WAT-CAST

We love to gamble. It’s estimated that more than 80 percent of American adults gamble each year, that may include everything from playing a slot machine at a casino or buying a lottery ticket at a local 7-11. Some find it easy to walk away from the table. But for others, those games of chance may turn into an addiction. Recent research has found that between 2.5 and 3 million adults in America suffer from compulsive gambling, an unstoppable need to gamble regardless of the personal and financial toll. A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which has opened the way for sports betting in most states has many experts concerned that we may see even more people develop gambling problems. Marlene Warner is Board President for the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. You will want to hear what she has to say in her interview with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti. 

Each spring, parents face a challenge – finding a summer camp for their children. Children between the ages of 8 and 15 who are interested in the arts, and live in the Washington, D.C. area are truly fortunate. Camp Arena Stage offers more than 75 exciting multi-arts activities, including improv, a cappella singing, filmmaking, rock band, musical theater, costume design, world dance, and much, much more. And there’s a bonus. Students in the camp have the opportunity not only to learn from some of the best artist-educators in the D.C. area, but also from professionals who perform regularly at Arena and other theatrical venues. DeMoya Watson Brown is one of the camp’s outstanding arts enhancers who will be at the camp this summer. She’s a former Rockette who is well know to D.C. audiences from her performances in Signature Theatre’s Crazy for You and Jelly’s Last Jam. In Ford Theatre’s production of The Wiz, she played the Tornado! DeMoya talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about her career and what she’s looking forward to teach the young people who sign up for Camp Arena Stage. 

The Hay–Adams’ slogan is “Where nothing is overlooked but the White House.” That’s because this historic four-star luxury hotel sits across from the White House and provides some of the best views in Washington of the president’s home. The hotel takes its name from John Hay, who served as personal secretary to President Lincoln and was later U.S. Ambassador to Britian and then Secretary of State, and Henry Adams, a historian and Harvard professor who was a descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Qunicy Adams. In 1884, the architect Henry Hobson Richardson designed the Romanesque structure situated at the corner of 16th and H Streets. Today, the landmark hotel continues to be a tourist draw. Sarah Deam, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about The Hay-Adams.

The best business ideas are often borne out of a personal desire to find something better than what is already available. That’s certainly what led to the birth of Modern Pop. Julie Podolec and her husband, Brad, wanted to give their teething infant a frozen fruit bar. But when they began reading the ingredients, they were dismayed to find that these bars contained too little fruit and too much sugar and fruit juice. And, there were some ingredients they couldn’t even pronounce. So Julie set out to create a frozen fruit bar that was healthy and safe enough for her child. Modern Pop was born. Modern Pop’s frozen fruit bars have taken off. The company recently launched three new flavors and expanded nationally into over 3,000 retailers. 

Ever thought about chucking it all and moving far away, to a new city, a new state, or even a new country? Mark Saunders and his wife, Arlene, did just that. After many years working in the tech industry in Portland, Oregon, they made the decision to move to Mexico. They put their home on the market, packed up their aging Audi, and headed south, way south to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Mark wrote about their adventure in his funny and very touching book, Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak. We’re hearing a lot about Mexico these days, mostly from Americans who may have vacationed there, but never actually lived there. Mark and Arlene spent more than 10 years south of the border. They are now back in Oregon, having returned to be near Mark’s aging father. But they still have friends in Mexico, and get back occasionally to visit and reconnect. Mark talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about being part of the expat community in Mexico, connecting with the locals, and how everyone there really feels about that wall.  

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit musical, Hamilton, has created a groundswell of interest in Alexander Hamilton, one of our Founding Fathers and the first Secretary of the Treasury. There have been games, sketch books, coloring books, calendars, even Alexander Hamilton’s Guide to Life. Food writer and cooking coach Laura Kumin explored another angle The Hamilton Cookbook: Cooking, Eating & Entertaining in Hamilton’s World. What was it like to dine with this Revolutionary War hero who helped interpret the Constitution and founded our nation’s financial system? Laura is the perfect person to find out.  At her blog, Mother Would Know, Laura encourages readers to become confident and creative home cooks. She talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about how she researched the material and recipes in the book. 

Entering the Blue Stone is Molly Tinsley’s heartfelt account of something too many of us have had to face – caring for aging parents. Along with her brother and sister, Molly made the decision to move their mother and father into the independent living wing in a brand new facility in Durham, North Carolina. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as Molly had hoped. Molly talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about the ups and downs of caring for aging parents, what she learned, and what advice she has for others. 

Deb Filler is a comedian who performs 36 characters in her one-woman show, Punch Me in the Stomach. In Filler Up! she bakes a loaf of challah bread on stage. One of the greatest influences in her life was Leonard Bernstein, whom she not only praised for his warmth and generosity, but also co-wrote a short film about him. Deb was born in New Zealand but has performed all over the world, including in New York and in Alexandria, Virginia. She talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about growing up in New Zealand, her relationship with her father, and how she finds comedy even in the midst of tragedy.

Do you need a mentor? If so, how do you find one? Should that person be inside your company and industry, or someone from outside? Can social media help you find a mentor? What happens if the relationship doesn’t work out? Can you “break up?” Cheryl Hyatt, of Hyatt-Fennell Executive Search, has more than 20 years of executive-search consulting experience and she brings over 30 years of management and organizational leadership experience to her role with clients. Her breadth of experience, knowledge, and contacts makes her sought after professionally in her field. She talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about mentorship.

Two Trains Running takes place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in the late 1960s. It was a time when views on race were shifting in the post Civil Rights era, but also a time when urban renewal was bringing change to many city neighborhoods. Nicole Lewis, whose resume includes Broadway appearances in Hair, Rent, and Lennon, is the sole woman in the seven-member cast. In this podcast, she talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about her career and her Arena Stage debut in August Wilson’s play.