In this first 2025 episode of the Teaching Journeys Podcast, hosted by Dave Roberts, the spotlight is on Rob Schwartz, a veteran in the Entertainment industry and son of the renowned Morrie Schwartz. The conversation delves into Rob’s extensive career, including his role as founder of Dynastic Records and his accomplishments in filmmaking and journalism. A significant portion of the episode revisits the life and teachings of his father Morrie Schwartz, famously known from the book Tuesdays with Morrie.’ Rob discusses how he edited and published his father’s manuscript in 2023, The Wisdom of Morrie: Aging Joyfully and Creatively. Morrie Schwartz wrote the manuscript between 1989 and 1992. Themes from the book such as community, spirituality, laughter, Meditation and aging productively are explored, along with Morrie Schwartz’s profound impact as a teacher and human being. The episode encapsulates Morrie’s enduring wisdom and emphasizes the importance of love, compassion, and active engagement in life.

Rob’s Bio and Contact Information

Rob Schwartz is an executive, active for more than 25 years in producing, writing, and Investing in entertainment and writing projects. He has founded companies, been appointed at executive levels in others, and invested in successful startups.

As a journalist, his work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, Variety, and many others. From 2008 he was Asia Correspondent/Bureau Chief for Billboard magazine.

Recently Rob edited, wrote essays for, and published The Wisdom of Morrie : Aging Joyfully and Creatively(2023), a book authored by his father Morrie Schwartz (of Tuesdays with Morrie).

From 2007 to 2021 Rob was a scriptwriter and presenter for the Japanese national broadcaster NHK World. He worked on news and feature story scripts and was a guest on entertainment related programs.

In 2005 he founded Dynastic Records. The label’s focus was to merge dance and rock genres with an eye towards funky and gripping beats. As a socially conscious outfit, Dynastic produced the first anti-war charity CD of popular Japanese music ever. Peace Not War Japan was released in 2006. The CD had a section on underground hip hop in Japan, focusing on oppressed groups. Rob oversees the creation, and promotion of all releases on the label.

He has executive produced 3 feature films: Bernard and Huey (USA, 2017), Putty Hill (USA, 2010) and Stay (Japan, 2018), and one documentary Touched by Water (Canada, 2006) as well as smaller projects.

Bernard and Huey was directed by indie legend Dan Mirvish (co-founder of the Slamdance film festival) with a screenplay by Pulitzer prize/Oscar winner Jules Feiffer. It stars Oscar winner Jim Rash and well-known actor David Koechner. The work has won awards in numerous festivals, including the Grand Prize at the Guam International Film Festival.

Putty Hill won a host of awards and the New Yorker magazine chose as one of its Top Ten Films for 2011.

Rob has been a regular guest on BBC World, NHK World, CNN and MNET TV to discuss music, film and the entertainment business.

Website

http://wisdomofmorrie.com/

Other Mentions

http://heatherpillar.com/

Author of Memento Morrie: Images of Love and Loss (July , 2024)

The Teaching Journeys Podcast is on your favorite podcast platforms.

To find out more about Dave , go to davidrobertsmsw.com and his author page psychologyprofessorandminister.com

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Dave Roberts LMSW, Author, Podcaster

David J. Roberts, LMSW, became a parent who experienced the death of a child, when his daughter Jeannine died of cancer on 3/1/03 at the age of 18. He is a retired addiction professional and an adjunct professor in the psychology child life department at Utica University in Utica, New York. Dave also teaches psychology classes at Pratt MWP School of Art and Design. He is the host of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, which can be found on Apple, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

Dave has presented workshops at national conferences of The Compassionate Friends as well as for the Bereaved Parents of the USA. He was also a keynote speaker at the 2011 and 2015 national gatherings of the Bereaved Parents of the USA. Dave also co-presented a workshop titled “Helping Faculty After Traumatic Loss” for the Parkland, Florida community in May of 2018, in the aftermath of the mass shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School.

Roberts has been a past HuffPost contributor and has contributed articles to Medium, Open to Hope Foundation, Mindfulness and Grief, Thrive Global, and the Recovering the Self Journal. He has also appeared on numerous podcasts, as well as Open to Hope Television. In 2021,he co-authored and published a book with Reverend Patty Furino titled, When The Psychology Professor Met The Minister.