Grace Mosher is a Freshman at John Hersey High School. And she wants you to know that April 14th is Children With Alopecia Day. Back when she was 8, Grace was diagnosed with alopecia. This is her story.

Warren is a senior at Hersey High School and a puppet performer. He has a touching story, and through his puppets we learn more about him and how the puppets became an important part of his life. What we learn from Warren is that everybody has a story to tell, and that whoever we may meet, we may not really know what they've been through. 

This is our first video podcast -- watch the podcast to see Warren and his puppets. More information can be found at https://www.herseyarc.org

On this episode, we sit down with Erich Specht of the band, Push Puppets. A 1986 graduate of Hersey High School, Erich plays a couple of songs and talks about his band’s new album, Allegory Grey. In addition, he tells some stories of band life on the road, plus a great story from River Trails Junior High, and his admiration for former Hersey teacher, Lyon Trainer. Oh, and did we mention Elvis Costello’s pizza?

More information about Erich and Push Puppets, visit https://www.pushpuppets.net

Visit https://www.herseyarc.org for a detailed description of this episode, plus pictures from our recording and a list of musical acts mentioned in the episode.

Oh, and check out the picture of Elvis Costello's pizza. 

On this episode we dive into the world of autograph collecting with JHHS Freshman Matthew Grajkowski. He has been collecting autographs for a few years and has amassed quite an assortment. He discusses how he got into the hobby and the patience needed to be a successful autograph collector.

To view Matthew's collection, visit his Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/matthewg.royalspoliticians/

More information about the ARCLight Podcast can be found at HerseyARC.org

Kati Standefer graduated from Hersey High School in 2003. When she was 24, she went into cardiac arrest and ended up getting a cardiac defibrillator wired into her chest. That device, though, malfunctioned several years later, sending three shocks to her heart. The device was supposed to save her life, yet there she was writhing on the ground in pain. That incident prompted a global journey of inquiry. She wanted to know what the cost was to create that device, not just on her, but on people who mined the minerals and on the environment. This led her across the United States, and to Madagascar and Rwanda. The result was a moving memoir entitled Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life. On this episode of the ARCLight Podcast, Kati discusses that journey, the writing of the book and how Lightning Flowers was her "attempt to figure out how to keep being a living person."

John Jughead Pierson graduated from Hersey in 1985. Since then, he formed the influential punk band Screeching Weasel, plus Even in Blackouts and The Mitochondriacs. He is a podcaster, actor and author. On this episode, we focus on his 2011 novel, The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody. This novel reimagines the movie It's a Wonderful Life. What if Clarence had not saved George Bailey? This jam-packed episode touches on a little of everything: music, writing and creativity.

Joe Podlasek is the CEO of Trickster Cultural Center in Schaumburg. He joins us to discuss Native history and the impact that Native people made on the land and region that makes up Hersey High School and District 214. 

The Trickster Cultural Center is the only Native owned and operated cultural arts institution in the state of Illinois. For more information, visit the Trickster Cultural Center at: https://www.tricksterculturalcenter.org/

On the last episode of the ARCLight Podcast, we sat down with filmmaker and Hersey grad, Jordan Graves. Much of our conversation centered around his career as a filmmaker, but we also talked about his favorite film franchise: Godzilla. Jordan is a Godzilla-Super Fan. On this special episode, Jordan talks about the history of Godzilla, why he likes the giant monster so much -- and gives us his top 5 films. 

More information about Jordan can be found on his website, https://www.jordanmgraves.com

Check out our blog to see the trailers for every film Jordan discusses in this episode.  https://www.herseyarc.org

After making a short film for a final exam, Jordan Graves graduated from Hersey High School in 2013 and pursued filmmaking as a career. On this episode of the ARCLight Podcast, Jordan discusses his burgeoning career and gives advice on how to break into the industry. 

More about Jordan Graves can be found on his website http://www.jordanmgraves.com

For information about the production company he co-founded, visit http://www.talusfilms.com

Lesley M.M. Blume joins the ARCLight Podcast to talk about her book Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed it to the World.  We discuss her book, John Hersey, and his significance not only to history, but what we can learn from him in the modern world.

More about Lesley Blume can be found on her website. lesleymmblume.com

Her book, Fallout, can be purchased anywhere you buy books.

To watch the Q&A with John Hersey from 1986, click here.