We recently rebroadcast our Audacious episode featuring Chris Crowe. He's a bird keeper at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia. He spent nearly twenty years as the chosen partner of an endangered white-naped crane named Walnut. She was one of only 5,000 in the world, but to Chris, she was one of a kind. 

Walnut's life expectancy as a bird living in captivity was 15 years. But she died at the age of 42 on January 2, 2024.

In that original episode, just five months after her death, I spoke with Chris about their life together. And from the responses we got, their life together deeply resonated with you. 

Which is why we decided to rebroadcast it! But then something remarkable happened.

A few hours after we decided to publish that rerun, I saw a post from Chris on Facebook: He just got his first tattoo - a giant portrait of Walnut.

When the universe lines things up that precisely, I pay attention. So I reached out to him. I wanted to ask what moved him to get this tattoo now, how it feels to carry her on his arm, and how he’s doing as the two-year anniversary of her death approaches.

Photo and tattoo by Maggie Cho.

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Some people “age gracefully.” These three women age audaciously!

91 year-old comedian, D’yan Forest, commands the stage with her ukulele and sharp wit, spinning the stories of her long life into laughter.

Family law attorney Harriet Newman Cohen, 92, is the kind of lawyer who changed history for LGBTQ+ families and plans on never stopping.

And Charlotte Guttenberg, the 77-year-old Guinness World Record holder for most-tattooed female senior citizen, started inking her body in her fifties and turned herself into a living, breathing work of art.

Suggested episodes:

• Audacious Elders
• Change of art: Stories about tattoo coverups

GUESTS: 

• D’yan Forest: 91-year-old Guinness World Record holder for oldest female comedian, just released her new full-length solo show, A Gefilte Fish Out Of Water
• Harriet Newman Cohen: 92-year-old founding partner of Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, where she is a negotiator and trial attorney who handles all aspects of matrimonial and family law. She is the author of Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds
• Charlotte Guttenberg: 77-year-old Guinness World Record holder for most tattooed female senior citizen

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Who rejoices in making a bad episode of public radio? We do! But only the best kind of bad. 

On this episode of Audacious, meet Jon from Jon Breaks Bad News, who delivers other people’s worst messages for a living. Then, the co-founders of the Golden Raspberry Awards - also known as the Razzies - celebrate Hollywood’s most spectacular cinematic failures. And finally, a few listeners share their stories of terrible dates, followed by a conversation with Rachel Lithgow. She shares her memoir, My Year of Really Bad Dates.

Suggested episodes:

• I snuck my incarcerated boyfriend out of prison in a dog crate 
• Nothing goes as planned: A first-time offender’s prison story from arrest to release 
• How regret teaches us to live 

 

GUESTS: 

• Jon Breaks Bad News: Creator and host of the Jon Breaks Bad News Show, delivering difficult or awkward messages on behalf of others
• John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy: Creators of the Razzie Awards
• Michelle Horsley, Maria Grove, Lindsay Ewing: Audacious listeners who had really bad dates
• Rachel Lithgow: Author of My Year of Really Bad Dates

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What happens when a Brooklyn woman who identifies as queer, liberal, vegan, and an atheist donates her kidney to a conservative Christian man from Virginia?

Kerry Kennedy and Joey Shervey tell the story of what it looks like when compassion outvotes everything else. Their transplant crossed party lines and personal beliefs to create an unexpected friendship.

Then, Lindsay Vigue describes how a small flyer on the wall of a diner led her to become a living kidney donor, and then to becoming the executive director of Donate Life Connecticut.

Resources:

• Donate Life Connecticut
• National Kidney Foundation
• National Kidney Registry
• OrganDonor.gov
• Former Middletown mayor Dan Drew's TED Talk about why he donated his kidney 

Suggested episode:

• The Story Of The First African American Face Transplant 

GUESTS: 

• Joey Shervey: Kidney transplant recipient from Moneta, Virginia
• Kerry Kennedy: Living kidney donor from Brooklyn, New York
• Lindsay Vigue: Living kidney donor and the executive director of Donate Life Connecticut 

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When does creation become prayer? And when does prayer become protest?

Artist and poet Zulynette talks about her new book, Becoming a Soft Woman with a Machete. It's equal parts gospel, therapy session, and roast.

From laughter to liberation, explore how art can be both sanctuary and sword.

Suggested episodes:

• Poet Zulynette on “Seeing in the Dark” 
• The playfulness of poetry with Andrew Dean Wright
• A fireside conversation with Hartford’s “Love Poet”, Olusanya Bey
• Words over weapons: When anti-war poems go viral 
• An extended conversation about forgiveness with poet David Whyte

GUEST: 

• Zulynette: Poet, artist, facilitator, and author of Becoming a Soft Woman with a Machete. She is also the creator and director of the annual storytelling event, A Little Bit of Death, and the author of two other books of poetry, Seeing in the Dark, and Building a Powerhouse

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Have you ever seen Reborn Babies?

They’re these hyper-realistic-looking dolls that are collected for their extraordinary artistic accuracy… And they’re also used therapeutically for people who suffer from anxiety and depression.

Hear from a woman who uses them for just that reason. Plus, meet a painter who makes them look so real, a researcher on the Reborn community and culture, and a photographer who made these dolls a major part of her work.

This episode originally aired on September 24, 2021. 

GUESTS:

• Emilie St-Hilaire is a multidisciplinary artist and doctoral candidate in the Humanities PhD program at Concordia. She studies lifelike dolls and the motivations of their collectors, rethinking non-human companionship
• Irene Golden is a Reborn artist from Spain, and the owner of Latidos Reborn
• Jamie Diamond of New York City features Reborn Babies in her series of photographs, "I Promise To Be A Good Mother" and "Mother Love", and is a collector herself
• Patrizia Bartolomei of Perth, Australia, runs the Facebook group, "My Therapy Reborn Group". She's used Reborn Babies as therapy babies since 2016

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It’s 2 a.m.; the phone rings. The caller ID says Stockholm, Sweden. The voice on the other end of the line says, “Congratulations! You’ve just been awarded a Nobel Prize!”

What goes through your mind in a moment like that?

Meet two people who received that life-altering call. Discover not only the incredible doors it opened for them, but the unexpected challenges that came with such a prestigious honor.

This episode originally aired on October 18, 2024.

Suggested episodes:

• Laugh and then think: What it's like to win the Ig Nobel Prize
• What it’s like winning a little or a lot on The Price Is Right, Wheel Of Fortune, and Jeopardy!

GUESTS: 

• Andrea Ghez: Along with Reinhard Genzel, she was awarded half of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy”. She is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine chair in Astrophysics, at the University of California, Los Angeles 
• Martin Chalfie: Along with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien, he was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). He is a University Professor and former chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. Prof. Chalfie is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a foreign member of the Royal Society

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DING DONG!

Crash headfirst into the world of singing telegrams: bizarre, moving, and absolutely unforgettable. 

You’ll meet Joy Brooker, whose TikTok serenades bring millions to tears and laughter; Jay Bragg, who blends hospice care and honky-tonk into acoustic telegrams; and Paul Mordoff, a children’s entertainer who joins us on a bench by a lake in a tutu-clad gorilla costume. 

At the end, Chion puts it all into practice with her boldest assignment yet: surprising Connecticut Public’s very own president and CEO, Mark Contreras, with a song (while wearing an inflatable axolotl costume).

 

Suggested episodes:

• Meet Prince & Elvis tribute artists who are finding fame, fans, and their own voice 
• Inside the Mascot: The Phillie Phanatic, a Yard Goat, and a mascot maker 

 

GUESTS: 

• Joy Brooker: singing telegram performer from Missouri, known for her creative characters and wide social media following
• Jay Bragg: Nashville-based singer-songwriter, who offers acoustic singing telegrams with vintage charm
• Paul Mordoff: party entertainer and singing telegram performer based in Monroe, CT, who has been in this business since 1996

Mark Contreras: President & CEO of Connecticut Public

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At The Big E, a fair becomes a mirror.

Wander with the Audacious crew through 175 acres of wonder and delight to meet the people who bring it to life! From a Lost & Found sage, to a fairy from the Florence Griswold Museum, to a hot tub ace, to Amber, the bathroom attendant/joy DJ.

President & CEO Gene Cassidy shares the soul of the Exposition, then we follow our heads, hearts, and (especially) stomachs through cream puffs, Pepe’s pizza, cookie dough-on-a-stick, and dangerously good oddities.

Suggested episodes:

• Scenes from the Big E: A fair filled with food, animals, music – and heart

GUESTS: 

• Mary Naughton and Cyndy Penner: mother and daughter duo behind Cyndy’s Bears, selling embroidered teddy bears and other personalized items
• Andrea Anderson and Sabrina Gagnon: at The Big E with their Clydesdale horses from Hobby Knoll Stable in Duxbury, MA
• Susan Rotondo and Bill Motyl: longtime fair regulars from Southwick, MA
• Tammi Flynn: Director of Communications at The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT
• Rita Rivera: a fairy for the day, advertising the Wee Faerie Village at The Florence Griswold Museum
• Amber Stone: bathroom attendant at The Big E and recovery coach from Springfield, MA
• Ed Ame: a Chicago native, who spends most of the year traveling and works at the Lost & Found booth at The Big E
• James Tackett: a man from Madison, IN, who runs the mini ball booth at The Big E
• Darryl Wilson: sales representative for MAAX Swim Spas and Hot Tubs
• Melissa Russell: fife player from Bristol, CT, who performs with a fife and drum corps, and spent Connecticut Day with her family at The Big E
• John Barrows: printer at Eastern States Exposition
• Eugene Cassidy: President and CEO at Eastern States Exposition
• Greg: a Faribault, MN, native, who sells blooming onions at The Big E
• Kevin Gagliard: Operations Manager at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana 
• Lynn Lischke: Newburyport, MA, resident, who sells cream puffs at The Big E
• Josh Virkler: owner of Luann’s Bakery in Ellington, Stafford, and soon Hartford, CT 
• Jackson Panek-Henderson: nine-year-old fairgoer from Newington, CT
• Joseph Haag: owner of Kora and Mila’s Cookie Dough from Plymouth, WI, serving cookie dough on a stick at The Big E
• Josh, John, and Henry Pupa: repeat fairgoers from Griswold, CT

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What happens when adults do “Show and Tell” at a brewery?

In this third live installment, recorded at Willimantic Brewing Company, names are drawn from a vase and strangers step up with objects that carry big stories: a couch cushion, a WWII code talker radio, a NeXT computer by Steve Jobs, a ravioli cutter, a shofar, even a hand grenade.

The results are hilarious, heartfelt, and unforgettable, proving once again that the things we carry tell the stories of who we are.

Suggested episodes:

• Audacious Live! Show & Tell in Stamford 
• Audacious Live! Show & Tell birthday bash in Hartford 

GUESTS: 

• Candace Arey: South Windsor resident, who brought a couch cushion 
• Tim Dwyer: Coventry resident, who brought a piece of radio equipment manufactured in 1941 and used by the code talkers
• Debby Page: Andover resident, who brought a 100-drachma coin 
• Charles L. Perkins: New Haven resident, who brought a NeXT Computer by Steve Jobs 
• Sarah Eyre: Willimantic resident and textile artist, who brought the very first thing she ever knit, a scarf
• Elizabeth Thomas: Lebanon resident, who brought her mom’s ravioli dough cutter
• Sarah Santora: Salem resident, who brought a coin, the Widow’s Mite, gifted to her by her brother.
• Laura Rosas: Mansfield resident, who brought a pair of hiking poles she used on the Camino de Santiago
• Shofar Shoshanna: Storrs resident, who brought a shofar, a ram’s horn 
• Coco Cooley: Middletown resident, Wesleyan University Student, and CT Public summer intern, who brought her worry dolls 
• Gabrielle Zane: Windham resident, who brought an (inactive) WWII hand grenade 

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