Steve Rhode

Steve Rhode is a nationally recognized consumer advocate and digital publisher with over 30 years of experience helping people navigate personal finance, debt relief, and online scams. As the founder of GetOutOfDebt.org and TapYourNews.com, Steve combines deep financial insight with cutting-edge technology to deliver trusted advice and local news without the noise. His expertise spans debt reduction strategies (including bankruptcy, debt settlement, and credit repair), SEO-optimized content automation, and AI-driven news curation. He has built scalable, ethical systems to bring reliable information to underserved communities, using tools like custom scoring algorithms to deliver relevant news, emails, and podcast episodes. Steve is also a seasoned WordPress developer, podcast host, and former search and rescue pilot. His unique blend of compassion, technical skill, and decades of lived experience has earned him the reputation of being a wise, no-nonsense voice people can count on, especially when things feel overwhelming. Through his work, Steve continues to help everyday people make smarter financial choices, stay informed, and find calm in the chaos of modern information overload.

The Pedestrian Mayor of Elizabethtown: How Stanley Crawford Became a Most Beloved Walker

by

In this episode, we explore the life of Stanley Crawford, an extraordinary ordinary person who transformed Elizabethtown, Kentucky through fifty years of faithful walking. Known as “Stan the Man,” he wasn’t just a familiar face—he was the heartbeat of his community. This is the story of how one man’s simple presence created lasting change, and why people like Stan represent the forgotten heroes walking past us every day.

Journey with me as I uncover what happens when we truly see the remarkable people we’ve been overlooking.

Want more stories that change how you see the world? Sign up for show updates at https://tapyournews.com

When Technology Gets Too Smart For Its Own Good

by

When the same Raleigh rideshare trip costs $14 on one app and $84 on another, you know something’s broken. Steve explores how algorithmic pricing is turning getting home into a high-stakes gamble, then discovers a local Wake County startup using AI to actually make government services work better for residents. From surge pricing mysteries to multilingual government support, these overlooked stories reveal what happens when technology gets too smart—and when it gets smart in the right direction.

Sign up for show alerts at https://TapYourNews.com to never miss stories that are actually worth your time.

Teddy Golubowski’s Story — The Academy Leader Who Dressed for Honor

by

At 27, Teddy Golubowski was excelling as Class Leader at the Ocean County Police Academy when he received devastating news. Despite debilitating pain, he still planned to drive to the Academy to be properly dismissed — because that’s what you do when you’ve made a commitment.

This is the story of a young man who spent his life serving others: from a 5-year-old Toms River Raider to a college football player, from public works employee to police academy cadet. Teddy understood that how you show up matters more than how long you stay.

Real people. Real lives. Remembered.

To sign up for show notices, visit https://tapyournews.com/podcast

Same Choice, Different Roads: A Teacher, A Fire, and the Power of Showing Up

by

Two strangers. Two different places. But the same decision — to show up when no one was watching.

In Raleigh, a retired Enloe High School theater teacher named Koko Thornton just won a national award, thanks to a former student who decided she deserved recognition. For 24 years, Thornton focused not just on theater skills but on helping students “see their own potential inside of them.” Connor Kruger, now studying acting at USC, nominated his former teacher for the 2025 Inspiring Teacher Award at the Jimmy Awards.

Meanwhile, on a Nebraska highway, a pregnant woman made a split-second decision to help a stranger whose pickup truck caught fire. She was hospitalized after being overcome by smoke and heat, but her instinct to help rather than drive past reveals something worth noting about human nature.

Both stories share the same thread: people who see what needs doing and just do it, whether it’s recognizing potential in students for decades or stopping to help someone in danger on a Sunday afternoon. Plus, a skeleton joke that might shake you to your bones.

Good Morning Wake County brings you authentic conversations about overlooked stories that matter, delivered from Wake Forest, North Carolina, for people who want to know what’s really happening without being told how to feel about it.

Join our community at https://tapyournews.com/podcast for show reminders and to suggest stories you think we should cover. The best reporting often starts with neighbors who know where to look.

Colonel Maynard Caudill – A True Story Worth Remembering

by

“Colonel Maynard Caudill, 86, of Cary, North Carolina, peacefully passed away at his home.” Just a line you might scroll past. But behind those words lies the story of a man who seemed to collect lives — gospel singer, Air Force veteran, long-haul trucker, decorated state trooper, and business owner. From the Blue Ridge Mountains … Read more

Jumping In, Looking Up: Courage, Currents, and Commuter Whales

by

You ever have that moment where your brain blanks and your body just moves? Today we’ve got two stories about exactly that kind of decision-making.

First: Eddie Hunnell, a 57-year-old software engineer from Holly Springs, was at his son’s wedding rehearsal when Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina. When he saw 66-year-old Leslie Worth swept into the flooded North Fork New River, his Plan A with a canoe didn’t work. So he jumped in himself. Now he’s receiving the Carnegie Medal—North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.

Then: Sydney commuters are discovering that sharing their morning ferry rides with 40,000 migrating humpback whales is just part of life now. These school bus-sized creatures are turning one of the world’s busiest harbors into the gentlest traffic jam you’ve ever seen. It’s a conservation success story happening in real-time, complete with whales who seem genuinely curious about the humans they’re meeting.

Both stories reveal something about what happens when the unexpected shows up and people—or whales—decide to engage instead of look away.

Plus: a dad joke that might actually make you groan out loud.

From Wake Forest, North Carolina, this is Good Morning Wake County—where we find stories that remind you what’s possible when ordinary people decide to jump in.

To sign up for email alerts visit https://tapyournews.com/podcast

Secret: How Smart Buyers Get Houses 22% Below Market

by

James Watson, 64, bought his first home in Southeast Raleigh for $850/month through a housing model most people have never heard of. Steve discovers how Community Land Trusts work, why a former real estate developer had no idea they existed, and the surprising origins that make it all possible.

Learn exactly how James saved 22% below market value and why this 50-year-old solution feels revolutionary in 2025.

Plus: a dad joke about getting tired.

New episodes Monday through Friday.

Visit TapYourNews.com to sign up for the notification email.

Secret B-2 Flight Details: Potato Skins Revolutionize Building

by

University of Alabama researchers turn potato waste into construction materials while B-2 pilots master 44-hour missions.

Secret Flow Problems That Are Amazing to Fix in Life

by

A Florida surgeon performs the first FDA-approved transcontinental robotic surgery on a patient in Angola, Africa, an Indiana good Samaritan stops a drunk driver with a potentially fatal BAC of .40, and UK researchers develop tiny robots that could revolutionize water infrastructure maintenance. Steve explores three stories about intervention, medical, personal, and technological, that show how the most important work often happens where we can’t see it.

Join our community at https://tapyournews.com/podcast for show reminders and to suggest stories you think we should cover. The best reporting often starts with neighbors who know where to look.

From Shark Skin to Job Security: Three Stories That Change Everything

by

Three overlooked stories worth knowing: A Cary nuclear engineer’s true impact had nothing to do with his PhD or judicial career, Australian engineers copied 400-million-year-old shark skin to save airlines billions in fuel costs, and why your plumber has more job security than corporate executives in the AI age. Featuring Jeff Jeffries’ mentorship approach that touched “numerous men,” MicroTau’s biomimicry breakthrough saving 4% fuel per flight, and Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison’s honest assessment of which jobs AI can’t replace. Real stories from Wake Forest, North Carolina about what actually lasts versus what we think matters.

Join our community at https://tapyournews.com/podcast for show reminders and to suggest stories you think we should cover. The best reporting often starts with neighbors who know where to look.