Renowned anchor and correspondent for ABC News, Diane Macedo covers breaking news and special events. She's appeared on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline, and hosts ABC News Live Update. She is also an author. A former insomniac, Diane's book, THE SLEEP FIX: Practical, Proven and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work and More is must reading for those of us who struggle to fall and stay asleep. You won't fall asleep listening to our fascinating, important and f...
Dec 28, 2021•43 min•Ep. 291
We've had the honor and privilege of having another conversation with the very creative, innovative and multi-talented artist Dell Marie Hamilton. She's back to share her latest project for the ICA/Boston Foster Prize: "The End of Susan, The End of Everything." The multi-media installation is an homage to her mentor and friend, art historian Susan Decker who passed away in 2016. Join us for another fascinating, heartwarming and honest conversation with this very special guest.
Dec 21, 2021•48 min•Ep. 290
Karen Mason makes music. The Broadway actress and concert artist is a 13-time MAC winner (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs), and in 2019 she received a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. Karen has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, and has performed in concert as well as in the recording studio. Listen in as she shares the highlights of her rich and rewarding musical/theatrical career.
Dec 14, 2021•39 min•Ep. 289
Amy Gravino in a word? Cando. A force of nature, Amy was diagnosed with autism at the age of 11 and is currently a leader on sexuality, autism, and neurodiversity in sex education. And to that end, she is President of ASCOT, which offers autism consulting, college coaching, and mentoring services for various organizations, schools, and individuals on the spectrum and their families. She's also an award-winning writer, has given TED Talks, and spoken at the UN on World Autism Awareness Day. You'l...
Dec 07, 2021•48 min•Ep. 288
For Darsie Alexander, it's all about art. Since 2018, she has been Chief Curator at the Jewish Museum located on New York City's famed Museum Mile. Founded in 1904, it's the first institution of its kind in the US and one of the oldest Jewish Museums in the world. Darsie's resume is an impressive one: Executive Director of the Katonah Museum of Art, Chief Curator of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Senior Curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Photography Curator at Manhattan's Museum o...
Nov 23, 2021•44 min•Ep. 287
With more than 25 years in the business, Geeta Gandbhir has worked on a wide range of films - narratives and documentaries focusing on racial justice, social inequity and gender. Geeta's the recipient of 2 Emmys, four Peabodys and numerous other accolades. "Black and Missing," her latest project for HBO, is a 4-part series that follows 2 sisters-in-law who are founders of the Black and Missing Foundation. The pair works to expose Black missing persons cases that are marginalized by national medi...
Nov 16, 2021•35 min•Ep. 286
A new Discovery+ series follows Roo Powell as she exposes some of the internet's most dangerous child predators. She and her team of professionals join forces with law enforcement to find and arrest these creeps. How? This 38 year old mother of 3 transforms herself into a 15 year old to reveal the true identities of the men who are reaching out to her. Join Roo in this race against time as she convincingly navigates these dangerous waters. This is one conversation you can't afford to miss....
Nov 09, 2021•37 min•Ep. 285
Talk about a creative woman! Samantha Holmes is a sculptor / visual artist based in both the Bronx and Ravenna, Italy. Her work explores the impact of "distortion on patterns sourced from science, religion and art history." She works in stone, metal and paper, creating intricate, lace-like sculptures - her most recent, Mundillo - a monument to women's work and the cultural dynamism and was inspired by Puerto Rican lacework. Samantha's work has been exhibited in the States and internationally....
Nov 02, 2021•47 min•Ep. 284
Award-winning journalist Erin Moriarty has spent the past 30+ years at CBS NEWS, and since 1990, as a correspondent on 48 Hours, TV's most popular true-crime series. A 9-time Emmy winner, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alliance for Women in Media in 2019. Erin's also the host of "My Life of Crime" podcast which focuses on many of the cases she's covered. We know you'll want to hear all about the life and times of this acclaimed, veteran correspondent.
Oct 26, 2021•46 min•Ep. 283
New York-based Uli Beutter Cohen is the creator of Subway Book Review, a social movement that explores belonging to a time and place through writing and photography. Her work has been featured in Vogue, New York Magazine, Esquire, Glamour and The Guardian. Uli's first book, “Between the Lines: Stories From The Underground” (as in the NYC Subway System), is a love letter to books, The Big Apple, and our collective potential. Uli spent more than 10 years 'riding the rails,' observing, interviewing...
Oct 19, 2021•49 min•Ep. 282
Marissa Licata and the violin? Perfect together. She was given her first violin at the 'ripe old age' of three! And in the years since, Marissa's been making music - passionate, fiery, eclectic music. She's performed nationally and internationally with a Who's Who in the music world including: Alicia Keys, Gloria Estefan, Wyclef Jean, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. Marissa's also active in the orchestral and chamber music scene and has also performed with her all-star band, mixing traditional f...
Oct 12, 2021•42 min•Ep. 281
Sugar Hill Creamery. The name says it all. Harlem's first family-owned handmade ice cream shop opened its doors in 2017 and was followed 3 years later by a second location in Hamilton Heights. Sugar Hill is the brainchild of Petrushka Bazin Larsen and her husband Nick Larsen. Their confections include homemade, small batch ice cream, non-dairy frozen desserts with both seasonal and classic flavors. Petrushka's not only a successful entrepreneur, she's also a community activist, hosting programs ...
Oct 05, 2021•51 min•Ep. 280
Stephanie Lucianovic has lots of stories to tell. She's written a slew of books including, “The End of Something Wonderful: A Practical Guide to a Backyard Funeral”, “The League of Picky Eaters”, and “Hello Star”. This picture book was inspired by her son, who became very upset after learning at school that stars eventually explode as part of their life cycle. Stephanie talks about the importance of reaching out to children to give them stories they need to become whole again.
Sep 28, 2021•52 min•Ep. 279
Kim Harris has been there, done that. She's the founder and managing partner of PAINTING IT RED, a New York-based event and marketing company. An affirmed "foodie," she's also consulted on restaurant openings in various U.S. cities. Kim also happens to be one of the 3 co-founders of HARLEM HOPS, the first 100% African/American owned craft beer bar located in... the heart of Harlem! Their goal? To be the first to bring incredible craft beers to an incredible neighborhood. Needless to say...missio...
Sep 21, 2021•39 min•Ep. 278
Lina Roessler, who has numerous film and tv credits to her name, makes her feature directing debut with BEST SELLERS, starring the legendary Sir Michael Caine, Aubrey Plaza, and Cary Elwes. It tells the story of an ambitious young woman, trying to find success in the shadow of her father's legacy running a thriving publishing company. She discovers she owns a book by the crotchety, reclusive, booze-addled author (Michael Caine) who originally put the company on the map years earlier. The two joi...
Sep 14, 2021•41 min•Ep. 277
What's in a name? Plenty when you meet and get to know GLORY Crampton. A musical force to be reckoned with, she has appeared in more than 40 productions and can be heard on 14 Broadway cast and compilation recordings, including her sold-out performances with the National Symphony at London's Abbey Road Studios. As a global concert soloist, she was featured opposite opera great Jose Carreras of The Three Tenors. And, during the pandemic, Glory conceived and directed the award-winning PROJECT9 mus...
Aug 31, 2021•41 min•Ep. 276
Born with Larsen Syndrome, a genetic physical disability, Emily Ladau is a wheelchair user. At the ripe old age of 10, she was featured on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate youngsters about living her life with this disorder. And she's been on that mission ever since. Emily's the author of "Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say and How to Be an Ally." Emily's also Editor-in-Chief of the Rooted in Rights blog, a platform highlighting the disability experience. This is clea...
Aug 24, 2021•43 min•Ep. 275
What hasn't Ava Thompson Greenwell accomplished? Since 1993, she's taught broadcasting, writing, reporting and producing at Medill/Northwestern University and has held several administrative positions. In addition to her Bachelor and Masters degrees in journalism, Ava has a Phd in African American Studies. She directed and produced "Mandela in Chicago," a documentary about the city's anti-apartheid movement. Ava is also the author of "Ladies Leading: The Black Women Who Control Television News."...
Aug 17, 2021•44 min•Ep. 274
Owner Betsy Lay, along with partners Kate Power and Jen Cuesta, are the co-founders of Lady Justice Brewing, based in Aurora, Colorado. The three met while working at AmeriCorps VISTA. In 2014, they joined forces and their community-focused brewery was born. Its mission? - "brewing great beer to make the world a better place." And to that end, Lady Justice gives money to nonprofits and community partners that support and empower women and girls in the state of Colorado. Join us for our conversat...
Aug 10, 2021•43 min•Ep. 273
Ann Hu's's personal story would make for a great bio pic. Knowing no one, she was among the first students to come to the U.S. from mainland China after the Cultural Revolution to attend college. After graduating from NYU, she made her mark in the business world, but eventually wound up switching gears. In 1992, she took courses at NYU's Film School and in the years since has directed four features. Her latest, CONFETTI, offers a window into Asian/American immigrant life and is based on Ann's pe...
Aug 03, 2021•44 min•Ep. 272
The recipient of several prestigious honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Sundance Screenwriting and Directing Fellowship, Tracy Droz Tragos' work focuses on issues involving women, inequality, rural America, and education. Her latest film, "The Smartest Kids in the World," based on the New York Times bestseller, focuses on the crisis in U.S. high school education. It chronicles a year abroad of four American teenagers. Join us as Tracy shares her passion for cinematic story-telling....
Jul 27, 2021•44 min•Ep. 271
Author, activist and former kindergarten teacher, Nyasha Williams - who was adopted into a trans-racial family - grew up in South Africa and the U.S. A former kindergarten teacher and author, her picture book, "I Affirm Me: The ABCs of Inspiration for Black Kids" was inspired by the words Nyasha and her students recited at the beginning of every day: "I am confident and capable. I learn at my own pace. I am loved, and I believe in me. I believe in us." Nyasha is pursuing social justice, decoloni...
Jul 20, 2021•35 min•Ep. 270
New York Times bestselling author Emily Lockhart of "We Were Liars" has written children's picture books, young adult novels, and adult fiction. "Genuine Fraud," was also a Times bestseller and LA Times Book Prize finalist and her novel, "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" was a National Book Award finalist. Emily's latest work, "Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero," is a graphic novel about a Jewish teenage activist who gets superpowers and infiltrates the city's criminal underworld....
Jul 13, 2021•42 min•Ep. 269
Christina Fontana has been a force in the film and tv industry for more than two decades. She was an editor on documentaries and unscripted tv projects for Fox, NBC, CBS, Netflix, A&E, The History Channel to name a few, and received an Emmy nomination for her work on The Amazing Race. Christina makes her directorial debut with "Relentless," a 6-episode true crime series that tells the story of 21-year-old Christina Wittaker, who disappeared from her home town of Hannibal, Missouri. Using mor...
Jul 06, 2021•33 min•Ep. 268
Jess deCourcy Hinds is a fiction/nonfiction writer and founding library director of the Bard H.S. Early College in Queens, N.Y. A New York Times Modern Love columnist, her writing has also appeared in Newsweek , Ms. Magazine , Literary Hub and Quarterly West . Jess, a queer feminist, is completing a novel about bisexual and sexually fluid graffiti artists in post-9/11 New York. Check out her website and sign up for her newsletter, I'm an Open Book: On Libraries, Love and Life-Building . A lot to...
Jun 22, 2021•40 min•Ep. 267
Raising awareness for the mental health of student athletes, while confronting the stigma within the world of sports is the mission of The Hidden Opponent. Chief Operating Officer Leeann Passaro is more than familiar with the pressures of competing. She's a former student-athlete at a Division 3 school who struggled with anxiety and depression. You won't want to miss this timely, honest, no-holds barred conversation.
Jun 15, 2021•36 min•Ep. 266
For more than 30 years, Evetta Petty has designed hats in her uptown Manhattan shop and studio. Her creations have graced the heads of men and women: runway models, actors, churchgoing seniors. They've been worn to the Kentucky Derby and England's Royal Ascot. Evetta's hats have appeared in movies, television, fashion magazine covers and articles. Her hats have humor, whimsy, rhythm and fantasy… just like their designer!
Jun 08, 2021•43 min•Ep. 265
As a Speech-Language Pathologist, Christina Hunger works with both children and adults, teaching them to use Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices, or AACs to express themselves non-verbally. However, humans aren't her only clients. In 2018, when Christina brought her new puppy home, she had an epiphany - one that she shares in her book, "How Stella Learned to Talk." Since dogs can understand words, why couldn't Stella use an AAC device to express herself?? And she has! You really w...
May 25, 2021•39 min•Ep. 264
How to describe Cynthia Kaplan? Let us count the ways: author, musician, songwriter, actress, producer, co-host. Called a 'young Dorothy Parker' by the New York Times, her credits include 2 acclaimed books of comic essays. She's acted in numerous plays and several films and... composes and sings hilarious songs, performing with her band, The Cynthia Kaplan Ordeal. There's plenty to talk about with this multi-talented, engaging, creative woman.
May 18, 2021•38 min•Ep. 263
Betty Yu combines film, new media platforms and community-infused approaches in her work. A tireless promoter of social justice initiatives, she is a co-founder of Chinatown Art Brigade, a cultural collective which uses art to oppose gentrification in the New York City neighborhood, resulting in the loss of affordable housing and mass displacement. Join us for an eye-opening and inspiring conversation with this passionate, committed activist-artist.
May 11, 2021•43 min•Ep. 262
