Audacious with Chion Wolf

Back in the day — with your Walter Cronkites and David Brinkleys — it felt kind of inappropriate for an interviewer to bring their full selves to the conversation. It was all about the guest, after all, so why bother bringing their own distinctive flairs?

But now, people tune in as much for the interviewer as the one being interviewed. And because of that, the experience feels much more authentic!

So today, you'll get to know three masters of the craft who each have their own distinct, but oh so compelling styles of asking tough, thought-provoking questions.

EXTENDED INTERVIEWS:

• Mehdi Hasan
• Ziwe
• Gayle King

GUESTS: 

• Mehdi Hasan: Host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC and Peacock. His latest book is called Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking
• Ziwe: Comedian, writer, actor, executive producer and star of ZIWE on Showtime. She is also known for her web series, Baited. Her book is called Black Friend: Essays
• Gayle King: Co-host of CBS This Morning, and editor-at-large of O, the Oprah Magazine. She is also the curator of the book, Note to Self: Inspiring Words From Inspiring People

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mehdi Hasan is the host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC and Peacock. His latest book is called Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking.

Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Ziwe and Gayle King.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ziwe is a comedian, writer, actor, executive producer and star of ZIWE on Showtime. She is also known for her web series, Baited. Her book is called Black Friend: Essays.

Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Mehdi Hasan and Gayle King.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gayle King is the co-host of CBS This Morning, and editor-at-large of O, the Oprah Magazine. Curator of the book, Note to Self: Inspiring Words From Inspiring People.

Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Mehdi Hasan and Ziwe.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The poet, Atticus, wrote, “Have you ever smelled a smell and it instantly brings you back to a happy moment from your childhood? I always loved that. I hope that's what death is. Just sitting on a cloud, smelling old smells.”

That’s the inspiration for today’s episode, featuring 18 people talking about the smells that bring them back to childhood.

In addition to the guests below, you’ll hear the voices of Dave Borsvold from Mentor, Ohio, Higuchi Naoki from Osaka, Japan, Levi Lomaski from West Hartford, Brianne Decio from Waterford, Matthew from Ecuador, Nina Lesiga from Stratford, Lisa Niedermeyer and her mother, Michele, from Salt Lake City, Utah, Nicole Currivan from Syracuse, New York, Janice Wolf from Madison, and Brandon Blain from Lebanon, Connecticut.

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Angharad Rudkin: Author and clinical child psychologist working in Hampshire, UK
• Raquel V Reyes: Author of many books, including her latest, Calypso Corpses, and Cooking (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery) Here, she demonstrates how to make Cafe Cubano
• O’Nell Agossa: Originally from Benin, Africa, featured on our show about being a part of a diaspora
• Tanya Ko Hong: Originally from Korea, featured on our show about being part of a diaspora
• Isaiah Herrington: 10 year-old living in Hartford, Connecticut
• Alua Arthur: Death doula in Los Angeles, CA, founder of Going With Grace
• Atticus: Poet and author of the new book, LVOE
• Heather Ream: Writer from East Tennessee, who is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), originally featured on our show about super smellers

This show originally premiered October 14, 2022.

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Tired of the same old sports?

Well, listen to our show about weird sports!

Including extreme ironing, where people press their clothes at the top of volcanoes, in caves, even while hanging upside down in trees!

And there's cheese rolling, where people chase a cheese wheel which is barrelling down a steep hill.

And then there's the oh, so British sport of shin kicking! This is a centuries-old wrestling sport where opponents grab each other by the shoulders and kick the shin out of each other.

GUESTS: 

• Florence Early: Four-time women’s cheese rolling champion, and star of the Netflix Documentary, "We Are The Champions: Episode 1"
• Pete "Buzzsaw" Holland: Shin Kicking referee or “stickler”. Shin kicking is a 400 year-old British wrestling sport in which players try to get each other to fall down by kicking each other in the shin
• Matthew Battley: New Zealand astrophysicist and extreme ironer. He has ironed on places such as mountains, active volcanoes and in lakes and caves

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Puns: some hate ‘em, some like 'em, and some are so passionate about being punny, so committed to quips, so delighted by double entendre, that they compete in events like the Punderdome.

The Punderdome is a monthly wordplay competition in New York where newbies go round after round, coming up with puns on a surprise theme, alongside some of the best punsters in the world.

Join Chion and Deputy director of storytelling for Connecticut Public, Meg Dalton, as they travel to Brooklyn to compete in - and be delighted by - the 'Dome.

GUESTS: 

• Meg Dalton: Deputy director of storytelling for Connecticut Public; wordplay connoisseur 
• Jerzy Gwiazdowski, AKA Lingo Star: Most winningest contestant at The Punderdome 
• Fred Firestone: Co-creator and host of The Punderdome, a monthly wordplay competition at Littlefield Theater in Brooklyn, NY
• Allison Fisher, AKA Rhyme & Punishment: Winner of The Punderdome on May 10, 2023

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In the movies, cyborgs often don't have a soul or a conscience.

But in real life, some people become cyborgs in order to enhance the human experience and to be more connected with nature.

Like Neil Harbisson. He was born colorblind, but now, thanks to an antenna implanted into the base of his skull, he can hear colors!

And choreographer, Moon Ribas, had implants embedded in her feet that vibrated every time there was an earthquake of at least 1.0 on the Richter scale.

They are co-founders of the Transpecies Society and the Cyborg Foundation.

GUESTS: 

• Neil Harbisson: For almost 20 years, has had an antenna implanted into the back of his skull that translates color into sound
• Moon Ribas: A choreographer who, for seven years, had implants in her feet that vibrated every time there was an earthquake of 1.0 on the Richter scale

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When Jenn Carson was nine years old, her mother sat her down and told her that her father had been arrested for hurting people.The world would later find out that Michael Bear Carson and his second wife, Suzan Carson, were serial killers.Hear how Jenn went from a traumatized little girl to a mental health advocate and crisis counselor, advocating against her father’s parole.

GUEST: 

• Dr. Jenn Carson: She shares her experience as the suicidal child of a serial killer father, who grew up to become a mental health advocate, public speaker, and runs the Inland Southern California Crisis Helpline

If you are struggling with emotional distress, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7, in English and Spanish.

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

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In 2006, dog trainer Toby Dorr, , made international headlines when she snuck John Manard, who was incarcerated for life, out of prison in a dog crate.

They were on the run for 12 days, until it all came to a crashing halt.

In this second installment of our "Why'd You Do It?" series, find out what went into all the choices Toby made, before, during, and long after the great escape.

Listen to the first installment of our "Why'd You Do It?" series

GUESTS: 

• Toby Dorr: In 2006, she was arrested after sneaking John Manard out of Lansing Correctional Facility in a dog crate. She is the author of the memoir, “Living with Conviction” and ”You Are Not Your Worst Mistake: Poems from Prison”. Her podcast is called ”Fierce Conversations”. She lives outside Washington, DC

If you are struggling with emotional distress, you can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7, in English and Spanish.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.