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What's it like being an environmental activist who takes a vow of silence for 17 years?

What's life like as a Trappist monk who defaults to silence for a lifetime?

And what's it like to be a public radio host who gives up speaking for a week? The voice in Chion's head narrates the experience, and you'll hear audio she collected along the way.

GUESTS: 
John Francis: an environmental activist who took a 17 year vow of silence when he was 27
Brother Paul Quenon: a Trappist monk and poet at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky
Chion Wolf: the host of Audacious who went without speaking for one week

What's it like being an environmental activist who takes a vow of silence for 17 years?
What's life like as a Trappist monk who defaults to silence for a lifetime?
And what's it like to be a public radio host who gives up speaking for a week? The voice in Chion's head narrates the experience, and you'll hear audio she collected along the way.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://planetwalk.org/about-john/">John Francis</a>: an environmental activist who took a 17 year vow of silence when he was 27</li>
<li><a href="https://monks.org/monks-pages/br-paul/">Brother Paul Quenon</a>: a Trappist monk and poet at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky</li>
<li><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/people/chion-wolf">Chion Wolf</a>: the host of Audacious who went without speaking for one week</li>
</ul>

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we're often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.

For more: ctpublic.org/audacious

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we're often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.
For more: <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf">ctpublic.org/audacious</a>

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. 

Audacious with Chion Wolf

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.

Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we’re often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.

Listen at ctpublic.org/audacious

Support is provided by a generous contribution from Suzanne Hopgood, in Memory of Frank Lord.

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.
Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we&rsquo;re often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.
Listen at <a href="http://ctpublic.org/audacious">ctpublic.org/audacious</a>
Support is provided by a generous contribution from Suzanne Hopgood, in Memory of Frank Lord.

What happens when you choose a vow of silence?

What’s a sentence that invites the universe to call your bluff?

“I could do that!”

Meet three people who said it, and then had to live it.

Christopher Lamar runs Lunar Embassy, a company that sells deeds to plots on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Logan Goodspeed learns what happens when you casually claim you could run a marathon “with 24 hours’ notice,” and your spouse takes that seriously. And Mandle Cheung, a tech CEO and devoted music lover, writes a huge check to fund a Mahler concert, so he can conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra himself.

 

Suggested episodes:


What Happens When You Act Like You Belong 


GOOD GOURD! A show about pumpkins!


TOPS: A woman summits Everest, a man considers a body transplant, and world-record hat-wearing 

 

GUESTS: 


Christopher Lamar: CEO of Lunar Embassy, a company that sells deeds to plots on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The business was founded by his father, Dennis Hope, in 1980


Logan Goodspeed: A 32-year-old software engineer from California who ran the Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon with about 24 hours’ notice and no formal training


Mandle Cheung: A 78-year-old technology CEO and amateur conductor who founded Mandle Philharmonic in 2018. In June 2025, he personally funded a one-night performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) and conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

 

Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, and Robyn Doyon-Aitken contributed to this show, with help from Coco Cooley. 

What&rsquo;s a sentence that invites the universe to call your bluff?
&ldquo;I could do that!&rdquo;
Meet three people who said it, and then had to live it.
Christopher Lamar runs Lunar Embassy, a company that sells deeds to plots on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Logan Goodspeed learns what happens when you casually claim you could run a marathon &ldquo;with 24 hours&rsquo; notice,&rdquo; and your spouse takes that seriously. And Mandle Cheung, a tech CEO and devoted music lover, writes a huge check to fund a Mahler concert, so he can conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra himself.
&nbsp;
Suggested episodes:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2021-08-13/rebroadcast-what-happens-when-you-act-like-you-belong">What Happens When You Act Like You Belong </a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2023-10-19/good-gourd-a-show-about-pumpkins">GOOD GOURD! A show about pumpkins!</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2022-04-07/tops-a-woman-summits-everest-a-man-considers-a-body-transplant-and-world-record-hat-wearing">TOPS: A woman summits Everest, a man considers a body transplant, and world-record hat-wearing&nbsp;</a>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>
Christopher Lamar: CEO of <a href="https://lunarembassy.com/">Lunar Embassy</a>, a company that sells deeds to plots on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The business was founded by his father, Dennis Hope, in 1980
</li>
<li>
Logan Goodspeed: A 32-year-old software engineer from California who ran the Rock &rsquo;n&rsquo; Roll San Diego Marathon with about 24 hours&rsquo; notice and no formal training
</li>
<li>
Mandle Cheung: A 78-year-old technology CEO and amateur conductor who founded Mandle Philharmonic in 2018. In June 2025, he personally funded a one-night performance of Mahler&rsquo;s Symphony No. 2 (&ldquo;Resurrection&rdquo;) and conducted the <a href="https://www.tso.ca/">Toronto Symphony Orchestra</a>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, and Robyn Doyon-Aitken contributed to this show, with help from Coco Cooley.

“I could do that!” Stories of improbable confidence

At 74, Karen Smith is still chasing the feeling she fell in love with as a kid: the freedom and aliveness of playing sports.

After years of sudden pain and uncertainty, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis - news that could have ended her life in athletics. Instead, adaptive equipment helped her keep skiing, and it reshaped how she carried the diagnosis. 

Through the Gaylord Sports Association, she helped expand a program now offering 17 adaptive sports, and she became a gold medal-winning goalie on Team USA’s women’s sled hockey team. 

At Choate Ice Rink, she and veteran player Anthony Kuntz introduce Chion to sled hockey, and to Karen’s fierce belief in inclusion and the “dignity of risk.”

 

Suggested episodes:
A marathon swimmer and ultrarunner: surviving cancer, breaking records 
Revealing Our Blind Spots About Blindness

 

GUESTS: 
Karen Smith: Team manager of the Gaylord Wolfpack sled hockey team and a longtime leader in Connecticut’s adaptive sports community. In her early 60s, she earned the starting goalie position on Team USA’s Women’s Sled Hockey squad at the first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014, winning gold alongside teammates decades younger
Anthony Kuntz: Gaylord Wolfpack sled hockey player from Colchester, Connecticut, who has spina bifida. He has 22 years of experience in the sport, including four on the U.S. Junior National Team, competing internationally in Vancouver during the 2010 Paralympic Games

At 74, Karen Smith is still chasing the feeling she fell in love with as a kid: the freedom and aliveness of playing sports.
After years of sudden pain and uncertainty, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis - news that could have ended her life in athletics. Instead, adaptive equipment helped her keep skiing, and it reshaped how she carried the diagnosis.&nbsp;
Through the Gaylord Sports Association, she helped expand a program now offering 17 adaptive sports, and she became a gold medal-winning goalie on Team USA&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s sled hockey team.&nbsp;
At Choate Ice Rink, she and veteran player Anthony Kuntz introduce Chion to sled hockey, and to Karen&rsquo;s fierce belief in inclusion and the &ldquo;dignity of risk.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Suggested episodes:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2026-01-23/a-marathon-swimmer-and-ultrarunner-surviving-cancer-breaking-records">A marathon swimmer and ultrarunner: surviving cancer, breaking records&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/health/2020-12-11/revealing-our-blind-spots-about-blindness">Revealing Our Blind Spots About Blindness</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Karen Smith: Team manager of the <a href="https://sportsassociation.gaylord.org/sled-hockey-team">Gaylord Wolfpack sled hockey team</a> and a longtime leader in Connecticut&rsquo;s adaptive sports community. In her early 60s, she earned the starting goalie position on Team USA&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Sled Hockey squad at the first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014, winning gold alongside teammates decades younger</li>
<li>Anthony Kuntz: Gaylord Wolfpack sled hockey player from Colchester, Connecticut, who has spina bifida. He has 22 years of experience in the sport, including four on the U.S. Junior National Team, competing internationally in Vancouver during the 2010 Paralympic Games </li>
</ul>

Multiple sclerosis tried to bench her. Karen Smith won gold instead

Two Scotlands, one episode. 

Scotland One: kilts, haggis, bagpipes, and that irresistible fairground mix of music and muscle at Connecticut’s Scottish Highland Festival & Games! Plus swordplay and the oddly soothing chaos and grunts of Weight Over Bar. 

Scotland Two: centuries of witch trials, powered by rumor, rubber-stamped by law. Meet Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi of Witches of Scotland, a campaign and podcast working to restore names and dignity to the accused from 1563 to 1736. 

 

Suggested episodes:
Where We Live - 'Before there was Salem, there was Connecticut': State formally pardons accused witches 
Where We Live - Are witch hunts truly a thing of the past? 
Dress to unrepress: Women who dressed like men, broke rules and made history 
Are you very superstitious or just a little 'stitious'?
Big E ep? (similar vibe)

 

GUESTS: 
Benjamin Elzerman: flute player from East Hartford, CT
Haley Hewitt: harpist from Manchester, CT
John Morahn: instructor at Western Swordsmanship Technique and Research (WSTR)from Ashford, CT
Eric Lewis: weight over bar competitor at The Scottish Highland Festival and Games from Woburn, MA 
Christopher Annino: weight over bar competitor at The Scottish Highland Festival and Games from Groton, CT
John H Spencer: the only living founding member of The Scottish Highland Festival and Games
Reggie Patchell: Co-Chairman and Vice President of Scotland Connecticut Highland Festival Committee
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi: founders of Witches of Scotland, a campaign seeking justice for the roughly 4,000 people - mostly women - accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1736, many of whom were executed

Two Scotlands, one episode.&nbsp;
Scotland One: kilts, haggis, bagpipes, and that irresistible fairground mix of music and muscle at Connecticut&rsquo;s Scottish Highland Festival &amp; Games! Plus swordplay and the oddly soothing chaos and grunts of Weight Over Bar.&nbsp;
Scotland Two: centuries of witch trials, powered by rumor, rubber-stamped by law. Meet Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi of Witches of Scotland, a campaign and podcast working to restore names and dignity to the accused from 1563 to 1736.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Suggested episodes:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Where We Live - <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/2023-10-19/before-there-was-salem-there-was-connecticut-state-formally-pardons-accused-witches">'Before there was Salem, there was Connecticut': State formally pardons accused witches&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Where We Live - <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/2024-10-28/are-witch-hunts-truly-a-thing-of-the-past">Are witch hunts truly a thing of the past?&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2022-05-26/dress-to-unrepress-women-who-dressed-like-men-broke-rules-and-made-history">Dress to unrepress: Women who dressed like men, broke rules and made history</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2021-11-16/are-you-very-superstitious-or-a-little-stitious">Are you very superstitious or just a little 'stitious'?</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Big E ep? (similar vibe)</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Benjamin Elzerman: flute player from East Hartford, CT</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://haleyhewitt.com/">Haley Hewitt</a>: harpist from Manchester, CT</li>
<li aria-level="1">John Morahn: instructor at <a href="https://www.wstr.info/instructors/">Western Swordsmanship Technique and Research (WSTR)</a> from Ashford, CT</li>
<li aria-level="1">Eric Lewis: weight over bar competitor at The Scottish Highland Festival and Games from Woburn, MA&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Christopher Annino: weight over bar competitor at The Scottish Highland Festival and Games from Groton, CT</li>
<li aria-level="1">John H Spencer: the only living founding member of <a href="https://scotlandgames.org/">The Scottish Highland Festival and Games</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Reggie Patchell: Co-Chairman and Vice President of Scotland Connecticut Highland Festival Committee</li>
<li aria-level="1">Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi: founders of <a href="https://www.witchesofscotland.com/">Witches of Scotland</a>, a campaign seeking justice for the roughly 4,000 people - mostly women - accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1736, many of whom were executed</li>
</ul>

What happens when you choose a vow of silence?

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