In 2022, Just Stop Oil protestors threw tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting in London. The world collectively gasped, but some UK lawmakers responded by supporting fewer investments in new oil projects.

On this episode, meet one of those soup-throwers, and hear from two other people who have been part of creative protests: a spokesperson from an anti-circumcision group that wears all white with giant, red splotches on the groin area; and a woman who organized a college campus protest featuring thousands of sex toys to rally against Texas gun laws.

GUESTS: 

• Anna Holland: Member of Just Stop Oil, a nonviolent civil resistance group demanding that the UK Government stop licensing all new oil, gas and coal projects. In 2022, alongside Phoebe Plummer, they threw tomato soup onto Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting in London's National Gallery
• Harry Guiremand: Spokesperson for the anti-circumcision group, Bloodstained Men and Their Friends. They protest wearing all white with red splotches of paint over their groin
• Jessica Jin: Organizer of Cocks Not Glocks, protesting Texas laws that allow concealed handguns on college campuses, while openly carrying sex toys is a Class C misdemeanor

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What drives someone to ski solo across Antarctica or leap off cliffs in a wingsuit? 

Meet Liv Arnesen, the first woman to ski alone and unsupported to the South Pole, and Ellen Brennan Frat, the ‘Fastest Flying Woman in the World.’  

From battling -30°F winds to soaring at 100 mph, these women share their extraordinary journeys of courage, resilience, and pushing boundaries. 

 

Suggested episodes:

• Below the surface: The stories behind underwater world records
• What solitude does to you in the wilderness and in prison
• Extreme ironing, cheese rolling, and shin kicking: The world of weird sports

 

GUESTS: 

• Ellen Brennan Frat: a wingsuit BASE jumper and extreme sports athlete based in France. She has become known as the ‘Fastest Flying Woman in the World’ due to her exceptional performances in wingsuit competitions 
• Liv Arnesen: a Norwegian polar explorer, educator, and lecturer. In 1994, she became the first woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. In 2001, she and American polar explorer Ann Bancroft became the first women in history to sail and ski across Antarctica’s landmass 

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Ever had someone finish your sentence before you even opened your mouth? Now imagine they knew what you were going to say before you did. That’s what it’s like to experience Dr. Kruti Parekh in action.

Through a mix of psychology, intuition, and age-old wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita and Vedic traditions, Dr. Parekh believes we all have the potential to tap into this power. No magic wands, no crystal balls, just a deeper connection to the intuition you already have.

Ready to see what your mind is really capable of?

Suggested episodes:

•  Animal psychics reveal what our pets really think
• Reincarnation, past life regressions, and you (whoever you are)

GUEST: 

• Dr. Kruti Parekh: Mentalist, motivational speaker, mind trainer, and entertainer based in India. She uses psychology, intuition, and creativity to explore the power of the human mind in front of audiences worldwide. Some of her work can be found on YouTube and Instagram

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What can you gain when you lose your vision?

Christine Ha was in her early 20s when she began losing her sight. Instead of giving up on her dreams, she taught herself how to cook - so well, in fact, that she became the first and only person who is blind to win MasterChef. Now, she’s a celebrated chef and author who’s proving that great cooking is about taste, texture, and trust - not sight.

And Edward Hirsch, a poet who began losing his sight later in life, discovered something unexpected - exhilaration. He says that blindness has made him more alive, more curious, and more connected to the world in ways he never expected.

Listen to this bonus excerpt from Chion's conversation with Christine Ha where she answers one-of-a-kind questions from a fan —and Chion's friend— Ashley Cook!

Resources:

• List of resources for people with low vision by the American Council of the Blind
• Lighthouse Guild (as mentioned by Edward Hirsch)

Suggested episodes:

• Revealing Our Blind Spots About Blindness

GUESTS: 

• Christine Ha: Winner of MasterChef Season 3. She has neuromyelitis optica (NMO), in which a person's own immune system attacks the optic nerves and spinal cord 
• Edward Hirsch: Poet and president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Wrote a guest essay in the NYT: “I am Going Blind, and I Now Find It Strangely Exhilarating.” He has retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic disease that causes progressive vision loss 

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We just aired an episode about blindness featuring the poet Edward Hirsch, and chef, Christine Ha.

If you're a fan of Gordon Ramsay's cooking competition show, MasterChef, then you know exactly who Christine Ha is. 

But if you don't, she's the first - and only - person with blindness to win it!

Now you'll hear so much more of our conversation in our podcast feed, but there was this one little bonus section that we wanted to share with you. It features one-of-a-kind questions from Chion's friend, Ashley Cook.

Check out our entire Audacious interview - plus a conversation with poet Edward Hirsch, who got a LOT of responses to his New York Times opinion piece, entitled, “I am Going Blind, and I Now Find It Strangely Exhilarating.

You can hear it right next to this post your podcast app!

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It all began with a single Reddit post: A Connecticut man, overwhelmed and uncertain, sought advice about what to expect as a first-time, non-violent offender facing prison.

He invited us to chronicle his life before, during, and after incarceration, pulling back the curtain on a world most of us only glimpse in movies or headlines.

Discover how his expectations clashed with reality in ways he never anticipated, and how his experience offers an unflinching look into the unexpected truths of life.

Suggested episodes:

• Why'd You Do It: I snuck my incarcerated boyfriend out of prison in a dog crate
• Why’d You Do It?: I Committed Nine Armed Robberies
• Love without the possibility of parole

GUEST: 

• Mike West: An Uncasville, CT resident who was incarcerated from June 2023 until June 2024 for a gun-related felony

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Delve into the extraordinary lives of two men whose worlds are centered on venomous snakes.

Jackie Bibby, a record-setting daredevil, set multiple world records, including the astonishing feat of holding 13 live rattlesnakes in his mouth.

And Tim Friede has spent nearly two decades intentionally subjecting himself to hundreds of bites from some of the planet's most lethal snakes, all in the pursuit of creating a universal antivenom.

Suggested episodes:

• Scars To Prove It: Living Through Animal Attacks
• (Almost) Everybody Hurts: An Exploration of Pain
• Animal psychics reveal what our pets really think

GUESTS: 

• Jackie Bibby: Also known as the Texas Snake Man. His memoir is called, “The Texas Snake Man: A Very Nice and Kind... Gentleman“
• Tim Friede: A self-taught herpetologist and venom expert from Wisconsin. His goal is to develop the world’s first universal antivenom

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For the past two years, at the end of every interview, I asked every guest to tell me their favorite piece of life advice.

We took dozens of our favorite clips and brought them together in this very special episode. And we also hear from Connecticut Public employees!

Email your favorite piece of advice: [email protected]

For a full transcript of this episode, click here.

Suggested episode:

• Views from the end: David Meyers

GUESTS (in order of appearance): 

• First segment: Paul Gladis, AJ Wolfe, Christine Hazel Decker, Cynthia Zhou, Danielle Weisberg, Jonathan Goodwin, Kitao Sakurai, Mary Elizabeth Kelly, Stephanie Courtney aka Flo from Progressive, The Lim Family, William Harder, Lior Ofir, Martha Underwood, David Vance, Greg Viloria, Kristen Geez, Jessica Jin
• Second segment: Bianca L McGraw, Dean Edwards, Adriana Piltz, Dani Rabaiotti, Danielle Perez, Dr. Richard Gibson, Eve Wiley, Jayson Greene, Dr. Marc Feldman, Florence Early, LaNia Roberts, Luis Mojica, Robbie Romu, Anna Holland, Arianna Preuss, Carrie Cariello, Dawn Shaw, Katie Charter, Natasha Fischer, Rozy, Zarna Garg, Arwen, Aidan, and Willow Gladis Perez-Sauquillo, Cash Daniels, Gus Mcafoos, Samirah Horton, aka DJ Annie Red
• Third segment: Caryn Toriaga, Chris Massimine, Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, Guy and Yaruh First, Julie Millsap, Megan Peabody, Mehdi Hasan, Azie Dungey, Colin Nissan, Paul Marcarelli, Stacy Samuels aka Banjo Man, Tabitha Farrar, Neil Harbisson, Jada Star, Athena Walker, Timothy Schultz, Tony Cicoria, Kenley Byrd, John Graham, Jenn Carson, David Meyers, Blyss, Bruce W Brackett, Moon Ribas, Paperboy Love Prince, Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Vanessa de la Torre, Mark Contreras

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On past episodes of our Audacious Love series, we’ve talked with people who’ve been married for over 50 years, people who’ve fallen in love with synthetic companions, people who’ve fallen in love with objects, and today, you’ll meet four people who are married to spirits, ancestors, or gods.

Listen to our past Audacious Love episodes:

• Married Over 50 Years: “Love Each Other Even When You Don’t”
• It’s not just a sex doll! What it’s like to be in a relationship with a synthetic partner
• Falling in love with objects: The experience of being an Objectum Sexual

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Megan Rose: An initiated ceremonial magician, a Shakta Tantric practitioner, and the author of Spirit Marriage: Intimate Relationships with Otherworldly Beings. She serves as an ordained interfaith minister and psycho-spiritual counselor and is the executive director of the Entheosis Institute
• Caroline Kenner: A professional Witch and Tarotiste, a teacher of visionary healing methods, and a spiritual healer also known as the Washington Witchdoctor. Caroline is a founder of The Fool's Dog, a Tarot app publishing company.  She is married to multiple spirits
• Dr. Monica Mody: A transdisciplinary poet, writer, educator and spiritual practitioner whose border-crossing praxis lives at the intersections of earth-based wisdom, whole person philosophy, and embodied regenerative consciousness
• Orion Foxwood: A traditional witch, conjure-man, "Eco-Magical Activist", faery seer; author of The Faery Teachings, The Tree of Enchantment, Mountain Conjure and Southern Rootwork and The Flame in the Cauldron. He is the founder of the House of Brigh Faery Seership Institute, a co-founder of Conjure-Craft, and Witches in the Woods gatherings in California

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We hear a lot about the harm of social media. But what about the good?

Meet two artists who started off on social media by showing their artwork… But once they revealed the hope and kindness and positivity in their hearts? The views, shares and likes piled up in ways they never expected.

Hear how they both are grappling with the newfound pressure of inspiring hundreds of thousands of fans, and find out what Chion's favorite clips from their channels reveal about her.

Listen to the first installment of this series, featuring Joel Cross, Scott Tatum, and Daníel Colón.

GUESTS: 

• LaNia Roberts: Internationally renowned artist, speaker, and positive social media influencer
• Bruce W Brackett: Artist and the author of How to Breathe While Suffocating: A Story Of Overcoming Addiction, Recovering From Trauma, and Healing My Soul

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