What makes your jaw drop? A celestial event? A powerful piece of music?

In this episode, explore awe in its many forms, from a total solar eclipse to the psychology of wonder.

Psychologist Dacher Keltner breaks down the science of awe, cellist Yumi Kendall shares how music transports us, and Audacious listeners share their most treasured moments of awe.

This episode originally aired on March 14, 2025.

GUESTS: 

• Mara Suttmann-Lea, Joseph Dickerson, and Stefan Keller: Awestruck with Chion in Vermont during the April 8, 2024 total eclipse. Click here to watch a video of the experience
• Dacher Keltner: Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center. He hosts The Science of Happiness podcast, and he’s the author of many scientific articles and several books, including Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life 
• Yumi Kendall: Assistant Principal Cellist at the Philadelphia Orchestra. She founded and co-hosts the Tacet No More podcast  
• Awestruck Audacious listeners who sent in voice memos (in order of appearance): Brenton Graveley, Carissa Teff, Levi Lomasky, Vinny Camire, Khaleel Rahman, Anne Mercer, Michelle Horsley, Erin Shapland, Pamela Morrison-Wolf, Maria Raviele, Carl Delmolino, Paul Gladis, Jane Carroll, Nell Codner, Catherine Shen, Maggie Downie, Brian Foley, Allison Durham, Jennifer LaRue, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez

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Ever look at a wedge of cheddar and think, “Tell me my destiny”? No? Well, it’s time. 

Dive into the delicious world of food-based fortune telling with Jennifer Billock, a cheese oracle; Sarah Napoli, a witch who lets onions predict your romantic future; and Rebecca Zaretzky, a tea-leaf reader who sees more than just caffeine in your cup.

Suggested episodes:

• I predict that you will listen to a public radio show about psychics

• Animal psychics reveal what our pets really think

• What near-death and shared-death experiences tell us about living 

 

GUESTS: 

• Jennifer Billock: writer, editor, and professional cheese fortuneteller 

• Sarah Napoli: known as The Woodland Witch on social media, Sarah shares insights into modern witchcraft, including onion divination

• Rebecca Zaretzky: tea leaf reader, animal communicator, spiritual mentor, and practitioner at Tea & Tarot Boutique in Clinton, CT

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Marfan syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue, sometimes in ways that are life-threatening, and often life-changing. Meet three people whose stories reveal the risks, resilience, and even humor of living with Marfan. 

Dr. John Elefteriades, one of the world’s leading aortic surgeons, explains how new AI tools could revolutionize diagnosis. British engineer Tal Golesworthy recalls how he designed the device that saved his own heart. And comedian Liam Nelson shares how his height, surgeries, and community shaped both his life and his stand-up.

For more information, visit the Marfan Foundation. 

Suggested episodes:

• Why the world needs comedians with disabilities

 

GUESTS: 

• Dr. John Elefteriades: Cardiothoracic surgeon, researcher, and educator. He is a Professor of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine, and a founding director (Emeritus) of the Aortic Institute at Yale-New Haven
• Tal Golesworthy: British engineer with Marfan syndrome, who persuaded surgeons to implant a device that he developed in his heart in 2004. It's called the ExoVasc Personalised External Aortic Root Support, or PEARS
• Liam Nelson: Atlanta, Georgia-based comedian and advocate who has Marfan syndrome

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Mascots: They’re furry, funny, and sometimes mischievous. But what's actually going on in there?

Tom Burgoyne shares what it’s been like to embody the Phillie Phanatic for over three decades. 

Mikaela Higgins reveals how her company became a giant in the world of mascot-makers, designing icons from Ronald McDonald to the Energizer Bunny. 

And hear how one “yes“ changed the life of Conor Geary, whose turn as a mascot led to a dream sports gig he never saw coming.

 

Suggested episode:

• Banjo Man, 'Woo Woo' Wickers and UConn Huskies superfans share their love of the game

 

GUESTS: 

• Tom Burgoyne: “Best friend” of the Phillie Phanatic, who has been bringing the Phanatic to life for 37 years. He’s also the author of Pheel The Love! How the Most Powerful Force in the Universe Builds Great Companies - Phillie Phanatic Style!
• Mikaela Higgins: Manager of Mascot Sales at Olympus Mascots in Milwaukee, WI
• Conor Geary: Known as “GameDay Conor“, he's been the high-energy host at every major venue in Connecticut, starting out with the Hartford Yard Goats in 2018. This season, he became the stadium host for the New England Patriots
  
  

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

Audacious with Chion Wolf is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tune In, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and email.

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What’s in a name? 

For me, “Audacious” was the perfect fit for a show about bold conversations, but I’m not the only one drawn to it. Meet three creators who also built their work around that powerful word. 

Dr. Jody Jahn hosts The Audacious Year, helping high-achieving women rebuild their self-image from the inside out. Audley Stephenson’s The Audacious Living Podcast shares lessons on resilience from over 500 guests. And Emmy-winner Reece Robinson co-created The Audacious Report, a docuseries on extreme endurance feats. 

Together, we explore what it really means to live and create audaciously.

Suggested episodes:

• Behind the mic: Gayle King, Ziwe, and Mehdi Hasan on the art of the interview
• The birth of Snap Judgment: How the end of the world became the beginning of Glynn Washington’s story
• A conversation with Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton
• Life advice, one Audacious guest at a time
• The one where all the guests are named Pat Smith

 

GUESTS: 

• Jody Jahn: Host of The Audacious Year, a deeply reflective, power-packed podcast for high-achieving women rebuilding their self-image from the inside out
• Audley Stephenson: Host of The Audacious Living Podcast, bringing bold wisdom from over 500 guests and counting, including CEOs, artists, and everyday disruptors
• Reece Robinson: Co-creator of The Audacious Report, a YouTube docuseries capturing ultra-athletes as they push the limits of what the human body, mind, and heart can endure

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Jeffrey Marsh is back on Audacious, four years after their interview with Chion Wolf cracked open a new kind of conversation about dignity, identity, and radical love. 

In this deeply personal follow-up, Jeffrey opens up about self-trust, forgiveness, the spiritual stakes of being visibly nonbinary in America, and why vulnerability is the real magic. Plus, how to keep your heart intact in a time of backlash and burnout. 

Whether you’re healing, hiding, or just barely holding on, Jeffrey’s voice is a balm and a wake-up call.

Suggested episodes:

• Jeffrey Marsh Loves You
• Five years of Audacious: Where are they now?

 

GUEST: 

Jeffrey Marsh: author of How to Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life, Take Your Own Advice: Learn to Trust Your Inner Voice and Start Helping Yourself, and creator and host of the self-help podcast, Inner Voice with Jeffrey Marsh; also a coach and digital creator known for advocating nonbinary and LGBTQ+ visibility and promoting radical self-acceptance

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We’ve all imagined holding a winning lottery ticket, but what happens next?

Hear from a man known as The Lottery Lawyer, who shares the most common mistakes people make when trying to claim their winnings.

Plus, a man who scored a $28 million Powerball jackpot at just 21 years old reveals what life was like after the win—the highs, the surprises, and some challenges you might not expect.

This episode originally aired on October 26, 2024.

Suggested episodes:

• Aftershocks: Life after getting struck by lightning 

• Welcome to the Punderdome! We're entering NYC's punniest pun competition

• The Guts & Glory Of Getting Into The Guinness Book Of World Records

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

GUESTS: 

• Kurt Panouses: ‘The Lottery Lawyer & CPA’, specializing in helping lottery winners claim their prizes and manage their money

• Timothy Schultz: Winner of a $28 million Powerball jackpot in 1999. Filmmaker, and host of the podcast, “Lottery, Dreams and Fortune”

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What do you want your funeral to look like?

For Bill Edgar, it’s about crashing someone else’s - with their permission - to reveal secrets they didn’t dare share while alive.

For Dr. Matt Morgan, it meant holding his own living funeral in the mountains with his closest friends.

And for Ghanaian artist Jacob Ashong, it’s about crafting fantasy coffins shaped like cars, animals, and anything else that captures a life.

In this episode, three men take us deep into what it means to rethink death, legacy, and the rituals we create to say goodbye.

Suggested episodes:

• The quest for a good death
• Views from the end: David Meyers
• Jayson Greene reflects on grief and parenthood nine years after his daughter's death

GUESTS: 

• Bill Edgar: “The Coffin Confessor,” based in Australia, who carries out the wishes of the deceased. He’s also the author of The Coffin Confessor and The Afterlife Confessional 
• Dr. Matt Morgan: intensive care doctor from Wales and author of A Second Act: What Nearly Dying Teaches Us About Really Living 
• Jacob Ashong (better known as Paa Joe): a coffin artist from Ghana, who carries on a family tradition by creating elaborate fantasy coffins sought after around the world 

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What would you do if someone’s life suddenly depended on you?

Meet four everyday people who stepped into crisis and saved a life.

A 9-year-old girl calls 911 when her father collapses. A teen athlete performs CPR on a rival player. A librarian administers Narcan to a woman outside the library. A teacher stops the bleeding, and later wrestles with his need to be called a hero.

 

Resources:

• Stop the Bleed by The American College of Surgeons: training resources, including online classes

• The American Red Cross: training options, including CPR, first aid, AED, and water safety classes

• The American Heart Association: training resources, including CPR, first aid, and AED classes

 

Suggested episodes:

• 911, What’s Your Emergency? Tales From Dispatch

• More than a bodyguard: Will Geddes on the art of protection

 

GUESTS: 

• Analia and Alex Sinanis: a 9-year-old daughter and her father from New Haven, CT. When Alex, a police officer in North Haven, experienced a medical emergency, Analia called 911 and helped save his life

• Magnus Miller: an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, who stepped in to help after a fellow athlete went into cardiac arrest during a basketball game in Oklahoma

• Caroline Mandaro: a Youth Services Librarian in Centereach, NY. She administered Narcan to a woman who had overdosed

• Patrick O’Connor: a teacher and writer from Massachusetts. He used his Stop the Bleed training after a neighbor's artery was severed by glass

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Glynn Washington, the voice behind Snap Judgment, grew up in a white supremacist doomsday cult.

In this episode, Glynn opens up about what that did to his worldview, and how walking away from it all eventually led him to storytelling.

It’s a conversation about survival, identity, and the magic of stories that refuse to offer any easy endings.

Suggested episode:

• Behind the mic: Gayle King, Ziwe, and Mehdi Hasan on the art of the interview 

GUEST: 

• Glynn Washington: creator and host of Snap Judgment, known for blending storytelling with cinematic sound. He grew up in a white supremacist, apocalyptic cult. He also hosts the podcast, Heaven's Gate, and Spooked

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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