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The Story with Charu
The Story with Charu episodes
- The Village Witch Talks Healing America’s Soul
Byron Ballard grew up wild and “unchurched” in the mountains of rural western North Carolina. That lack of religious structure allowed her to grow her own spiritual practices - which later she would identify as Paganism/Wicca, a collection of earth based spirtual practices.
Such beliefs manifested around the world with similar ideas. Ballard is a folklorist specializing in the cultural history of the Scotch/Irish who immigrated to the Appalachian mountains.
You can find more about her here:
https://www.myvillagewitch.com/
If you order her latest book from Malaprops you can get a signed copy:
https://www.malaprops.com/book/9780738764535H. Byron Ballard, BA, MFA, is a western NC native, teacher, folklorist and writer. She has served as a featured speaker and teacher at Sacred Space Conference, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Southeast Wise Women’s Herbal Conference, Glastonbury Goddess Conference, Heartland, Sirius Rising, Starwood, Scottish Pagan Federation Conference, Hexfest and other festivals and conferences. She serves as senior priestess and co-founder of Mother Grove Goddess Temple and the Coalition of Earth Religions/CERES, both in Asheville, NC. She podcasts about Appalachian folkways on “Wyrd Mountain Gals.”
Her essays are featured in several anthologies and she writes a regular column for SageWoman Magazine. Her books include “Staubs and Ditchwater” (2012), the companion volume “Asfidity and Mad-Stones” (2015) “Embracing Willendorf” (2017), “Earth Works: Ceremonies in Tower Time” (2018),“Roots, Branches, and Spirits: the Folkways and Witchery of Appalachia” fromLlewellyn (Feb. 2021) and “Seasons of a Magical Life: a Pagan Path of Living” (Weiser, August 2021). Upcoming: “The Ragged Wound: Tending the Soul of Appalachia” (Smith Bridge Press), “Porch Food: a cookbook from Wyrd Mountain” and a musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg43 min - Growing Up Black in a White Church
Dara King, who is Black, grew up in an all consuming white experience.
Her family became active in an evangelical white church when she was a child. She attended several times a week, even going to the church school. Hearing racist interpretations of the Bible and cruel things from other members started to wear thin on King, who (even at a young age) was Black and proud.
In this interview - she talks about the last 4 years in America, what she thinks the future holds and how she has used her business savvy to cultivate a brand of products that help create a brighter future.
You can order Ollies Fizzies (named after her son) here:
https://olliesfizzies.com
Learn more about the book the family wrote together:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mytinytemper/my-tiny-temper-hardcover?ref=project_linkwww.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg44 min - The Woman Who Couldn’t Vote for Herself
Patsy Keever is a school teacher turned political servant. She was a county commissioner and state legislator in North Carolina for years.
In 2010 Keever ran for Congress. That year North Carolina’s political districts were so out of whack, her district was redrawn and gerrymandered to the point that she couldn’t vote for herself (even though she had lived in that district for decades).
In 2019 a 3 judge panel would rule that the state’s maps were so gerrymandered that it violated the state’s constitution. Republicans had drawn the maps to benefit the GOP with “surgical precision.”
The process of redistricting is confusing, here are some resources that explain what happened:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-carolinas-gop-drawn-map-is-struck-down-as-improper-gerrymander-11567552915 (The Wall Street Journal is a right leaning newspaper specializing in financial/economic reporting.)
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article193814154.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-carolina-gerrymandering/north-carolina-court-strikes-down-state-legislative-map-as-unconstitutional-gerrymander-idUSKCN1VO2MDwww.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg32 min - From LBJ to CNN - The Many Stories of Tom Johnson
Tom Johnson has had an interesting career. Starting out at a local newspaper in Macon, Georgia to working for President Lyndon B. Johnson to heading up CNN in its early years. (Full bio below)
In this interview - writer Charu Kumarhia talks to Johnson about his career, his thoughts on politics and journalism today - and why everyone should have a dog. Tom Johnson is also candid about his struggles with depression.
Follow @thestorywithcharu on IG for photos from Johnson’s life.
He also shared these tips:
The most important "rules" I was taught in my news career
1. GET IT RIGHT! (Aka BE ACCURATE). My first editor at THE MACON TELEGRAPH (Sam Glassman, sports editor)
2. TELL THE TRUTH (Helen Thomas, UPI, on my first day as a White House press officer)
3. DEMAND EXCELLENCE (in yourself and those who work with you). Otis Chandler, publisher of L.A. TIMES
4. BE FAIR! (Ted Turner)
5. NEVER COMPROMISE ON YOUR PRINCIPLES! Integrity is critically needed in all professions! (Bill Moyers)
6. HAVING TWO OR MORE SOURCES DOES NOT ASSURE THAT YOU HAVE THE TRUTH (Cardinal Bernadin story; TAILWIND story; Richard Jewell/Olympic park bomber story---all false)
7. ADMIT MISTAKES. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! PUBLISH THE CORRECTION WITH SAME VISIBILITY AS INITIAL MISTAKE---NOT IN A CORRECTIONS BOX ON BOTTOM OF PAGE 3.
8. NEVER USE YOUR POWER AS A JOURNALIST IRRESPONSIBLY. The day you protect a family member or a friend from truthful reporting is the day you should resign. Be a watchdog, not an attack dog or a lap dog?
Johnson asked us to share his email - he doesn’t want anyone struggling with mental illness to not get the help they need. It’s: [email protected]
Johnson retired in 2001 at age 60, after having served as chairman and CEO of CNN, publisher of Los Angeles Times, editor and publisher of The Dallas Times Herald, assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, a White House Fellow and a reporter on The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. He and Edwina divide their time between Georgia and California where their son Wyatt, their daughter Mrs. William (Christa) Shaffer, their son-in-law Bill Shaffer, and their two granddaughters Brynn Shaffer (19) and Julene Shaffer (18) live.www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg53 min - Spirituality & Politics with Ainslie MacLeod
As a young child, MacLeod would experience premonitions then be stunned that they would come true. He says he would also see spirits. Later, after years of being an atheist and non believer (and after a rather in your face encounter with a deceased relative at a Borders bookstore) he embraced his talent for communicating with “spirit guides”.
MacLeod embraces the concept of reincarnation - the idea that your soul is born and born again in different ways (an idea prevelant in eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism).
In this episode he and Charu Kumarhia discuss why those who consider themselves old souls cannot ignore what happens in the political sphere.
You can find more about MacLeod and his work here:
https://ainsliemacleod.com/
Membership - https://soulworld.com/
Books - https://ainsliemacleod.com/about/books/
Soul World Sunday: http://soulworldsunday.com/
Some favorite blog posts related to the intersection of politics and spirtuality:
https://ainsliemacleod.com/a-few-thoughts-on-the-us-january-2021-insurrection/
https://ainsliemacleod.com/soul-ages-and-politics-the-spiritual-source-of-the-left-right-divide/
https://ainsliemacleod.com/reincarnation-and-politics/
https://ainsliemacleod.com/speaking-your-truth-in-the-age-of-trump/
https://ainsliemacleod.com/trumpenstein/
Also head to @thestorywithcharu on instagram to see pictures of Ainslie MacLeod and link to his profile.www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg1 hr 24 min - Small Business Soul Searching
Brittany Kelly’s family has been part of the Rock Hill, South Carolina community for generations - the good and bad parts of its past.
Rock Hill is the small southern town were civil rights icon and former Georgia congressman John Lewis was beaten and bloodied by members of the KKK.
Kelly returned to her hometown and married another local. In 2018 they opened The Mercantile, a local retailer that sells all sorts of cute goodies - and a dose of history. The store and the Kellys have become a source of activism, organzining and building community. The shop features a community fridge where locals in need can get a meal and will soon take part in a series of dinners where two diametrically opposed diners will sit and talk it out.
While some stores have been closing down due to Covid, The Mercantile has had their best year - a testament to supporting the community you live in.
You can find more about the store here:
https://cdmercantile.com/www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg50 min - Finding Joy - Creating Stories w/ Hannah Hasan
In this episode writer, speaker and preformer Hannah Hasan talks about how the last part of 2020 is still affecting most of us and how we all go forward from here, especially since we may not be able to find common ground.
Hasan feels one of the most actionable things we can do is find joy in everyday activities and in small random acts that bring joy to others we love.
You can find out more about her here:
https://www.facebook.com/epochtribe/
and on Instagram:
@iamhannahhasan
@epochtribewww.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg40 min - From Comedy to Tragedy - The Story of Kelly Rowe
Kelly Rowe was a comic booking emcee and hosting gigs across the country when she met and married the love of her life, Terran Walker. Then they received the news of his cancer diagnosis.
The next several years she dropped out of an extroverted life to help him manage until his death in March of 2019. Rowe who never believed much in spirtual things says she started receiving signs through the process that haven’t stopped. She took up sky diving to help heal her heart and mind and is working on a book about PTSD and healing through extreme sports.
In this interview she shares her story.
See pictures of Kelly Rowe and Terran Walker on Instagram @thestorywithcharuwww.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg41 min - New Year, New Intention - Just Keeping It Together
Journalist Charu Kumarhia talks about how the lofty goals many of us set at the beginning of each new year might be kept more in check at the start of 2021.
For great mental health care tips Kumarhia recommends:
https://www.nedratawwab.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dr.marielbuque/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/southasiantherapists/?hl=en
https://www.sylvestermcnutt.net/www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg12 min - 2020 Ends - But Are We Really Done With It?
Season 5 of The Story with Charu podcast wraps up with the host’s thoughts on the oddest year in most people’s lives.
www.charukumarhia.com
www.charukumarhia.com
Got a story we should share? Email us: [email protected]
Find us online:
https://charukumarhia.com/
Find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thestorywithcharu/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/CharuK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VqE2HKl-9oNDnhz_xP9dg15 min
About The Story with Charu
From the publisher's feed
What are the stories we are told and what are the stories we believe? In most newsrooms across the world there is a morning meeting where reporters discuss the most important stories of the day and…
which ones to put resources into covering. We live in a time where information comes at us fast. It’s hard to take a breath or know what to trust. Knowledge is power, and when you know better you do better. I want to explore the questions we need to be asking, the stories we need to hear and what exactly is the truth.