Would you leave your family, friends, home, and job to move over a thousand miles away to take care of a pet squirrel? Meet two people who did just that for 8 year-old Thumbelina.

Then, meet a birdkeeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute who was chosen by an endangered crane to be her life partner for almost 20 years.

Suggested episodes:

• Wings, pouches, and snouts: The world of uncommon emotional support animals
• Birdwatching legend Peter Kaestner's journey to 10,000 birds
• Audacious kids: Stories of courage, conservation, and compassion

GUESTS: 

• Christina and Michael Reyes: The human parents of Thumbelina, an eight-year-old squirrel who has more than two million followers on social media
• Chris Crowe: Birdkeeper at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia, and caretaker of Walnut, an endangered white-naped crane from 2004 until her death in January 2024

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Some people help others overcome their urge to steal through research and understanding, while others draw from personal experience.

Meet a Yale psychiatry professor specializing in impulse control disorders like kleptomania. We'll also hear from a therapist and a coach who were once addicted to stealing themselves and are now dedicated to helping others overcome this compulsion.

Resources:

• If you're struggling with any mental health issues, you can always call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Their free, confidential helpline is open 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• CASA (Cleptomaniacs and Shoplifters Anonymous, LLC) - a self-help group founded by Terrence Shulman

Suggested episodes:

• Anorexia is complex. Two people talk frankly about their decades-long journeys
• Full house: The line between collecting, clutter, and hoarding disorder
• Fighting for truth: The struggle to overcome pathological lying
• Faking it: Munchausen syndrome and the compulsion to be ill

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Marc Potenza: Steven M. Southwick Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center and of Neuroscience. His research has focused on the neurobiology and treatment of addictions and other disorders characterized by impaired impulse control
• Tabitha Farrar: Developed anorexia nervosa and kleptomania as a teenager. She is the author of many books, including, Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!: Anorexia recovery for the determined adult
• Terrence Shulman: Author, lawyer, licensed clinician, and founder of The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending & Hoarding. He is the founder of the support group, Cleptomaniacs And Shoplifters Anonymous, and CEO of unsteal.org, a website that helps people send money back to stores they've stolen from 

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Elite bodyguard and security expert Will Geddes talks about how his childhood prepared him for a 30-year career protecting some of the most high-profile clients in the world. 

Will shares surprising stories from the field, and reflections on what it's like when your one job is to make sure your client gets in and out - unharmed. Plus, get practical tips for staying safe!

Suggested episodes:

• Stolen cars and abandoned grocery carts: Taking matters into your own hands

GUEST: 

Will Geddes: A security specialist with over 30 years of experience, advising clients worldwide on various risk and threat-related matters. He leads the firm, International Corporate Securities. He is also a public speaker, media commentator on international security, and the author of the book, “Parent Alert: How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online“

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You know how sometimes you look outside, see a bird, and think, “Oh, hey! A cardinal! A blue jay! A robin!“

Happens all the time.

Now imagine what your life would be like if you traveled the world as part of a lifelong quest to become the first person to see 10,000 bird species.

Get to know Peter Kaestner. He shares the surprising story of how he came excruciatingly close to missing that once-in-a-lifetime shot. And find out why he believes there are a million ways to be a birder.

Resources:

• eBird online database of bird observations, a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

• IOC World Bird List, an open-access resource maintained by the International Ornithological Committee

• Merlin bird ID app by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a free global bird guide with photos, sounds, and maps

Suggested episodes:

• Wings, pouches, and snouts: The world of uncommon emotional support animals

• We, The Dog

GUEST: 

• Peter Kaestner: First person to catalog 10,000 bird species, discoverer of the Cundinamarca antpitta, is an ambassador for the American Bird Conservancy, and leads tours with Rockjumper Birding Adventures

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Missing the Olympics?

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.

This episode originally aired on September 27, 2023.

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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Did you know that food can trigger a trauma response? Somatic educators like Luis Mojica help people feel more connected to their bodies through food, music, and slowing down to feel it all.

Hear how he helps people unlock their pain, and how his life as an intersex person informs his understanding of all the ways a body can communicate.

GUESTS: 

• Luis Mojica: Musician, somatic educator, and life coach based in New York State. He is the founder of Holistic Life Navigation where he teaches people to relate to themselves in new ways through whole food nutrition, somatic experiences, and self-connecting

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Most of us have faked being sick at some point, whether to escape a commitment or gain a little sympathy. But for some, this behavior becomes a compulsion, driven by underlying mental health or personality disorders.

Meet a woman who has written a book about her journey to overcome Munchausen Syndrome, also known as Factitious Disorder. And a doctor specializing in this condition sheds light on its complexities, misconceptions, and pathways to recovery.

Suggested episodes:

• Body Integrity Dysphoria: When being disabled is a desire
• Fighting for truth: The struggle to overcome pathological lying

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Marc Feldman: Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He is an international expert in factitious disorder, Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen by proxy, and malingering, and the author of many books, including Dying to Be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception
• Cindy Buckshon: Author of Liar, Liar, Gown on Fire, a memoir of a lifelong struggle with mental illnesses, specifically bipolar disorder and factitious disorder, more commonly known as Munchausen syndrome. She is also a graphic designer, illustrator, and painter

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Chicago Cubs superfan, Ronnie “Woo Woo“ Wickers says, “It’s not a ballgame if they don’t see me or hear me!”

That sentiment applies to all of our guests on this show! Including Ronnie, 49ers fan, Banjo Man, and Bob Labonne, who is a massive fan of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team!

GUESTS: 

• Stacy Samuels aka Banjo Man: a 73-year-old fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland A’s. He attends games with his signature propeller hat and banjo, and he has not missed a 49ers home game since 1983

• Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers: an 82-year-old fan of the Chicago Cubs since 1949, known and celebrated for his chants in the stadium. His grandma brought him to his first game at Wrigley Field when he was eight years old

• Bob LaBonne Sr: an 88-year-old fan of the UCONN women’s basketball team. He lost his UCONN hat with pins he had collected over decades while cheering on the team in Texas. He is joined by his son, Bob LaBonne Jr.

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With everything being stored in our phone, there seems to be fewer and fewer reasons to store anything in our brain.

But what if your imagination was much more powerful and vast than you think? And with a few simple techniques, you could remember an astonishing amount of information?

Two people who have won international memory competitions and set world records for memorizing will tell you exactly how they do it so you can, too.

Suggested episodes:

• Total Recall: What It's Like To Remember Every Day Like It Was Yesterday
• What it’s like winning a little or a lot on The Price Is Right, Wheel Of Fortune, and Jeopardy!

GUESTS: 

• John Graham: Three-time USA memory champion, author and personal memory coach
• Katie Kermode: One of the top memory champions in the world, holding four world records in different memory events. She also developed software now used in memory competitions around the world

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There are many ways to teach, but few are as impactful as embodying a character as an actor. How does taking on such roles shape a person's life? In this episode, we delve into the experiences of two unique educators.

Discover what it was like for Azie Dungey, a Black actress, to portray an enslaved woman at George and Martha Washington's estate in Mount Vernon. How did this deeply emotional role influence her understanding of history and her own identity?

Then, explore the world of Cory Scott, a standardized patient who simulates medical conditions for training medical students. What toll does this role take on his mind and body?

Provided/Cory ScottCory Scott (left) performs with Kate Jurdi.

Join us as we uncover the profound effects of educational acting on those who live it.

Suggested episodes:

• Actors Mary Elizabeth Kelly and Dean Edwards on the art of impressions
• Behind The Screens: Dressing Schitt’s Creek, Special Effects Make-Up, and Casting Queer Eye
• Behind The Screens: Hollywood Hairstyling, Coordinating Intimacy, And Illustrating The Great British Bake Off

GUESTS: 

• Azie Dungey: Comedy writer and former character interpreter, playing Caroline Branham, an enslaved woman at George Washington's Mount Vernon residence. She also wrote the popular web series “Ask A Slave”
• Cory Scott: Standardized patient at UMass Chan Medical School for over 25 years. He has guest-starred in ABC’s Body of Proof and worked as a stand-in on the movies, TED and TED 2

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