Audacious Live! Show & Tell in Hartford: From dragon eggs to JFK’s cake

A robot Christmas ornament. A clay golem from Prague. A piece of JFK's inauguration cake that's been around for more than six decades. No, this isn't the inventory of a particularly eccentric museum. It's what people brought to our fifth Audacious LIVE Show & Tell! Back at Dead Language Beer Proj…

From deathbeds to skyscrapers: The extraordinary power of the harp

How can a harp be both one of the most intimate - and one of the most enormous - instruments in the world?  Tony Pederson plays his harp at the bedsides of people who are dying, listening closely to their breathing and responding with music created specifically for those delicate moments.  Willia…

Discover a hole lot of life lessons hiding within a mini golf course

For most people, mini golf is casual. A little windmill, a little ice cream, maybe some light family trash talk.  But in this episode, you'll meet competitive players who practice for tournaments, a Guinness World Record holder who played 4,941 holes in 24 hours, and a British enthusiast who has v…

Secret Mall Apartment: The story behind four years of hiding in plain sight

Some people go to the mall to shop or meet up with friends at the food court or get a good walk in. Some people work there. Michael Townsend secretly lived in a mall. For four years, Townsend and fellow artists co-opted a hidden apartment inside Providence Place Mall, complete with furniture, dis…

What two suicide attempt survivors want you to know about staying alive

Meet two men who survived suicide attempts, and built lives around helping others imagine a future beyond despair. Kevin Hines, one of the few to survive a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge, reflects on the instant regret, the long recovery, and the tools he uses when “brain pain” returns - recorde…

The Big E: What it takes to create 17 days of magic

Wander with the Audacious crew through 175 acres of wonder and delight to meet the people who bring The Big E to life!    From a Lost & Found sage, to a fairy from the Florence Griswold Museum, to a hot tub ace, to Amber, the bathroom attendant/joy DJ.   President & CEO Gene Cassidy shares the so…

What is a life worth? One 9/11 widower’s fight for fairness

After Charles Wolf’s wife, Katherine, was killed in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, he found himself taking on an unlikely new role: activist.  Wolf became a tireless advocate for victims’ families, challenging the federal compensation system and successfully pushing for reform. His …

A trip to Brimfield Antique Flea Market, where old things find new people

Welcome to the Brimfield Antique Flea Market! Thousands of buyers and sellers descend on a small Massachusetts town three times a year, filling fields with furniture, vintage clothes, tools, art, oddities and things you didn’t know existed five minutes ago.  We spend the day roaming the country’s…

'I Will Always Love You': Jada Star’s musical bond with her aunt Dolly Parton

In honor of Dolly Parton, we’re rebroadcasting a conversation with her niece, singer/songwriter Jada Star.  Jada shares what it was like growing up with Aunt Dolly, watching the rest of the world fall in love with her, and learning from her example of kindness, faith, hard work, and generosity. F…

Playboy: Two women revisit the very different lives behind their centerfolds

The Playboy Bunny is one of America’s most recognizable symbols, but it never represented a single experience.  Candace Jordan was both a Bunny and a Playmate in the ‘70s, and remembers Playboy as a source of sisterhood, ambition, opportunity and lifelong belonging.  Victoria Valentino was Miss S…