Many of us would think that feelings of arousal would always be welcome! And maybe we would even want more of it.

But for our guests on this episode, persistent genital arousal disorder has made life very difficult.

One woman copes with more than 100 orgasms a day, another searches for peace as her body is stimulated by emotions of all kinds, and another has undergone surgeries and treatments to find relief.

We also hear from one of the world experts on this rare condition on what we know about it, and what can be done to help.

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Robert Echenberg: Founder of the Echenberg Institute for Pelvic and Sexual Pain in Bethlehem, PA
• Kathrine Snyder: Author of Shimmering Around the Edges: A Memoir of OCD, Reality, and Finding God in Uncertainty
• Christine Hazel Decker: Author of Stripped: When Dignity Disappears: A Life Bared by PGAD and Transgenderism
• Lior Ofir: Blogs about having PGAD at her blog, My Vagina, My Life

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you told comedian Zarna Garg five years ago that she would have her own Amazon comedy special, she might look at you funny. So to speak.

She immigrated to the United States at 16 years old to leave a difficult family situation. Then, she became a lawyer and a stay-at-home mom.

But in her mid-40s, she began exploring the comedy world, which has been rewarding her greatly ever since.

On this episode of Audacious, hear the lightness behind her dark humor, and how being an Indian woman in comedy is revolutionary.

GUEST: 

• Zarna Garg: Began her stand-up comedy career at age 44, and now has 1.5 million followers on social media, an Amazon special called One In A Billion, and is the host of the newly-released podcast, The Zarna Garg Show 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Never again."

That was the vow the international community took after the Holocaust, pledging to never repeat the kind of actions that led to the death of over 6 million Jewish people.

Unfortunately, the horrors of genocide have been seen again - in Armenia, in Rwanda, and now, in China.

On this episode of Audacious, meet a woman who was assaulted and forcibly sterilized while in a concentration camp. And a celebrated writer talks about his new memoir, Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide.

GUESTS: 

• Julie Millsap: Government Relations Manager at Uyghur Human Rights Project
• Omer Kanat: Executive Director of Uyghur Human Rights Project
• Zumrat Dawut: A Uyghur woman whose experience of escaping Chinese concentration camps was the basis for a story that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting. She is interpreted in this interview by Zubayra Shamseden
• Tahir Izgil: Uyghur poet, filmmaker, and author of Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide. He is interpreted in this interview by historian and co-author, Joshua Freeman

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of NautiWeek, you’ll meet two people who broke world records while underwater on this episode of Audacious.

Budimir Šobat won a world record for holding his breath underwater for almost 25 minutes! What advice on breathing does he have for the rest of us?

Then, we connect with Dr. Joe Dituri, first as he was living in a hotel 30 feet below sea level for 100 days… And then after he resurfaces, setting the world record for the longest time living underwater.

GUESTS: 

• Budimir Šobat: Beat the Guinness World Record for Longest time breath held voluntarily underwater (male). He used 100% oxygen and went 24 minutes and 37.36 seconds without breathing
• Dr. Joseph Dituri: To research the effects of long-term compression on the human body, he lived 30 feet underwater for 100 days at the Jules Jules’ Undersea Lodge. This made him the Guinness World Record-holder for longest time spent living underwater

Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you know you’re months, maybe weeks away from your own death, what do you most want people to know?

As the first in a series of conversations with people near the end of their lives, we get to know David Meyers. He was a physician who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018. He died on July 2nd, 2023.

Hear his reflections on life, love, and what really matters.

An extended version of this conversation is available in your podcast feed.

GUEST: 

• Dr. David Meyers: A physician from the Washington, DC area. He died on July 2, 2023 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you imagine an umpire, a chess arbiter, or a boxing referee… Do you picture women?

Today, you'll hear stories from three women in the sports world who are thriving in those particular positions of power.

GUESTS: 

• Kristi Howard: 11-year veteran softball umpire in Mississippi. After getting punched in the face by an angry parent, she is advocating for laws to classify assaults against umpires and referees as a felony aggravated assault
• Martha Underwood: National Tournament Director for the U.S. Chess Federation, a member of the U.S. Chess Accessibility and Special Circumstances Committee, and advocate for the non-profit, 9 Queens 
• Sparkle Lee: First female boxing ref to be licensed in New York and New Jersey, the first woman to ref in the NY Golden Gloves boxing tournament, the only woman to ref a match at Yankee Stadium, and she was the first referee ever to be inducted into the International Women Boxing Hall of Fame

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine you found out when you were a teen that your father was not your biological father.

That is what happened to both of our guests on this episode of Audacious.

One woman, Eve, then found out that her biological father was not the sperm donor her parents chose, but their fertility doctor. This is called “fertility fraud“. It is only illegal in 12 states (not including Connecticut), and not at all illegal on the federal level.

Another woman, Laura, developed health issues that were inherited. After finding half-siblings who were also struggling with similar issues, she asked her donor to disclose his medical records. He has refused. And there are no laws forcing him to comply.

Laura and Eve are now advocating for legal protections and changes to regulations in the fertility industry.

Find support groups for people navigating donor conception at Donor Conceived Community.

GUESTS: 

• Laura High: A New York-based comedian who is trying to get medical records from her biological father after developing a benign brain tumor and hormonal disorders
• Eve Wiley: After finding out that her biological father was not the donor her parents chose, but their fertility doctor, Dr. Kim McMorries. She was part of the advocacy effort that led to Texas making fertility fraud a felony with punishment of between six months and two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think of the word, "Psychopath", what do you picture?

A serial killer? A dictator? A cut-throat CEO? Your ex?

Sure, a few of those folks may be psychopaths. But many people with this mental health condition would argue that the usual stereotypes are way off. They are incapable of feeling empathy or developing any attachments, but that doesn't mean they are compelled to cause harm.

Today, two people who are psychopaths talk about how they've learned to adapt to a world full of feelings.

Listen to the extended version of our conversation with Athena Walker.

GUESTS: 

• Athena Walker: Writes about her experiences with psychopathy on her substack and Quora, where she has over 40,000 followers
• Dr. James H. Fallon: A neuroscientist who discovered after a brain scan that he is a psychopath. He writes about it in his book, The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey there! This is the VERY much extended conversation that Chion had with the writer Athena Walker. She's got over 40,000 followers on Quora, where she talks about what it's like being a clinically diagnosed psychopath.

Please do check out the original episode posted just before this one, which also includes our conversation with Dr. James H Fallon.

He's a neuroscientist studying psychopathic killers, who found out via a brain scan that he IS one. Well not a killer, but a psychopath.

And that's something that comes up a lot in these conversations! The idea that just because you're a psychopath, that you are violent - this is not necessarily true. And it is one of so many things we often get wrong about psychopaths, and Athena is here to lovingly - well maybe not lovingly, but willingly - correct us.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Shannon Litchfield’s 11 year-old son, Cameron, was losing weight and feeling sick, she took him to the emergency room. The x-ray they saw showed magnets, screws, and yarn in his stomach.

We’ll explore the eating disorder known as Pica, where people are drawn to eating objects. A researcher talks about her findings after completing a research study with 600 parents of young children, and meet a woman who ate nearly two pounds of rocks every day for 20 years.

Click here for more information on Pica.

GUESTS:

• Teresa Widener: A Bedford, Virginia woman who developed anemia during pregnancy, which began a 20 year addiction to eating rocks 
• Sigita Lesinskiene: A child and adolescent psychiatry consultant at the Ministry of Health in Lithuania, and a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Vilnius University who has studied Pica in her country
• Shannon and Cameron Litchfield: Albany, Oregon residents who are learning to navigate life with Pica, after Cameron had to have surgery to remove magnets, screws, and yarn from his stomach

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.