✨ Gate 24: Life Now Boarding – Unscripted Journeys
Coming Soon!
Where every boarding pass is a metaphor for life’s journey.
A New Podcast Hosted by Robert Neal Marshall
Why Another Podcast?
This is a creative platform for reflection, resilience, and reinvention—told through real stories of struggle, hope, and triumph. From stages to startups, heartbreak to healing, and quiet victories that rarely make the headlines, we’ll explore the unscripted journeys that shape who we become. Gate 24 isn’t about crowded airports. It’s a doorway—a symbol of the journeys we all take through challenges, choices, identity, and growth. Each of us boards a different path, and here, those stories come alive.
This endeavor is more about exploring resilience, reinvention, and the paths that shape us. While my near-death experience was the spark, the focus is on uplifting stories, overcoming challenges, and the deeper motivations that carry us forward. It feels like part of an ongoing mission: putting together the pieces of this life puzzle and sharing them to inspire others.
Welcome to
Gate 24
Episodes
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The Gate 24 Experience!
“Discover stories of resilience, reinvention, and the hidden strength that carries us forward.”
it’s not about perfection — it’s about finding courage in the cracks, and hope in the places we least expect it.
“Step behind the curtain of art, travel, and entrepreneurship — where passion meets persistence.”
Every path is messy, but behind the spotlight and the headlines are the human struggles that make the triumphs real.
“Find your own reflection in the voices of others, and remember: every journey matters.”
Sometimes the story that saves us is not our own — but the reminder that someone else has walked the road and kept going.
Episode 5 – Bette Marshall: From Spotlight to Camera (Part 1 of 2)
n this two-part conversation, I speak with someone whose journey shaped mine more than any other: my mother, Bette Marshall — former actress, Miss Chicago finalist, single mother surviving New York City in the 1960s, and ultimately the acclaimed photographer whose early portraits of Whitney Houston became historic.
Episode 4: Heather Tesch – A Life of Change and Beyond
Heather’s journey has taken her from forecasting hurricanes and blizzards on live television to diving deep into the mysteries of near-death experiences (NDEs), spirituality, kindness, and the resilience of the human spirit. With humor, compassion, and an insatiable curiosity, she now brings voices of near-death survivors to light, exploring the lessons they carry back with them.
Episode 3 D-DAY 80 – A Grandson’s Journey (Part 2 of 2)
Following my Grandfather’s WWII journey through Normandy onward to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day & an unexpected tribute.
Episode 1 – Rain Pryor Finding Your Voice & Creating Light
Real journeys of resilience, reinvention, and hope—reminding us that even the hardest paths can lead to unexpected destinations.
Guest Profiles
Photographer/Writer
Bette Marshall
Bette Marshall is an acclaimed photographer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Elle, Vogue, People, and Rolling Stone. Over her decades-long career, she has captured some of the world’s most recognizable figures, including Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Richard Branson, Willem Dafoe, Clive Davis, Robert Downey Jr., Jodie Foster, James Earl Jones, Nelson Mandela, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Whitney Houston.
Before establishing herself behind the camera, Bette began her career as an actress and model. After being crowned Miss Chicago and representing her city in the Miss America Pageant, she went on to appear in numerous television commercials and made her Broadway debut opposite Richard Mulligan, Arthur Godfrey, and Maureen O’Sullivan in Never Too Late.
Bette is also the co-author and photographer of Chess for Children: Step by Step with International Grandmaster William Lombardy. Her complete portfolio and biography can be found at www.bettemarshallphotography.com.
Photographer/Writer
Bette Marshall
Heather Tesch is an award-winning television meteorologist, journalist, and author whose warmth and insight have inspired millions. For more than two decades, she guided viewers through storms and weather events across the country—most notably during her 13 years with The Weather Channel, where she co-hosted the network’s national morning show.
Today, Heather continues her mission of helping people navigate life’s storms through storytelling. As the creator and host of BEYOND with Heather Tesch, she explores extraordinary near-death experiences and what they reveal about love, purpose, and the mysteries of existence. Her guests offer not only glimpses of what may lie beyond this life but powerful lessons for living with greater compassion, hope, and meaning.
A creative spirit, Heather also wrote and illustrated the uplifting book HairDoodle by Heather Tesch, inspiring readers to embrace imagination and joy through art. Based in Atlanta, she is a passionate animal advocate and shares her home with her husband, two children, and several beloved rescue pets.
Writer/Actor/Director
Rain Pryor
Rain Pryor director, writer, wife and mother. Pryor is truly brilliant performer. Her performances are considered thought provoking through truthful storytelling, and she has spot on mimicry, which landed her to be nominated by the NAACP three times. She won an NAACP for her irreverent solo show “Fried Chicken & Latkes, and for her role as the evil stepsister in the Michael Jackson produced musical Sisterella. She was nominated for the prestigious ADELCO Awards for her Off Broadway run at the National Black Theatre in Harlem.
Her writing and performance in her award winning solo show lead to a television development deal with Norman Lear, the creator of The Jefferson’s and All In The Family. And she is currently in pre-production for her film directorial debut, to be filmed in Baltimore MD, and Nigeria. Pryor was nominated for the African American Literary Award in 2007 for her biography Jokes My Father Never Taught Me, Life Love & Loss With Richard Pryor. #PryorWisdom