Ep. 72 — She went from a childhood filled with fears to becoming a fearless stunt performer and wilderness adventurer / Alice Ford, stunt actor and producer/host of “Alice’s Adventures.”

Alice Ford has had a long and evolving relationship with fear. An all-star gymnast, athlete, track and field runner, and diver, Ford’s life path came to a dead-end one day after she gave up her prestigious athletic scholarship from the University of Vermont and moved to the University of Arizona, to escape the cold. But instead, she wound up getting a whole lot of heat from some members of a drug cartel (tied to her then-boyfriend, who was dealing drugs) who ransacked her home one day but left her and her dog unharmed. It took that incident and several other wake-ups call to get her life on track and get back in touch with her athleticism and gymnastics roots to build a successful career in the world of stunt acting and get back in touch with her love of nature.

Today, Ford is one of the industry’s most up-and-coming female leads, working with directors such as Michael Bey in action-packed movies including “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” and Star Wars, suffering numerous injuries and concussions in the course of her work, which was one factor along with her love of nature, in building a parallel career track as a wildlife adventurer.

Ford is producing and starring in a television series, “Alice Ford’s: World Heritage Adventures.” And she also stars in her own YouTube channel called “Alice Ford Adventures,” where she hosts travel videos from her many hikes and climbs around the globe, bringing her full circle in her evolving relationship with both fear and nature.

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If you liked this episode, do check out these other episodes:

Ep. 68. He survived a near-fatal shooting by ex-wife-hired-hitman / Garrett Warren, Stunt Actor/Director

Ep. 69. A battered cop proves her mettle during the Jan. 6th riots / Officer Caroline Edwards, USCP

Ep. 67. He built a successful startup while battling bipolar disorder / Andy Dunn, Author, “Burn Rate”

Ep. 65. Mexican gangsters faked avocado purchase to launder ransom payment / Patrick Struebi, Fairtrasa

Ep. 63. Held hostage by drug lord reveals the best and worst of humanity / Francisco Santos Calderón

Ep. 61. Heroism, activism, reconciliation with nature / Jerry White, Nobel laureate, landmine survivor

Ep. 71 —  A failed apprentice farmer turns into a renowned futurist / Thomas Frey, Founder and Executive Director, DaVinci Institute & Co-host, Futurati Podcast.

Born on a grain farm in South Dakota, Thomas Frey was an unlikely candidate to become a world-renowned futurist and public speaker. But then one day, when he was four years old, Frey’s parents received a big mysterious box that would change his life forever.

His mom put him on a tractor at age 11 to distract him from the television but Frey would prove to be, in his own words, a “terrible farmer”—because his mind was always elsewhere. In fact, it was in the future. And that’s where it has stayed ever since.

I was delighted to have a deep conversation with Thomas Frey on the future of the world. He’s currently the founder and Executive Director of the DaVinci Institute & Co-host of the Futurati Podcast, with Trent Fowler. 

Over the past decade, Frey has built an enormous following around the world based on his ability to develop accurate visions of the future and describe the opportunities ahead. Before launching the DaVinci Institute, Frey spent 15 years at IBM as an engineer and designer where he received over 270 awards, more than any other IBM engineer. And if that isn’t proof that he’s no slacker, Frey also is a past member of the Triple Nine Society (the High I.Q. society for those over the 99.9th percentile).

If you liked this episode, check out these other episodes:

🎙️Techtopia:

29. How drones, crypto, and satellites are changing the face of war / Thomas Frey & Trent Fowler

28. How Artificial Intelligence is transforming the craft of writing / Iman Oubou, “The Glass Ledge”

27. North Korean hacks complicate USG’s crypto-security efforts / Carole House, NSC, The White House

26. Technology is rewiring Ukraine’s narrative / Alex Deane & Bryan Cunningham

24. What does IRS Criminal Investigation do? / James Robnett, Deputy Chief, IRS (CI)

21. Can machines replace humans? / Courtney Bowman, Palantir Technologies

12. Grandson remembers a “Flying Saucer Pilgrimage” / Bryan Cunningham, UC, Irvine

13. Astrophysicist searches for aliens / Adam Frank, University of Rochester

🎙️When It Mattered:

67. He built a successful startup while battling bipolar disorder / Andy Dunn, Author, “Burn Rate”

62. Machines are the new patrons of artists / Agnieszka Pilat, Conceptual artist

55. Great-granddaughter of a SciFi pioneer spots a UFO / Alex Dietrich, US Navy

38. Father’s gift and brother’s illness led him to crypto / Joey Krug, Pantera Capital, Augur.

30. Acting class led her to build social robots / Heather Knight, Oregon State University.

28. Dermatologist breaks mold in medicine, sports, Silicon Valley / Dr. Michelle Longmire, Medable

21. Disenchanted doctor finds secret inspiration in heroin addict / Dr. Andrew Lees, Neurologist

6. Martial arts contest gives polymath life lesson / Dr. Shawna Pandya, Citizen-Scientist Astronaut

Ep. No. 70 — He built a career path at the age of eight to become a U.S. Air Force combat pilot and safe-keeper of U.S. nuclear weapons / Maj Gen Robert Wheeler, USAF (ret), CEO, Strategic Consulting Unlimited. 

When Robert Wheeler was just 8 years old, his mother took him to the Chicago Air Show. It changed his life. From that moment on, Wheeler became obsessed with an unwavering goal: To become a U.S. fighter pilot. 

Wheeler more than fulfilled his dream. During his 32-year career in the U.S. Air Force, he served as a combat pilot in the B-52 and B-2, earning more than 5,000 flight hours and seven operational commands, including Wing Commands in the two largest bomber wings in the Air Force. 

Wheeler also served as the Deputy Director for Nuclear Operations, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. As such, he served as the principal adviser to the commander on issues pertaining to strategic deterrence and nuclear operations. He served as the command’s principal flag officer responsible for management and oversight of the nuclear enterprise. He retired in March 2016.

Major General Wheeler’s decorated career in the military culminated in his role as DOD Deputy Chief Information Officer for Information Infrastructure and Command, Control, Communications/Computers (C4), at the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. 

In these critical roles, Wheeler obtained a wealth of knowledge about the ways of Vladimir Putin and has some key insights into the trajectory of the Russian President’s invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s surge of wins in the ground game in recent weeks. And he offers sobering insights into Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine if pushed too far against the wall. 

Thanks for Listening.

👍 Please Subscribe and give a Thumbs Up!  

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👂Contact Chitra & Link to Podcast Platforms 

🎙️https://chitra.lnk.to/bio

When It Mattered:

🎙️ Ep. 60. Putin laid his cards on the table years before the Ukraine invasion / Gen. James Jones, USMC

🎙️ Ep. 66. Distinguished diplomat reclaims her narrative / Marie Yovanovitch, “Lessons from the Edge”

Techtopia:

🎙️ Ep. 29. How drones, crypto, and satellites are changing the future of war / Thomas Frey & Trent Fowler

🎙️ Ep. 26. Technology is rewiring Ukraine’s narrative / Alex Deane & Bryan Cunningham

Do check out these related articles in SWAAY

✍️  The Incredible, Indomitable Super-Survivors of Ukraine

✍️  A “Genuine Badass”: How Marie Yovanovitch Reclaimed Her Narrative and Reputation

✍️  Refugees in the Shadows: A Viral Insights Column on War, Displacement, and Super-Survivors

Ep. No. 69  —  A battered, bloodied, police officer proves her mettle during the January 6th insurrection on the U.S. Capitol / Officer Caroline Edwards, U.S. Capitol Police (USCP).

Officer Caroline Edwards of the U.S. Capitol Police’s First Responder Unit reported for duty on January 6, 2021, along with her colleagues, with little warning from her supervisors about the clear and present danger of extreme violence and the potential use of firearms from the angry pro-Trump mob descending on the Capitol that morning.

Officer Edwards is believed to be the first law enforcement officer injured by the rioters as she attempted to protect the west front of the Capitol.

But despite being knocked unconscious, suffering from a concussion, and getting bear-sprayed and pepper-sprayed, Edwards recovered enough to rush to the aid of her fellow officers who were in grave danger from the violent crowd.

This June, Officer Edwards testified about her ordeal before the Select Committee investigating the January 6th attacks.

In this dramatic interview, Edwards describes what happened on January 6th and her long and painful recovery from her injuries and trauma. And she reveals how she always wanted to be a police officer but held back for years from fulfilling her dream because she thought she wasn’t physically up to the job. She certainly proved her mettle and learned just how tough she is on the day of the riots.

I’m so grateful to Officer Edwards for sharing her incredible story of courage and resilience and those of her fellow officers. They rushed to her aid on January 6th, and she, in turn, reciprocated in full measure to help save them, despite her severe injuries, when they were overrun by the violent mob intent on overturning the results of the 2020 presidential elections at the behest of outgoing-President Donald Trump.

If you would like to donate to the U.S.Capitol Police Memorial Fund, please click here.

Thanks so much for listening!

Helpful Links:

👍 Please Subscribe and give me a Thumbs Up!

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👂Contact Chitra & Podcast Platforms

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If you liked this episode please, check out these other great episodes!

🎙️When It Mattered:

Ep. 56. Retired cop learns his job has just begun / Thomas Manger, USCP

Ep. 66. Distinguished diplomat reclaims her narrative / Marie Yovanovitch, “Lessons from the Edge”

🎙️Techtopia:

Ep. 1. Technology is fueling conspiracy theories / Joseph Coohill, Professor Buzzkill

Ep. 2. How should the USG fight domestic terrorism and radicalization? / Anne Speckhard, ICSVE

Ep. 5. Women and the alt-right/white nationalist movement / Seyward Darby, Author, Sisters in Hate

Ep. 8. Countering QAnon, human trafficking, and disinformation-extremism / Anjana Rajan, Polaris

Ep. 9. Journalism, fake news, and the disinformation era / Marcus Brauchli, North Base Media Media

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Other Helpful Links:

✍️ SWAAY: https://swaay.com/u/chitra/published-...

🌐 Website: https://goodstory.io

🌐 Website: https://chitraragavan.com

Ep. 68 — He survived a near-fatal shooting by a hitman hired by his ex-wife to become one of Hollywood’s top stuntmen / Garrett Warren, Stunt Actor/Director.

On May 20, 2000, Hollywood stuntman Garrett Warren was hanging out at his home in Westlake Village, California with his mom when the doorbell rang insistently.

When Warren opened the door, he found himself facing the barrel of a gun. What happened next was not a stunt scene with fake bullets. Warren was shot four times, including in his right eye, and left to die on his front porch.

The gunman fled the scene but not before he shot at Warren’s mother twice, missing narrowly, after she came to the door to see what all the commotion was about.

Warren miraculously survived the attack but lost his right eye. His ex-wife, Claudio Haro, former wife of actor Joe Pesci, plead not guilty but was implicated in the attempted murder plot and sentenced to 12 years and four months in prision.

Since then, Warren has gone on to become an immensely successful stunt performer, stunt double, fight coordinator, and unit director in major movies including Avatar, Mission Impossible III, the X-Men movies,  Logan, IronMan 2, Agents of SHIELD, and Spider-Man 2, to name just a few.

He has taught martial arts and fight choreography to such celebrities as Jessica Alba, Jada Pinkett Smith, John Travolta, and Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a., “The Rock,” and is a personal trainer to many stars.

I learned a wealth of information about the world of stunt choreography through my fascinating conversation with Garrett Warren and I know you will too!

If you liked this episode, check out these other episodes:

Ep. 65. Mexican gangsters faked avocado purchase to launder ransom payment / Patrick Struebi, Fairtrasa

Ep. 63. Held hostage by a drug lord reveals the best and worst of humanity / Francisco Cantos Calderón / Former Vice President of Colombia

Ep. 61. Heroism, activism, reconciliation with nature / Jerry White, Nobel laureate, landmine survivor

Ep. 14. Terrifying robbery and kidnapping reveals what truly matters in life / Stanley Alpert, Attorney

Ep. 67  — He built a successful startup while waging a life-threatening battle against bipolar disorder / Andy Dunn, Co-founder, Bonobos, and Author, “Burn Rate: Launching A Startup And Losing My Mind.”

Andy Dunn would never have predicted that he would wind up naked and writhing on the floor of Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric Emergency Room in New York — in the throes of a massive bipolar episode. Nor that when he would be released from Bellevue a week later, he would be arrested on charges of assaulting his then-girlfriend -now-wife, and her mother.

That night in 2016 was a spectacular fall from grace for Andy Dunn, then the CEO and co-founder of the massively successful e-commerce-driven menswear brand, Bonobos.

It was the most consequential but not the first time that Dunn had wound up in terrible situations during his nearly-two-decade battle against bipolar disorder.  All the while, he was leading and scaling Bonobos, which he ultimately sold to Walmart.

Dunn writes about his struggle with bipolar disorder in unsparing detail in his new critically acclaimed bestseller, “Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind.”

In riveting parallel narratives, Dunn uses his own relentlessly-cyclical battles against hypomania and depression, the hallmarks of bipolar disorder or manic depression as it used to be called,  to place tech startup founders under an unsparing lens as he explores the prevalence of mental illness in Silicon Valley.

And he brilliantly parses the fine line between inspired genius and megalomania which are common traits among these exponentially successful entrepreneurs.

Thanks for Listening.

If you liked this episode, do check out these other episodes from When It Mattered:

Ep. 50. Great career despite insurmountable obstacles / Leigh Steinberg, Steinberg Sports

Ep. 21. Disenchanted doctor finds secret inspiration in heroin addict / Dr. Andrew Lees, Neurologist

Ep. 37. Tumultuous childhood led to career in human behavior / Nicole Fisher, HHR Strategies

Ep. No. 66 — Fired by President Donald Trump, a distinguished diplomat helps impeach him and reclaims her narrative / Marie Yovanovitch, Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and author, “Lessons from the Edge”.

On April 24, 2019, in the dead of night, with no explanation, Marie Yovanovitch got a call from the U.S State Department, essentially removing her immediately from her post as Ambassador to Ukraine.

A few days later, back in Washington DC — a shell-shocked Yovanovitch learned the extraordinary details of why she had been fired from her job and that the man behind it was none other than her boss, President Donald Trump.

After the shock wore off, Ambassador Yovanovitch decided to fight back. Pilloried by the right-wing media, she publicly testified in Congress under oath during Trump’s impeachment hearings, resulting in his first of two impeachments.

Yovanovitch has written a fascinating new memoir called “Lessons from the Edge,”  in which she systematically lays out the months-long attempts by Trump and his cronies to ruin her reputation and subvert democracy using a foreign power, Ukraine. And she describes how she seized back her narrative from the former president.

As Congressional hearings cast new light on Trump’s last-ditch efforts to stay in power — culminating in the January 6, 2021 riots in the US Capitol by his supporters — I’m so honored to welcome the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.

If you liked this episode, please check out these other episodes:

When It Mattered:

60. Putin laid his cards on the table years before Ukraine invasion / Gen. James Jones, USMC 

56. Retired cop learns his job has just begun / Thomas Manger, US Capitol Police

15. Big-time political advisor returns to his small-town roots, finds urgent new cause /James Carville

Techtopia:

26. Technology is re-wiring Ukraine’s narrative / Alex Deane and Bryan Cunningham

Patrick Struebi was eager to fly home to Switzerland on one of his periodic visits after spending eight years in Mexico establishing Fairtrasa, one of the world’s largest fair trade organizations for avocados and other fruits from Latin America.

It was the morning of January 28, 2011. Struebi’s then-girlfriend had come to pick him up at his home, to drive him to the bus station, from where he planned to go Mexico City to take the plane back home.

As he put the bags in the trunk, two cars suddenly blocked the driveway and two masked men with guns threw him into one of the cars and whisked him away in a highly orchestrated kidnapping for ransom plot.

Thrown on the floor of a cold cellar, masked and handcuffed, and in the clutches of ruthless Mexican gangsters who made him watch videos of violent killings, Struebi somehow kept his cool and tried to figure a way out. He was released after five days of coordinated activity between the Mexican and Swiss governments.

The kidnapping gave Struebi a lens into the economic conditions of his hostage takers and renewed his commitment to building Fairtasa as a means to lift Latin American farmers out of poverty.

For International Fruit Day this July 1st, I’m honored to welcome a pioneer in the field of fair trade, Patrick Struebi, serial social entrepreneur, thought leader, humanitarian, and founder and Executive Chairman of the Fairtrasa Group.

Struebi has never publicly shared the story of his kidnapping publicly. He’s doing it here for the first time so I’m grateful for his trust.

If you liked this episode, check out these other episodes:

63. Held hostage by a drug lord reveals the best and worst of humanity / Francisco Cantos Calderón / Former Vice President of Colombia

61. Heroism, activism, reconciliation with nature / Jerry White, Nobel laureate, landmine survivor

14. Terrifying robbery and kidnapping reveals executive leadership lessons

Ep. No. 64 — Disobeying his boss turned a humanitarian crisis into a calling / Sasha Chanoff, CEO and Founder, RefugePoint and Co-Author, “From Crisis to Calling: Finding Your Moral Center in the Toughest Decisions”.

In 2000, refugee expert and humanitarian aid worker Sasha Chanoff was in the Congo on a mission to evacuate a very specific set of Tutsi refugees, who were on a UN resettlement list. But as he was about to leave with those refugees, Chanoff was invited into a tent. And what he saw in that tent would shake the foundation of his life, soul, and career.

That “crucible moment” as Chanoff calls his experience in that tent prompted him to launch RefugePoint, whose mission is to address the critical and unmet needs of those who fall through the cracks of humanitarian assistance and have no other options for survival. RefugePoint has a special focus on women, children, and urban refugees.

Chanoff is the co-author of the leadership book, “From Crisis to Calling: Finding Your Moral Center in the Toughest Decisions,” which he co-authored with his dad, noted non-fiction writer, David Chanoff. He has won many awards and accolades for his extraordinary contributions to addressing the global refugee crisis.

In this moving episode, Chanoff examines the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global refugee and humanitarian crisis that it is exacerbating. And he dives deep into his and RefugePoints efforts to address the huge gaps in the systems put in place globally to help the 100 million people that have been forced to leave their homes, belongings, and families behind, sacrificing everything they know and love, as is happening in Ukraine today.

As we commemorate World Refugee Day today and recognize the grim realities of the forced migration crisis happening all around the world, I’m honored to welcome a pioneer in the field, Sasha Chanoff, CEO and Founder of RefugePoint.

If you liked this episode, check out these other episodes:

26. Technology is rewiring Ukraine’s narrative / Alex Deane & Bryan Cunningham

63. Held hostage by a drug lord reveals the best and worst of humanity / Francisco Cantos Calderón / Former Vice President of Colombia

61. Heroism, activism, reconciliation with nature / Jerry White, Nobel laureate, landmine survivor

22. How is Polaris fighting human trafficking? / Anjana Rajan, CTO, Polaris

43. Ignoring advice to avoid philosophy pays off in big ways / Courtney Bowman, Palantir

21. Disenchanted doctor finds secret inspiration in heroin addict / Dr. Andrew Lees, Neurologist

Ep. No. 63 — Kidnapped and held hostage by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar revealed the best and worst of humanity / Francisco Santos Calderón, former Vice President of Colombia and former Colombian Ambassador to the United States.

For months, Pablo Escobar, notorious head of the Medellín drug cartel and journalist Francisco Santos Calderon — one of his fiercest critics in the press, had been playing a dangerous cat and mouse game.

Escobar was intent on kidnapping Santos — then the Editor-in-Chief of El Tiempo, Colombia’s largest and most influential publication — and other journalists, as a bargaining chip to prevent extradition to the United States to stand trial for his murderous greed.

Santos, tipped off to Escobar’s intentions, had been changing his travel routes and work routines constantly to evade the cartel kingpin’s henchmen.

But on September 19, 1990, Santos was riding home from work in his bulletproof vehicle when the unthinkable happened.

His car was surrounded by gunmen who killed his driver and kidnapped Santos who was one of 10 journalists and elites held hostage by Escobar that year. He was chained to a bed and held for eight months before being released. Santos was just 30 years old when Escobar snatched him off the streets. He was lucky to be alive. Between 1980 and 2000, nearly 180 journalists were killed for speaking up against the drug cartels.

Santos would launch a highly successful campaign to reduce the epidemic of kidnappings in Colombia. He left the country for two years to avoid getting assassinated by the Marxist-Leninist guerilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), after getting tipped off by the CIA about FARC’s intentions. He worked at El País the most prominent newspaper in Spain.

Santos eventually was elected to serve two terms as Colombia’s Vice President under President Álvaro Uribe. He subsequently also served as the Colombian Ambassador to the United States under President Donald J. Trump from 2018 – 2020.

Santos is now wearing his journalist hat again. He’s highlighting the precarious political situation in Venezuela, and speaking out about Russia, China, and Iran, which he views as the unholy trifecta threatening the stability of geopolitics today.

In 1996, he and his nine kidnapped compatriots became the characters in “News of a Kidnapping,” the English-language non-fiction book by famed Colombian novelist and Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Gabriel García Márquez. The book was originally published in Spanish the year before as “Noticia de un Secuestro.’’

Santos declined to co-author “News of a Kidnapping” with Márquez, which he now says was “a very stupid decision on his part” but he later relented and spoke with Márquez over several days for the book.

Apart from Márquez and the journalists Santos spoke with after his release, in the nearly-32 years since his kidnapping, he has not shared his story at all in detail.

Don’t miss this riveting episode of “When It Mattered.”

Thanks for Listening.

If you liked this episode, please check out these other episodes:

Ep. 61 – Heroism, activism, reconciliation with nature / Jerry White, Nobel laureate, landmine survivor 

Ep. 14 – Terrifying robbery and kidnapping reveals what truly matters in life / Stanley Alpert, Attorney

Ep. 20 – Brought back to life, undertook new mission / Frank Shankwitz, Make-A-Wish Foundation