Fill To Capacity (Where Heart, Grit and Irreverent Humor Collide)

Send us Fan Mail

Who kept the lights burning when storms raged, men died, and the sea threatened everything? More often than we realize, it was women—forgotten in the records, but essential to history.

In a riveting and deeply human episode, Shauna MacDonald—professor, performer, and cultural excavator—uncovers the overlooked stories of women lighthouse keepers. 

Featured on PBS, NPR, and National Geographic, Shauna brings their silence into focus, revealing persistence without applause, labor without spotlight, and strength that endured whether or not anyone noticed.

It’s a story of women who lit the way when history turned its back- and of the scholars, writers, and keepers today who refuse to let their stories disappear. For Shauna, it’s about making sure their stories aren’t just remembered, but reimagined as part of the history we carry forward.

These women lit the coastlines. Shauna helps us see why their light still matters.

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

When Sue Abderholden took the reins at the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2001, the organization ran on duct tape, a few staff, and big hopes.

Two decades later, NAMI MN has become a statewide leader and national model—transforming how mental health is addressed in schools, jails, hospitals, and homes. 

In this candid conversation, Sue reflects on 24 years of advocacy, the power of listening, and the long fight to bring dignity and justice to mental health care. We explore words that wound, policies that uplift, and why she never walked away—even on the hard days. This isn’t just a story about mental health—it’s a masterclass in how lasting change begins: one conversation at a time.

Now looking ahead, Sue shares what’s next, what remains unfinished, and what it means to build something solid—ready for the next person to carry forward with clarity and purpose.

Links

NAMI MN  

NAMI (NATIONAL)

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when bedside stories we almost never hear step into the light—and sing? In this episode, Ben Kintisch—chaplain, Cantor, and playwright behind “Life Review: The Hospice Musical” —shares how end-of-life moments became songs that make you laugh, weep, and reach for someone you love.

We get honest about what hospice really is: the power of moments over months, the chaplain’s craft of presence, turning private goodbyes into public courage, and how theater can carry truths beyond words. 

Ben draws from journals, bedside memories, and raw emotion, shaping them into lyrics and scenes that hold the weight of these encounters on stage. He reflects on the losses that shape us, the family dramas that surface in final chapters, and the act of transforming intimate goodbyes into music and story. At the center is a brave reminder: claim the days you have, until the very end.

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

When the world goes hard, softness isn’t weakness—it’s strategy. This quick episode is about what happens when you answer cruelty… with a seat at the table.

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

Plot twist: Gen Z, first to grow up with smartphones and social media 24/7- decide now to unplug? 

Meet Olivia Telecky, a 20-year-old Minnesota college student whose article “The Dumb Phone Trend—And Why I Bought Into It” made waves. 

With honesty and humor, Olivia explains why she turned her iPhone into a dumb phone—and what that choice reveals about a generation pushing back on doom-scrolling, questioning the pressure to stay connected, and looking for breathing room in an anxious, uncertain world. She also opens up about Gen Z’s growing pessimism about the future—jobs, housing, even retirement—and how it shapes their choices today.

For some Gen Zers, stepping back from the screen isn’t losing connection—it’s finding a truer one.

(Quick heads-up, friends:  Zoom gremlins snuck into this recording. You might hear a little ‘tin-can radio’ effect in spots, but trust me—the conversation shines right through.)

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

🐾 What does it mean to truly give someone their life back?

Alyssa Golob, Executive Director of Helping Paws, takes us inside their mission to train service dogs for people with physical disabilities, veterans, and first responders with PTSD.

From a mother's loving calls to her struggling son—"go play with the dogs"—to a 15-year-old girl opening her bedroom door independently for the first time, these stories reveal dignity restored, fear conquered, and freedom reclaimed. 🌟

Discover how puppies destined to change lives begin training at just three days old, and how volunteers commit two years of their hearts for the ultimate gift: independence. Alyssa shares insights on leadership, trust, and yes—how many dog selfies she really has on her phone.

Beneath the training and graduations lies something profound: sometimes the most powerful healing comes not from what we receive, but from what we're willing to give.💓

Link:  Helping Paws

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when a veteran’s truth is shaped by a writer, interpreted by an artist, and transformed into something the world can finally see? When the silence of war is met—not with politics—but with art?

With unflinching honesty, Marine Corps veteran and writer Robert LeHeup shares the story behind Bullets and Bandaids, a nonprofit that pairs veterans with writers and artists to turn lived experience into collaborative, soul-grabbing works of art.

This isn’t therapy-it’s something else.  It’s agency. It’s healing through connection. And it’s a bold refusal to let any story—or any veteran—be left behind.

From WWII to Afghanistan, Robert explores the alchemy between trauma and creative expression—and reveals how art becomes the bridge between the unspeakable and the unforgettable.

These stories don’t stay on the wall or the page. They stay with you.

BulletsandBandaids

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

 The high-voltage impact of the ordinary-in this quick episode! 

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

While the world scrolls through chaos and cruelty, something else is happening—quietly, insistently, beautifully. This episode is a dispatch from that other world. The one where people are building, healing, creating, and connecting—right in the thick of it. Not in spite of the madness, but through it. Because beyond the headlines, the human spirit is busy at work

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when wood becomes voice, and craft becomes calling?

Luthier Nina Poots doesn’t just build string instruments—she brings them to life. Born in the Netherlands and now working in the Scottish Highlands, Nina’s journey has taken her from art education to centuries-old violin-making traditions, with stops at Glasgow Clyde College and the renowned Newark School in England.

She reveals how tea leaves and vibration patterns can reveal a violin’s voice, and why building an instrument is as much about listening as it is about shaping. Nina opens up about transformation, trust in the process, and what it means to create something that won’t fully find itself for another fifty years.

This is a story of sound, soul, and the quiet magic of becoming.

Link

Nina F. Poots Luthier     

Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift!    Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com

Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.

Follow me on Instagram!