Chalk Art (0:00:00)

After a loss or during a crisis, art has been a way for people to relieve tension or find inspiration and hope. For centuries, artists have expressed their feelings through music, painting, and architecture. But, what about chalk art? A group of artists, influenced by our current situation, have been creating beautiful chalk mosaics around their town in response to the effects of the pandemic. Today we’re joined by artist Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, here to talk with us about her work with Chalk Riot and making art in a pandemic.

Women and Advertising (0:16:50)

Believe it or not, the average American is exposed to an average of 5,000 advertisements every day. Advertising is everywhere. So, it’s no surprise that it has a massive effect on our values, thoughts, desires, and view of the world. The question is—is that effect good? Does it make us feel better about ourselves? Or is it just trying to get us to buy a tube lipstick? Jean Kilbourne is an internationally renowned public speaker, author, and researcher. She has also created several award-winning documentaries, including “Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women.” Jean is here today to discuss how advertising affects us, women in particular.

Beautiful Lawns Anyone Can Manage (0:35:49)

A lot of people pay lawn service companies to mow and edge their lawns, trim their trees, and prepare their flower beds. Now, if you absolutely hate yard work and you can afford this kind of service, then more power to you. But, before you get tempted to start paying someone else to make your lawn look beautiful, we have some tips for getting started on your own so you can save money and finally pull that lawn mower out before it rusts away in your shed. We’re joined by friend of the show Carrie Ann Rhodes to talk about how to have a luscious yard without being an expert. 

After the Storm (0:52:46)

We’re pretty grateful that things with COVID have been calming down. But even if things could go back to normal in the blink of an eye, we’d still have some emotional recovering to do. We all went through something. Whether you lost a job, a family member, or simply the freedom to leave your house, life was turned upside down, and we’re all walking the road to recovery. So, here to share with us her thoughts on how we can allow this event to strengthen us as we turn towards recovery is trauma expert Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn.

Hamburger History (1:09:49)

When you think of the quintessence of American food, what comes to mind? If you’re like me, you probably think of the hamburger, and for good reason: Americans eat 50 billion hamburgers a year! The hamburger has created over a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. But when you travel abroad, you’ll find that people of different countries are just as in love with this symbol of classic, American cuisine as we are. But, how did this popular dish come to be? And, with consumers becoming increasingly more health-conscious, how is it changing? To help answer these questions and more, we invited Christopher Carosa, a Hamburger Historian and Yale University graduate who recently came out with a book called Hamburger Dreams.

Cleaning Household Fabrics (1:27:17)

You know that moment when you see that your kids’ sheets haven’t been washed in a few weeks, and you feel both disgust and frustration that they either forgot or were too lazy to throw them in the wash on Saturday? Now as gross as that may seem, do you ever stop to think about the last time you washed your couch cushions? Or the bath mat? How about your living room drapes? And although you wash your pillow case often, has your pillow itself ever gotten a good scrub? Well before you enter into full-blown anxiety over the dirt and germs secretly hiding in the fibers that fill our homes, we’ve invited expert and owner of Go Clean Co, Sarah McAllister, on the show to tell us everything we need to know about properly cleaning our household fabrics.