The Carleena Show

Brin-Jonathan Butler discusses his journey from his hometown in Vancouver to Cuba in his early twenties to train with Olympic boxers, write their stories, and film a documentary called Split Decision. In today's episode we discuss: finding community, pilgrimage, identity, obsession, and more. We also talk about Brin's new article, Giving Up The Ghost, which will be published in Hazlitt Magazine in February.

Brin-Jonathan Butler has written for Esquire, Bloomberg, ESPN Magazine, Al Jazeera, Harper’s, The Paris Review, Salon, and Vice. His first book "The Domino Diaries: My Decade Boxing with Olympic Champions and Chasing Hemingway's Ghost in the Last Days of Castro's Cuba" was shortlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for literary sports writing and a Boston Globe Best Book of 2015. His work has also been a notable selection in both Best American Sports and Best American Travel Writing multiple times.

Connect with Brin-Jonathan Butler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brinicio

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Special Guest: Brin-Jonathan Butler.

Links:

• New York Times: The Trials of a Boxing Romantic
• The Domino Diaries: My Decade Boxing with Olympic Champions and Chasing Hemingway's Ghost in the Last Days of Castro's Cuba
• Split Decision Trailer

Dr. Zibin Guo is a medical anthropologist and internationally known Tai Chi Master. In today's episode, Dr. Guo describes his journey, which began as a young martial artist in China during an era of cultural revolution and uncertainty. With the encouragement of a couple students, Zibin left China in his twenties and travelled to the United States to begin a new life in academia. "I began teaching adaptive tai ji by accident," Dr. Guo says. "That was my moment of enlightenment." The chance encounter propelled him on a new course and within a few years, he developed wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan, which he debuted at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Eight years later, Zibin received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and began traveling to VA facilities across the country to train staff in wheelchair tai chi. Zibin details what medical anthropology and wheelchair tai chi have in common and how he incorporates the hero's journey in his program.

The Carleena Show Podcast https://carleena.net/ | Ordinary People Share Their Hero’s Journey | Hosted and Produced by Carleena Angwin | Watch episodes on YouTube: https://bit.ly/2AzCFib | Video Editing and Graphic Design by http://stevenllorca.com/ | Connect with Zibin Guo http://appliedtaiji.com/

Special Guest: Zibin Guo.

Links:

• Chattanooga Tai Ji Community (CTJC)

For the past 15 years, Stephen Gerringer has collaborated with the Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF) —a global community of artists, scholars, writers, educators, and questers—to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the work of Joseph Campbell.

Hour 1: Stephen takes us back to his formative years and highlights the turning points that led him to the work of Joseph Campbell.

Hour 2: Stephen provides a brief biography of Joseph Campbell and details how the story sequence of events Campbell coined The Hero’s Journey applies to ordinary people.

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Connect with Stephen Gerringer and the Joseph Campbell Foundation https://www.jcf.org/

Correction: When discussing young Joe's readings on American Indians, Stephen mentioned "Fraser Boas." He meant to say Franz Boas, considered "the father of American anthropology".

Special Guest: Stephen Gerringer.

Links:

• Joseph Campbell Foundation Website

In this episode, I answer listener questions, recap episodes 5-13, share how I met each guest and what broader societal questions their episode posed. I talk about my podcasting process, and mention how a mentor from Goucher College's MFA Nonfiction program helped shape my thinking.

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Steve Exceen is a Marine Corps veteran, father, and founder of Ride for 22, a nonprofit organization that seeks to 1.) raise awareness about veteran suicide, 2.) serve as a living memorial for our fallen heroes, and 3.) increase public knowledge and awareness of Post Traumatic Stress. Steve discusses the journey that led him to start Ride for 22. His organization started with three people and grew to include thousands of riders in Idaho and Oregon, riders who display a picture of someone’s loved one during the 3 hour ride so families know they are not forgotten. We have a special guest on the show today. Steve’s nine year old daughter joins us at the end and says hello.

The Carleena Show Podcast https://carleena.net/  | Ordinary People Share Their Hero’s Journey | Hosted and Produced by Carleena Angwin | Video Editing and Graphic Design by http://stevenllorca.com/ | Connect with Steve Exceen and Ride for 22 https://ridefor22.org/

Special Guest: Steve Exceen.

Two Friends. Different Politics. Attend A Trump Rally Together. And then they talk about it. Listen as two friends discuss their recent trip to see the president speak in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They discuss their motivations for going, fears, observations, the general tenor of the crowd, surprises, and overall impressions. The intent with this conversation is to show how two people, two friends, who genuinely care for each other, can differ in politics and still get along.

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Lynne Forrest teaches that people perceive life in one of two ways--we’re either reacting out of the victim mind or we see life through the eyes of the observer mind, which witnesses without judgment. Lynne is devoted to helping people find and clear the painful beliefs and ideas that have caused them distress through a process of accessing the Observer Self.

"As soon as we recognize we’re on the lower (victim consciousness) triangle, we take ownership of it. As soon as we take ownership of it, we’re automatically moved up to the observer. Now, we begin to ask ourselves the question. What can I learn from this. How can I grow from this?" -Lynne Forrest

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Connect with Lynne Forrest https://www.lynneforrest.com/ --| Link to Lynne's book: Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness: http://amzn.to/beyondvictim

Special Guest: Lynne Forrest.

Sherry Campbell is a social worker and director of a nonprofit Hospice Home in Tennessee called Welcome Home. She’s also the host of a Demystifying Death series which seeks to bring community members together and provide a space to talk about death and dying.

At the end of the episode, two special guests join the conversation. Rakerria Mines and Annie McGuyer Cox recount the circumstances that led them to volunteer at Welcome Home.

"People think Hospice is very sad, depressing. But sometimes my best days are when I come here and spend time with them--the people that live here and the workers. It’s a really great pleasure for you to get to sit with them at the end of their life, for their last few hours." -Rakerria Mines

The Carleena Show Podcast https://carleena.net/ | Ordinary People Share Their Hero’s Journey | Hosted and Produced by Carleena Angwin | Video Editing and Graphic Design by http://stevenllorca.com/ | Connect with Sherry Campbell https://www.welcomehomeofchattanooga.org/ | Episode 13 photography by Raffe Lazarian

Special Guest: Sherry Campbell.

In 1956, Max Baldwin made history as the first person with a disability to compete on an Australian Olympic Team. At 91-years old, Max sits across from me via Skype and recounts his incredible journey—from contracting polio as a baby and loosing use of one leg—to competing in the Olympics in his 20s and becoming the first Australian to 3-track ski. There is much wisdom, humility, and humor in this man’s incredible story. At the end of the episode, Max’s son, Matt, joins me and we discuss the importance of sharing each other's stories.

The Carleena Show features in-depth conversations with guests from around the world. Host Carleena Angwin is a writer, public health professional, and former Peace Corps Volunteer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://carleena.fireside.fm/

Connect with Matt Baldwin through his podcast: https://readingbetweentheink.com/contact/

Special Guest: Max Baldwin.

Links:

• The Daily Telegraph: Queens Birthday Honours include one-legged Olympian

Veronica Slack is the author of a recovery journal series, mother, and an active member of a 12-step recovery program.

During our conversation, Veronica talks about the events that led her down a dangerous path of addiction she didn’t think she could escape. But after several tries, she did escape and every cell of her being propelled her on a path to help others quit their addiction and find the support they need.

"I had no idea what was on the other side of those doors. I had never made it through a treatment program. But I knew what was waiting for me on the streets of Phillie--those horrors of addiction. For the grace of God I walked through those doors. This is why I have such a respect for recovery and institutions. If you only remember one thing from my recovery story, remember that no matter how bad something may seem, if you are still breathing, you can still choose to recover." - Veronica Slack

The Carleena Show Podcast https://carleena.net/podcast/ | Ordinary People Share Their Hero’s Journey | Hosted and Produced by Carleena Angwin | Video Editing and Graphic Design by http://stevenllorca.com/ | Connect with Episode 11 Guest Veronica Slack https://www.recoveryjournals.org/

Special Guest: Veronica Slack.