Hoot & Holler Radio

Description

Two powerful true stories from Hoot and Holler Radio: Curtis Alderson donates part of his liver to save a childhood friend and reflects on faith, service, and a renewed purpose, while Erika Johnson travels to Mexico for intense shamanic healing with 5‑MeO‑DMT and peyote, confronting deep fears and the challenge of integration.

This episode explores courage, healing, and the unexpected ways love and how psychedelic medicine can change lives.

In this episode of Hoot and Holler Radio, Stacey Porter pulls back the curtain on life as a realtor—sharing funny, heartbreaking, and empowering stories about showing up for clients, supporting fair housing, and the emotional labor of the job.

Later, Jan Dillon offers a tender love letter to the Waffle House, describing how the diner became a place of comfort and community during grief. Both storytellers join the host for post-stage conversations about their performances and lives beyond the microphone.

Host Lee Hunsaker presents two intimate onstage stories from the Grandin Theatre. Bebe Demure recounts the physical and emotional costs of a life in professional ballet, an injury that forced her to stop, and how she reclaimed her body and voice through burlesque.

Mary Beth Wooten shares a medical crisis that cost her career and home, the friends who found her in her darkest moments, and a road to self-love and renewal that led her back to creativity and purpose.

Host Lee Hunsaker welcomes storytellers Cindy Pasternak and Marj Easterling to Hoot and Holler Radio for two unforgettable tales: Cindy’s true story of rescuing Darla the pig and staging a joyful, community-filled wedding with her boar Perry on their little rescue farm, and Marge’s wild, comic adventure that shows us just how far a person will go for true friendship. 

This episode of Hoot and Holler Radio features 16-year-old Mason Bibby sharing how the pandemic pushed him inward and ultimately helped him find his voice as a writer, leader, and orator while transforming self-doubt into public confidence and a deep sense of patriotism.

Then we hear Tyler Crouch’s moving account of family, duty, and the Marine Corps, followed by studio interviews that reflect on hope, service, and personal growth.

Host Lee Hunsaker presents onstage stories and studio interviews exploring long friendships at a turning point and the search for belonging. Ruth Cassell-Huynh reflects on grief, sobriety, and the silence that can grow between friends over 25 years, while Nalliene Chavez recounts moving from Puerto Rico and how hair and clothing shaped her identity in America.

Through intimate storytelling and candid conversation, the episode examines culture, family, and the courage it takes to keep showing up for one another.

Two powerful onstage stories and interviews: Courtney Downs shares her harrowing journey from addiction and homelessness to long-term recovery, family reunification, and advocacy work in harm reduction.

Chad Hutchinson delivers a larger-than-life tribute to his friend Jack—a Texas-born, unforgettable character whose loyalty and humor shaped a community. Together these pieces celebrate resilience, friendship, and the redemptive power of storytelling.

Host Lee Hunsaker presents two personal stories from the Grandin Theatre: Sandra Collins' serendipitous meeting on the Blue Ridge Parkway that led to love and life changes, and Joe Cobb's journey of coming out along the "Yellow Brick Road" that led to personal freedom and public service.

After their performances, both storytellers join Lee in studio to reflect—Sandra shares life with Dan, riding a Harley trike and adventures in Minnesota; Joe discusses family healing, reinstatement in the United Methodist Church, and his role as Roanoke's mayor and advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

The episode celebrates chance encounters, courage, and the power of storytelling to transform lives and communities.

Host Lee Hunsaker presents two powerful stories from the Grandin Theatre: Sara Kennedy’s moving tale of her son Calum’s connection to butterflies and their family’s journey through diagnosis, grief, and eventual acceptance, and Lizetta Staplefoot’s candid story of going to jail, hiding the truth from her children, and finding redemption through honesty.

Both stories explore transformation, resilience, and the healing power of truth and community.

Host Lee Hunsaker sits down with storytellers Alicia Bell and Jeff Maiden. Alicia shares a tender, magical family folktale from West Virginia about the Gully Whomper — a lidless-eyed creature that guided childhood morals and later revealed a surprising origin — and how the story became a keepsake of love and memory.

Jeff recounts his chaotic day as a film extra on The Patriot, turning a one-day gig into an unforgettable misadventure.