Since 2009, fine art photographer Charise Isis has been taking topless portraits of women  who have had mastectomies for breast cancer as part of The Grace Project. The goal? Photographing 800 women, which represents the number of American women diagnosed with the disease each day.

The images are inspired by sculptures like the Venus de Milo, and like it, the women are celebrated as beautiful and their brokenness revealing the delicate nature of life, endurance and the inherent beauty that still radiates.

Here, Charise talks about the power in the portraits as well as marginalized parts of breast cancer that awareness programs seem to miss altogether.

Our  theme music - "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix - is used with their permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, CB Baby and via their website. 

For public relations specialist and event planner Kimberly Hodges, producing live events and award shows for DC-area businesses, government entities and non-profit organizations is a norm, but a different  calling led her to put pen to paper and create her latest project "99 Things to Do With Your Pants Up!: A Faith-Filled Girls' Guide to Things to Do Instead of Doing 'The Do'"  while locking-down due to Covid. Here, she talks about the divine inspiration for the project and the casual conversation that pushed her to turn the idea into a tangible guide to helping young women live their best lives and find their purpose.

Find out more about the book and workshops at 99thingsguide.com.

Our  theme music - "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix - is used with their permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, CB Baby and via their website. 

After a stint with dance that left her off of the competition and performance teams, Sensei Katie began a karate class in grade school and never stopped. She has been learning, training in and teaching Goju-Ryu, Kyokushin, Shotokan, Judo and other martial arts for 30 years, adding Krav Maga classes and coaching and training youth students for weapons and kata competitions on the NASKA and NY Tournament League circuits to her repertoire.

She talks about how karate became a family affair for her siblings and her dad, why she kept going to class when everyone else in the family stopped, the parallels of  teaching in the classroom and teaching martial arts, how creative competition kata can be, the inherent challenges of sometimes being the only woman on the mat and why she takes the "Always a Student, Never a Master" mantra to heart.

Her schools are Fighting Spirit Martial Arts and Fitness and Krav Maga New York.

Our opening theme music - "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix - is used with their permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.

After being laid-off from his job in Corporate America, Tyrone Griffin started Evil Bunny Consulting, LLC, an individual and corporate job transition consulting firm. Speeches on motivation and dealing with career changes lead to the Bunny Slippers Are Evil podcast for those in job transition.

He talks about how his weekly Internet radio call-in show for job seekers morphed into a podcast, the pain that often accompanies job loss and how  family support - or the lack of it - can contribute to the journey. Originally broadcast a while back (via a chat that began over the telephone), we're re-airing in hopes of helping those currently experiencing job transition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Find past episodes of Bunny Slippers Are Evil here.

Our opening theme music - "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix - is used with their permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.

Music makers  Dan McCollum and Doug Ramsay - collectively known as After 6 Productions - met in the 80s and have been making music for themselves and others ever since. In the second part of their interview, they discuss how they transitioned from making music for themselves to producing for others, why they both have careers outside of the music industry and the impetus behind the production of their new instrumental project, "After 6 P.M."

Listen to their first project "What Love is" here.

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used by permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)

The music production duo of Dan McCollum and Doug Ramsay - collectively known as After 6 Productions - met in college and have been making music for themselves and other artists since.  Here, they chat about their individual musical beginnings, their first - and second - demo, and the  lessons learned from their studio collaborations with others.

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used by permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)

A retired psychotherapist who has studied a variety of Karate styles and other traditional martial arts for over 50 years, he is the author of "Black Belt Healing: A Marital Artist's Guide to Pain Management and Injury Recovery" (Tuttle Publishing) and two poetry collections: "Strong Coffee, Burnt Toast: Awkward Poetry of a Lost Monk" and "Bushido: Verses of Consideration."  In part II of our chat, he discusses cultural connections, the creativity inherent in martial arts kata and why writing a follow-up to his book is a lot like harvesting corn.

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used by permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)

David "Shinzen" Nelson  is a retired psychotherapist who has studied a variety of Karate styles and other traditional martial arts for over 50 years. In part one of our chat, he talks about balancing training and family, being lazy, the freedom inside the structure of kata and Zen meditation, the joys of being a Dhaoist wandered, writing poetry, and his book “Black Belt Healing: A Martial Artist’s Guide to Pain Management and Injury Recovery” (Tuttle Publishing).

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used bypermission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)

An holistic nutrition and certified yoga educator who has been teaching the benefits of yoga and eating a whole-food diet for over 25 years, Saeeda Hafiz is the author of The Healing: One Woman's Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches, a memoir detailing her journey and the hard work that really goes into finding oneself.

Get 40% off an autographed copy using the discount code TIGERLILY at the author's website.

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used by permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)

Well-versed in a bevy of genres, he teaches dance to children and  young adults, passing on the phrases in the footwork he learned from his professors at both Dutchess Community and Queens College. He sat down with his mom on Mother's Day to talk about how gymnastics, track and martial arts helped him prep for his dance career,  the importance of self-confidence, the struggles of teaching dance during a global pandemic, his passion for music and why he still considers himself a student. Follow him on Instagram via @seventh.of7ep.tember.

(Our theme music, "Please Irene" by Lynn Riley and the World-Mix,  is used by permission. Find their release "Say What" on iTunes, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and CB Baby.)