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

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Not all acts of courage make headlines. Sometimes, being brave means doing something small, but meaningful.

We’re talking about the quiet, low-key moments of bravery that people carry with them for years: saying yes, saying no, starting over, or simply showing up.

Listeners and past guests share their stories of everyday courage, from snapping turtles to stolen cars to personal reinvention.

Poet and philosopher David Whyte reflects on the true nature of courage - not as grand action, but as deep presence.

And Herman Jagpal, creator of Daily Rejection, explains why he’s spending all of 2025 being told “no,” and being OK with that. Plus, Chion takes one of Herman’s challenges into real life... and attempts to deliver a message to shoppers over a grocery store intercom.

Suggested episodes:

• Forgiveness: How we define it and how it defines us
• How regret teaches us to live
• Awe yeah! Exploring the magic of mind-blowing moments 
• Life advice, one Audacious guest at a time 
• Are you very superstitious or just a little 'stitious'? 
• Kitchen objects with a story. Listen at your own whisk 
• What smells remind you of childhood? Hear eighteen answers
• Why you so salty? The anger episode 
• The surprising ways we ritual

GUESTS: 

• Maggie Downie: a Wethersfield, CT resident and owner of a fitness company, whose email to us inspired this show
• David Whyte: Poet, philosopher, and author of Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. His most recent collection, Consolations II, continues to explore the human experience through poetry and prose 
• Herman Jagpal: a New Zealand resident, who challenges himself to get rejected by strangers every day of 2025 and documents his quest on social media @dailyrejection
• Listeners and past guests (in order of appearance): Nathan Markee, Levi Lomasky, Deanna Birdsong, Cat Thomson, Kelly Papa, David Eric Zakur, Ellen Amalia Force, Michael Leung, Casper ter Kuile, Caroline Teti, LeRoy Mcsmith, Joy Brooker, John Dankosky  

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

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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

 

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Hey, kids! Did you know there are grown ups who are just as obsessed with Disney as you?

There's an adult out there who has full-sleeve tattoos of Disney characters, another who’s spent tens of thousands of dollars on merch, and one guy even set a world record for visiting Disneyland for almost 3,000 days in a row!

Those are just some of the Disney adults you’ll meet on today’s show.

This episode originally aired on May 4, 2023.

GUESTS: 

• Eric Aasen: Executive editor at Connecticut Public
• Abby Brone: Statewide housing reporter for Connecticut Public
• Jeff Reitz: Set a Guinness World Record for "Most Consecutive Visits To Disneyland", which was between January 1, 2012 to March 13, 2020, totaling 2,995 days
• Erin Dugan & Zach Bakken: Erin Dugan is the President of the Opera House Players in Enfield, where she and Zach met during an audition for Beauty and the Beast. Zach is a voice over actor who voiced characters for Disney World attractions
• Rozy Ambler: A collector of all things Disney, including ears, mugs, and bags. She is followed by 1.2 million people on TikTok where she shares her love of Disney, and advocates for better mental health
• AJ Wolfe: Operates the Disney Food Blog, followed by over three million people on social media
• Katie Charter: Social worker in Leicester, UK, who has a sleeve of Disney characters on her left arm. Her tattoo artist is Clairy Floofs Tattoo

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

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Remember how fun roller skating was as a kid? Well, the adults you’ll meet this hour are still having a good time on roller skates, but they take that fun to the next level!

Takina Pollack Shafer brings pop-up skating events to her hometown of Bridgeport, CT, where she creates space for people of all stripes to forget their worries and experience the joy of roller skating. It’s a pop-up with a purpose.

You'll also meet the 2024 Men’s National Jam Skating Champion, LeRoy Mcsmith, and the designer known as “Rollerman.” He invented a full-body suit covered in wheels: hands, elbows, chest, back, even his butt. He puts the suit on, lays down and bombs down mountains at speeds around 70 miles an hour.

Suggested episodes:

• Extreme ironing, cheese rolling, and shin kicking: The world of weird sports 
• From wingsuit BASE jumping to record-breaking South Pole expeditions with Ellen Brennan Frat and Liv Arnesen  

GUESTS: 

• Takina Pollock Shafer:  Owner of Skateport in Bridgeport, CT, a pop-up designed to spread and support the culture of roller skating in Connecticut
• LeRoy Mcsmith: Athletic skater and the Men’s National Jam Skating Champion 2024 
• Jean-Yves Blondeau aka Rollerman: Inventor of the Buggy Rollin wheel suit, a full-body armored jumpsuit outfitted with dozens of small inline-style wheels placed on the major joints, the torso, and the back

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

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It was part birthday party, part storytelling spectacle, and 100% Audacious!

We threw a live Show & Tell at Dead Language Beer Project in Hartford, and invited public radio fans to bring an object they love, and the story that makes it matter.

From a PEZ dispenser with family ties, to a holy (literally) beer mug, to walnut shell art that has mesmerized a family for generations, the night was full of big laughs, tiny treasures, and extraordinary moments.

Suggested episodes:

• Audacious Live! Show & Tell in Stamford
• Five years of Audacious: Where are they now?

GUESTS: 

• Chion Wolf: host of Audacious with Chion Wolf, who brought a Gracie Award
• Emily Tracy: Manchester resident, who brought one of many PEZ dispensers collected by her mother, Caryn
• Dr. David Shapiro: West Hartford resident, who brought a copy of a Hasbro comic book with a depiction of himself, in recognition of his work with Stop The Bleed
• Meg Fitzgerald: Senior Manager of Projects and Radio Programming at Connecticut Public, who brought a walnut that folds open and holds tiny art inside 
• Larry Klein: Meriden resident, who brought a puzzle mug made by a potter named Guy Wolff
• Pamela Morrison-Wolf: Farmington resident (and Chion's mother!), who brought a framed greeting card from her late husband, Guy Wolf
• Christy Kovel: Middletown resident and Director of Public Policy for the Alzheimer’s Association's Connecticut Chapter, who brought her cell phone containing two memorable images from the previous day
• Dave Mourad: Windsor resident, who brought a metal newspaper stand
• Robyn Doyon-Aitken: Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows at Connecticut Public, who brought the cast her late mother had on her wrist
• Ashley Cook: Hartford resident, who brought a shadowbox of her hand x-ray and pins that the surgeons removed
• Michelle Horsley: Hartford resident, who brought her conductor's baton

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

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To celebrate five years of Audacious, we reconnect with a few unforgettable guests.

Ari Cobb, now 13, reflects on how his relationship with stuttering has evolved since we first met him at age 8. Toby Dorr shares how the death of her former partner, whom she once broke out of prison, reshaped her purpose.

Jeffrey Marsh returns with powerful insights on self-acceptance. And we meet Hannah Joyner, wife of Dr. David Meyers, who joined us before his death from glioblastoma.

It’s a heartfelt look back at stories that changed us and the people who continue to inspire us.

Suggested episodes:

• People with speech disfluencies have a lot to say
• Why'd You Do It: I snuck my incarcerated boyfriend out of prison in a dog crate
• Jeffrey Marsh loves you
• After the fire: Stories of what the flames couldn’t destroy
• Views from the end: David Meyers

GUESTS: 

• Ari Cobb: a New Haven resident, who was eight when he first spoke with Chion on the third episode of Audacious in 2020, “People with speech disfluencies have a lot to say.” He is joined by his parents, Michelle and Kei 
• Toby Dorr: a guest on our 2023 episode titled “Why'd You Do It: I snuck my incarcerated boyfriend out of prison in a dog crate.” Toby is the author of several books, among them a forthcoming memoir titled Beyond Conviction: A Love Story 
• Jeffrey Marsh: an author, coach, and digital creator known for their advocacy of nonbinary and LGBTQ+ visibility, as well as for promoting radical self-acceptance. They first connected with Chion for the “Jeffrey Marsh loves you” episode in 2021. They're the author of How to Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life and Take Your Own Advice: Learn to Trust Your Inner Voice and Start Helping Yourself
• Hannah Joyner: a historian, author, and book critic, and the wife of Dr. David Meyers. David, a physician diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018, appeared on the episode titled “Views from the end: David Meyers.” He died on July 2, 2023

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.