An Army of Normal Folks - If You’ve Never Failed, You’ve Never Done Anything Worth Doing (Pt 1)

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

At 19 years old, King Randall put aside his own self-interest and started taking care of other people’s kids in Albany, Georgia, which has the highest concentrated poverty rate in the state. His summer school program grew into The X School for Boys, a private school that is completely free to 25 families and has hundreds of kids on its waitlist. And King’s social media accounts have grown to over 1 million followers for the same reason that he’s our guest, this dude will teach you about being all-in like no one else! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was 19, there were a lot of things that I thought that were wrong. There were things I failed at the school at first. It failed. You know, projects I did failed. And so it's like, oh, he messed this up and messed that up and blah, blah, blah. Well, you've messed up nothing because you've never did anything or whatever. So why are you worried about me and what I'm doing? You know, because you were too scared to jump on something big.

And so I'm the man in the arena. Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband. I'm a father. I'm an entrepreneur, and I'm a football coach in inner city Memphis. And that last part somehow led to an Oscar for the film about one of my teams.

That movie's called Undefeated. I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people and nice suits using big words that nobody ever uses on CNN and Fox, but rather by an army of normal folks. That's us. Just you and me deciding, hey, you know what, maybe I can help. That's what King Randall, the voice you just heard, is done. At 19 years old, still just a kid himself, King put aside his own self-interest in getting his peace of the American dream and started taking care of other people's kids in Albany, Georgia,

which has the highest concentrated poverty rate in the state. Single moms gave 20 of their kids to King's summer school. programs because apparently this 19-year-old was the best option they had available. And his boot camps focused on the fundamentals like reading and how to change attire has grown into a full-fledged school, the ex-school for boys, a private school that is completely free to 25 families and has hundreds of kids on the wait list. And I believe King Randall's social media accounts have grown to over one million followers for the reason that he's our guest today. This dude will teach you about being all in like no one else.

Right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm in a lick Lamouba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated. And Black America was out a breaking point. Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia at Martin's Almermata, House College. The students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King Sr., and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution. I mean, people would die. In 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It

in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to the A-building on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Segregation and the day, integration at night. When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules. We didn't worry about what went on outside.

It was like stepping on another world. Inside Charlie's place, Black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it. You saw the KKK? Yeah, they were just dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power.

They had to crush him. From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch, and Visit Myrtle Beach, comes Charlie's place. A story that was nearly lost to time. Until now, listen to Charlie's place on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHard Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Now through February 22nd, see all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. collection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app.

Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. You know Roaldahl, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden

chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives. the powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you.

The guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past

seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So I think I got to offer apologies to King and Alex. So here's the deal. I've been an Ole Miss fan since I could walk, graduated from Ole Miss, kids graduated from Ole Miss, and I've had the same season tickets since I was 23 years old, and I'm 57 now. so that's a long time, 34 years.

I have lived through Tommy Tuberville and David Cutcliffe. I have lived through Ed Orgeron. Matt Luke. Matt Luke. I have... Hugh Freeze. Oh, my gosh, we've lived through everything. I mean, it's been...

And he who shall not be named. Yeah, and he who shall not be named. And, you know, my saga started with the late great Billy Brewer, who I have a keen affinity for. Having said all of that, we Ole Miss fans have wanted to be in the position we were in, only to have Lane trying to pull the rug out from under us. And at any rate, when King was scheduled to be in Memphis,

happened to be the exact day of the festival. Lisa and I went to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and were ecstatic as we'd be Georgia. and there was just no way I was missing the Fiesta Bowl. So I couldn't reschedule the Fiesta Bowl and King couldn't reschedule his recording. So I had to fly at the last minute to Tempe to go watch the rebels get beat by Miami, unfortunately. And Alex took over.

So as you hear this interview, understand Alex will be handling it. I will be narrating it. And please forgive me because there's no way I was going to be. miss something I've been waiting 35 years for. And if you think I'm a better host, email me at Army at NormalFolks.com. Yeah, and if you think Alex is better, then you can put me out my misery and you don't have to hear my voice ever again. Okay, thanks. King Randall, welcome to Memphis. Hey, man, glad to be here. I never been here before, so glad to be here today. Apparently, you didn't get to explore much. You were stuck in your room working. I was in my room

working, man. Works nonstop. Got the students were trying to fundraise for the year. We got this year program is still free, obviously. So what we're trying to do is fundraise for the rest of the year. We try to fundraise year by year to do a big capital campaign. So we can stay open and everything can stay free. All right. I'm going to say something about the school, and then we're going to come back to it later. Sure.

So the X School for Boys, Allvany, Georgia, around 25 students, all in financial poverty. I think you told me on the drive here that probably only around two of them have present dads, you know, their lives. So you are stepping away in a huge way and helping to transform lives in Albany, which we're going to spend most of this interview talking about. Sure. First, why is your name King? We've got to talk to my mom about that one. My mom said she named me.

I got like five names. My mom named me that. Like legally? Yeah, legally. What's your legal name? Get into my whole legal name. My full first name is King Lakeet. And then Randall, I was my last name and I'm the first.

So imagine that and all my middle names and then the first. Wait, how many middle names you got? I got, well, it's one. Yeah, I got a middle name and two first names. then my last name and then the suffix. Yeah. So, and then my son's the second. So that's always fun.

You gave him the entire same name. The whole name. He's the second. Yep, he's the second. But we just go by King Randall. So we just go to the first, last, and that's it. All right. Did she mean this is my little prince, my king?

Or did she reference Dr. Martin Luther King? What's up with the name King? Well, she wanted to name me that originally, but she said, like, some pastors at church told her she couldn't name me king or something, you know, in regard to Jesus. or something like that. So she was like, okay, going to do it anyway. So here we are. There you go.

Well, it makes you unique. There's a lot about unique because people are going to find out. I never would have a lot of fun. Yep, yeah. Mom's a special person, so I'm glad she picked a good name. We'll pay tribute more to her here in a minute. I want to go to you were 19 years old, living in, I think, one of the most violent cities in Georgia. I mean, you feel free to add on some more stats on this.

When I looked it up, violent crime in Albany, so murder, robbery, assault is 823 people per 100,000. So that's 129% higher than national average. In Georgia, it's 325 per 100,000. So Albany is way over double that, almost triple of it. And then people in Albany have a 1 in 30 chance of being a victim of either violent or property crime. And it's probably in the bottom 13% of communities, I guess, in terms of safety. So you're 19 years old. You graduated culinary school.

You were in the Marines. A lot of people say, get the hell out of there. Go make a bunch of money. I'm going to get mine. Yep. Why did you stay in Albany? At the time, I just had a, I didn't want to lead the city like I found it, I guess. I lived there my whole life.

And I always felt like, you know, Albany could be a better place. And it has been because of the people that are there that are trying to do the work. And one thing I always say is, you know, if I only talk about all the terrible things that are happening there, then obviously that's all we're going to believe. And so our local news, our local, you know, other media teams or whatever, everybody only just shares all the negative things happening. And that's because it gets the most clicks. And like I've told people before, even if you are a news media company or whatever, if you are solely driven by getting the clicks, you start to become evil after a while because it's easy to get all the negative clicks. you're not worried about how people's minds are being affected. You're not worried about how people are, you know, seeing their hometown or how they're

feeling about the hometown. You're just worried about getting the clicks. And so when we never share the good stories, when we never, you know, share the great stories, when we never put any effort into sharing the 100 great things that are happening or the 100 things that people are trying to do to make the city better, then people always just feel like, you know, they're in blood, they're in me, you know. And that's not what I want to see for the hometown. And so, you know, to start, I started working with children in my hometown.

And, well, before you get there, sure. You're 19. Like, who the hell are you going to help? That's just I'm sure a lot of people's reaction. Like, come on, you're 19. You don't know much about the world yet. You haven't even figured your own things out. Yeah, and that was what I got a lot, especially when I was talking about, you know, helping boys and helping them to come in.

And it's like, well, how are you going to teach somebody how to be a man? I'm like, what are you guys doing? And, you know, in my hometown, I wasn't the most like person when I was about 19, 20 years old because I did a lot of this. When I first started, I was fussing at everybody. the churches, the schools, the everybody. And I had a very big microphone early. Once I started talking, I just never stopped. And my social media following just grew and grew and grew.

And people in my hometown started listening to me. But of course, the powers that be did not like that. You know, and so, of course, for a while, like, I was like, don't bother with King Randall. People were like, don't bother with him. You know, he's like, I was like the boogeyman for a while because I would just say what needed to be said. I didn't care who, you know, didn't like it. I would talk about the preachers, the pastors by name, the churches by name.

I didn't care for a while. But then as I've gotten older, I've understood how things actually work because some of those people are like trying to do different things. But it's not all just cutting dry. Like, oh, just change it tomorrow. Just do it today. It's not how things work. And so I'm grateful to have matured. But at the time, I was just fiery and passionate and I started working with kids.

And I didn't care who was going to help me or not help me. I just worked at home from eating hot and ready pizzas with the kids. So I started out just at the house. And I didn't care what people thought. about it, honestly. You had your own house then? Yeah, I had my own house. Yeah, I was married. I was previously married at the time. I had just had Baby King. Baby King was born 10 days after the ex-reboards was born. So they kind of have the same birthday almost. But anyway. That's a lot going on at once, man. A lot going on at once. And so I was taking kids on field trips. And I was funding these field trips

through cutting hair, fixing cars, working on houses. I had just lost my job. And so I was just doing what I learned how to do growing up, like working on cars and stuff. I was like the handyman. Like I would go cut somebody's hair, then go fix somebody's car, then go paint somebody's house. Like, that was me every day doing something because I had to make sure the bill stay paid. And that's what I did. I think that's pretty cool stories of sometimes.

You said you knew how to do things and you really did it. Have you could tell some of those stories? Yeah, man. I had times where I'm out cutting hair like 11 o'clock at night because, I mean, this is the thing. You know, regular barbershops clothes. I would just travel to people and cut hair. And sometimes people need an emergency hair.

cut or whatever, and I couldn't kind of say no, because I need the money. You know, so I would come late at night to cut people's hair. If people said, hey, you know, I need my car fixed. And I'll ask them what you're making my all that car is and I would go on YouTube and figure out how to fix it. Like, hey, I need to start a change in my 2007 hunt to me. YouTube, 2007 started. Oh, that's easy. Bad. That'll be $300 and then go and do-do-do-do and fix it. Doesn't take long at all. It got fixed. And so that's how I learned how to do it. Same thing when I told the story about how why me and my brother first painted out of our first house. We were painting the insides of houses already, but I had never painted the outside of a house. And I'll never forget,

one of my former church members was in Home Depot the day. We were looking for some paint for another house we were painting on the inside. And she was like, hey, y'all painting house. I said, yes, man, we paint house. She was talking about the outside. She was like the outside. I was like, yeah, we painted outside of the house. It's no problem like that. And so we came by the house and we looked at very nice, small house. It was perfect. I was like, please don't be no big old house with all this stuff. and the other, but it was a very nice little small house, easy work. And so we got home, got on YouTube, and we just YouTube everything we needed. Even though we were way undercharged

her, I didn't know at the time, but we went and got everything we needed, got all the paint sprayers rented and everything, and we painted a house, easy work. Made our first $1,000. Like I said, even though we undercharged way under it. But, you know, that was our first house was painted. And from there, we were able to, you know, paint more houses. And people started giving me work, you know, from that because I was using social media posting some of the things. things that I was doing, letting people know I was fixing people's cars and people would start, giving reviews and telling people that I was doing a good job. And so then I transitioned to teaching the kids how to do it. And I didn't have a building at the time. I posted a flyer on

social media. So do you ever really just come to your house? Yeah, they come to my house. And so I posted a flyer on social media. How many kids are we talking about? 20. Okay. At 20 kids at my house. I had 20 parents believing his 19 year old kid at the time to help their kids learn how to do stuff. And they believed in me, made some mistakes, you know, did some things wrong, did things right, and we made it work. And so a lot of those parents, you know, are still in contact, still grateful for just that time. And so it being 26 now and just understanding protocol and insurance and liability and the whole. You had none of that. No, I didn't even know what a nonprofit was at the time, much less, you know, knew about any of the happenings trying to make sure the kids were

squared away. I'm just taking them on field trip, just going out of town, no allergies stuff, no medication stuff. Just, hey, just bring your kids over here. No waiver. No waivers. Nothing. Just doing it. And, you know, thankfully, nothing bad happened. And God, you know, just, you know, he'll take care of things for us at the time. And so we went from there and we just kind of grew. We started using social media and we learned how to grow from there. And, you know, here we are. And now a few messages from our generous sponsors. But first, We've launched our first six local service clubs around the country. At a time when only 33% of Americans are contributing in their community at the level that they want to,

the mission of these clubs is to make more service easier for everyone. The first six are in my hometown Memphis, Alex's hometown Oxford, Wichita, Atlanta, Atlanta, the Milwaukee area, and it's called OZ. Zaki County, and North Duchess County, which is New York. If you live in one of these areas, visit the service club section of our site, NormalFolks.com, and get plugged in. And if you don't live there and you want a service club in your area, email Alex, because these are the first six, these are the pilots, but we're going to be doing more. like other Army members that are launching clubs in their communities later this year, including San Antonio, Lincoln, Nebraska, Huntsville, Alabama, Licking County, Ohio, Licking County, Ohio.

If you happen to live in one of these following areas and are interested, email Alex at army at normalfolks. And he'll get you connected to them. This is going to be fun. We'll be right back. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Manilic Lamouber. It's 1969.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. had both been assassinated, and Black America was out of breaking point. Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's Almemata, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King, Sr., and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson.

To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people would die. In 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to the A-building on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. segregation and the day integration at night

When segregation was the law one mysterious black club owner had his own rules We didn't worry about what went on outside It was like stepping on another world Inside Charlie's place Black and white people danced together But not everyone was happy about it You saw the KKK?

Yeah, they were dressed up in their uniform The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch, and visit Myrtle Beach, comes Charlie's Place. A story that was nearly lost to time. Until now.

Listen to Charlie's Place on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, decide who takes home the 2026 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Now through February 22nd, see all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. You know, Roald. the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll,

is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's?

Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. wherever you get your podcast.

I mean, it does kind of show how desperate parents are. That, I mean, obviously, once they met you and know you're an amazing human being and I'm sure they loved it. But like to trust you at that, that you were the best option in the moment is kind of crazy. Yeah, you know, looking at all being, it's not a lot of options at all. I will say we have a lot of, you know, football programs, have a lot of basketball programs, a lot of baseball programs, youth programs. But a lot of those programs are only served a couple days a week. maybe for an hour or two, I wanted the program to be all day.

And that's where we are even now, all day. Because a lot of parents, they're working. And sometimes when they're off of work, and unfortunately, they don't really have anybody to watch their kids. They don't have nobody to pay to watch their kids. So the kids kind of watching themselves, maybe on YouTube, looking at social media all day, seeing girls or seeing, you know, guys outside on the streets or whatever.

And they don't know what's happening with their sons or kids. They just come home and go to sleep and go right back to work the next day because we don't have many livable ways jobs. in Albany, we have people working jobs, but they're working two and three jobs at a time just to make the ends even meet. And that's a big issue. You know, the rent's going up and light bills are going up and the jobs aren't paying more money. And so people are struggling, you know, in our hometown. And I definitely feel like if we had more job opportunities, just to start there, we start to slowly see a, you know, incline with just better results with everything. The reading scores, crime,

et cetera. If people just were able to make money, we can start there and then, you know, go from there and grow in a city well let's come back to school for boys in a minute i want to go to your heart like what makes you motivated to do this work like i said at the top like you could have gone and been a chef i guess you're an expertise in that you're a pretty entrepreneurial dude i think you could figure out a lot of different stuff even just a repair business right i mean there's a lot of things you could have done what do you think like in your childhood or the influences in your life that that gave you this kind of unique heart my mom Like for Christmas and Thanksgiving and stuff, we would go feed people. We help people all the time.

My mom was a foster parent my whole life. So I'm my mom's only child. But she was a foster parent my whole life. I'm so used to helping people. My grandmother had a church. My grandfather had a church. Like I'm just so used to helping people. So it's like second nature, you know, like it's not really special to me. That's all I ever saw growing up. So that's just kind of what I do. I help people. I got help people often. Like no matter what. I've, you know, been blessed to be able to just do good. And so, like, literally, every restaurant I go to, I give a $100 tip no matter what. If I can't give $100 tip, I won't go out to eat. And I don't care who it is, whether it was bad service or good service.

I don't know why they were having a bad day to day. I don't know why, whatever. But every restaurant I go to, I give $100 tip, no matter what. Who gave you that idea or how'd you come up with it? Because that seems like something only somebody, I don't know, with millions and millions of dollars does. And what's funny is, and I've never had millions and millions of dollars. I've sometimes I've given my last, like, little, I have $200 and I still give a $100 tip because I believe, in how God works. I grew up in an old Baptist church, and when offering time came around,

we would sing this son called You Can't Beat God Giving. So in my mind, I came up, well, I guess I'm in competition with God and giving. So I would give, and I have no problem with it. Even now, if I had my last $100 and you needed it, I would give it to you. And I know for a fact that it's going to happen for me later. I know I'm going to get it back later. So that's truly how I give now. And so when I give, I give in the idea of I know I'm going to get it back. So I'm not worried about it. and that's how I operate. And so if I have my last, if I have the most, I'm going to do that. And so, and I also understand how waiters make money.

They don't really make money. You know, they get paid little pennies per hour. So for me to give them $100, like, they just like, you know, and I usually try to run away so they can't see me. I don't like the whole, you know, thing, you know, so I always give it and I take off out of the restaurant. I'm like, all right, you know, have a good day before they even see it, you know. But there have been times, you know, they have, you know, met with me and saw me, but,

especially in my hometown. And, you know, to see them getting a better. mood. Now I've created a great day for 10 people because since I've given her that $100 tip today, now the rest of her customers are going to get great service, great love. Now she's going to make more money because she's doing, having a great day today. Like I've made a big chunk of money and now I'm able to make 10 people happy because their waiter was happy. And now that those 10 people are happy, now they're going to go home to their wives and be happy. And like, so now I've created a chain effect of happiness just by giving $100 tip. Like it's just, it's a domino effect.

Or just in the store that I speak to everybody I see. Like, that's something I just normally do. Everybody I see, I speak to them, give a smile, you know, compliment a shirt or something like that. I don't know what that compliment did for this, you know, young lady or old lady or older guy, whatever. You know, I'll just say something nice. And this may turn their day around. And now, instead of going home upset, they may go, you know, give their kids a hug when they get home today. You know, like, I don't know what this is doing for somebody.

And so that's why I help people. Like, I don't care in what way I'm going to help. I'm just going to help. That's what I do for a living. I think with so many, I mean, frankly, even I feel this a little bit of times, for so many people, like, in those kind of waiter jobs, you could just feel like the deck is stacked against you in so many ways. And like, here's this restaurant owner that's got more money and here's all these customers with a lot more money. And it's like, it's going so well for these other people. And like, I'm barely making it. Like, why don't they care about people like me? Right. I mean, even just communicating that to them, like, there's good people out there who love me. Absolutely. And that's important. People just need to know something about some. somebody cares, and I think that's important. So that's why I give so much. That just comes from

how I was raised. All I've ever seen was giving. I've had Christmases where I give my gifts away, or I've had Thanksgiving where I'm feeding other people. So that's just what I do. I love it. It's not special to me. It's just second nature. I just give just because I can. Let's pay tribute to your mom more for a sec before we go back to school for boys. It's pretty remarkable. I didn't know. She was a foster parent growing up. So the way you said, Ed, you said my mom, so she was a single mom. Your dad wasn't in the house. Yeah, well, I had my stepdad. My mom married when I was about eight or nine, I believe. Yeah, and he raised me from eight to about 16. Awesome. So all the important years of my life, he was there. So I was going to

get to her heart with being a foster parent, but also how she uniquely approached your dad. Yes. Can you talk about that? Yeah, to this day, my mom and my by a lot of father have the most interesting relationship. They like best friends that hate each other really bad. My mom thinks she's his mom, and so she's trying to keep him on the right track. Like he's married, and, like, sometimes they'll get into, you know, debates, you know, or he'll get into it with his wife. And my mom's like, you need to stop acting stupid.

Why are you doing this? So I'll screw this up again. Yeah, why are you acting stupid? She'll call him like, I'm tired of you bitch treating this woman, blah, blah, blah, you know, just, you know, whatever. And so she'll call and make sure he has this stuff together. or whatever, because that's just always been her with him. Even with me, you know, she'll call him on my birthday.

Make sure you call his son and tell him happy birthday today or whatever. You know, make sure you do this or that. Like, she always tried to make sure that was there. That was never going to be a hate between me and my dad. Like, my dad probably only came to, like, three or four football games. I played football my whole life. The only football games I remember are the ones he came to because he was on the sideline because I was really good.

He was on the sideline, like, so excited, throwing his towel everywhere. Like, he was just really excited to see me play because I was good. But it was just a big thing to see what I remember. Because my mom was at every football game. Ask me, do I remember any of the game she was at? Nope, don't remember it. But that's how important and impactful dad was. And so my mom made sure that that relationship stayed there.

For example, I talked before about how for some Christmases, like, how for some Christmases, like my mom would buy gifts, she would take the gifts to my dad and then come pick me up and then take me to my dad so my dad could give me the gifts as if he bought them. Like, that's important stuff. Or, like, I remember, like, let's- Well, pause on that for a second, because that's, I mean, crazy in most people's mind. Like, a lot of, I mean, it's crazy, period.

Yeah. For a lot of people, they're like, all right, let the dad be bad. Let him not get his son a gift. Let him be the bad guy. I'm going to be the good savior. Number one, a lot of people just have that thinking, number one. Number two, for her to care enough about your relationship with your dad that she's divorced from, for her to actually spend her own money

to do this is wild. But it's the psyche of the child that matters, and that's what people are feeling to understand. Even, now, if he's an actual bad person, that's different. My dad just wasn't there. He wasn't a bad person or anything. Like, he wasn't abusive or nothing like that. He just wasn't around.

Like, he didn't do the dad thing. There were times I went over his house, you know, here and there. I probably see him two or three times a year. And, you know, we'd have spurts where I would see him a little often. And sometimes I'd never see him for a year or two. But there were times, you know, where he was around, you know, just for a little bit. And I remember all those times vividly, but my mom understood that the psyche of mine was important because if I grew up, you know, bitter at my dad or not wanting to be like my dad or hating men or whatever like that, that's going to mess up my psyche as an adult. So as a kid, she made sure that their relationship with my father was there.

And there was no hate. There was no bitterness. There was no nothing. When it came to my dad, as an adult, I understand, you know, what happened when I was younger or the true story that happened or whatever. But I still love my dad, you know, to this day. We have a relationship now. And what I do love now is that he's trying to be an active grandfather. He's at all the birthday parties.

You know, he takes pictures with the kids. He calls and checks on them. You know, and so I bring them over to his house. You know, he ain't the greatest person around. He still drinks and smokes or whatever like that. But he still tried to be a cool granddad, you know. And so he checks on the kids. He comes to the baseball games.

And that's what I love. Like, I love that. I'm like, yes, be a granddad. Like, I love it. Because I don't need it anymore. I'm cool with you being who you are. Like, I don't need to talk to you all the time. I don't need to talk to you every day.

I come check on him. My dad cooks really well, so sometimes he'll come cook, you know, at the house, you know, for the kids sometime. Like, so I love where he is now. I don't hold where he was back then because at the end of the day, I'm a grown adult. Like, I don't have time to be worried about, oh, well, my dad hurt me when I was 10 or whatever. Like, I'm grown. I'm 26. I'm making my own decisions now.

So what he did back then, I can't just let it trickle up until where I am now. I make my own decisions now. I can decide whether to feel bad. I can decide to be happy. I can decide to like him or not. And I just decide the latter part because I want to be happy. I don't want to sit around and be upset or just have reasons to be mad. I don't have time for that.

I got things to do. I got kids to raise. I don't have time to be upset about anything. I really don't. Yeah, you're pretty busy. We just took a break in the podcast for a second. You went back on your phone immediately. Yeah, got work to do.

Got work to do. Yep. Got work to do, man. We'll be right back. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Minalick Lamouba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

had both been assassinated. And Black America was out of breaking point. Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's Al-Mermata, Moore House College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King's senior and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. to be in what we really thought was a revolution.

I mean, people would die. In 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to the A-building on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get, your podcast. Segregation and the day, integration at night.

When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules. We didn't worry about what went on outside. It was like stepping on another world. Inside Charlie's place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it. You saw the KKK? Yeah, they were dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here.

Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch, and visit Myrtle Beach, comes Charlie's Place. A story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's Place on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHard Podcast Awards Podcast of the year

by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. You know Roaldahl, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG.

But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either.

Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film.

How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl. on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Do you feel like, I mean, it's an incredible story with your mom, your dad, you, how all you guys approached this, did you feel like there was still some hole in your heart that made you feel for these boys and ultimately

try to do this work for the boys that you have? Yeah, I feel like the boys in the community were missing so much. And what I'm even saying so much, they were missing the small things. and that's just the proper greeting of the day, you know, saying good morning, good afternoon, simple manners, learning how to do the basic things at home, like learning how to turn off the water and the toilet, or learning how to install a toilet, learning how to install a light fixture. I did all that stuff growing up like it was nothing. Like, it's easy, but they don't know that.

I grew up thinking that kids knew how to do this stuff because that's what my stepdad taught me my whole life. We grew all of our own food. Like, when we wanted to eat something after school, we just went outside and picked it and and mom cooked it. Like, we grew our seasonings. we grew everything outside. And so we had all types of fruit trees and everything.

And we weren't in like the best neighborhood. We had maybe like an acre of land, but the whole acre was just full of stuff we were growing. We had dogs. We had chickens. So we'd get eggs from outside. And we ate really healthy. And our little neighborhood was like a community. Like there's a guy down the street who's to sell candy and sell pies.

We call him pie man. He used to grow food down the street. He used to grow collard greens. So we'd go get stuff from him. His lady across the street, she used to sell little icy cups. She'll put Koolading cups, freeze it. and we buy for 50 cent. We had Mr. David down the street.

Mr. David used to build brick mail boxes, and he taught us how to build brick mail boxes. We bricked in our garage. Mr. Silas across the street, he was a truck driver. Deacon Bogan used to cut grass everywhere in the neighborhood. He taught all the boys how to cut grass in the neighborhood. So literally, our whole area was just, it was normal for us. All the kids, we went outside all the time.

We rode bikes. I mean, and this was in the age of, like, starting to get cell phones and stuff like that. But still, like, we were outside. We played with each other. We spent time with each other. other. We fought. You know, we made friends. We got robbed. We did stuff. Like, I mean, that was, yeah, but that was just the neighborhood. Like, that was it. And we had fun. And so we got so many memories now. And, you know, all of us is split up for the most part. But the stuff that, you know,

was put into us, like my step dad would have Bible study with us, you know, during the week. And the kids would come over to the house. My mom would cook for the whole neighborhood. So, I mean, that's what we did. And so I'm thinking everybody grew up like me because that's all I saw. And when I go out and saw that kids can't read and kids don't know how to do things. things. I'm like, okay then. Well, let me, let me start by doing the simple things first because people see the program and they're like, oh, you're teaching them how to work on cars and houses. I'm like, yeah, that's cool. But the more important thing is the routine they come in here and do every day. They come in here and shake hands. They come in here and grid the proper green of the day.

They come in and look you in the eye. They come in, you know, walking a certain way, talking a certain way. Learning etiquette, those simple things are what are the most important and what help build that character. Because I believe if we could create a habit, habits build character and character makes the man. Routines build those habits. And so every day of the program, it's not going to look different. It's actually going to look the same because they need to have that everyday same structure, brushing your teeth, ironing your clothes, making sure you look proper when you come to school, whatever, taking a bath. We even teach kids, you know, proper ways to bathe because all the time they don't know that. How old are these kids? So right now we got kids ages seven through nine.

But before the program. Wait, the school? Yeah, we're at age of seven to nine. We dropped the age groups, mainly because I started seeing that kids were losing themselves in this day a lot sooner than age 11. Kids today, we have seven through nine-year-olds smoking at school, you know, like vaping, et cetera, talking about sex, whatever. There's a lot happening in 2025, you know, and I took the age groups down because of that. But also, I realized these kids actually want to do better. There was a time where I believe that there wasn't a kid that I couldn't help. And I had to mature and understand that there are many kids that I can't help.

There are many kids where life has to punch them in the face, and there's nothing that I could tell them or do with them or fix with them to make them become a better person. And so I felt like, and people who hate what I say it, I feel like I wasted a lot of time, you know, with the X-Ovoys program, trying to make kids who didn't want to be there or who didn't want to learn it, trying to make them do it, versus turning away kids or losing kids because they weren't able to participate that well

or they weren't able to focus because all the kids who didn't want to be there, I was too busy fussing that down, or trying to force them to do it or whatever. So now a kid maybe has two times to tell us he don't want to be in the program. All right, mom, this ain't the program for him, you know, because we got kids who actually want to be here, and this is, we're not going to take instruction away from the kids who truly do want to be here and truly trying to get the learning and trying to get the things that we're teaching.

They're trying to, you know, internalize it. And we got a kid over here who just doesn't want to be here. So now he's just going to be unruly. And I'm not going to continue punishing all the other kids because this child doesn't want to be here. So I had to come to the conclusion, like, yeah, there are some kids I can't help. And I've had many of my older students, you know, who are in college now, who are in the military, et cetera, they come back to say, you know, man, like, I understand all the things you try to teach. And this is years later.

Like, for example, one of my first students from 2021, his name was Davion. And Davion's gone to the military now. He's a combat photographer. He sent me some pictures, like, just a month ago. He sent me some pictures of him. And so I hadn't talked to him in a while. And he sent me some pictures of him. And he's just like, man, I just want to say, I appreciate everything.

you was teaching me back then and whatever, you know, all the stuff that we learned, like you have me at your house, all that stuff. Like, I appreciate all that. Same with one of my other students. He's in the Navy now. He sent me some pictures of him in the Navy. I'm in the middle of us doing our little downtown outdoor run, and he sent me some pictures. I hadn't heard from him in a while.

He's stationed in Japan. He's like, man, I just want to say thank you for being like a father figure to me, like for all those years of me being the ex-boys program, from us having to go to your grandmama's house to us, you know, being here or there, like all that stuff. help me or whatever. And so that's what it's all about, you know, at the end of the day, because the stuff that I want to see happening is not going to happen anytime soon. I'm not looking for any claps or applause or any true progress right now. It's not going to happen. It's not realistic. And I always tell people who always sell this, you know, I'm going to change

the world thing with their programs. That's not how it works. I don't ever sell that. I say, no, I'm working for the city of Albany community and with those 25 kids that I'm working with. I don't sell that. This program's going to change the world. I'm not going to sell that. This program's going to work in your area. I don't know what the kids in your area need. I just know the X-Boice program works for the kids in the city of Albany, Georgia, and that's who we work with. And so we took those age groups down, and we're thriving right now because those kids are like little sponges, and they're truly wanting the teaching. They're wanting to do better. They're wanting to read. They're wanting to learn. And so many

kids are simply just looking for somewhere where it's cool to do the right thing. And that's what we're missing. Everywhere you go, it is shunned upon doing the right thing. You don't get rewarded for doing the right thing. You know who gets rewards? The bad kids get rewards for not doing the wrong thing. They get rewarded at the end of the week. Jimmy gets a lollipop because he acted up all week, but Friday he was good, so Jimmy gets a lollipop. But Adrian over here has been great all week. He's been getting straight A's. He's been doing what he's supposed to do. He's been saying, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am. He's been, and he gets nothing. And so what do you think Adrian is about to start doing to get a lollipop? Well, maybe if I act up, I'll probably get me a lollipop at the end of the

week too. You heard the prodigal son story? Yeah, so I can get my mom to come up to the school if I act crazy. Okay, cool. So now I can spend more time with mommy because she's always at work. So if I act up, I get to see mommy more often. So maybe if I act bad, then I can get more attention. And so that's truly what it is. And so now that's what we've decided to create an ex-voys program. When our kids do good, oh, we handsomely reward them. Because I've explained to adults before. They'll say, well, you're supposed to do the right thing. You're supposed to make a grade. Yeah, well, when you go to work, don't you like to get paid? If you go to work and you do a good job and you don't get no money, then what do you want to do?

Not work anymore. So what should we do for these kids who are doing the right thing? We should pay them in ways that they want to be compensated. So if he's having a good week, we're going to take him to Chuckie Cheese. If he's doing great, we're going to take him to the bowl now. We're going to get him his favorite food because you need to understand that this is how life works. When you do good, good things happen. And so if we do bad, then bad things happen.

But if the only thing you ever seen was bad things happen, and then maybe some good comes out of it in the end or things that you might think are good, or everybody's always picking at you for doing the right thing, you don't have an environment where it's cool to do the right thing, are you ever going to do the right thing? No. And so now you've created a child who doesn't want to do the right thing, and he's got into all the debauchery now. Because how are you going to tell the kid to stop having sex who started now at 13? Good luck. You know, how are you going to tell the kid to stop smoking weed at 14 and 15? Good luck. You know, so, but we haven't created an environment where it was cool not to smoke weed.

not to be having sex. We have an environment now. We've created that, and I think that's very important. I don't you hear of this teacher, Marva Collins. She's my favorite teacher in history in Chicago. And she said, we don't talk to them about sex, drugs, all these things. We give our kids so many things to say yes to. They don't have time to say no to all those things. We just keep them busy, man. We just keep them busy. We keep them busy from sun up to sundown. I didn't even worried about that. Like, by the time they get home, they're sleepy because they leave to go home at about 8 o'clock. And we've already fed them. We exercise. every day. So we ran them back and forth. They've done jumping jacks. They pushups, whatever. When they get home, they are sleepy. And they get home. They are full. Mama don't have to cook. They go home,

go to sleep, try it again the next day. Like, that's how we do it. All right, what's the wait list like for this place? Too long. To the point, I just had to close the wait list because we have so long was it? We have like hundreds of kids from the city of Albany. Yeah, our program is the most popular program in town. And we have many kids. Like, so whenever we, you know, have to drop a kid or wherever like that, pick another one up just like that, no problem. Because we have such a long waitlist. And so many parents, like, even to the point where they've gotten upset with me not being able to take their kids, I'm like, well, listen, this program is free. We don't charge anything. So this food you see us feeding them, the uniform items that we give them, the stuff we send home,

like, you know, tie pods and laundry detergent and dish soap and underwear and socks and all that, that stuff ain't free. That stuff has to be purchased. Our staff members that are here with them full time, they're not free. They have to be paid. These van. that are driving, the insurance on them, the liability insurance for the building, the lights, the mortgage, all that stuff, the groundskeeping, all that, the renovations that you just saw happen in the building to make sure the kids have somewhere nice to be, the, the touchscreen boards they have, and the laptops and the pencils and the pens and everything in there, the tables, it all has to be paid for. And so, no, we can't take 100 kids, because if we do, we have to charge.

And then at that point, the kids who will be coming, won't be the kids that need it. We need the kids there that truly need it. And those are the ones who can't have forward it. And that concludes part one of Alex's conversation with King Randall. And you don't want to miss part two. It's now available to listen to. And since I didn't do the interview, I'll be listening with you. Together, guys, we can change this country. But it starts with you. I'll see in part two. 1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young son.

Samuel L. Jackson locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King's senior. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Manilic Lamouba. Listen to the A building on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When segregation was a law, one mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules. segregation and the day integration at night. It was like stepping on another world.

Was he a businessman? A criminal. A hero. Charlie was an example, a power. They had to crush you. Charlie's Place from Atlas Obscura and visit Myrtle Beach. Listen to Charlie's Place on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, Roald Doll.

He thought of Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Rolled Doll, I'll tell you that story, and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true.

I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to The Secret World of Roll Doll on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volkswagen Beetle started out as Hitler's dream card. It wound up as a beloved hippie icon and the best thing. selling car of all time. How did that happen? I'm Jacob Goldstein. And I'm Robert Smith. On business history, we tell the surprising stories behind the inventions and entrepreneurs that shaped our economy. And the story of The Beetle is truly surprising. It has so much in it. He says,

you should be able to mount machine guns on it. Sure. Not for the family vacation, but you know, for other things. You never know. Other plans. Listen to business history on America's number one podcast network, IHeart. Follow business history and start listening on the free IHeart radio app. today. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.