People I Know Show

Weeks ago, fellow Freethought Toastmaster Ross Meisner caught Curt Carstensen's attention with a comment he made about how the human brain works. This conversation is the result. How does our "Lizard Brain" impact what we do and who we are? Do we have Free Will? What motivates Elon Musk in his endeavors with Tesla and SpaceX? And why did Ross buy a Tesla and what is it like to ride in a the car when it drives itself?

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Hodan Nur arrived to the United States as an adult nearly 20 years ago with no English and little formal education. After many years and a few setbacks, Hodan recently received her GED, the equivalent to a high school diploma. In this conversation with Curt Carstensen, a former tutor, Hodan explains some of the difficulties she's endured, such as not knowing how to help her child with her kindergarten homework and struggling to have enough money to eat.

Hodan has learned the value of making friends with different types of people and recognized the importance of not hiding the truth because of feeling shame.

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Curt Carstensen's cousin Sandi Poppen joins the podcast to share her purpose and passion for running, and how it's benefited her life. Sandi has dealt with some significant challenges over the years, including severe injuries from a car crash involving a drunk driver when she was 18, the loss of her mother at 12 and, more recently, the loss of her father and major surgeries for her husband in a matter of weeks. Find out what Sandi has realized about taking time for herself in the "Personal Growth" segment and a specific way should could have been a better mother in the "Being Wrong" segment.

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Bryan Piatt of KARE-11 TV in the Twin Cities joins Curt Carstensen for a conversation about Bryan's journey through television news and how that has led him to a growing advocacy for focusing on the importance of mental health. Bryan and a friend formed Refresh Network as an online video presence focused on putting a spotlight on mental health.

The discussion covers Bryan's quick ascent from being a student at St. Cloud State University to being a reporter on a major market television station and what it's like being on TV, always having to be on, and being noticed in public.

In the "Personal Growth" segment, the discussion covers mental health including Bryan's struggle with OCD and how yoga has helped Bryan. Plus, Curt reveals to Bryan how impactful it was to his life when Bryan and two other friends came out as gay to Curt in the same night.

In the "Being Wrong" segment, Bryan addresses how he was wrong about trying to act a certain way to be someone that he is not. Watch it on video.

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Cory Hollenhorst is a husband and father of four children. Parker, one of Cory's children, has Down syndrome and Cory is an advocate for greater education on what life is like for individuals and families associated with Down syndrome. He joined Curt Carstensen for a conversation to clear up some misconceptions surrounding Down syndrome.

Curt and Cory first met in 2002 during their time involved with the Alexandria Beetles baseball team and have barely seen each other since that year. They catch up about Cory's career changes over the years and what it was like to stop pursuing his baseball ambitions. The conversations gets into Cory's obsession of guitars and obsessions in general as well as why Cory was wrong to remove people from his life.

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George Francis Kane joins Curt Carstensen for a conversation about the Freethought Toastmasters club he founded about 20 years ago ahead of the club's upcoming open house on May 20th in St. Paul, MN. George explains his background with Toastmasters and his involvement with Minnesota Atheists and his background in chess.

Freethought Toastmasters May 20th Open House on Facebook and Meetup.

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Survey finds "No Religion" is as common as being Catholic or evangelical

Minnesota Atheists

Curt talks with long-time friend Jeremy Single on his birthday and just prior to Jeremy shaving his beard in an effort to generate donations for children's cancer research.

For more information and to donate click here.

Much of the conversation focuses on shared memories for Curt and Jeremy and the fact that as circumstances have changed, so has their friendship. In the "Personal Growth" and "Being Wrong" segments, the discussion touches on topics such as road rage, procrastination, time management, and bullying.

Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza

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Anu Chudasama shares her love of learning about space and the universe, her battle with cervical cancer, and her acknowledgement of needing to take more time with important decisions.

Learn more about the Freethought Toastmasters Open House on May 20th.

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Seeing each other first time in a few years, Curt Carstensen and Acoma Gaither reconnect to talk about an upcoming event in St. Paul, MN that Acoma is moderating. The event is called: Restorative Justice: A Conversation on Race & Policing in St. Paul. Acoma describes why she's passionate about history and why race and police relations are important to her. Plus, in the "Personal Growth" and "Being Wrong" segments, Acoma reveals some personal struggles of hers that she has grown from.

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The day this episode is released, April 12, 2019, is the 18th birthday of Mikayla Torfin, who is the oldest of Curt's six nieces and nephews. The age 18 can carry a great significance, especially in the American culture, so Mikayla shares some of what she is experiencing as she nears her high school graduation day and begins her time in college.

Beginning with this episode the "Personal Growth" segment will emerge as a regular aspect of the "People I Know Show" podcast. Mikayla and Curt were recently at the "Core Strength Experience with Michael Bernoff" and discuss how going to that event has put a greater focus on personal growth.

The "Being Wrong" segment is also on video. Mikayla shares how she was wrong trying to be someone she is not.

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