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Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re...
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Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re navigating bureaucracy, seeking inspiration, or craving honest reflections from someone who’s lived it, ‘In The Know with Tony Reeves’ offers the wisdom and wit to keep you informed—and empower
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7 OCT 2026 · Moving to Tallahassee for my first professional job meant leaving behind a world where people knew me. Suddenly, I was in a new city with no established circle—and little understanding of how to build one.
In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on why that first year produced no lasting friendships, the invitations I struggled to connect with, and the weekends I spent returning to familiar places. That experience shaped how I approached every move afterward. It taught me to think about the relationships, community, and sense of belonging I needed to build a life alongside my career.
Continue the reflection:
Starting over can leave you somewhere between the life you knew and the one you’re still learning to imagine. If that sounds familiar, I invite you to read my short memoir, Fresh Start: Sometimes You Don’t Know You’ve Started Over Until You’re Already There.
👉 https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/fresh-start-sometimes-you-dont-know-youve-started-over-until-youre-already-there Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
5 OCT 2026 · I had a college degree, my first professional job, and an apartment in Tallahassee. What I didn’t have was a bed—or the understanding that asking for help was still an option.
In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I revisit the days of televisions on the floor, bare rooms, and the belief that being a grown-up meant figuring everything out myself. Looking back, I recognize how much that belief affected my quality of life. It’s a personal reflection on independence, accepting support, and helping the next generation build a foundation that includes more than a job and a place to live.
Continue the reflection:
Have you ever been so focused on handling a new chapter that you barely noticed how much your life had changed? Explore my short memoir, Fresh Start: Sometimes You Don’t Know You’ve Started Over Until You’re Already There.
👉 https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/fresh-start-sometimes-you-dont-know-youve-started-over-until-youre-already-there Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
30 SEP 2026 · In 1999, I walked into a karate school in Tallahassee looking for a place to train. What made me stay was the person teaching there.
In this episode, I share why I chose Master Anne, how she challenged me as a martial artist and a leader, and what it meant to have someone see qualities in me that I had not yet recognized in myself. More than 26 years later, her guidance is still part of my journey.
Has a teacher or mentor ever seen something in you before you could see it yourself? Tell me about them.Master Anne’s guidance also played a part in my return to competition later in life. I share more of that journey in Back on the Mat at 56: Rediscovering Strength, Purpose, and the Fight Within: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/back-on-the-mat-at-56-rediscovering-strength-purpose-and-the-fight-within Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
28 SEP 2026 · After more than 20 years away from competition, why did I step back onto the karate mat?
In this episode, I talk about how work and life gradually pulled me away from martial arts, what changed as I got older, and why simply going to the gym no longer felt like enough. I also share how my teacher’s trust helped me return to competition—and how that decision gave my workouts a purpose again.
This is a story about making room for something you love while you still can. What passion have you been thinking about returning to? I’d love to hear from you.If you’d like to go deeper into my return to karate, read Back on the Mat at 56: Rediscovering Strength, Purpose, and the Fight Within: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/back-on-the-mat-at-56-rediscovering-strength-purpose-and-the-fight-within Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
23 SEP 2026 · In the summer of 1994, I met a Navy recruiter who was searching for people with training in public health and industrial hygiene. I was interested, but I was only halfway through my graduate program. The Navy needed someone immediately, so I assumed the opportunity had passed.
One year later, I had completed my Master of Public Health—but professionally, nothing seemed to be changing. I had not received a promotion or meaningful raise, and I was uncertain about my next move. Then the recruiter called.She had contacted the University of South Florida to find me because she remembered our earlier conversation and wanted to know whether I had completed my degree.
Within a few months, I was commissioned as a United States Navy officer.This episode is about preparation, professional relationships, and what happens when the work you have been doing finally intersects with the right opportunity.
What appears to be an overnight success is often the result of work completed long before anyone notices.You cannot control when an opportunity will appear, but you can influence whether you are prepared to receive it.
Explore the Career Crossroads Collection from The Anthony Reeves Experience:https://linktr.ee/mynameisreeves
If you are trying to determine what your education, experience, and professional relationships may be preparing you to do next, explore my Career Crossroads Collection. It was created to help you recognize the value you have already built and approach your next professional move with greater clarity. You can find it through the link in the episode description. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
21 SEP 2026 · Submitting my application was not the final step in getting my first professional job.
I followed up after mailing it, and that call helped me secure an interview. After the interview, I called again to thank the employer and answer any additional questions.Those two calls mattered even more because I did not have a telephone where I was staying.
If I had submitted the application and simply waited, the opportunity might have passed me by.In this companion episode, I discuss what that experience taught me about taking initiative, remaining reachable, and using the resources available to you. The technology surrounding job searches has changed dramatically, but the importance of thoughtful follow-up has not disappeared.
If you are trying to move beyond career roulette and make a more intentional professional decision, explore the Career Crossroads Collection:https://linktr.ee/mynameisreeves
CALL TO ACTION
A career opportunity should not depend entirely on luck. If you are trying to connect your experience, education, and skills to a clearer next step, visit my Career Crossroads Collection through the link in the episode description. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
16 SEP 2026 · Getting my first professional job solved one problem: I finally knew what I was going to do next.
What it did not solve was how I would adjust to an unfamiliar career, a new city, and a life without the community I had previously taken for granted.
In this follow-up to my story about choosing my next opportunity, I revisit the early days of working as a safety and health specialist in Tallahassee, Florida.
Professionally, everything was new. I had my own office, telephone extension, and computer—but I spent much of those first few months reading federal safety regulations and trying to understand an industry I had never experienced.
Personally, the transition was even harder. This was 1992, before social media, FaceTime, text-message groups, and affordable long-distance communication. I would leave an office filled with people and return to an apartment with no furniture, very little food, and an answering machine that rarely contained a message.
Starting my career was exciting, curious, boring, and deeply lonely—all at the same time. That experience taught me that obtaining an opportunity and becoming comfortable inside it are two very different stages of growth.
A new opportunity will not always feel comfortable immediately—and discomfort does not necessarily mean you made the wrong decision.
If you are trying to understand where you are professionally, whether it is time to move forward, or what your next chapter might look like, explore the Career Crossroads Collection — Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place:
https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
14 SEP 2026 · In 1992, I completed my military training with a biology degree, a car payment, and no clear idea of what I wanted to do next. Instead of returning home to Arkansas, I went back to Florida and slept on a friend’s couch while searching for work.
The state job I eventually accepted was not something I had dreamed about doing. It was an opportunity that provided income, allowed me to remain in Florida, and gave me the time and experience I needed to determine my next move.
In this companion episode, I reflect on the uncertainty surrounding that first professional transition, why every job does not have to be a final destination, and how an unexpected opportunity can become the bridge to a future you cannot yet see.
Are you standing at your own career crossroads?
The Career Crossroads Collection explores the decisions, doubts, and difficult questions that arise when you know you want something different but have not completely figured out what comes next.
Explore Career Crossroads — Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place:
https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
9 SEP 2026 · Sometimes the people around us recognize our growth before we do.
During my senior year of college, I began showing up differently. I was more expressive, more confident, and increasingly willing to offer perspectives I had previously kept to myself. To me, I was simply becoming more comfortable in my own skin. To other people, however, something significant was changing.
A hall director challenged me to speak up after realizing that the quiet recommendations I whispered to her were often the ideas she ultimately followed.
An ROTC colonel questioned why someone with my leadership abilities continued operating in the background.
They were not giving me abilities I didn’t possess. They were helping me recognize what was already there.
In this companion episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on quiet competence, professional visibility, receiving positive feedback, and learning to own the version of yourself that other people may already see. Because sometimes growth isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about becoming comfortable enough to stop hiding who you have already become.
Has anyone ever recognized a strength or possibility in you that you struggled to see for yourself?
Watch the original video and join the conversation: ▶️ https://youtu.be/cTWCyHexi6A
If you are navigating a career decision, confronting doubt, or learning to own your professional value, explore the Career Crossroads Collection: Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place. It brings together four personal reflections about leaving comfort, taking meaningful risks, confronting imposter feelings, and trusting what you bring into the room.
📘 Purchase the collection here:
https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place
For more stories, deeper reflections, and behind-the-scenes context, join my Patreon community—including the free membership option. Start at AnthonyReeves.com and choose the gateway that works best for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Transcribed
7 SEP 2026 · At 23 years old, I transferred my job from Tallahassee to Tampa because I intended to attend graduate school at the University of South Florida. There was just one important detail: I hadn’t applied yet.
I paid for the move myself, rented a truck and car dolly, found an apartment, coordinated the end of one lease with the beginning of another, and drove around Tampa with my checkbook getting the utilities connected—all before knowing whether the graduate program would accept me.
From the outside, it probably looked as though I had uprooted my life without a plan. But in my mind, I had created something different: a no-lose situation. I still had a job. I already had an undergraduate degree. I was returning to a city I knew. The state would pay for graduate courses related to my work. And while my application was being considered, I could begin proving myself as a non-degree-seeking student.
In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I revisit one of the boldest decisions of my early professional life and examine the difference between recklessness and taking a calculated chance on yourself.
Sometimes you don’t receive confirmation before making the move. Sometimes the move is how you position yourself for the opportunity.
At 23 years old, I transferred my job from Tallahassee to Tampa because I intended to attend graduate school at the University of South Florida. There was just one important detail: I hadn’t applied yet. I paid for the move myself, rented a truck and car dolly, found an apartment, coordinated the end of one lease with the beginning of another, and drove around Tampa with my checkbook getting the utilities connected—all before knowing whether the graduate program would accept me.
From the outside, it probably looked as though I had uprooted my life without a plan. But in my mind, I had created something different: a no-lose situation. I still had a job. I already had an undergraduate degree. I was returning to a city I knew. The state would pay for graduate courses related to my work. And while my application was being considered, I could begin proving myself as a non-degree-seeking student.
In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I revisit one of the boldest decisions of my early professional life and examine the difference between recklessness and taking a calculated chance on yourself. Sometimes you don’t receive confirmation before making the move. Sometimes the move is how you position yourself for the opportunity.
Have you ever made a decision that looked risky to everyone else but made perfect sense once you understood what you still had working in your favor?
If you’re confronting a career decision, weighing security against purpose, or learning to trust yourself without having every guarantee, explore the Career Crossroads Collection: Decisions, Doubt, and Owning Your Place.
The collection brings together four personal reflections about leaving comfort, making consequential decisions, confronting imposter feelings, and learning to own your professional value.
📘 Purchase the Career Crossroads Collection: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/career-crossroads-collection-decisions-doubt-and-owning-your-place
For additional stories, deeper reflections, and behind-the-scenes context, join my Patreon community—including the free membership option.
Start at https://anthonyreeves.com and choose the gateway that works best for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Supporters Club
8 MAR 2026 · In this reflection, I share a realization that came from a conversation with a few friends from Generation X.
Many of us—especially Black Generation X professionals—have spent much of our lives moving through spaces that our parents never had the opportunity to experience. That difference isn’t about ability or ambition. It’s about the historical moment our generation stepped into.
For many families, Generation X became a kind of line of demarcation. The generations before us often faced structural limitations that shaped where they could live, work, travel, and build professional relationships. By the time our generation came of age, many of those barriers had begun to shift, allowing us to move through worlds that were simply not accessible before.
In this episode, I reflect on:
- Why our experiences sometimes feel unfamiliar to our parents
- Why Generation X occupies a unique position in history
- How our generation became a bridge between two very different worlds
- Why younger generations are now watching Gen X to see what the next stage of life looks like
As Generation X moves closer to retirement and the next chapter of life, we are doing something many of us didn’t fully realize—we are helping to write the blueprint for the generations behind us.
This episode is part of the Black Gen X Reflections series, where I explore the lived experiences, transitions, and perspectives of a generation that grew up after the Civil Rights movement but before the digital age reshaped everything. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Supporters Club
7 OCT 2025 · Thank you for being a supporter and part of this exclusive community.
In this extended episode, I go beyond the original story of “Be Careful of the Klan County” to share the personal reflection behind it — why I made this video, why this moment stayed with me, and how it continues to shape how I move through the world.
When I first arrived in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1995, I never imagined that within my first month, someone would pull me aside and warn me about a place I shouldn’t drive too fast through — a county that, less than ten years earlier, had proudly displayed a billboard reading “Home of the Ku Klux Klan.”
That warning changed more than my driving habits. It changed my awareness. It reminded me that even when the signs come down, the attitudes often remain. And it taught me the quiet ways our community protects each other — even when we’re strangers.
In this members-only episode, I talk about what that warning meant to me as a young Black naval officer, why it hit me so deeply, and how it inspired one of the central themes in my upcoming book, Traveling While Black Gen X — the balance between freedom and vigilance that defined so much of our generation’s experience.
Your support allows me to tell these stories honestly, without filters, and to share the reflections that shaped my voice, my awareness, and my work.
Thank you for being part of this journey and helping me keep these conversations alive.
“Even when the signs come down, the attitudes remain.” – Anthony Reeves, Esq.
🏷️ Tags / Keywords
#BeCarefulOfTheKlanCounty #TravelingWhileBlackGenX #BlackGenX #DrivingWhileBlack #MembersOnly #TheAnthonyReevesExperience #TonyReeves #AwarenessNotFear #BlackExperience #ReflectionPodcast #StoryBehindTheStory Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Supporters Club
13 JUN 2025 · Turning 40 hits different. It’s not just another birthday—it’s a mental, emotional, and spiritual checkpoint that can shake you to your core. In this exclusive episode for Supporters Club, I open up about the quiet panic that hit me when I turned 40. From career doubts to health scares, and the emotional minefield of comparing yourself to others, we unpack what no one tells you about this chapter. If you’re in it—or heading toward it—this one’s for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re...
show more
Hosted by former attorney and Judge Tony Reeves, this podcast delivers sharp insights, commentary, and real talk on law, leadership, public service, and the Black Gen X experience. Whether you’re navigating bureaucracy, seeking inspiration, or craving honest reflections from someone who’s lived it, ‘In The Know with Tony Reeves’ offers the wisdom and wit to keep you informed—and empower
show less
Information
| Author | Anthony Reeves |
| Organization | Anthony Reeves |
| Categories | Society & Culture , Education , Personal Journals |
| Website | intheknowwithtonyreeves.com |
| anthony.reeves@anthonyreeves.com |
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