Cranford Radio

In October 2024 Cranford Radio featured its first AI-hosted podcast. It was amazing and scary. 

As the technology continues to evolve, there's a new experimental program by a company called Sesame. In a demo available online you can chat live with one of two voices; Maya and Miles. Both have distinct personalities. In this week's episode I have Maya as my guest. 

I wanted to not only demonstrate the technology but to show what this particular AI program knows about Cranford. We talk about topics such as the Rahway River, Downtown Cranford and CHS. The interview is only lightly edited to show some of the challenges of talking to a computer in real time. 

Emilio DiFabio's first line in a performance was "Chop the tree." Since that inauspicious beginning, Emilio's roles have become much more noteworthy. Most recently, he plays the role of the coroner in American Trash. While being an actor is his latest adventure, he continues working at his company, DiFabio Construction.

On this week's podcast he talks about how he became involved in acting but also about his Cranford-based firm.

When you stop to think about it we're pitching all the time. It might be something informal, such as telling a friend about a great restaurant they should try. Sometimes the stakes are higher. You want a potential customer to buy your product or service or you're hoping to convince investors to finance your business idea. 

Lori Stahl Liegeois has spent a career crafting pitches. Now she and her business, The Pitch Collective, are helping others refine their abilities to create effective pitches for their own businesses. Lori is my guest on this week's Cranford Radio podcast.

It's been less than a year that Cranford Neighbors has been published. In that time, the magazine has featured a number of families in town. They come from a variety of backgrounds but they all have wonderful stories to tell.

The man behind the publication is Pete Coates. The periodical also includes day trips, recipes and more and it's made possible by area businesses which advertise in the monthly.

This week I turn the tables on Pete and showcase his story and how Cranford Neighbors came to be. 

In the 1980s Karen Coburn was attending Cranford High School. Some of her friends and their families had become involved with The People of Hope, a Catholic covenant community. Many years later, after moving to Los Angeles, Karen became interested in what happened to the group and those from Cranford who became a part of it. That interest led to an eight-episode podcast series called Shadow of Hope. 

Karen is my guest on this week's episode to discuss the group and her podcast. 

Given the many Cranford residents who claim some Irish heritage, it might be surprising to learn that there's never been a St. Patrick's Day parade in town. That changes on March 16 when the community's first such parade will kickoff at 1 pm at the Community Center and wind it way down Walnut and North Union avenues.

Two of the people behind the march are Mayor Terrance Curran and Barry O'Donovan.

Barry is the former owner of Kilkenny House. I interviewed Barry in 2014.

A number of businesses and individuals are sponsoring the festivities. Cougar Headquarters is selling merchandise to help deck you out.

I speak with Barry and Terry on this week's Cranford Radio podcast.

July will mark the second anniversary of the start of the Rev. Marc Vicari's pastorate at St. Michael Church. The Cranford assignment is just one of a number of roles Father Marc has had during his ministry. These include campus ministry, working for the Newark Archdiocese, and teaching.

On today's episode I speak with Father Marc to learn more about his background, including his years growing up in New Jersey, his time as a student at Seton Hall University and a return to campus to study for the priesthood at the Immaculate Conception Seminary.   

In the early 1980s a new, little understood disease was primarily affecting two marginalized groups of people; gay men and intravenous drug users. The deadly ailment which, at the time, had no known treatment, sparked widely varying reactions.

Angels in America looks at the AIDS crisis in New York City in the mid 1980s. Cranford Radio spoke with five people involved in the Cranford Dramatic Club production; Michael Kidney (director), Richard J. Colonna (Roy Cohn), Molly Reinhardt (Harper Pitt), Corey Chichizola (Prior Walter) and Aaron Hancock (Belize).

The play will run weekends from February 14 through March 1. Tickets are available online and at the box office on performance days.

Lori Talbot grew up in Cranford and shortly after graduating college returned to town to start a 33-year career as a teacher at Hillside Avenue School.

Since retiring she's found new opportunities to use her creative skills as a columnist and content creator. She writes a monthly column for Cranford Neighbors and also has a presence on Facebook and Instagram under Life with Lori.

She also works for New Jersey Blood Services, something that grew out of two deeply personal life experiences where her late husband and her daughter received blood transfusions as they battled health issues.

On January 30, there is a blood drive in Garwood in honor of her husband, Bob Talbot.

You know that voice. That thought you just can't shake or the one you know is there but you just can't quite hear what it's saying. Cranford resident Carly Berger Nguyen decided to listen to that voice after the birth of her children and leaving her job in the fashion industry. It led to her starting her life coaching and mindset business, Little Voice Big Matter.

Many of her clients are mothers such as herself. She helps them find that place in their lives that brings balance and fulfillment. In addition, she writes a blog which addresses many issues people confront.

On this Cranford Radio episode I chat with Carly about her business, the issues she often hears from clients, and a bit about her own journey.