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What do bread clips, fire alarms, and umbrella covers have in common? Most people toss them, but not our guests.

Diana Mendoza has spent nearly 20 years collecting bread clips and helps moderate a global research community dedicated to their study. Tim Zhang, a recent high school grad, has over 400 fire alarms and a booming YouTube channel. And on a small island in Maine, Nancy 3. Hoffman runs the world’s only Umbrella Cover Museum, complete with a disco ball and an adults-only section.

These collectors are filled with joy, meaning, and a deep love for the overlooked.

Suggested episode:
The joy of collecting barf bags, miniature chairs, and bricks 

GUESTS: 
Diana Mendoza: A longtime bread clip (occlupanid) collector and moderator of a global community dedicated to their study and appreciation
Tim Zhang: Fire alarm collector and YouTuber who educates and entertains with videos that inspire curiosity, technical skills, and hands-on learning
Nancy 3. Hoffman: Founder and curator of The Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island, Maine, home to over 2,000 covers from 75+ countries since 1996

 

What do bread clips, fire alarms, and umbrella covers have in common? Most people toss them, but not our guests.
Diana Mendoza has spent nearly 20 years collecting bread clips and helps moderate a global research community dedicated to their study. Tim Zhang, a recent high school grad, has over 400 fire alarms and a booming YouTube channel. And on a small island in Maine, Nancy 3. Hoffman runs the world&rsquo;s only Umbrella Cover Museum, complete with a disco ball and an adults-only section.
These collectors are filled with joy, meaning, and a deep love for the overlooked.
Suggested episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2021-10-14/the-joy-of-collecting-barf-bags-miniature-chairs-and-bricks" data-cms-ai="0">The joy of collecting barf bags, miniature chairs, and bricks&nbsp;</a></li>
</ul>
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Diana Mendoza: A longtime bread clip (occlupanid) collector and moderator of a global community dedicated to their study and appreciation</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FireAlarmDude5967" data-cms-ai="0">Tim Zhang</a>: Fire alarm collector and YouTuber who educates and entertains with videos that inspire curiosity, technical skills, and hands-on learning</li>
<li>Nancy 3. Hoffman:&nbsp;Founder and curator of <a href="https://www.umbrellacovermuseum.org/" data-cms-ai="0">The Umbrella Cover Museum</a> on Peaks Island, Maine, home to over 2,000 covers from 75+ countries since 1996</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

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.

You collect what?! The joy of bread clips, fire alarms & umbrella covers

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>

Audacious Scotland: CT’s Highland Festival & Games, plus quarrelsome dames seek justice for witches

An unexpected death leaves survivors with a single relentless question: what happened? 

Three forensic experts share how they investigate the dead to bring clarity to the living.

Dr. Cori Breslauer, an associate medical examiner in Connecticut, describes the realities of autopsies, trauma, and truth-telling. Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, who pioneered forensic genetic genealogy, explains how investigators use DNA and family history to put a name to unidentified remains, and bring long-delayed answers to families.

And retired forensic pathologist Dr. Cindy Hoeflinger shares what it was like to spend a career giving families answers… until she needed answers herself.

Suggested episodes:
Look For The Helpers: The Anatomy Of A Death 
Views from the end: David Meyers
The Quest For A Good Death

GUESTS: 
Dr. Cori Breslauer: Associate Medical Examiner at Connecticut's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, specializing in forensic pathology
Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick: Forensic genetic genealogist, founder of Identifinders International; she pioneered the use of genetic genealogy to solve cold cases
Dr. Cindy Hoeflinger: Retired forensic pathologist who investigated sudden and unexplained deaths; she lost her 18-year-old son Brian in a drunk driving crash in 2013

An unexpected death leaves survivors with a single relentless question: what happened?&nbsp;
Three forensic experts share how they investigate the dead to bring clarity to the living.
Dr. Cori Breslauer, an associate medical examiner in Connecticut, describes the realities of autopsies, trauma, and truth-telling. Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, who pioneered forensic genetic genealogy, explains how investigators use DNA and family history to put a name to unidentified remains, and bring long-delayed answers to families.
And retired forensic pathologist Dr. Cindy Hoeflinger shares what it was like to spend a career giving families answers&hellip; until she needed answers herself.
Suggested episodes:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/health/2021-03-26/look-for-the-helpers-the-anatomy-of-a-death">Look For The Helpers: The Anatomy Of A Death</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2023-03-23/views-from-the-end-david-meyers">Views from the end: David Meyers</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/mental-health/2020-06-05/the-quest-for-a-good-death">The Quest For A Good Death</a></li>
</ul>
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Dr. Cori Breslauer: Associate Medical Examiner at <a href="https://portal.ct.gov/OCME">Connecticut's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner</a>, specializing in forensic pathology</li>
<li aria-level="1">Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick: Forensic genetic genealogist, founder of <a href="https://identifinders.com/about/">Identifinders International</a>; she pioneered the use of genetic genealogy to solve cold cases</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://cindyhoeflinger.kit.com/pages?utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnCxnxRr1F5ad6hnspscspld6Km0tCdyMaEkvkPfshTM42lPqYgIhXGTrY3kY_aem_fyYEZ-WWgDo710GwMPVhSA">Dr. Cindy Hoeflinger</a>: Retired forensic pathologist who investigated sudden and unexplained deaths; she lost her 18-year-old son Brian in a drunk driving crash in 2013</li>
</ul>

You collect what?! The joy of bread clips, fire alarms & umbrella covers

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