volume of feedback from listeners we've ever received. We went through dozens and dozens of listener emails, Facebook posts, Instagram messages, and other communications and read them all and then came up with our responses. This is a long episo…

1
Lone Star Rising 1:32:19

1y ago1:32:19

1:32:19

The Grand Jurisdiction of Texas is on an upswing. Its membership is growing and getting younger and they are chartering new lodges. Grand Master Charlie Stephenson and Brother William Plotts join us to talk about the chartering of Brazos Valley Lodge #76. They share how the Grand Lodge supported their efforts, how what they learned from the failure…

1
The Lord's Prayer 1:17:53

1y ago1:17:53

1:17:53

Odd Fellowship is non-political and non-sectarian. But why, then, do we recite the Lord's Prayer as part of the opening of the lodge? Ainslie and Toby dig into some of the history around this observance and discuss whether it makes us truly non-sectarian or if that was just a thin veneer applied to the top of Odd Fellowship to make it appeal to mor…

1
True Fellowship 1:44:12

1y ago1:44:12

1:44:12

Like many lodges, True Fellowship No. 52 in San Jose, CA had seen better days. As members got older, the focus of the lodge became more insular and they were less interested in connecting to the outside community. That all began to change when a new member with an interest in building community joined. Since that time, the lodge has become a dynamo…

1
Minnesota Miracle 1:57:45

1y ago1:57:45

1:57:45

A remarkable convergence of events led to the revival of Friendship Lodge No. 50 in Northfield, Minnesota. A Mason in Red Wing, Minnesota started an educational program for his Masonic lodge and then reached out to the Odd Fellows to request them give a presentation about Odd Fellowship. Four of the Masons present decided to check out Odd Fellowshi…

1
What Is Going Wrong? - Part II 1:28:32

1y ago1:28:32

1:28:32

Billy and Tara from Modern Goat Rider joined us for a thorough and in-depth discussion about leadership in the Odd Fellows. The first half of the episode is available on their feed on your favorite podcatcher or directly from their podcast host. In this episode we discuss the leadership at the Grand Lodge and Sovereign Grand Lodge levels and specif…

1
Selling Out 1:31:42

1y ago1:31:42

1:31:42

A recent email from a listener prompted this episode's discussion about what happens when a lodge sells its building. A lot can happen, but only a very few things should happen. We dig into the question and examine the process and what knowledge members should have when dealing with major lodge property. The Shoutout goes to Prestonsburg Lodge #293…

1
An Odd Fellows Christmas Carol 29:07

1+ y ago29:07

29:07

This year, for our Christmas episode, we present this adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Listen along as an all-star cast of Odd Fellows presents this unique Odd Fellows take on the classic story. Ebeneezer Scrooge: Gil T. Rodello Thomas Wildey: Steven Cross Bob Cratchitt: Joseph Benton Tim Cratchitt: Ainslie Heilich Ghost of Odd F…

1
Sovereign Grand Master Interview 1:37:02

1+ y ago1:37:02

1:37:02

Our Sovereign Grand Master, John Cupp, is a very busy man. We were very fortunate when he made some time at the West Virginia Grand Sessions to sit down and talk with co-host Mike Duminiak about his time as Sovereign Grand Master and some of his experiences in Odd Fellowship. He was joined partway through the interview by his wife Emilie who also s…

1
Vernon Wolf Memorial Lodge 1:18:45

1+ y ago1:18:45

1:18:45

Pueblo Lodge #8 was down to just four members after the passing of one of the five who was maintaining the quorum that kept their charter. John Jones had recently moved to Colorado from another state and was looking to join a lodge. One day, a man with a letter from the Grand Secretary showed up on his doorstep to meet him and possibly bring him in…

1
Remember Me 1:23:15

1+ y ago1:23:15

1:23:15

We always like to do an episode about cemeteries around Halloween and this year is no exception. Given our command to "Bury The Dead" as Odd Fellows, and how many lodges have administered cemeteries throughout our history, it's no surprise to find a lodge engaged in activities related to a final resting place. For this episode we are joined with Pa…

1
Linked In The Lodge 1:36:19

1+ y ago1:36:19

1:36:19

A life of academic wandering and creation has brought Dr. Heather Calloway to her present position as Executive Director of University Collections and Director of the Center for Fraternal Collections and Research at Indiana University. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and having grown up in a fraternal family, Dr. Calloway was destined from…

1
The Cave Degree (Part 1?) 1:42:18

1+ y ago1:42:18

1:42:18

In a secluded corner of the wilderness around Mount Shasta in Northern California, a secret rite has been taking place for generations. No, it's not something from the latest thriller novel, it's the Cave Degree! In a natural cave that faces east toward Mount Shasta, Odd Fellows (and before them, Knights of Pythias) have been performing degree work…

1
Hahn Farm Degrees 1:06:08

1+ y ago1:06:08

1:06:08

Tucked away in a secluded corner of Oregon's rolling farmland northwest of Portland sits the Hahn Farm. Owned by Gary Hahn, a third-generation Odd Fellow and fourth-generation owner of the farm, it has become a beacon for Odd Fellowship in the jurisdiction of Oregon. Every year since the early 1990s, on the third weekend of September, the farm host…

1
Join Or Die! 1:38:50

1+ y ago1:38:50

1:38:50

Civic life in America has been in decline for decades. A prescient few, including noted author Robert Putnam, have chronicled that decline. In his book "Bowling Alone," Putnam explored the link between civic engagement and the function of government and described the nature of the decline in participation in clubs, churches, and other groups. Pete …

1
Dead Horse Cave 1:05:44

1+ y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

Odd Fellowship has found many spaces in which to adapt its Degree work. Our beginnings were in pubs and taverns so Degrees were originally performed there. Eventually we built lodge halls but we still looked for more interesting and unusual places to perform Degrees. Caves became a popular choice in the 20th Century. California's Cave Degree near Y…

1
Anniversary Spectacular 3: Onward! 1:43:25

2y ago1:43:25

1:43:25

Hard to believe, but it's been three years since the launch of the Three Links Odd Cast. Way back when, Sergio, Ainslie, and Toby could hardly imagine the cultural touchstone this podcast would become. Here we are at the beginning of Season Four and we're just as excited to make new episodes as we were when we started in 2020. We take a look back a…

1
Are You Covered? 1:13:45

2y ago1:13:45

1:13:45

Insurance can be a touchy subject that's all too easy to avoid. There are multiple different reasons to avoid it including cost, complication, and just a general desire to not think about bad things that might happen. Those bad things are a fact of life, however, and lodges need to be prepared for whatever kind of bad things may occur. Fortunately,…

1
Leaving The Kitchen Table 1:57:50

2y ago1:57:50

1:57:50

Take one seventy-year Odd Fellow, his great grandson, a twenty-year Odd Fellow from Indiana, a guy from the neighborhood looking for a "thirty-year project" and a few other new folks and put them together and you have the recipe for reviving a lodge that had become profoundly inactive as they retreated from the community and membership had shrunk. …

1
Nevada Rising 1:33:35

2y ago1:33:35

1:33:35

Like many western jurisdictions, Nevada is small. The bigger cities—Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City—have lodges and there are a few scattered around the rest of the state as well. Recently, though, activity and interest has been building in the Silver State as younger members have joined and been appointed to various jobs to help build Odd Fellowship.…

1
Benefits For Younger Members 1:22:54

2y ago1:22:54

1:22:54

Odd Fellowship, like many fraternal groups, is predominantly full of older members. For retirees and others in the later stages of life, our traditional focus on things like death benefits makes sense. However, for younger members, it's a lot harder to see the value of a benefit they may not take advantage of for decades. In this episode, Mike and …

1
Leatherstocking Lodge 1:27:36

2y ago1:27:36

1:27:36

For the past couple of years, despite the challenges of the pandemic, something has been brewing in Upstate New York. Two Masons and and Odd Fellow, all beekeepers, found themselves together on a mission to charter a new Odd Fellows Lodge. Brother Kevin, a member of Wawayanda Lodge #34, was ready to fulfill his destiny as "lodge curmudgeon" with ne…

1
Incorporating Music Into Meetings 1:39:21

2y ago1:39:21

1:39:21

Music enriches every aspect of life so why should it not enrich our lodge meetings as well? Brother Mike has been adding music into the meeting of his lodge—Kanawha #25 in West Virginia—to great success. Obviously, music can be used in all the places indicated in the ritual, like singing the Odes, but this episode goes further and talks about some …

1
How To Make Change 2:01:36

2y ago2:01:36

2:01:36

Brother George Glover III, Past Sovereign Grand Master, joins us on this episode to pull back the curtains on the inner workings of the Sovereign Grand Lodge and share how legislation makes its way through the Legislative Committee and onto the floor for a vote by the Sovereign Grand Lodge as a whole. Brother George has over thirty years' experienc…

1
Brother Rud 2:15:58

2y ago2:15:58

2:15:58

As a special for the Presidents Day Holiday in the US, we interviewed Dustin McLochlin, PhD of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. Brother Rud is frequently maligned in popular imagination (if he's remembered at all). Tagged unfairly with nicknames like "His Fraudulency" or "Rutherfraud" by detractors, he has earned a reputation…

1
Making Connections Between Lodges 1:20:22

2+ y ago1:20:22

1:20:22

What do backpacks for the homeless, a late 70s Chevy Nova, and a "Sausage Grind" have in common? Earnie Taylor of Chester Lodge #281 in Virginia, that's what! Brother Earnie joins us to talk about how he's been able to apply his skills of bringing people together for various charitable projects to building Odd Fellowship in the Jurisdiction of Virg…

1
Kitchen Table Lodge 1:33:57

2+ y ago1:33:57

1:33:57

Inspired by a recent series of emails from a listener, Ainslie and Toby discuss the phenomenon of "kitchen table lodges"—those lodges which don't do any ritual or hold formal meetings. Instead, they meet informally around a table to do the minimum amount of business. As more and more people are finding their way to Odd Fellowship, more new members …

1
Gem City Revival 1:27:40

2+ y ago1:27:40

1:27:40

What happens when a barber in an old river city on the Mississippi finds a bunch of Odd Fellows collectibles? He starts a lodge, of course! That was the genesis of the newly-rechartered Gem City #357 in Quincy, Illinois. Members Matthew Roegge and Jacob Bertram joined us to talk about the beginning of their lodge which was chartered in June 2022. T…

1
Christmas Episode III: We Three Links 1:37:49

2+ y ago1:37:49

1:37:49

Our annual Christmas episode has become the place where we look back on the year in Oddcasting and this year was certainly delightful. We brought on a new co-host, Mike Duminiak, and continued our tradition of making meaningful and relevant episodes for our Odd Fellow brothers and sisters. This particular episode includes a greeting from Brother To…

1
Young Leaders In Odd Fellowship 1:38:37

2+ y ago1:38:37

1:38:37

Despite recent growth, Odd Fellowship is still predominantly full of retirees. While they present a wealth of knowledge and experience, they can also be resistant to change and adaptation. That can become even more of a challenge when young leaders emerge and try to work with entrenched members. In this episode we talk to PGM Buddy Goetsch of Color…

1
The Rose Float 1:52:24

2+ y ago1:52:24

1:52:24

With the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, we thought it would be an excellent time to talk turkey about one of the great New Year's Day traditions—The Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California. The celebration includes the famous college football game The Rose Bowl and the accompanying Rose Parade. Brother Mel Astrahan, PGM of California, joi…

1
Crossover 3: Now With More Goat Riding! 1:25:21

2+ y ago1:25:21

1:25:21

Our colleagues Billy and Tara from Modern Goat Rider join us to continue the crossover begun on their show. If you've not heard it yet, you'll want to hit up the URL above and listen to it so you've got some continuity. The episode rolls on with more comments about marketing Odd Fellowship in unconventional ways, discussion of the impact that podca…

1
Burying The Dead 1:53:47

2+ y ago1:53:47

1:53:47

Just in time for Halloween, we take a look into the death care industry through the eyes of Sister Kait Osman of Emerald Bay Lodge #50 in California. Sister Kait had a somewhat roundabout way of getting to the funeral world, going through studies of forensic anthropology and other subjects along her way. Eventually she found herself in California w…

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Toby Hanson Ainslie Heilich Mike Duminiak Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen