Imagine if everything you heard - a door clicking shut, a passing car, dishes being put away, even your own voice - was excruciatingly loud. Hear how one man copes with hyperacusis. And a flute player talks about how she managed her hyperhidrosis - or extreme sweating - when she was playing Carnegie Hall and in everyday life. Listen to the extended conversation with David Vance with closed captions. GUESTS:  David Vance: A resident of Ontario, Canada who has had hyperacusis - extreme sensitivity to sound - since 2017 Caryn Toriaga: A flutist based in New York City who ..read more

When you imagine an emotional support animal, what comes to mind? A dog? Well how about a pigeon? A sugar glider? Or an emotional support pig? Meet people who’ve paired up with these animals to make their lives - and mental health conditions - better. GUESTS:  Cynthia Zhou: Miu was her emotional support pigeon from 2016 to 2021. She is an advocate for Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions based out of San Francisco Arianna Preuss: Zaboo is her emotional support sugar glider, who also helps Arianna’s brother, who has Autism Megan Peabody: Hamlet is her 70 pound emotional support pi ..read more

Nietzsche once said, “It is what one takes into solitude that grows there, the beast within included.” This episode features three people who experienced solitude: by choice and not. There’s a winter caretaker at Yellowstone, a runner-up from the History Channel show, Alone, and you'll hear from a Connecticut man who spent almost 30 years in solitary confinement. GUESTS:  Callie Russell: Contestant on Season 7 (aired in 2020) of Alone on the History Channel. She lasted 89 days in the Northwest Territories of Canada before being medically evacuated due to frostbite of the toes S ..read more

When people imagine becoming parents, they don’t often envision their child being born with a condition that requires lifetime care. Hear reflections and wisdom from “forever parents” whose children have autism with anxiety and OCD; a disorder that caused 100 seizures a day; and Down Syndrome. GUESTS:  Carrie Carriello: Mother of five children, including 18 year-old Jack, who has Autism, OCD, and anxiety. She’s the author of two books, and writes regularly for the Huffington Post Adriana Piltz: Mother of three, including 24 year-old Nicky, who was born with tuberous sclerosis ..read more

Hey, kids! Did you know there are grown ups who are just as obsessed with Disney as you? There's an adult out there who has full-sleeve tattoos of Disney characters, another who’s spent tens of thousands of dollars on merch, and one guy even set a world record for visiting Disneyland for almost 3,000 days in a row! Those are just some of the Disney adults you’ll meet on today’s show. GUESTS:  Eric Aasen: Executive editor at Connecticut Public Abby Brone: Statewide housing reporter for Connecticut Public Jeff Reitz: Set a Guinness World Record for "Most Consecutive Visits To Disneyland ..read more

Ah, Craigslist’s Missed Connections. Where else can you find that attractive guy you saw at that concert? Or the lady in the laundromat who held your gaze? Or reconnect with your long lost hairstylist?  Hear those stories, plus what a researcher learned from studying over 10,000 posts. And what does it sound like when two Tony-nominated songwriters take Missed Connection posts and turn them into songs? GUESTS:  Ilia Blinderman is a Sr. Journalist-Engineer at The Pudding. In 2015, he studied data from over 10,000 Craigslist Missed Connections ads Anthony King  ..read more

Imagine you’re at the beach, taking in the scenery, breathing in the fresh ocean air, when the sun hits something floating in the water just right… It’s a bottle! With a message inside that looks totally intact!Meet people who’ve found - and gotten back - their messages in bottles, and hear about one that was thrown from the Titanic. GUESTS:  Stefanie Marco Lantz, Lana & Tommy Simmons: The Simmons family received a message in a bottle as a donation at their thrift store in Statesville, NC. They tracked down its owner, Stefanie, in West Hartford, Connecticut. She had tossed her messag ..read more

In 2000, Sigrid Wade began writing to people on death row to express her solidarity against that kind of punishment; she never thought she’d end up marrying one of them and having a child. But that’s exactly what happened between her and Alan Wade. Meet a sociologist who studies relationships like theirs, and hear directly from Sigrid and Alan about love, family, worthiness, and trust. GUESTS:  Megan Comfort: Senior research sociologist in Research Triangle Institute’s Transformative Research Unit for Equity. She is also affiliated faculty in the Division of Prevention Science ..read more

When you know you’re months, maybe weeks away from your own death, what do you most want people to know? As the first in a series of conversations with people near the end of their lives, we get to know David Meyers. He’s a physician who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018. Hear his reflections on life, love, and what really matters. An extended version of this conversation is available in your podcast feed. GUEST:  Dr. David Meyers: A physician living in the Washington, DC area. He is currently in hospice after being diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018 Support the show: https ..read more

What if, for as long as you can remember, you’ve strongly felt as though one of your healthy limbs just doesn't belong? You’ve always wished it could be amputated. You aren’t the only person with this feeling, but you would be one of fewer than 400 documented cases of body integrity dysphoria (BID) or body integrity identity disorder (BIID) in the world. Meet a man with BID, who, after years of struggling with his bodily identity, traveled to Asia to have his left leg under the knee amputated. Hear how he’s felt since the surgery, and meet a bioethicist and moral philosopher who has pondered t ..read more