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 

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

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You may be familiar with Joan of Arc, who cut her hair, wore men’s clothing and, well, led the French army in a momentous victory in 1429…

But what about all the other women who dressed like the men of their times and cultures to get stuff done?

You’ll hear all about them in this conversation with Tracy Dawson, author of Let Me Be Frank: A book about women who dressed like men to do shit they weren’t supposed to do.

Photo: Kathleen Munroe

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Humans of New York is a photo-slash-storytelling-slash-fundraising powerhouse with 30 million followers on social media.

You read narratives about overcoming adversity, personal revelations, or just flat-out great stories.

Just that combination alone - the photos and their captions - have been enough to launch Humans of New York into worldwide popularity. But its creator, Brandon Stanton, has taken it one step further.

When a subject of his tells a story about a specific need, he shares their GoFundMe page, and it explodes with contributions from HONY fans.

On today’s show, you’ll hear my conversation with Brandon at The Connecticut Forum recently, as he talks about his process, overcoming rejection, and the new era of Humans of New York as a philanthropic powerhouse.

Photo: Nick Caito Photo

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Medical aid in dying offers what some may call “a good death”. But how will the increased use of it change our relationship with dying?

Meet a hospice and palliative care consultant who has been present for over 1,500 deaths, and hear his concerns about the effect of so-called “designer deaths” on the human species.

Then, hear from a woman living with terminal cancer who is an enthusiastic advocate for passing Medical Aid-In-Dying legislation in Connecticut.

GUESTS: 

• Stephen Jenkinson: An author, activist and palliative and hospice care consultant. He is the author of Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, and he is the founder of the Orphan Wisdom School.
• Lynda Bluestein: A Bridgeport resident who has terminal cancer. She’s actively working to get “Medical Aid in dying” legislation passed in Connecticut.

Photo: Getty Images

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What's it like being an environmental activist who takes a vow of silence for 17 years?

What's life like as a Trappist monk who defaults to silence for a lifetime?

And what's it like to be a public radio host who gives up speaking for a week? The voice in Chion's head narrates the experience, and you'll hear audio she collected along the way.

GUESTS: 

• John Francis: an environmental activist who took a 17 year vow of silence when he was 27
• Brother Paul Quenon: a Trappist monk and poet at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky
• Chion Wolf: the host of Audacious who went without speaking for one week

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This is a bonus track from the first time Chion Wolf spoke after a week-long vow of silence.

It was for an episode of Audacious featuring two people who've had their own vows of silence, including an environmental activist who didn't speak for 17 years (with the exception of one time), and a Trappist monk, whose lifestyle defaults to silence.

This video of this moment is also available here: ctpublic.org/audacious.

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The most common name in the United States is Smith, and if that's your surname, you'll have around 4.5 million others in the world to share it with.

But just because you have a popular name like, say, Pat Smith, that doesn’t mean that you’re common!

The four Pat Smiths you’ll meet are unique: an environmental activist, an adventurous videographer, an African-American kindergarten teacher in Japan, and a beloved mentor who taught me in 3rd and 5th grade.

Enjoy the Pat Smith Show!

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The odds that you’ll be in an airplane crash are about 1 in 1.2 million. The odds you’ll die that way? 1 in 11 million. So what’s it like being someone who made it through something like that?

On today’s show, hear stories from two people who did, including a military pilot, and a woman who was one of only two survivors of a crash that claimed 107 lives.

GUESTS: 

• Kechi Okwuchi: author of More Than My Scars, a memoir about being one of the two survivors in a 2005 plane crash that claimed 107 lives. Her debut album is called Kechi.
• Jamie Hull: author of Life On A Thread, a memoir about surviving after a plane crash in 2007

PHOTO: Songphol Thesakit/Getty Images

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It’s one thing to have a hard time with parenthood. But what if you wholeheartedly regret it?

On this Gracie Award-winning episode, hear from two parents who feel this way, and find out how they balance feeling full of regret while wanting to make sure their kids are well taken care of. And is it really possible to love someone whom they regret bringing into existence?

You’ll also meet a woman who knew she was regretted, and find out why she thinks we should be more open about it.

GUESTS: 

• "Anna": The mother to a 1 year-old and a 4-year old, from Iowa
• "Tracy": The mother of a 9 year-old, from Maryland
• Sarah K. Brandis: The author of The Musings of an Elective Orphan. She also writes for Medium and The Virago

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

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This episode of Audacious is tops!

You’re gonna meet the first African-American to summit Everest, the world’s first candidate to consider transplanting his head onto a different body, and how teachers and students of a special education school in the UK beat the world record for the tallest stack of hats worn for at least 30 seconds!

GUESTS: 

• Sophia Danenberg: The first African-American and first Black woman to reach the peak of Mount Everest
• Val Spiridonov: A candidate to be the first person to have his head transplanted on a donor body 
• Julie Lee, Leanne Underwood, Hannah Neville: Guinness World Record holders for tallest stack of hats worn for more than 30 seconds

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