Audacious with Chion Wolf

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, @thisiscolormecrazy, combines meditations, encouraging pep talks, and lip-synching motivational messages from Abraham Hicks

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We all know someone who loves Costco, or someone who loves 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, 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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Audacious kids run the world. Or at least, they ought to, because they have a lot to teach us!

Meet a young woman whose unique voice made her stand out to bullies - until she flipped the script and turned it into her superpower. A young man talks about why he's cleaned up over a quarter million pounds of trash in our waterways, and finally, an 8 year-old friend of animals talks about why he held a memorial service for an egret.

GUESTS: 

• Samirah Horton, aka DJ Annie Red: 14-year-old DJ, author, and anti-bullying activist from Brooklyn, New York. She joined Chion with her parents, Sonya and Glenn. Her book is called The Bully Stop
• Cash Daniels: 14-year-old conservationist from Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a passion for fish and wildlife. He has cleaned up 250,000 pounds of trash, recycled two tons of aluminum, and 2,000 miles of fishing line
• Jack Perch: 8-year-old from New London, Connecticut, who arranged a memorial service for an egret which was attacked by two teenagers. He joined Chion with his mom, Annah

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Everybody knows the "Can you hear me now?" guy. And everyone knows Flo from Progressive.

But what are the stories behind Paul Marcarelli and Stephanie Courtney, the actors who play these characters? What's it like being internationally known as the face of a brand? What's awesome about a gig like this, and what are some of the challenges that come with it?

GUESTS: 

• Paul Marcarelli: Actor known as The "Can you hear me now?" guy seen in Verizon commercials since 2001. He is now the face of T-Mobile. Marcarelli is also a founding member of the Table Ten Films production company, and has written and produced independent films like The Green and Clutter
• Stephanie Courtney: Actress and comedian who has played the role of Flo in Progressive advertisements since 2008. Courtney is also a member of the Groundlings improv theater and has appeared on TV shows like Mad Men and The Goldbergs

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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

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When you think about the history of things that have gone viral, poetry is not usually what comes to mind. But as the latest surges in violence rage across the world, it turns out that poetry is something folks unite around.

Meet three people whose poems about war have gone viral, and find out how it both fed their purpose and

GUESTS:

• Lena Khalaf Tuffaha:  Palestinian American poet, essayist, and translator who has authored three books of poetry. She won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for Poetry for her book “Water & Salt” which contains her viral poem Running Orders

• AnnaLynne McCord: Actress who published a video of her reading a poem about if she had been Vladimir Putin's mother. She is the President of "Together1Heart" which empowers women and children victimized by human-trafficking and sexualized violence

• Danielle Weisberg: Comedy writer and writer’s assistant who’s worked on CONAN, Krapopolis, and The Simpsons where she was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Her work has also been featured in McSweeney’s, Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post

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Look at the people in the background of any rich person's dinner party - real or fictional - and you'll see them: The butlers.

How did they get there? How did they learn? And what do they get out of it - beyond the money, of course?

To answer those questions the founder and CEO of The International Butler Academy joins us alongside his executive head butler.

And hear from a palace manager in the Middle East, talking about why she has been drawn to this kind of work for over 35 years.

GUESTS: 

• Mr. Robert Wennekes: Founder & CEO of The International Butler Academy in the Netherlands
• Mr. Adam Shimko: Executive Head Butler at The International Butler Academy in the Netherlands
• Marcia: Palace manager in the Middle East, serving for over 35 years

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Until 2003, very few people knew her name, and that was exactly as she liked it.

She was an undercover CIA operative working to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - specifically, nuclear weapons.

But then, when members of the Bush administration leaked her identity to a journalist, all hell broke loose.

Hear about why she became an undercover agent, what exactly happened when her identity was exposed in 2003, and what life has been like since.

She is hosting the conference, "Spies, Lies, and Nukes" in Santa Fe, New Mexico from November 10-12.

GUEST: 

• Valerie Plame: Former undercover CIA operative specializing in nuclear weapons. Author of the memoir, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House", and spy novels, "Blowback" and "Burned"

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Some people collect stamps. Coins. Trading cards. And as you've heard on our show before, some people collect barf bags. Tiny chairs. Bricks.

And some people's collections are a bit… darker.

Today, come with me as I tour the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal in Stratford, CT, containing hundreds of objects that are suspected of being haunted.

And find out what William Harder has learned about humanity by amassing one of the world's largest collections of art solely created by convicted murderers and serial killers.

GUESTS: 

• William Harder: Collector of artwork made by imprisoned serial killers
• John Zaffis: Paranormal investigator, nephew of famous paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, and owner of theJohn Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal in Stratford, Connecticut

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Oh my gourd do we want you to meet a man who set a world record for riding his giant pumpkin down the Missouri river!

And hold your breath as you hear from two women who won an underwater pumpkin carving contest!

And since it’s officially decorative gourd season, meet the author of that McSweeney's essay whose enthusiastic profanity somehow brings us all together every single autumn.

GUESTS: 

• Duane Hansen: Set a world record for traveling the longest distance in a pumpkin boat in August 2022. His pumpkin, Berta, was 846 pounds and together they sailed for 38 miles down the Missouri River. It took 12 hours
• Josephine Walker & Stephanie McClary: Mother/daughter duo who won the Underwater Pumpkin Carving contest at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in October of 2019. Their design was of moray eels embracing a heart
• Colin Nissan: Author of It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers, originally published in McSweeney’s in 2009

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