When the Mic Turns Around
What happens when interviewer becomes interviewee?
In this special role-reversal episode of The Main Thing, longtime friend Chip VanAlsburg steps in as host to turn the microphone on Skip Lineberg. Together, they explore the origin story behind the podcast, the deeper spiritual motivation driving it, and what it really takes to distill knowledge into wisdom that helps people get better at life.
Pulling Back the Curtain on The Main Thing
From childhood conversations with elders to the “Holy Spirit moment” that birthed the show. And from the unseen, labor-intensive work behind each 25-minute episode… Skip pulls back the curtain, as Chip presents his own brand of insightful, soul-piercing questions.
On Light, Leadership, and the Long Game
They also dive into:
- Why growth isn’t for everyone (and why that’s okay)
- What it means to live effulgently—radiating light and love
- Reframing “empty nest” into “spacious nest”
- The butterfly effect of sharing wisdom
- And how knowledge becomes wisdom only when it’s lived and shared
Last but not least, Chip shares his own emerging vision—an honest, heartfelt look at trauma, healing, storytelling, and what he calls “big medicine.”
If you’ve ever wondered why this podcast exists—or what wisdom is really for—this conversation will meet you right where you are.
Press play. Reflect deeply. Share generously.
A Bit More About Our Wise Guest-Host – Chip VanAlsburg
Chip VanAlsburg is a big thinker with a restless mind and a wide-open heart. He challenges assumptions, pushes boundaries, and rarely accepts “no” as the final answer—especially when curiosity or conviction is involved. Bold and unafraid, Chip has spent more than two decades leading in the media, technology, and telecommunications worlds, holding roles such as General Manager, Vice President, and most recently Director at Lumen Technologies in Pittsburgh.
But titles only tell part of the story. Chip is a glutton for experiences, with a voracious appetite for life and learning. He’s an avid user of emojis, deeply fond of laughter, and unashamed of tears when the moment calls for them. His ego is squarely in check, even as his irises stay cranked wide open in a lifelong quest for peace, perspective, and enlightenment.
What makes Chip compelling isn’t just what he’s accomplished—it’s how he shows up: courageous, curious, emotionally honest, and fully engaged with the world around him. He brings that same energy and depth to conversation, making him the kind of guest who doesn’t just share insights—he invites reflection.
Buckle up and get ready to join the duo in exploring the concept of living a good life by pursuing purpose with humility, resilience and faith. This episode was recorded in-person, face-to-face inside Parkwood Studios in Almost Heaven, West Virginia.
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Episode Chapters
[0:00:00] — Intro
[0:01:01] — Chip Takes the Mic
[0:02:39] — Skip’s Wisdom Origin Story
[0:06:25] — Faith & Ministry Behind the Podcast
[0:08:54] — Product Extensions – Newsletter & Wisdom Cards
[0:11:03] — Effulgent: Light & Love
[0:14:58] — Spacious Nesters Reframed
[0:16:11] — Behind the Scenes of Podcasting
[0:17:40] — Chip Shares His Vision and Big News
Episode Keywords
Wisdom, Growth, Faith, Inspiration, Mindset, Healing, Resilience, Perspective, Effulgent, Light, Love, Spaciousness, Leadership, Knowledge, Intentionality, Storytelling, Transformation, Impact, Family, Parenting
Full Transcript of This Episode
Episode 141 — Formatted Transcript
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:00:00]
Wisdom.
It’s an incredibly valuable asset. Some would say more precious than gold. It’s attractive, appealing, admirable. Conversely, a lack of wisdom is the basis of immaturity, blind spots, and bad decisions.
Wisdom.
It can be gained over time, but it can’t be rushed. But wisdom can be shared. That’s precisely what we are here to do right now today. We are here to hack wisdom—to distill it, to understand it, and to process it.
Why?
To get better at life.
Welcome to The Main Thing. This is your new wisdom podcast. I’m your host, Skip Lineberg, and I’ve set out to interview the wisest people I know.
We’ll see what we can learn from each one when they’re faced with an incredibly difficult, soul-piercing question.
Good morning, and welcome to—
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:01:01]
—The Main Thing.
My name is Chip Van Alsberg, and actually, I’m filling in today for Skip Lineberg. Today’s guest is Skip Lineberg. He’s the CEO, Chief Creative Officer, producer, editor, director, copywriter, and chief bottle washer of the acclaimed podcast, The Main Thing. Great to be here with you today, Skip.
We met about, what—twenty-five years ago?
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:01:23]
Yeah.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:01:23]
When I was with West Virginia Radio Corporation, and you were in the early years of the award-winning agency, Maple Creative.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:01:29]
The Maple days.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:01:30]
Yeah—the Maple days. Yeah. It was—
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:01:32]
Circa 2000. Right. Ninety-nine, two thousand, two thousand one. Yeah. Yeah.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:01:38]
When I reflect on the many personal and professional accomplishments in your life, I really land on one word: care.
Skip, you have consistently shown how much you care about people—their well-being—and helping them optimize their greatest potential. And I assure you, this is not a paid endorsement.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:01:56]
It can be verified by many people in our community.
Well, Chip, I humbly accept your kind words. Thank you.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:02:04]
We’ve been close friends for a long time, and we’ve seen each other go through the evolution of our careers and our pursuit of knowledge. And transmuting that into wisdom is going to benefit other people. It’s just—it’s a gift. Right? It’s a gift to be shared with other people.
Absolutely.
Over six years, you’ve interviewed 140 people to learn from the wisdom they’ve gained and how it changed their lives. So I’m curious—why? Why did you start your podcast, and what inspired you to start it?
And—
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:02:39]
—the follow-up: have your motivations driving it changed over time?
Why I started this podcast—if I take it back to who I am and my origin story, my lived experience—when I was a young boy growing up, under the age of seven, I was around a lot of elders: grandparents, my sitter—what we’d call a babysitter—was a lady in her seventies.
As I got a little bit older, teachers—and I really gravitated to the older teachers. I have always loved engaging in deep conversation with people who are older and wiser than me.
And, you know, we could ask why. Why would you be drawn to that? I’m not sure I fully understand that yet. It’s something I’m holding as a question. But I think part of it was: if I can learn something from them that might give me an advantage, it could help me in life.
It could help me avoid the kinds of things we talk about in the intro—mistakes, blind spots, bad decisions. But also just the relationship aspect of hanging out with older, wiser people—I’ve always enjoyed that, and I still do to this day.
In June of 2019, I sat down at the desk right behind you, Chip, and wrote—really channeled—the intro that you heard moments ago. Every word of that came through in one delivery. I feel like I didn’t backspace once. It just poured through me. Didn’t edit it.
Recorded it. Sent it to Bob Hotchkiss. And Bob was like, “We’ve really got something here, buddy.”
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:04:15]
Yeah. That sounds like the Holy Spirit just coming through you.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:04:18]
Oh yeah. No doubt about it. No doubt about it. That’s how I started doing this, and that’s how we got to the point where we are today.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:04:28]
One of the things I love in hearing people’s stories is how they’re able to so beautifully articulate them. It’s clean, short, easy to digest, and easy to understand.
And one of the things I hear you saying is that you’ve had this constant, insatiable appetite—a thirst for knowledge—for a long time, right? Since you were a little kid. Everything continues to evolve and change. And that’s an amazing experience—to be able to interview and hone your craft in such a way that you’re able to take those nuggets of wisdom and deliver them to your listeners, so they can apply them to their own lives—for growth, for realization, for improvement.
Not from the place of “I’m not good enough,” but from the place of “I can do this, and I have this.”
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:05:15]
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
And it’s not for everybody. My podcast is repetitious—we ask the same question to every guest, every single episode. That’s the Main Thing question. And it’s for people who are growth-oriented.
Not everyone is growth-oriented. Not everyone wants to confront their weaknesses, their shortcomings, or their blind spots.
And what I find with my audience is that people move in and out. At some point, you’re like, “Alright—I’m ready to dig into this. I want to get better. I want to grow.” And then maybe you’ve had enough of that, and you need to drift out of that space for a while. And then they come back in.
Getting better at life—digging into things like healing, faith, resilience, love, and relationships—it can be hard stuff. And John and Jane Doe aren’t ready to confront that every week.
So it’s out there for those who are ready, who are hungry—questing for wisdom—to help them in one of the areas we’ve touched on.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:06:25]
And I’ve heard you describe your podcast project as a ministry of sorts. Tell us more about that, Skip—pull back the curtain.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:06:35]
I mean, it’s no secret that I’m a man of faith. I’m a Christian. And I don’t try to force Christianity. I don’t try to force God or Jesus onto anyone.
I respect others. I’ve had guests who are Buddhists, who are Hindu—and I love them. We have way more in common than we have different.
As far as ministry goes—we touched on it already—with the delivery of this idea and the opening intro that you hear every episode. As you mentioned earlier, it was given to me—channeled through me—by the Holy Spirit. I didn’t change a word.
Secondly, I believe God gave me this idea, so I let Him lead. And what does that mean? It means I pray for guidance on this podcast.
Should I keep going?
What should we do differently?
Is this guest a fit?
Where should we invest more time, energy, and resources?
Where should we pull back?
God, what glorifies You in this activity?
What insights do You want me to amplify?
The wisdom my guests share—secular and spiritual, practical wisdom—it isn’t holy scripture, but it is helpful. And it can bless a listener with elevated thinking, a new idea, motivation, or inspiration they might need to face a challenge.
Sometimes a guest is able to say something from a deep place in their soul—something they’ve never spoken publicly about before. And that’s healing. Helping people heal—that is ministry.
Guest Host: Chip Van Alsberg
[00:08:46]
So you also produce a newsletter, and you’ve recently launched a new product—the Wisdom Cards. How do these parts fit together?
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[00:08:54]
The newsletter is a creative outlet for me. It allows me to take ideas and wisdom I’ve acquired and apply them in the form of a written lesson. It helps me process, integrate, and bundle what I’m learning.
The other thing is—not everyone processes information the same way. Not everyone absorbs wisdom the same way.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[09:23]
Right.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[09:24]
Some through the ears, some through the eyes, some through the feet, some through the heart. So this podcast, whether it’s in audio or video or both, is not going to be the right channel for everyone. And some people want to read a newsletter with an 800- or 1,000-word essay in it because they’re readers. So that’s the newsletter.
The wisdom cards are a product that folks can use to take—well, there’s 52 of the 140 Main Thing wisdom nuggets that my guests have shared. Fifty-two, one card per week.
And it’s just a tangible, visible reminder of those wisdom truths that guests have shared over the years.
So why fifty-two cards? Well, I wanted there to be one per week, and I wanted to have a manageable number. Fifty-two cards, front and back, is twenty-six cards. But how we got to fifty-two was we sorted the podcast based on their popularity— which ones were the most listened to. So which Main Thing wisdom nuggets were the most highly demanded or the most well-received, however you want to label it. Then we came up with ten categories, and each of those has approximately five or six Main Thing wisdom nuggets in there. It seems like whatever someone is feeling, they can be led to it in those fifty-two cards.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[10:52]
One of my observations was you were using a word of the week, and I think it was—maybe it was Episode 71. Your word of the week was effulgent.
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[11:03]
Yes. Which—the meaning—you know it offhand when you read it. Go for it.
Okay, let’s get it exactly right.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[11:09]
Reading from your newsletter, of course: “Shining brightly, radiant with light or brilliance.” How does that speak to you?
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[11:19]
Like a disco ball. And the disco ball, of course, was the metaphor for the wisdom essay in that episode.
But if we think more broadly about it, something that radiates light and is bright is something that might be radiating kindness—someone who might be bringing light and energy into our world.
We all meet those people. Some of us aspire to be those people.
I find it energizing. I find it exciting, pleasant, to be around people that are effulgent.
And we talked earlier off-mic about light, and love, and how they’re intertwined. And so if someone is effulgent and they’re emanating light and energy—and maybe even emanating love—that’s a good vibration. That’s a good vibration that I want to be around.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[12:22]
I don’t think it’s “perhaps.” I think it is. It is what it is, because light is love.
So I’m going to tell a quick story.
Whenever I hear “disco ball,” I always think about going to see Pink Floyd at Three Rivers Stadium in 1992—Division Bell. In the middle of the field, this big ball opened up like a lotus flower, and this disco ball must have been thirty feet tall. They hit it with spotlights from all around the stadium, so the entire interior of Three Rivers Stadium became the disco ball—the light emanating, being effulgent. And I’ll never forget that.
So tell me—how do you hope your podcast impacts listeners both in the moment and over the long term in their lives?
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[13:17]
When people are ready for growth—when people are ready for a new perspective, inspiration, elevated thinking, reframing, a different way to look at or think about something—hearing essential truth—when they’re ready for that, that’s what we give them in a twenty-five-minute package twice a month.
And in that moment, the synchronicity might be that what they hear when they press play is exactly what they needed in that hour, that day, that week, that season.
Or it might not be for them—but they say, “That’s a powerful idea that Skip’s guest brought today.”
And I’m going to share that with my brother-in-law Bill because I know he’s wrestling with this right now. I’m going to share this with my nephew Brody because I know what he’s been through. And maybe it’ll help him. Maybe it’ll bless him.
So those are the ways that I think our podcast delivers value and helps people.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[14:24]
I love what you said about, “I’m going to share this with so-and-so because this is something they need.” It’s not a coincidence. It’s really a synchronous moment where you’re prompted to do something to help somebody else. Often referred to as the butterfly effect.
So listeners—if you don’t know what the butterfly effect is, I highly encourage you to look it up, because when you give that gift to somebody else, it can impact their life and ripple outward to others.
Guest Host: Chip VanAlsburg
[14:54]
So what’s going on with you personally? What’s going on in your life?
Guest: Skip Lineberg
[14:58]
Lisa—my wife—and I are learning how to be a couple together in this house without kids here, because we’ve raised two great kids. Sherman and Chloe are grown and independent for the most part. They’ll float back in for a summer or a Christmas break, but aside from that, we’re learning how to be—well, I’m self-editing here—I’m trying to rid my vocabulary of the phrase empty nest.
I’m reframing it: We’re not empty nesters—we’re spacious nesters.
We’re not empty. We have more space. We have a more spacious nest. So we’re learning how to be spacious nesters.
I like that.
It’s different.
It’s reframing—because empty implies loss.
It was full, now it’s empty.
Empty implies the opposite of effulgent.
If something’s empty, it’s probably not filled with emanated light.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:16:01]
That’s a pretty profound insight. I think we should solicit the internet to change that from empty nesters to spacious nesters.
Skip Lineberg
[00:16:06]
The spacious nesters. Yeah.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:16:11]
Last question. What’s something about behind the scenes of your show that most listeners would be surprised to learn?
Skip Lineberg
[00:16:18]
A fifteen- to twenty-five-minute episode involves fifteen hours of work.
Really? Yeah. From inviting a guest or responding to a guest’s request to come on the show, researching, inviting twenty-five emails back and forth, a couple introductory conversations before we record. Calendaring all that stuff, setting up to record, and then editing, working with my producer, Bob, back and forth. Getting the audio perfected. And so that requires time and effort.
That’s a pretty new thing. I guess the biggest thing that I would show you if I pull back the curtain, you’d be like, I don’t want to do that, because that looks hard and boring and laborious.
It’s taking this audio and converting it to a transcript, editing that, redlining stuff that we want to cut, sending that to Bob, getting a new audio file back, generating another transcript. I spend a lot of my life generating transcripts of an audio file that I upload into a software platform to generate a transcript that comes out as a text file, goes into the Mac, becomes a Pages file, has to be saved and exported as a Word document, attached to an email to Bob.
I would hope that I’m talking you right out of wanting to do a podcast.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:17:40]
Well, it speaks to me personally because I’m getting ready to start my own, and it’s still taking shape.
Skip Lineberg
[00:17:44]
I did not know this. News flash. What? Tell us more about that. You just said, I’m getting ready to start my own.
So you’re ignoring my advice. My dissuading story did not have its effect. So tell us about what you’re about to launch. Give me the Post-it-note summary.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:18:08]
It’s a story. The amazing story of life through my eyes and what I’ve experienced.
And I’ve experienced a lot of joy and pain and suffering. I’ve experienced a lot of trauma. I’ve been brought to my knees countless times throughout my life—emotionally, physically, mentally.
To combine that into a story that does something hopefully along the lines of what you do is to take that and put it into a context where people say, I can use that in my life. I can use that to grow in a certain way. I can use that as a lesson from someone else that they’ve learned, and understand how to embody joy at this moment—where to insert wisdom, not just for my sake, but for the sake of others.
So collectively, as we pour into our cup and our cup overflows with these blessings into the saucer under the coffee cup—from that saucer, our hands are cupped together. From that saucer, prepare to receive. From that saucer, you give that love, you give that energy, you give that lesson. You take these things and you put them out there for other people to help them in their growth, to help them in their healing, to help them improve the quality of their lives.
I’ve got a friend in New Mexico. I’m going to stay on his ranch for a while. Big medicine out there. You’ve got Indian cultures that were running around out there ten thousand years ago.
Skip Lineberg
[00:19:31]
Not big pharma?
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:19:32]
Not big pharma. No, sir. Big medicine. Big earth medicine.
Skip Lineberg
[00:19:36]
Right. Small pharma. Big medicine.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:19:39]
When you think about going to a place of visit where they’ve recently found footprints in the White Sands area of New Mexico that date back ten thousand years—New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado—there’s just a lot of amazing things to be seen and done out there.
To get into that big country and have that auspicious moment at four o’clock in the morning—walking outside, seeing the Milky Way as clearly as you can with twenty-twenty vision—getting grounded with the earth and with what it means to be alive in this presence.
Skip Lineberg
[00:20:15]
I look forward to it. You’re a gifted storyteller.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:20:18]
And that’s where I’m being led. It’s been coming together for a lifetime. This has been God’s plan for me. I knew from a very early age I was destined for great things. I used to think that was success in business—I thought that was egoic.
But the great destiny is really to understand I’m a child of God. That I’m a product of creation. And my intent and purpose is to help other people see that, find peace in that, find healing from trauma—to have that auspicious moment where you feel God’s presence, hear God speaking to you, see God speaking to you through another person—through them being a fulcrum.
Skip Lineberg
[00:21:00]
Yeah. You being a fulcrum. There we go.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:21:06]
Skip, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to drive three and a half hours to come visit with you. I’m very grateful.
My biggest takeaway is that taking knowledge and transmuting it into wisdom to benefit other people—sharing what was learned today, having an impact on other people’s lives, being effulgent, being the light in other people’s lives—speaks to your mission. It was an honor to be here with you today. Thank you for letting me be your host.
Skip Lineberg
[00:21:42]
I’ve enjoyed it tremendously.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:21:45]
It’s been a blessing.
Skip Lineberg
[00:21:45]
It’s touched my soul. Amen. It’s filled my heart with love and energy.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:21:56]
I look forward to doing a follow-up.
Skip Lineberg
[00:22:00]
Will do it. And I look forward to hearing your podcast.
Guest Host – Chip VanAlsburg
[00:22:03]
Thanks, Skip.
Announcer
[00:22:03]
So long for now. Listeners, thank you. Have a blessed day. That goes by incredibly fast, doesn’t it?
Time flies when you’re hacking wisdom. Thank you for listening to this wisdom conversation. Let’s give a big hearty thank you to the crew of The Main Thing Podcast—the folks who truly keep the wisdom pipeline flowing: audio engineer Bob Hotchkiss, strategy adviser Andy Malinowski, public relations and partnerships guru Rachel Bell, social media and digital marketing expert Chloe Lineberg, graphic designer Emma Malinowski, and of course our patrons—the generous folks who provide monthly funding support to help underwrite our cost of production.
I couldn’t do it without you, nor would I want to. Your feedback matters a lot. If you have a question, a suggestion, maybe an idea, or even a nomination of a future show guest, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at info@themainthingpodcast.com.
Well, that’s a wrap for this show. I’m your host, Skip Lineberg, signing off for now and inviting you to join us again next time for another special delivery of wisdom.
