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A cat runs for office with an honest one-word platform, “Crime,” and somehow that’s only the start. I’m Michael Over There, and I’m keeping The Anne Levine Show rolling with the same curious tone, a little grief in the background, and a lot of strange stories that might make you stop and say, wait, that’s real?

We start with animal mayors in Somerville, Massachusetts and Divide, Colorado, then zoom out to the surprisingly deep American tradition of “electing” pets to raise money, pull in tourists, and give communities a symbol they can agree on. If you think that’s odd, wait until you meet the legendary goat mayors of Lajitas, Texas and the Clay Henry saga that reads like folklore with newspaper receipts.

Then we hit two 100-meter world records that feel like dares made manifest: a barefoot sprint across 661 pounds of LEGO bricks, and a quadrupedal sprint record set by an athlete who studies animals to perfect running on all fours. From there the tone swings between internet-era weirdness (including questionable Florida “laws”) and true historical catastrophe with the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, a Boston disaster that changed building regulations and left the city sticky for months.

The back half gets speculative and a little philosophical: robot pets, Tamagotchi nostalgia, and whether AI could invent a religion built on curiosity and “holy” questions. We also ask what museums will collect from our era, from early smartphones to digital-only art, before closing out with strange-but-true tales, a quick Spider Noir review, and a very sincere love letter to Tillamook cheese and malted milk ice cream.

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Next Week - Silverlake!

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I’m back behind the mic after a long silence, and I’m doing it without Anne, the absolute love of my life. Losing her changes everything about how this show feels, but I still want a place where we can hang out, be curious, and talk about the strange world we’re building together even when life hurts.

We start with a story that sounds like science fiction but is already real: a household robot helping an older couple stay in their home after they lose a service dog. It prompts daily routines, nudges healthy habits, and even turns into an exercise coach. That kicks off the bigger questions I can’t stop thinking about: would you trust a caregiving robot with your parents, is robot companionship better than loneliness, and what happens when this tech gets cheap enough for everyone? Along the way I connect it to the subscription economy and why “help” is starting to look like another monthly fee.

Then we zoom out to the broader AI and technology moment. I look back at how people once feared elevators, telephones, and ATMs, and I lay out why I think physical robots will become as normal as microwave ovens, especially in warehouses and manufacturing. We also hit the upside of AI in science: NASA TESS data plus a new AI pipeline called Raven confirming exoplanets humans missed, and a James Webb Space Telescope deep dive into an unusual planet pairing. Finally, we take a hard left into history and mystery with an ancient Italian sanctuary uncovered during construction, treasure coins from the 1715 Spanish fleet, and the Whydah pirate wreck right here on Cape Cod.

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Prednisone is supposed to help, but what happens when it flips every switch in your body at once? We’re talking candidly about corticosteroid side effects and the real day-to-day fallout: a heart that won’t settle down, sleep that disappears, cravings that feel like a possession, and the weird emotional intensity that makes you buy “just one more” thing you do not need. If you’ve ever felt like your meds changed your personality, you’ll recognize the tension between relief and regret.

From there we slide into food anxiety with receipts. We break down the viral “bread washing” test, why some wheat bread is basically white bread with coloring, and how vague terms like natural flavors can hide a lot of processing. We also run through a list of American foods and additives restricted or banned elsewhere, including chlorine-washed chicken, ractopamine-treated pork, potassium bromate in bread, and preservative-heavy snacks. It’s not a lecture, it’s a nudge toward defensive shopping and clearer labels.

Then we let ourselves be ridiculous because the internet demanded it: yes, scientists investigated whether mayonnaise can be a musical instrument. We use that as a palate cleanser before jumping back to real life, including weight gain frustration, shout-outs, visitors arriving, a cleaner who has fully checked out, and the kind of strange news that makes you grateful you can still laugh.

If you like honest health talk, food label skepticism, and sharp humor from community radio, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. And if you can, support local broadcasting by donating at womr.org.

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The headlines feel like they’re written by a prankster, so we start where any sane Tuesday begins: an April Fool’s argument about Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, and whether “What A Fool Believes” can possibly be called a cover. Then the mood shifts hard into a true crime mystery that’s been eating at us, the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother. With a $1 million reward, cameras everywhere, and weeks gone by, we keep coming back to the same question: what motive makes sense, and why does it still feel like nobody knows anything?

From there we jump to Jerusalem and Palm Sunday reporting about access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, plus the way a single claim can turn into global outrage when people are already raw. Anne brings lived experience from Israel and pushes back on what sounds exaggerated, while we talk about why sources matter, what gets lost in translation, and how fear travels faster than facts.

The back half turns into a whirlwind of modern anxiety and very real consequences: rumors of boots on the ground in Iran, a teacher accused of bringing marijuana to school to sell to minors, and the rise of AI music and AI-generated junk that’s slipping onto charts. We also get personal about how AI can be used for harassment and stalking, then zoom out to public health with measles surging again. We end on incarceration stories and deaths in custody, then take one last sharp detour into the bizarre with “baloney pockets,” plus pop culture check-ins from The Hail Mary Project to celebrity image changes and classic-rock cameos.

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Feathers in faces, wisteria on bodices, and a brooch so big it becomes a character. We’re coming to you from WOMR/WFMR with our full 2026 Oscars roundup, and we’re not playing it safe. Michael and I start with something that’s been bugging us all week: the rise of AI voices in media and how quickly “real people” can get swapped for something that sounds human enough. That thread keeps popping up as we watch Hollywood try to stay glamorous while the ground shifts under it.

Then we hit the red carpet hard. We talk feather overload, the rare white-gown prophecy that actually works, and the looks that feel instantly iconic versus the ones that feel like a craft project. We also dig into the documentary race, the films we were rooting for, and why the winner still lands as important. From there it’s a rapid-fire tour of the night’s biggest fashion debates, including our unapologetic worst-dressed picks and a longer chat about stylists, aging, and what it means to dress for your body when millions are judging every seam.

And yes, we get to Conan. The fake commercials are killer, the jokes are sharp, and the most shocking takeaway might be this: starting in 2029, the Oscars won’t be on television at all, they’ll be YouTube-exclusive. Add in winners, acting highlights, Devil Wears Prada 2 news, Project Hail Mary anticipation, and an In Memoriam that genuinely hurts, and you’ve got a night that feels like the end of one era and the start of something stranger. Subscribe for more, share this with your favorite film friend, and leave a review, then tell us: which Oscars moment did you love or hate the most?

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Ever wonder what happens when a Hollywood designer lands on Cape Cod with a toolbox, a memory bank full of backstage stories, and an eye out for robots? We invited Jonathan “Silver Lake” Stockwell Baker into the studio and into our home, where he’s quietly transforming rooms while we broadcast. What starts with a 1975 Pirates of Penzance audition blooms into a bigger story about the places that hold us together, the art that taught us how to feel, and the little rituals—like ocean air and an unapologetic power walk—that keep a life steady.

We travel from Provincetown’s calm streets to LA’s strange present, where delivery bots queue on sidewalks and driverless taxis glide through green lights. Jonathan talks to them by name. It’s funny until it isn’t, and then it turns practical—maybe the machines drive better than we do. That sense of uneasy wonder sets the stage for Fluff and Fold, Jonathan’s hands-on design work that treats interiors like living systems: shift a chair, clear a shelf, dust a library, and watch the room remember its purpose. You can hear the care in his choices, and you can feel why a simple rearrangement can change how people read, talk, and rest.

With the Oscars looming, we dig into Bugonia without spoiling a beat: a smart, pacey film that refuses to be one thing for too long, anchored by sharp performances and a cameo that lands with 90s-era charm. And then we face the headline: Timothée Chalamet’s offhand swipe at opera and ballet. We don’t just vent. We map a fix—an annual benefit for the Met and City Ballet, visible support for institutions in real need, even buying endangered art and gifting it back. We remember how many of us first met classical music through Bugs Bunny and Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts. If patient cinema matters, the stage that taught patience matters too.

It’s an hour about stewardship: of friendships that stretch across decades, of coastal towns that fight sprawl, of art forms that require breath, and of rooms that work better when you make space for what you value. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves movies or ballet, and tell us where you land: are you team patient craft or fast-cut chaos? Leave a review with your take—we’ll read a few on the next show.

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A blizzard rolled in the same weekend my lungs gave out (again), and suddenly everything we rely on—power, cell phone reception, hospital routines, even the simple act of getting a meal—buckled. We found ourselves riding the fault line between fear and farce: oxygen levels plunging into the 70s, a CT hunt for answers, and a hospitalist who showed up with a high-pitched certainty and brand-new boat shoes. If you’ve ever felt like a passenger in your own care, you’ll recognize the uneasy mix of tests, contradictions, and the quiet calculation it takes to keep your nerve.

While I tried to breathe, our house went dark. Michael huddled under blankets with the dogs, reading by flashlight while branches cracked outside. Inside the hospital, generators cut us to half power, red outlets glowed like lifeboats, and surgeries stopped cold. The kitchen jammed, the phones rang unanswered, and “non-select” trays landed with a thud—banana, peaches in syrup, and a full-sugar shake for a diabetic. I pushed back, asked for the right insulin, and learned once again that advocacy isn’t rude; it’s survival. Somewhere between the beeping of an alarmed bed and a 4 a.m. dosage debate, a night tech with a brilliant headwrap sang gospel, and the room lifted. Care is clinical; healing is human.

There’s gallows humor too. The PureWick promised dignity and delivered a soaked bed; the fix was plastic sheeting and a no-nonsense diaper that actually worked. Barb, the PCA with the sandpaper voice, narrated the night with Christmas lines and practical grace. We closed with music: Jacob Moon’s layered craft, why tribute shows keep selling out, and why twenty-somethings are lining up for Sinatra. We also held space for loss—names that hurt to say out loud—and a soft goodbye to Neil Sedaka, whose songs thread through our family history.

Press play for a story that moves from oxygen crashes to small mercies, from system failures to the people who keep them running. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a laugh-while-you-cope listen, and leave a review to help others find us. Your voice helps keep this one breathing.

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The week felt like a sports movie that refused to stick to the script. An allegedly slushy Olympic rink turned figure skating into survival mode, where clean edges mattered more than big jumps and a single stumble reshaped the podium. We break down how ice quality can sabotage world-class technique, why Germany’s pairs team won gold by staying upright, and how Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Sheiderov captured gold through control, not spectacle. Along the way, we talk music choices on the ice—Bolero, Paint It Black, and a show-stealing Diva Dance—and why composure after a fall can change a career as much as a quad.

From the rink we glide into curling, that underdog of winter sports that thrives on angles, sweep rates, and quiet nerves. Strategy and patience become the stars, a needed counterweight to the high-velocity wipeouts. Then the spotlight swings to the Oscars, where Marty Supreme grabs us by the collar with a flawed lead you can’t help but root for. We dig into a fearless transformation at the center, Kevin O’Leary’s unexpectedly sharp and menacing turn, and a 90s-leaning soundtrack draped over a midcentury world that crackles with urgency. We also flag Secret Agent, a Brazilian political thriller with Cannes acclaim and historic awards momentum, as essential viewing.

The most intimate moment lands in a doctor’s office: an essential tremor, a neurologist with no filter, and a crash course in what separates tremor from Parkinson’s when the stakes feel personal. It’s messy, funny, and useful—proof that clarity can live inside chaos. We close with winter-weary small joys, a nod to the friends who keep us going, and a soft tribute to a beloved actor gone too soon.

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What happens when the biggest game of the year can’t keep up with its own halftime show? We start with a Super Bowl that slogged through three quarters, then got eclipsed by a jaw-dropping, Spanish-language performance built like living theater—multiple sets, seamless film inserts, a real wedding, and a closing message that correctly defines “America” as a whole hemisphere. We dig into why that spectacle worked so well: intention, choreography, and cultural specificity that never asked permission to be universal.

From there, we talk ads: a wave of AI spots that promised wonder but delivered sameness, the comic timing that actually landed, and the annual Budweiser tearjerker that still understands story beats better than most brand decks. Then we shift to power and pipelines. Netflix continues to bankroll comedy and films at scale, setting the rhythm for modern stand-up, while an indie shock like Iron Lung reminds us a single creator with a clear vision can still rattle the system. The future of entertainment won’t be either gatekeepers or outsiders—it’ll be both, in tension.

Our film segment pulls no punches. Hamnet departs boldly from its beloved novel, trusting cinema’s tools—faces, fabric, quiet—over literal adaptation. Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal give performances that feel lived-in rather than lacquered, and the film earns respect on its own terms. We spotlight Come See Me in the Good Light, a documentary shaped by love, humor, and the urgency of goodbye, with producers like Tig Notaro and Kevin Nealon helping bring Andrea Gibson’s voice to a wider audience. And we hash out Sinners, a lavish, genre-bending surprise whose vampire turn will divide viewers even as its craft and cast impress.

We close with the Olympics, the quad-screen chaos versus Peacock’s sanity, curling’s precise drama, and figure skating that treats gravity like a rumor. Through it all, a theme emerges: honest risk beats empty polish. Whether it’s a stadium-scale performance told in Spanish, an indie film punching above its weight, or a costume department that builds a world before a single line is spoken, we’re here for work that commits. If that’s your jam too, hit play, then tell us what moment you can’t stop thinking about. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to keep the conversation going.

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A blizzard at the end of a long Cape Cod driveway is a bad setting for a breathing crisis—especially when you live with a rare lung disease. Before we could dial for an ambulance, we needed a snowplow. That’s how our week of sirens, scans, and unexpected heroes began, with two brothers clearing a path so help could reach the house and a pair of EMTs trying to place an IV while the ambulance bounced over ruts.

What unfolded next pulled back the curtain on emergency care for rare conditions. LAM can fool even seasoned clinicians, and the first scans didn’t explain why oxygen wasn’t enough. So we phoned the one person who studies it every day. Within minutes, the focus shifted from “Is the LAM worse?” to “This looks cardiac,” and we moved from guesswork to a plan. Admission brought new characters: an earnest ER doc who asked the right questions, a performative planner with grand promises, a Belarusian night nurse who crossed a line and got reported, and a grounded, brilliant nurse who treated the patient like a whole human. Along the way we discovered the Barbey Pavilion—brand-new, oddly designed, and full of sliding farmhouse doors that feel like a fitness test at 3 a.m.

The medical headline is clear: respiratory failure tied to a newly discovered mitral valve stenosis. That means cardiac rehab now, careful pacing at home, and possibly open-heart surgery this summer. The human headline is clearer: advocacy matters. Keep your expert on speed dial. Learn staff names. Ask simple, specific questions. Celebrate the people who show up—Akeem and Rahim with the plow, the EMTs with humor, the nurse who really listens, and the partner who becomes a one-person care team with a stitched hand and a steady smile. We close with a quick swing through Grammys fashion highs and lows and a moment for TV legends we lost, because life doesn’t pause when you’re healing.

If this story moved you or helped you think differently about navigating care, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review with your own advocacy tips—we’ll read our favorites on an upcoming episode.

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