All children are special. All twins are special! And these twins are especially… special!

On this episode, meet twins who:

-Were conceived 30 years ago and only born last year
-Were born on each side of the millennium
-Survived separation surgery in 2004
-Are, at six years old, still conjoined at the sternum

GUESTS: 

• Rachel and Philip Ridgeway: Parents to twins from embryos frozen 30 years ago. Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway were born on Oct 31, 2022 from embryos frozen on April 22, 1992. They live outside Portland, OR with their four other siblings
• Julie, Jacob and Jordan Wallman: Julie is the mother of twins, Jacob and Jordan, who were born in Indianapolis, IN, on each side of the millennium: December 31, 1999 (Jacob) and January 1, 2000 (Jordan).
• Erin and Jade Buckles: Born in Woodbridge, VA as conjoined twins on Feb 26, 2004, connected from mid-chest to navel, sharing a pericardium — a sac around the heart — diaphragm, and liver. They underwent separation surgery on June 19, 2004, which left Erin paralyzed from the chest down
• Callie, Carter and Chelsea Torres: Chelsea is the mother of 6-year-old conjoined twins, Callie and Carter. They are joined at the sternum, share vital organs, and each have one leg. They joined us from Blackfoot, IN

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Last time, we did an episode about dominants in the world of BDSM and kink, and now? It’s time for the submissives to take center-stage.

Learn the difference between “submissive” and “slave”, and four people’s interpretations of what it means to obey, serve, and play.

GUESTS: 

• Kate Kinsey: Author of How to be a Healthy and Happy Submissive: A Practical Guide to Making Your Fantasies a Reality, and What Submissives Want to Know: Real Questions, Real Answers
• Kim Debron: A collared slave and writer living in rural Australia. She has been in a relationship with Master Joe for 18 years. Her fiction books are Souls in Chains, and Broken Links
• Chastity Slave: A Connecticut-based man in a polyamorous relationship with his master
• Blyss: A Maryland woman who identifies as a slave 

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Meet a world-renowned expert on kink who will explain exactly what we’re talking about when we talk about dominants. And you’ll meet three very different kinds of dominants in the BDSM world: One who is particularly sensual, one whose power lies in money, and one whose disability is just another component of his power.

This is the first of two episodes about kink. Tune in next week, when we meet four submissives, three of which refer to themselves as “slaves”, including a Black woman.

GUESTS: 

• Midori: An international educator and author about sexuality, personal fulfillment, and kink. She is the author of many books, including Wild Side Sex: The Book of Kink
• Food Fetish: A Findomme (Financial Dominant) based in Canada, and the author of The Virtual Findom(me) - Your Beginner’s Guide to Helping You Find A Paypig
• Jade Desires: Massachusetts-based Professional Mistress and BDSM consultant with a passion for dominance and sensuality
• Raven Kaldera: Author of Hell on Wheels: Disabled Dominants. He is based out of central Massachusetts and is joined by his slaveboy, Joshua Tenpenny

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When you hear the words, “cuddle party”, what do you picture? Something playful? Something salacious? Something… else?

When your culture equates affection with attraction, how does it feel to challenge that connection? And to what degree can affection be healing when it isn't necessarily connected with sex?

Join Chion as she ponders all this during her experience one-on-one with a professional cuddlist, and then as she attends a 25-person-strong cuddle party.

GUESTS: 

• Amanda Ananda: Professional cuddlist and cuddle party facilitator
• Isaac Paulman: Cuddle party facilitator-in-training 

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Doing stand-up comedy isn’t easy for most human beings… So what’s it like for comedians who have a disability like cerebral palsy, amputations, or Tourette's?

GUESTS: 

• Maysoon Zayid: Palestinian-American comedian, actress, and disability activist with cerebral palsy. She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She’s also the author of Find Another Dream and the graphic novel, Shiny Misfits
• Danielle Perez: Comedian, writer, and actor. You can see her on the latest seasons of Russian Doll (Netflix) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). She wrote on “Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin” streaming now on Peacock, and just wrapped on A24’s first musical, “Fucking Identical Twins”. In 2021, Danielle was named a New Face at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and a Comedian You Should And Will Know by Vulture. Danielle’s stand-up is also featured on the latest season of Comedy Central Featuring
• Benny Feldman: Comedian based in New York City, recently named one of the New Faces at the 2022 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Feldman is known for his one-liners and for performing with Tourette’s syndrome

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Hoarding disorder, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is “a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them.”

On this episode of Audacious, an expert on hoarding disorder explains the nuances of the condition. Then, a woman walks Chion through her home as she explores new ways to declutter her house. Plus, another woman talks about how she began making a lot of progress managing hoarding disorder by talking about it on YouTube.

For more information, visit NAMI - the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Their helpline is is 800-950-6264.

Special thanks to hoarding disorder remediation expert, Melissa Hladek, for help with this episode.

GUESTS: 

• Dr. David Tolin: Founder and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at The Institute of Living. He was also the original psychologist on the A&E series, “Hoarders”
• Rachel (pseudonym): Connecticut resident who has been working with hoarding disorder remediation expert, Melissa Hladek, to declutter her home
• Melanie Renee: Documented her journey as a recovered hoarder on the YouTube Channel, “A Hoarder’s Heart”. She lives in New Jersey

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This is an extended conversation about hoarding disorder with Dr. David Tolin.

Listen to the original podcast for a conversation with one woman who uses her YouTube channel to make progress coping with her hoarding disorder. Another woman gives Chion a her a tour of her home, and describes her relationship with clutter.

For more information, visit NAMI - the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Their helpline is is 800-950-6264.

GUEST: 

Dr. David Tolin: Founder and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at The Institute of Living. He was also the original psychologist on the A&E series, “Hoarders”

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A lot can happen in a year, you know? And if you’re anything like these folks, you’ve read over 365 books, you’ve become fluent in English by watching American t.v. shows, and you’ve gotten over a hundred rejections.

GUESTS: 

• Kelsey Weekman: Culture reporter for Buzzfeed who read 390 books in a year
• Mathias Barra: French writer who became fluent in English in a year by watching 3 hours of American and British television every day
• Emily Winter: Comedy writer who strived to get 100 rejections in one year. She ended up getting 101 rejections and 39 acceptances

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Fewer than 10% of truck drivers are women, and in this episode, you’re going to meet three of them.

Spend the day with Chion and a tow truck driver, get to know a woman who runs a CDL training school, and hear about life on the road from a truck driver who happens to be a trans woman.

GUESTS: 

• Chantel Comerford: A driver for Meagan’s Towing & Recovery out of Danbury, Connecticut. She lives in Sandy Hook
• Michele Howard: Owner of Affordable CDL Training School in Colchester, Connecticut 
• Hope Alexander: Host of the podcast, Simply Live with Hope, where she talks about being a trans woman and her 12 years in the trucking industry. She lives in Georgia

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Our social media news feeds curate us as much as we curate our newsfeeds.

So what if, instead of subscribing to the same old fear-mongering, belittling, judgmental soundbites… We subscribe to accounts that peddle in love?

Today, meet three people who use social media to lift all tides.

GUESTS: 

• Joel Cross: Grammy-nominated musician, poet, meditator, and traveler who asks his half-a-million followers to pause and ask, "How's your heart?", on the handle, @asoulcalledjoel
• Scott Tatum: A hiker and "self-care savage", he's best known by his one million followers for his "Friendly Reminders" on the handle, @ucanoutdoors
• Daníel Colón: Their social media handle, @ColorMeCrazy, combines meditations, encouraging pep talks, and lip-synching motivational messages from Abraham Hicks

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