On Down Home, Tom Landis presents a new program series, What Matters Most.

There comes a time in life when you do something or don't do something. This is when you find out who you really are. Often, the small, simple pleasures make the most difference in our lives. Beyond styles, products, fashions, decors, materials and techniques, there are core values that make life truly worthwhile.

Tom's new program series welcomes guests who bring harmony, balance and dignity to the human experience.

Everyone has a story to tell, and, by listening to one another, sharing our hope and faith, our grief and loss, we strengthen our spirit of community, which is certainly one of the key ingredients of What Matters Most.

"CNNfn Money Talks - Interview of Tom Landis"
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Down Home Radio host Tom Landis is interviewed by CNN financial news on their Money Talks segment. Tom Landis shares his thoughts and insights with viewers world wide.

"New Family Home" with Guest Jim Tolpin

Tom interviews Jim Tolpin, author of The New Family Home and The New Cottage Home, as well as current president of the National Association of Home and Workshop Writers. Mr. Tolpin takes listeners through how and why he wrote these two, very fine books on creating custom homes, in which he emphasizes both the aesthetic and functional realms for the residential design/build process.

"Puget Sound Directory" with Guests Melanie Willette and Chuck Harrington
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Tom interviews Melanie Willette and Chuck Harrington of Puget Sound Home & Garden Directory as they provide an introduction to the best sources for home remodeling and building in the Pacific Northwest. Driven by their sincere sense of community, Tom discusses with them why their product and service mix is a good fit to the homeowner.

"Waiver of Lien" with Guest Bruce Wilkinson

Tom interviews Bruce Wilkinson, General Manager of TRM Wood Products. Mr. Wilkinson relies on 30 years experience as a lumber supplier and shares with consumers how best to work with a lumber yard to avoid problems with unscrupulous contractors.

"Whom Do You Trust?" with Guest Michelle Morrisson

Tom interviews Michell Morrisson, homeowner, who encounters the contractor from hell during the construction of her new home. Eventhough this contractor is licensed and bonded with solid references, Ms. Morrisson portrays a situation which every consumer needs to avoid.

"Universal Design" with Guest Ron Mace

Tom interviews Robert Mace, Director at the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University and a Fellow at the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Mace speaks about the practicalities of a design for all people of all ages in residential architecture.

"Not So Big House" with Guest Sarah Susanka

Tom interviews Sarah Susanka, author of Creating the Not So Big House and The Not So Big House. Ms. Susanka welcomes us to the NSBH philosophy encompassing her simple yet elegant notion that a house should be built to work with the lifestyle and values of its occupants. She introduces us to "thinking in the third dimension" and reflects on the soulful nature of good design, explaining "a home is an extension of the lives of the people who live there so you can feel what peoples' passions are."

"NKBA" with Guest Doris LaCroix

Tom interviews Doris LaCroix, Director of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Ms. LaCroix suggests ways in which consumers can best utilize NKBA services as well as consumer advantages at the NKBA web site.

"Concrete at Home" with Guest Fu Tung Cheng

Tom interviews Fu-Tung Cheng, author and designer, about his unique approach to creativity and craftsmanship in his custom home and product design practice. Cheng discusses the evolution of his work, sharing how his firm reinvented the traditional kitchen and bathroom by using concrete as a sculptural element.

"Cabinet Layout" with Guest Barry Tuttle

Tom interviews Barry Tuttle, Owner of Absolute Kitchen and Bath Marketplace. Mr. Tuttle reveals design concerns with cabinet layout in a kitchen noting some of the most common mistakes made by consumers.

"Modular Building Systems" with Guest John Davis
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Tom interviews John Davis, General Manager of Stratford Building Corporation. Mr. Davis defines a modular building system, dispelling many of the myths and misconceptions for using this approach to home building. He explains how this type of building system produces fewer headaches for the homeowner and builder alike, and describes the building process as a sure-fire way to produce a better quality home.

"Permit Process" with Guest Kelle Powell
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Tom interviews Kelle Powell, Regional Manager for Northwest Permit. Ms. Powell brings clarity to the increasingly complex permitting process by describing how to work effectively with building permit agencies. As a permit facilitator, she shares her depth of experience in techncial problem solving to avoid glitches normally associated with the permit process.

"Using Panelization" with Guest Rick Northcott

Tom interviews Rick Northcott, Vice President and General Manager of Armstrong Building Components. Mr. Northcott lists the tremendous advantages to panelization, and considers how consumers can best select the right building component provider for their remodel or new construction project.

"Homing Instinct" with Guest John Connell

Tom interviews John Connell, author of Homing Instinct and founder of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School. Mr. Connell speaks of his concern for community and habitat, central themes in his approach to architecture. He eloquently presents the building process as an integrated approach, encouraging listeners to understand design and construction as two aspects of a single process.

"Partition Separation" with Guest Chuck Walker

Tom interviews Chuck Walker, industry expert in manufacture and installation of engineered truss systems. Mr. Walker defines partition separation sometimes blamed on truss uplift, but more often attributable to other structural problems as building elements interact with one another; he then suggests preventative action to be taken to avoid partition separation.

"Home from Nowhere" with Guest James Howard Kunstler

"Builder's Secret" with Guest George Ehrenhaft

Tom interviews George Ehrenhaft, writer, educator and ownerbuilder. Mr. Ehrenhaft suggests that we can learn the art of living through the craft of building, providing insight into the creation of his most recent book. He speaks candidly about the lives of folks who inspired him to write about the ownerbuilder experience.

"Homes For Our Troops" with Guest John Gonsalves

Tom interviews John Gonsalves, founder of Homes for Our Troops, who changed his successful career supervising construction projects into the president and founder of a non-profit organization dedicated to helping build specially adapted homes for disabled veterans returning from the war in Iraq.

"House into a Home" written and sung by Jim Hinde
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Enjoy the theme song of Down Home Radio. Jim Hinde, singer/song writer, is an extraordinary, modern folk singer. You can hear Jim at the Northwest Folklife Festival, and most of the time at Seattle's Pike Street Market directly in front of Starbuck's Coffee stand. Jim always sings from his heart and his conscience, and that's saying quite a bit in these hard times.