Zeigler’s Driving Vision Podcast Interviews Bill Nye… The Science Guy and 29-time Emmy Award-winner Bill Stainton

Zeigler Auto Group's new Driving Vision Podcast with Sam D'Arc and Mike Van Ryn interviewed famed scientist, engineer, comedian, and author Bill Nye during a special episode which also featured 29-time Emmy Award winner Bill Stainton. During the interview, Bill Nye discussed the importance of making science entertaining and accessible to everyone, and his ongoing quest for innovation as an inventor and communicator.

KALAMAZOO, MICH. (May 30, 2022) - Bill Nye joined Zeigler's Driving Vision Podcast with Sam D'Arc and Mike Van Ryn. The illustrious scientist and media personality spoke about the importance of innovation as an inventor, author and engineer. He also goes on to talk about setting goals, and the importance of vision including a very famous one for him which was "To Change The World."

As a household name, Bill Nye has accomplished many things in his lifetime but one of his main purposes as he discusses in the podcast interview, is to make the world a better place to live by making science more accessible to everyone. 

While working on the Science Guy show from 1992-1998, Bill won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. To commemorate the series, the Bill Nye The Science Guy original lab coat is on display at the "T is for Television '' exhibit in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Besides his success on his original show, he has worked on various other programs including Bill Nye: Bill Nye Saves The World, Solving for X, and a documentary about his life titled: Bill Nye: Science Guy. Bill Nye has also written eight children's books; and three critically acclaimed books for the general audience, the first of which came after a debate with a creationist who believes the world is only 6,000 years old. 

In a previous episode of the Driving Vision podcast, Bill Stainton spoke about Innovation and his philosophy of "Connecting the dots" in everything he has done in order to stay ahead of the curve. Stainton emphasized that anyone could become an innovative thinker by following the steps that worked for him. These steps included, first of all, debunking the notion that some people simply aren't innovative. Then, learning what innovation is, and what it isn't; discovering key questions that underlie all innovation; and finally exploring what everyday items can teach us about innovation. 

A known expert in innovation, creativity, and breakthrough thinking, Stainton is best known for producing the longest running, highest rated, and most award-winning Comedy TV show in the US, Almost Live!  During his 15 year tenure, he led his team in winning over 100 Emmy awards on their own- working with Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye and many more. He has also written for The Tonight Show, HBO, and Comedy Central. Plus, was Joel McHale's mentor. 

This mindset led him to take a chance on Bill Nye, early in his career, when Nye was a writer for a show he produced in Seattle called Almost Live, which catapulted Bill Nye into the limelight.  During the interview Sam D'Arc asks how he sees as people Driving His Vision Forward, Bill Nye answers by saying that every single science teacher that is out there educating young minds is doing this for him. One such teacher that felt the impact of his quest for science accessibility was our very own Mike Van Ryn, director of Talent Development for Zeigler. As a science teacher for seven years, and elementary principal for three years our director of Talent Development was very much at the forefront of this mission. 

"SCIENCE RULES!  To interview Bill Nye was a real highlight for me; my past life prior to Zeigler was investing time with elementary children and staff as an educator and principal.  Science was brought to life by Bill Nye.  He made it fun, funny and also got both boys and girls to love Science and dream big!  Today at Zeigler we love helping our team members dream big and achieve their personal and professional goals! I am thankful that Bill Stainton, a previous favorite guest speaker, connected us with Bill Nye!" said Mike Van Ryn, director of Talent Development and National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award winner, who earned the prestigious accolade during his tenure at Brown Elementary in Byron Center, Michigan.

When asked what his favorite episode was, Bill Nye said that every episode has something in it that he thinks is cool. He did point out that getting a ride in the US Navy flight squad was a very memorable experience for him. During the filming of that episode Bill Nye was able to do six different bits for the show within the little over 40 min timespan he had to film. 

He also described an episode where he had a classroom globe with solar panels on it. When tipped the northern hemisphere towards the bright light the motor in the northern hemisphere would spin faster, and when it was tipped vice versa, the northern hemisphere would slow down, in effect illustrating how the weather works and why seasons exist in real life on Earth. 

However, for our very own Mike VanRyn, his favorite episode was Simple Machines with Catapults. Mike VanRyn recalls a contest with his own students on which ones could launch the furthest. Bill Nye commented that the main thing he wanted the audience to understand was there was a relationship between force and distance. 

Sam D'Arc also asked Bill Nye to complete the following sentence: "You want to change the world by…" Bill Nye's answer came in three parts with an overall main goal. He first emphasized that the world could be a better place by raising the standard of living for women and girls. By doing this the world would be a healthier and happier place to live. And that this goal could be accomplished by giving more people access to clean water, renewable and reliable electricity; and finally by ensuring more people have access to the internet. 

ABOUT ZEIGLER AUTO GROUP

Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 78 franchises across 35 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.

Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.

The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, a Carquest Auto Parts store, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.

Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,300 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2022. The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Chicago and Michigan.