The Wisdom Project Podcast

In this episode of The Wisdom Project, host Doug Boyd explores the life-changing journey of kidney donation and transplantation through the stories of two childhood friends, Laura Ottaviani-Chacon and Dan Becker. Through intimate interviews with both donor and recipient—before and after the surgery—this episode reveals the emotional, medical, and human dimensions of organ transplantation. It examines the realities of life on transplant waiting lists, the growing role of social media and personal networks in finding donors, and the profound bond that forms when one person gives another the gift of life. Access oral history interviews online:

Interview with Dan Becker, May 27, 2023

Interview with Laura Ottaviani-Chacon, June 10, 202

Interview with Dan Becker, Laura Ottaviani-Chacon, July 21, 2023

For more information about kidney donation or about becoming an organ donor: The National Kidney Foundation Episode produced by Doug Boyd Assistant Producer: Megan Hubbard and Emma Haas Music by Doug Boyd. The Wisdom Project is a podcast produced by the Louie B Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky LIbraries.

In this episode of The Wisdom Project Podcast, host Doug Boyd interviews acclaimed actor Steve Zahn for a deeply personal and unexpected conversation that moves far beyond Hollywood. Recorded as part of the Nunn Center's From Combat to Kentucky oral history project, this episode explores Zahn's lifelong fascination with military history, his profound respect for veterans, and his transformative experience traveling to Iraq on a 2008 Ambassadors of Hollywood morale tour. Access oral history interviews online: Interview with Steve Zahn, May 29, 2013 From Combat to Kentucky Oral HIstory Project Episode produced by Doug Boyd Assistant Producer: Megan Hubbard Music by Doug Boyd. The Wisdom Project is a podcast produced by the Louie B Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky LIbraries.

In early 2021, the Nunn Center and Dr. Janice Fernheimer partnered to launch the Women in Bourbon Oral History Project. This oral history project, built in collaboration with students, documents women who have played important roles in Kentucky's bourbon industry. Doug Boyd and Janice Fernheimer reflect on this phase of the oral history project and some key themes expressed in the interviews.

Access oral history interviews online: The Women in Bourbon Oral History Project.

Episode produced by Doug Boyd and Janice Fernheimer

Assistant Producers: Taylor Davis, Emily Fay, Qwenton Briggs

Music by Doug Boyd

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same sex marriage. This episode explores the stories of two Kentucky couples and one lawyer who were part of the legal fight that led to the Supreme Court–and brought marriage equality to the country. The interviews are drawn from two Nunn Center projects, OutSouth: LGBTQ+ Oral History Project and the John G. Heyburn II Initiative for Excellence in the Federal Judiciary. Produced by Doug Boyd and Anu Kasarabada; Music by Doug Boyd.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was interviewed in Louisville, KY in 2013 for filmmaker Morgan C. Atkinson's documentary "The Many Storeys and Last Days of Thomas Merton" The Dalai Lama shared his memories of meeting Merton and the profound impact their friendship had on his life. Interview with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, 2013. To learn more about Morgan Atkinson's documentaries: https://morganatkinson.com

Music for this episode was composed by Doug Boyd

Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries

This episode features an interview with Mark Lyon Thornewill, interviewed on January 23, 2018. In addition to telling a story about dancing with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1947, this episode explores Thornewill's many adventures as a British naval officer during World War II, a priest, a husband, and a father. This episode features an interview with Thornewill's daughter, Joanna Hay.

Interview with Mark Thornewill, January 23, 2018

Music was composed by Doug Boyd, with the exception of a licensed version of "the Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II.

This episode explores ghost stories about ghosts at the Wild Turkey Distillery. The ghost stories are from an oral history interview conducted in 2014 with Olivia J. Ripy for the Kentucky Bourbon Tales Oral History Project.

This episode was produced by Doug Boyd and Maddy Williams. Music was composed and produced by Doug Boyd

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, this episode features a powerful oral history interview conducted on September 11, 2002, with flight attendant Janet Foushee. Foushee recalls her memories of working on a flight that day.

Produced by Doug Boyd; Music by Doug Boyd

This episode explores the personal story of civil rights activist Charles Neblett who was a member of the Freedom Singers. Neblett was interviewed for the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame Oral History Project, a partnership between the Nunn Center, UK Libraries, the University of Kentucky's Office of Community Engagement, and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. Listen/search oral history interviews here: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/catalog/xt7prr1pk37h

Produced by Doug Boyd and Hannah Jones; Music by Doug Boyd

This episode explores the story of moonshine in Wayne County, Kentucky. Interviews are part of the Moonshiners and Revenuers Oral History Project at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries and were conducted by Betty Boles Ellison and Russell Stockton between 1986-1988.

Listen/search oral history interviews here: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/catalog/xt7kd50fxr0c

Produced by Doug Boyd and Hannah Jones.; Music by Doug Boyd