Audacious at sea: Wisdom from strangers on a cruise ship

A wise woman once said, “You can tell the ocean anything, but it has to be the truth.“  Chion Wolf boards the MSC Meraviglia expecting a week of small talk and sunscreen. But the farther she gets from land, the more people become willing to hang out in the deep end to talk about love, loss, faith,…

BONUS: More stories from the cruise ship

Ahoy! Here’s a little bonus treasure from our episode, Audacious at Sea: Wisdom from Strangers on a Cruise Ship.  Chion spends a blissful vacation week aboard the MSC Meraviglia with about 5,000 fellow humans, sailing from Brooklyn to the Bahamas and back. And because we couldn’t fit everyone she …

When wild animals become family: Thumbelina the squirrel and Walnut the crane

Would you leave your family, friends, home, and job to move over a thousand miles away to take care of a pet squirrel? Meet two people who did just that for 8 year-old Thumbelina. Then, meet a birdkeeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute who was chosen by an endangered crane to be …

BONUS: An update with Chris Crowe on his first tattoo, a giant portrait of Walnut

We recently rebroadcast our Audacious episode featuring Chris Crowe. He's a bird keeper at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia. He spent nearly twenty years as the chosen partner of an endangered white-naped crane named Walnut. She was one…

Badass elders: Women in comedy, law, and extreme body art

Some people “age gracefully.” These three women age audaciously! 91 year-old comedian, D’yan Forest, commands the stage with her ukulele and sharp wit, spinning the stories of her long life into laughter. Family law attorney Harriet Newman Cohen, 92, is the kind of lawyer who changed history for …

The best bad episode ever!

Who rejoices in making a bad episode of public radio? We do! But only the best kind of bad.  On this episode of Audacious, meet Jon from Jon Breaks Bad News, who delivers other people’s worst messages for a living. Then, the co-founders of the Golden Raspberry Awards - also known as the Razzies - …

The kidney was just the beginning: Unexpected gifts after transplants

What happens when a Brooklyn woman who identifies as queer, liberal, vegan, and an atheist donates her kidney to a conservative Christian man from Virginia? Kerry Kennedy and Joey Shervey tell the story of what it looks like when compassion outvotes everything else. Their transplant crossed party …

The poet with a machete: Zulynette on laughter, rage, and reclamation

When does creation become prayer? And when does prayer become protest? Artist and poet Zulynette talks about her new book, Becoming a Soft Woman with a Machete. It's equal parts gospel, therapy session, and roast. From laughter to liberation, explore how art can be both sanctuary and sword. Sugg…

Born Again: The Art & Healing Of Reborn Dolls

Have you ever seen Reborn Babies? They’re these hyper-realistic-looking dolls that are collected for their extraordinary artistic accuracy… And they’re also used therapeutically for people who suffer from anxiety and depression. Hear from a woman who uses them for just that reason. Plus, meet a p…

What it's like to win a Nobel Prize with Andrea Ghez and Martin Chalfie

It’s 2 a.m.; the phone rings. The caller ID says Stockholm, Sweden. The voice on the other end of the line says, “Congratulations! You’ve just been awarded a Nobel Prize!” What goes through your mind in a moment like that? Meet two people who received that life-altering call. Discover not only th…