Family secrets are often kept to protect, but hiding the truth can sometimes cause more harm than good.

When Michael Hainey’s father died, the explanation he was given never quite added up. Decades later, uncovering the real story changed his life, and inspired him to write a memoir.

Melissa Daniels faced a different kind of revelation: the man she thought was her father wasn’t her biological dad. Her determination to uncover the truth became unstoppable.

Hear their powerful stories of discovery, and what unfolded after the secrets came to light.

Suggested episodes:

• Conception deception: The fight for transparency in the fertility industry
• Forgiveness: How we define it and how it defines us

GUESTS: 

• Michael Hainey: A journalist and author of the memoir, After Visiting Friends: A Son’s Story". It details how he uncovered the circumstances surrounding his father’s death decades later
• Melissa Daniels: Her father passed away when she was seven. As a teenager, she learned that she was conceived by a donor and set out to connect with her biological father

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Imagine waking up one morning and seeing every face around you as demonic - twisted, distorted, and unrecognizable. Are you hallucinating? Would you think people were possessed? Should you call 911? Now, what if it’s not demons you’re seeing, but constantly shifting facial features on everyone, including yourself? And what if this has been your reality since birth?

Meet two people living with this rare and perplexing condition, prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), and a researcher dedicated to understanding it. Hear their stories and learn about a simple, surprising treatment for this mysterious disorder.

Suggested episodes:

• Revealing Our Blind Spots About Blindness
• What it’s like to be able to smell illnesses
• What is foreign accent syndrome? After a stroke, one man’s southern drawl turned British

GUESTS: 

• Brad Duchaine: Researcher at Dartmouth who studies face blindness and is a leading researcher on PMO
• Victor Sharrah: Clarkesville, Tennessee resident who discovered in 2020 that he has prosopometamorphopsia (AKA demon face syndrome or PMO). He found help on the
• Veronica Smith: PMO patient who sees facial features moving. They have been experiencing this since they were four years old, and the distortions appear mostly on themself rather than on other people

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Imagine you’re 16 years old, living in Lahore, Pakistan, and preparing for the adventure of a lifetime: A high school exchange year in Rockville, Maryland.

Just as you’re getting ready to leave, a public radio show in Connecticut asks to document your journey!

This is the story of Salaar Muhammad - before, during, and after his transformative year in the United States. We explore how this experience changed his perspective, shaped his future, and touched the lives of those around him.

Suggested episodes:

• Francesca Abroad: Following an American high school student’s year in Sarajevo

GUESTS: 

• Salaar Muhammad: a student from Lahore, Pakistan, who spent the 2023/2024 academic year in Rockville, MD through the U.S. Department of State’s Kennedy Lugar YES program. He lived with a host family and went to a local high school
• Sarah Clapp: Sarah’s family hosted Salaar during his stay in the US

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Remember the joy of “Show and Tell” at school? Now why should only the kids have all the fun?

Listeners to Audacious (and staff members of Connecticut Public!) gathered at Third Place by Half Full Brewery on March 13th, 2024, for an opportunity to share their story!

Special thanks to PJ Kennedy of HeyStamford.com for sharing our event, and for keeping residents and visitors of Stamford in the loop!

For a full transcript of this show, click here.

This episode originally aired on March 22, 2024.

GUESTS: 

• Elaine Braithwaite: Electric violinist and City Librarian of Bridgeport
• Faisal Saleh: Founder of Palestine Museum US in Woodbridge, CT
• Paul Bluestein: Husband of Lynda Shannon Bluestein, advocate for LyndasPhones.org
• Chion Wolf: Host of Audacious
• Jessica Severin de Martinez: Producer of Audacious
• Khaleel Rahman: Producer of Audacious
• Lucy Nalpathanchil: Vice President of Community Engagement at Connecticut Public 
• Jennifer Reilly and Stephanie Convey: Wethersfield residents who brought a brass sculpture
• Cjet Raymond: West Haven resident who brought a jar of cat whiskers
• Cynthia Bowser: Stamford resident who brought her mother's hat
• Kristen Cusato: Director of Communications for the Alzheimer's Association of Connecticut, and host of the podcast, Speaking of Alzheimer's

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We all know people who love Costco or Trader Joe’s. But what compels someone to devote their time and travel to visiting as many stores as possible, to wrap so much of their identity around these massive shopping chains?

Meet three people whose lives brighten the moment they put their hands on a Trader Joe’s or Costco grocery cart.

For a transcription of this episode, which originally aired on December 14, 2023, click here.

GUESTS: 

• David and Susan Schwartz: Authors of The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z. They have traveled over 220,000 miles visiting over 250 Costco warehouses in 13 countries
• Natasha Fischer: Runs the social media account TraderJoesList, where she offers product reviews and recipes to over two million followers. She also sells spatulas

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Brains are weird. Bodies are weird. People are weird! Brains, bodies, and people together in a psychological or medical setting? Man, it can get REAL weird.

Ethical conundrums abound, like navigating boundaries, bias in treatment, managing power dynamics… And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

So who's in charge of figuring out the ethics behind all of this? Meet the Chief of Ethics for the American Psychological Association, Lindsay Childress-Beatty. And hear stories from the hospital from Andy Kondrat. He's the one that doctors call when they or the patients they serve are experiencing ethical medical questions.
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Suggested episodes:

• Body Integrity Dysphoria: When being disabled is a desire
• I downloaded my soulmate: Stories of love and AI
• TOPS: A woman summits Everest, a man considers a body transplant, and world-record hat-wearing
• Faking it: Munchausen syndrome and the compulsion to be ill

GUESTS: 

• Andy Kondrat: Ethics consultant and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars‑Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He's a member of the Bioethics Committee, and co-director of CSMC’s Responsible Conduct of Research training course
• Lindsay Childress-Beatty: Chief of Ethics for the American Psychological Association

Khaleel Rahman, Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Meg Dalton contributed to this show.

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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Sometimes it’s like you and your pet are perfectly in sync, reading each other’s minds… and other times, you’re staring at them thinking, “Seriously? Why do you keep licking the couch?”

But what if you could actually read your pet’s mind? Would you treat them differently… or would you just confirm that dogs think every meal is their last, and that cats really are secretly plotting world domination?

Today, meet two people who make a living as animal communicators. They’ll share wild stories from their sessions, explain why they believe your pets keep hanging around even after they’re gone, and give you tips on how to connect more deeply with your own beloved companions.

Suggested episodes:

• We The Dog
• Wings, pouches, and snouts: The world of uncommon emotional support animals
• When wild animals become family: Thumbelina the squirrel and Walnut the crane

GUESTS: 

• Nikki Vasconez: Animal communicator, teacher, and former litigation attorney based in Florida
• Laura Stinchfield: Animal communicator known as “The Pet Psychic” based in New York. Author of Voices of the Animals and Stormy's Words of Wisdom: An enlightened dog’s profound insights on life

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Incest is one of the most challenging topics to discuss, yet our guests are opening up about the truth behind their origin stories.

Meet Steve Edsel, who always knew he was adopted. But when he set out to uncover the identities of his birth parents, he stumbled upon painful truths. Now, he and his wife work with an organization dedicated to supporting others with similar backgrounds.

Then, hear from Jerri Harrell, whose discovery of her biological parents happened almost by accident. She shares how she transformed feelings of shame and rejection into a profound source of love and resilience.

Resources:

• Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore and The DNA Detectives
• GEDMatch.com 
• IncestAware
• Survivors of Incest Anonymous
• Time To Tell

Suggested episodes:

• Think Before You Spit: The Pandora’s Box of DNA Testing
• Conception deception: The fight for transparency in the fertility industry

GUESTS: 

• Steve Edsel: Found out that his father is his mother’s brother. He is joined by his wife, Michelle, who works with CeCe Moore to help inform people of their family history
• Jerri Harrell: Found out that the woman she thought was her sister was actually her mother, and the man who she thought was her step-grandfather is her father. She is currently working on a poetry chapbook titled Across the Bridge - Out of the Shadows and into the Light: The Journey to Healing

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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.

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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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 the incredible doors it opened for them, but the unexpected challenges that came with such a prestigious honor.

Suggested episodes:

• Laugh and then think: What it's like to win the Ig Nobel Prize
• What it’s like winning a little or a lot on The Price Is Right, Wheel Of Fortune, and Jeopardy!

GUESTS: 

• Andrea Ghez: Along with Reinhard Genzel, she was awarded half of   the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy”. She is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine chair in Astrophysics, at the University of California, Los Angeles 
• Martin Chalfie: Along with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien, he was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). He is a University Professor and former chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. Prof. Chalfie is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a foreign member of the Royal Society

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