The Tiger Gene

Ever wonder what it’d be like to have the burning desire plus talent to play major league baseball—only to have cancer strike you out? Ever wonder what it’d feel like to suffer through years of chemo and radiation, seriously compromised immunity, a near-fatal blood infection, severe inflammation of the limbs, sepsis, and gangrene—resulting in the removal of your spleen, both feet, and other body parts?Ever wonder what it’d feel like to be grateful for the nightmare—as it also led to an ...

Ever think about how different people do different things to relax? Ever wonder what it’d be like to not just climb the super-steep, treacherous granite Nose of El Capitan more than anyone else—well over a hundred times, but do so 30 minutes faster than it’d take you to watch The Godfather, while ensconced in a super-comfortable rocking seat with a two-gallon tub of buttered popcorn in your lap and a 64-ounce soft drink in the armrest? Ever wonder what it’d feel like to hold over a...

Ever wonder what it’d be like to grow up the youngest of 20 black kids in rural Kentucky, in a four-to-one white-majority county governed by Jim Crow law; the only one in the family born in a hospital? Then be told that if you worked hard and “kept your nose clean”—you just might become assistant manager at the local Seven-Eleven? Then as the only black kid in your school—graduate Valedictorian? Then excel at a Vanderbilt undergrad and med school…collecting award after award along the way? Th...

Ever wonder what it’d feel like to crash into a violent sea—traveling at 120 mph—during a pitch-black night aboard a big old 4-engines dead or afire prop plane—560 miles from land? Then after regaining consciousness—and with a broken back—and somehow managing to evacuate the plane—getting pulled down under the murky churning freezing sea as it sank? Then finally freeing yourself—but gouging out a hunk of your leg in the process?...

Rusty FrankEver wonder what it would be like if your whole professional life relied on full-body physical activity and then an accident broke your neck in five places? If so then you've come to the right place. Our guest today, Rusty Frank, gives insight into the thrilling lifestyle of a professional dancer and how her life was forever changed when one of her routines went "bad." Rusty Frank is an avid supporter of Planned Parenthood, especially the clinic located in San Antonio TX. To l...

Troy ElanderEven wonder what it would be like to be the doctor to some of the biggest names in Hollywood and the media? If so, you’ve come to the wrong place!Our guest today, Troy Elander does indeed have as patients some of the biggest stars and moguls—but you’ll not find him even divulging their names, let alone spilling the HIPPA beans to my fellow Chicago law grad and bad-boy TMZ founder. However, the former president of the LA medical association is even more enthralling than anything Ha...

Ever wonder what it would feel like to be a 16-year old Jewish girl—trying not to get killed by an SS extermination squad bearing down on you from the west and countless Soviet bombs and tank shells raining down on you from the east? Ever wonder what it might feel like to be so hungry that a dead horse was really good eating?Maritza Shelley discusses this—and much moreMaritza Shelley is a supporter of The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. For more information about the Museum or to ...

Bill SpadeEver wonder what it would feel like to be blown forty feet through the air by the collapsing North Tower on 9/11? Then buried under twenty feet of rubble, gasping for air, certain you were a goner? Then surviving—only to be told that everyone else in your firehouse had not survived? Then be told that your uncle was one of the passengers on-board the plane that crash-landed in Pennsylvania, en route to the Capitol?If so, then you’ve come to the right place!Bill Spade is a supporter o...

혼자Being abandoned as an infant on the streets of Seoul was the first of two pivotal events to shape Kristin Meekhof’s life and mold her personality. Her effervescence and ability to turn tragedy into positive growth has inspired many people the world over, as an author (A Widow’s Guide to Healing), a Maria Shriver “Architect of Change,” and CNN anxiety expert during the pandemic. Kristin’s designated charity—“that is near and dear to my heart”—is Grand Rapids Michigan- based ...

Talk about timely: a Taliban RPG hit Carmen in the face while he was embedded with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan; as recounted in Blindsided by the Taliban, a no-holds-barred memoir that alternates between profound tragedy and Larry David's hilarity. After reporting for The New York Times, USA Today, and CBS News, the Pittsburgh native founded and is Editor-at-Large of postindustrial.com, a multi-platform media outlet that focuses on the complex history and future of the “Flyover” Rust Belt an...