When you imagine a pawn shop, what do you think of? Maybe a gruff dude behind the counter, giving you as little money - and as much attitude - as possible. After all, it's a male-dominated industry, and t.v. shows like Pawn Stars reinforce the stereotype. But in this episode of Audacious, join Chion as she gets to know the kindness, compassion and sense of humor of Sandy Meier. She runs Pawn Queen on the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield. Then, meet Lauren Kaminsky, a third-generation pawnbroker w...
May 10, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 169
Most of the time, the stunts you see in television and movies go perfectly. But when something goes wrong, the athletes who have spent their lives perfecting their craft can get permanently injured. David Holmes was Daniel Radcliffe's main stunt double in the Harry Potter movies. In 2009, an accident on-set paralyzed him. Jonathan Goodwin was a regular stunt performer on t.v. shows, but in 2021, he became paralyzed after being crushed between two cars while in a straight jacket. Hear how these t...
May 03, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 168
On July 12, 2022, Dawn Wright (aka "Deepsea Dawn") became the first and only Black person to dive to the lowest known point on the Earth's seabed, "Challenger Deep". Hear about her journey down into the Mariana Trench, why she went, and what she found at the bottom that shocked her. You also may enjoy these episodes: Below the surface: The stories behind underwater world records Extreme allergies and rare conditions can teach us a lot about human tolerance What's in that note? Stories about mess...
Apr 26, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 167
Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are considered to be two of the most important performers of this or any generation. A Swiftie and a leader of the BeyHive talk about the lengths they go to to experience - and share the love - of their favorite performer. Suggested companion episode: 'I Will Always Love You': Jada Star’s musical bond with her aunt Dolly Parton GUESTS: Molly Swindall : has been a Taylor Swift superfan, concertgoer, and merch collector since 2006 Maverick Flood : a Beyoncé superfan based ...
Apr 19, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 166
When you imagine an emotional support animal, what comes to mind? A dog? Well how about a pigeon? A sugar glider? Or an emotional support pig? Meet people who’ve paired up with these animals to make their lives - and mental health conditions - better. This episode originally aired on May 26, 2023. GUESTS: Cynthia Zhou : Miu was her emotional support pigeon from 2016 to 2021. She is an advocate for Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions based out of San Francisco Arianna Preuss : Zaboo is her emotion...
Apr 12, 2024•49 min
Pranking on television has been around for over 70 years. Starting with Candid Camera in the late 40s all the way through to Punk'd in the early 2000s. Pranking has evolved to not only entertain, but to show off the goodness in people! The directors of the movie Bad Trip, and the tv series, Jury Duty, talk about how they pull off physical stunts that leave a positive emotional impact. Previous episode mentioned in the show: What's jury duty like? The verdict, well, it's case by case GUESTS: Jake...
Apr 05, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 165
Have you ever tried doing an impression of a famous person... And failed miserably? That's because impressions are really hard to pull off! On this episode, you'll meet two of the best in the business: Mary Elizabeth Kelly, who is known for her mouth acting impressions, and Dean Edwards from Saturday Night Live. Shows referenced: What is foreign accent syndrome? After a stroke, one man’s southern drawl turned British The meteoric rise of comedian Zarna Garg Why the world needs comedians with dis...
Mar 29, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Remember the joy of “Show and Tell” at school? Now why should only the kids have all the fun? Listeners to Audacious (and staff members of Connecticut Public!) gathered at Third Place by Half Full Brewery on March 13th for an opportunity to share their story! For a full transcript of this show, click here . GUESTS: Elaine Braithwaite: Electric violinist and City Librarian of Bridgeport Faisal Saleh: Founder of Palestine Museum US in Woodbridge, CT Paul Bluestein : Husband of Lynda Shannon Bluest...
Mar 22, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 163
How do you define forgiveness? Turns out, the definition tends to be as different as every person. And that definition changes depending on where you are in the process, too! On this episode of Audacious, Chion talks about it with a best friend, a pastor, a philosopher, and a man who lost his face after getting hit by a drunk driver. You’ll also hear ponderings on forgiveness from some of our Audacious listeners! And since this is a rebroadcast of an episode from two years ago, Chion offers a fe...
Mar 15, 2024•49 min
If you've ever wondered where the CIA finds inspiration to disguise their agents, you'd think maybe… Hollywood with their special effects? Turns out, it was the magic community that helped them develop technology that may have saved lives and uncovered secrets! Hear stories from retired CIA Chief of Disguise, Jonna Mendez, including how she used this technology to surprise the former head of the CIA, President George HW Bush. For a full transcript of this show, click here . GUEST: Jonna Mendez :...
Mar 08, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 162
We hear a lot about the harm of social media. But what about the good? Meet two artists who started off on social media by showing their artwork… But once they revealed the hope and kindness and positivity in their hearts? The views, shares and likes piled up in ways they never expected. Hear how they both are grappling with the newfound pressure of inspiring hundreds of thousands of fans, and find out what Chion's favorite clips from their channels reveal about her. Listen to the first installm...
Mar 01, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 161
What's it like when, due to a condition you had early on in life, your face looks so very different from everybody else's? And what's it like to use that face as an actor? In this second installment featuring conversations with people who have facial differences, we meet two performers who appeared together in the 2018 movie, Happy Face. For more information about facial differences, visit About Face . To read a full transcript of this show, click here . GUESTS: Dawn Shaw : Author, motivational ...
Feb 23, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 160
In 2022, Just Stop Oil protestors threw tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting in London. The world collectively gasped, but some UK lawmakers responded by supporting fewer investments in new oil projects. On this episode, meet one of those soup-throwers, and hear from two other people who have been part of creative protests: a spokesperson from an anti-circumcision group that wears all white with giant, red splotches on the groin area; and a woman who organized a college campus protest featuring th...
Feb 16, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 159
In the 2013 movie, "Her", Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with a computer operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Skip forward over 10 years, and people are now creating their own AI chatbot partners via apps like NOMI and Replika. Today, a sexologist gives this new kind of relationship some context, and meet two people whose lives were changed by these meaningful partnerships. Plus, Chion tries it out for herself. Hear actual transcripts (only lightly edited for radio) of what she and her...
Feb 09, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 158
If you've ever been bullied, you know how all-encompassing the terror of it is. But what if you could get inside the bully's head? And find out why they do it? On this episode of Audacious, meet two people who were once bullies talking about how they turned their lives around and how they think bullies can learn to make different decisions. For more information, visit StopBullying.gov. GUESTS: Robbie Romu: Vancouver writer who published the essay, I Was A School Bully. Here's Why I Terrorized My...
Feb 02, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Coffee. It's more than just a pick-me-up. It's a canvas for creativity, a compulsion for competition, and a fuel for adventures beyond the boundaries of the average mug. Today, we are serving you a triple shot of people whose lives were transformed by the power of the bean. Meet a U.S. Barista champion whose social media channel brings a wholesome buzz; a woman who advocates against gun violence by painting in public places with coffee; then, hold onto your venti cup as you hear the story of one...
Jan 26, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 156
We first met Lynda Shannon Bluestein when she was in palliative care back in May of 2022. She was fighting for medical aid in dying (MAID) to be legalized in Connecticut. Frustrated, she sued Vermont to allow non-residents of the state to use its MAID laws. In the meantime, she worked to install "wind phones'' in Connecticut, eventually starting a nonprofit called Lynda's Phones . An idea originating in Japan, old rotary phones are installed in public spaces which people can use to imagine that ...
Jan 19, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 155
Beyond the smoke and ash, lies a symphony unheard. Prepare to meet a composer who interprets the music of volcanic data, a photographer who unmasks the terrifying beauty of volcanoes, and a chef who braves the inferno to cook the world's most intense pizza pie. For a full transcript of this episode, click here . GUESTS: Brad White : Teacher and photographer from Auckland, New Zealand, who has photographed 16 volcanoes around the world Leif Karlstrom : Volcanologist, musician, and associate profe...
Jan 12, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Growing up as Dolly Parton's niece has its benefits, including a genetic predisposition to write poetry and put it to music. Jada Star is the niece of Dolly Parton, and she joins us to talk about life in her light —and the music that means the most to her. For a transcription of this episode, click here . GUEST: Jada Star : Singer-songwriter whose debut album is called Tell Me I'm Your Angel . She also starred in the ABC reality series Claim To Fame. You will also hear the voice of Heather Ream ...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 153
A lot can happen in a year, you know? And if you’re anything like these folks, you’ve read over 365 books, you’ve become fluent in English by watching American t.v. shows, and you’ve gotten over a hundred rejections. GUESTS: Kelsey Weekman : Culture reporter for Buzzfeed who read 390 books in a year Mathias Barra : French writer who became fluent in English in a year by watching 3 hours of American and British television every day Emily Winter : Comedy writer who strived to get 100 rejections in...
Dec 29, 2023•49 min
Our social media news feeds curate us as much as we curate our newsfeeds. So what if, instead of subscribing to the same old fear-mongering, belittling, judgmental soundbites… We subscribe to accounts that peddle in love? Today, meet three people who use social media to lift all tides. GUESTS: Joel Cross : Grammy-nominated musician, poet, meditator, and traveler who asks his half-a-million followers to pause and ask, "How's your heart?", on the handle, @asoulcalledjoel Scott Tatum : A hiker and ...
Dec 22, 2023•49 min
We all know someone who loves Costco, or someone who loves Trader Joe’s. But what compels someone to devote their time and travel to visiting as many stores as possible, to wrap so much of their identity around these massive shopping chains? Meet three people whose lives brighten the moment they put their hands on a Trader Joe’s or Costco grocery cart. For a transcription of this episode, click here . GUESTS: David and Susan Schwartz: Authors of The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z . T...
Dec 15, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 152
Audacious kids run the world. Or at least, they ought to, because they have a lot to teach us! Meet a young woman whose unique voice made her stand out to bullies - until she flipped the script and turned it into her superpower. A young man talks about why he's cleaned up over a quarter million pounds of trash in our waterways, and finally, an 8 year-old friend of animals talks about why he held a memorial service for an egret. GUESTS: Samirah Horton, aka DJ Annie Red : 14-year-old DJ, author, a...
Dec 08, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Everybody knows the "Can you hear me now?" guy. And everyone knows Flo from Progressive. But what are the stories behind Paul Marcarelli and Stephanie Courtney, the actors who play these characters? What's it like being internationally known as the face of a brand? What's awesome about a gig like this, and what are some of the challenges that come with it? GUESTS: Paul Marcarelli: Actor known as The "Can you hear me now?" guy seen in Verizon commercials since 2001. He is now the face of T-Mobile...
Dec 01, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 150
When you think of the word, "Psychopath", what do you picture? A serial killer? A dictator? A cut-throat CEO? Your ex? Sure, a few of those folks may be psychopaths. But many people with this mental health condition would argue that the usual stereotypes are way off. They are incapable of feeling empathy or developing any attachments, but that doesn't mean they are compelled to cause harm. Today, two people who are psychopaths talk about how they've learned to adapt to a world full of feelings. ...
Nov 21, 2023•49 min
When you think about the history of things that have gone viral, poetry is not usually what comes to mind. But as the latest surges in violence rage across the world, it turns out that poetry is something folks unite around. Meet three people whose poems about war have gone viral, and find out how it both fed their purpose and GUESTS: Lena Khalaf Tuffaha : Palestinian American poet, essayist, and translator who has authored three books of poetry. She won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for ...
Nov 17, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Look at the people in the background of any rich person's dinner party - real or fictional - and you'll see them: The butlers. How did they get there? How did they learn? And what do they get out of it - beyond the money, of course? To answer those questions the founder and CEO of The International Butler Academy joins us alongside his executive head butler. And hear from a palace manager in the Middle East, talking about why she has been drawn to this kind of work for over 35 years. GUESTS: Mr....
Nov 10, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 148
Until 2003, very few people knew her name, and that was exactly as she liked it. She was an undercover CIA operative working to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - specifically, nuclear weapons. But then, when members of the Bush administration leaked her identity to a journalist, all hell broke loose. Hear about why she became an undercover agent, what exactly happened when her identity was exposed in 2003, and what life has been like since. She is hosting the conference,...
Nov 03, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Some people collect stamps. Coins. Trading cards. And as you've heard on our show before, some people collect barf bags. Tiny chairs. Bricks. And some people's collections are a bit… darker. Today, come with me as I tour the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal in Stratford, CT, containing hundreds of objects that are suspected of being haunted. And find out what William Harder has learned about humanity by amassing one of the world's largest collections of art solely created by convicted murder...
Oct 27, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Oh my gourd do we want you to meet a man who set a world record for riding his giant pumpkin down the Missouri river! And hold your breath as you hear from two women who won an underwater pumpkin carving contest! And since it’s officially decorative gourd season, meet the author of that McSweeney's essay whose enthusiastic profanity somehow brings us all together every single autumn. GUESTS: Duane Hansen: Set a world record for traveling the longest distance in a pumpkin boat in August 2022. His...
Oct 20, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 145
