Cold

This week in the Cold, we talk about what makes winter so damned enchanting, and why it's the most creative and romantic time of the year. I'll tell you about why I love the cold, and how I celebrate the poetry of winter - even as I sit through our second major snow storm in as many weeks. The first had us out of power and water for days. We lit a fire, boiled snow, shivered under blankets...and went to a lovely, old bed and breakfast when it all got to be too much. But that was part of the charm! Please join us. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/winter-in-the-cold/

This week in the Cold, we talk about those "there, but for the grace of God" moments. The missed opportunities, sharp left turns, and steps through the looking glass that might flip our lives upside down, but also offer unexpected gifts...like hope, clarity, and wisdom. Sometimes, they even save our lives. These abrupt changes of plans are the stuff of novels, of the stories we fiction writers love to conjure, but they're also real, psychically savage episodes in our human drama. And they happen to all of us.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/there-but-for-the-grace-of-god/

New Year's resolutions are famous for being comically short. We often start out strong, but by early spring have lost our mojo. If we haven't kicked our resolution to the curb entirely by that point, we've surely cheated. But all is not lost. This week in the Cold, you'll hear a story that will make sure you never feel shame for breaking a New Year's resolutions ever again. You might even fell a sense of thrill about your lack of resolve...especially when you look back and take note of what even your failed resolutions have brought into your life. My bet is that it's more than you think.  This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2021/12/31/how-not-keeping-a-new-years-resolution-turned-out-great/

This week in the Cold, we ring in the New Year with a few words on the magic of spending the winter in a f-f-freezing climate. You heard me. The enchantments happen in cities like Chicago, Toronto, Minneapolis, Prague, and Copenhagen. These are places where people have no choice but to make the best of it. They drink and cook and play games and tell stories and fall love in front of a hot fire! I dare say, that after this podcast, you'll never complain about the cold again. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/my-kind-of-town-the-glories-of-chicago-in-the-cold/

This week in the Cold, I have a story for you that will not only renew your faith in humanity, but leave you agog. It's about a man, an art collection, and a simple transaction between two sons that might just heal the world. Please join us.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/a-little-something-to-get-the-holiday-season-started/

This week in the Cold, we talk about the enchanting, utterly wonderful, magical, charming-as-hell traditions of St. Nicholas Day in Prague, and the spirit of atonement this day brings to the holiday season. This is armchair traveling at its finest, and storytelling at its most sincere. I've also got some St. Nicholas Day treats for Cold listeners. Just visit my blog in the link below and scroll down. There, you'll find links to my novels "The Bone Church" and "The Hungarian" (books 1 & 2 of The Cold War Chronicles), which are on sale all this week for a song. That's ebooks, trade paperbacks, and hardcovers. Happy St. Nicholas Day! 

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2021/12/03/a-st-nicholas-day-secret-just-for-you/

This week in the Cold, I offer you one helluva story. It's a war story, a love story, and an account of survival from a woman I knew. I offer it in honor of the human spirit, in honor of Hanukkah, and my one quarter Jewish heritage. Most of all, in honor of art and the hope it inspires. And I do hope you'll join us.

Here are the links to Dina Babbitt's interview for the Shoah Foundation.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRMWD8L1xDg

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e85gLhT5c2A

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/a-candle-for-dina-a-prayer-in-honor-of-the-power-of-art/

This week in the Cold, we ponder lies and the lying liars who tell them. I don't want to give too much away, because it's just too good. Swear it is! Please join us. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/herein-lies-the-truth/

Come join us this week in the Cold, as we take a hard look at the feats and character traits that make up a hero in both fiction and real life.

The common definition of what it means to be a hero has become muddled in the past few years, falling victim to a culture war that has had us arguing over a lot of words and deeds that we used to pretty much agree on. Despite this, I think we all still know a hero when we see one. That's why it's worth endeavoring to put the hero back together piece by piece into someone we can all look upon with wonder again. A man or woman we can admire, emulate, and get behind.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://victoriadougherty.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/who-are-you-calling-a-hero/