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. This episode originally aired on May 26, 2023. 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 Peabo ..read more

Pranking on television has been around for over 70 years. Starting with Candid Camera in the late 40s all the way through to Punk'd in the early 2000s. Pranking has evolved to not only entertain, but to show off the goodness in people! The directors of the movie Bad Trip, and the tv series, Jury Duty, talk about how they pull off physical stunts that leave a positive emotional impact. Previous episode mentioned in the show: What's jury duty like? The verdict, well, it's case by case GUESTS:  Jake Szymanski: Director of the 2023 Amazon FreeVee series, "Jury Duty" Kitao Sakurai ..read more

Have you ever tried doing an impression of a famous person... And failed miserably? That's because impressions are really hard to pull off! On this episode, you'll meet two of the best in the business: Mary Elizabeth Kelly, who is known for her mouth acting impressions, and Dean Edwards from Saturday Night Live. Shows referenced: What is foreign accent syndrome? After a stroke, one man’s southern drawl turned British The meteoric rise of comedian Zarna Garg Why the world needs comedians with disabilities GUESTS:  Mary Elizabeth Kelly: (below right) Actor, writer, and comedian ..read more

Remember the joy of “Show and Tell” at school? Now why should only the kids have all the fun? Listeners to Audacious (and staff members of Connecticut Public!) gathered at Third Place by Half Full Brewery on March 13th for an opportunity to share their story! GUESTS:  Elaine Braithwaite: Electric violinist and City Librarian of Bridgeport Faisal Saleh: Founder of Palestine Museum US in Woodbridge, CT Paul Bluestein: Husband of Lynda Shannon Bluestein, advocate for LyndasPhones.org Chion Wolf: Host of Audacious Jessica Severin de Martinez: Prod ..read more

How do you define forgiveness? Turns out, the definition tends to be as different as every person. And that definition changes depending on where you are in the process, too! On this episode of Audacious, Chion talks about it with a best friend, a pastor, a philosopher, and a man who lost his face after getting hit by a drunk driver. You’ll also hear ponderings on forgiveness from some of our Audacious listeners! And since this is a rebroadcast of an episode from two years ago, Chion offers a few new personal reflections on forgiveness after all this time. This show originally aired on March 2 ..read more

If you've ever wondered where the CIA finds inspiration to disguise their agents, you'd think maybe… Hollywood with their special effects? Turns out, it was the magic community that helped them develop technology that may have saved lives and uncovered secrets! Hear stories from retired CIA Chief of Disguise, Jonna Mendez, including how she used this technology to surprise the former head of the CIA, President George HW Bush. GUEST:  Jonna Mendez: Retired CIA Chief of Disguise, and author of the new memoir, In True Face: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked Support the show: https ..read more

We hear a lot about the harm of social media. But what about the good? Meet two artists who started off on social media by showing their artwork… But once they revealed the hope and kindness and positivity in their hearts? The views, shares and likes piled up in ways they never expected. Hear how they both are grappling with the newfound pressure of inspiring hundreds of thousands of fans, and find out what Chion's favorite clips from their channels reveal about her. Listen to the first installment of this series, featuring Joel Cross, Scott Tatum, and Daníel Colón. GUESTS:  LaNia Rober ..read more

What's it like when, due to a condition you had early on in life, your face looks so very different from everybody else's? And what's it like to use that face as an actor? In this second installment featuring conversations with people who have facial differences, we meet two performers who appeared together in the 2018 movie, Happy Face. For more information about facial differences, visit About Face. GUESTS:  Dawn Shaw: Author, motivational speaker, and actress based in Washington. Her face is half-paralyzed since the removal of a tumor at birth. Her three books include her me ..read more

In 2022, Just Stop Oil protestors threw tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting in London. The world collectively gasped, but some UK lawmakers responded by supporting fewer investments in new oil projects. On this episode, meet one of those soup-throwers, and hear from two other people who have been part of creative protests: a spokesperson from an anti-circumcision group that wears all white with giant, red splotches on the groin area; and a woman who organized a college campus protest featuring thousands of sex toys to rally against Texas gun laws. GUESTS:  Anna Holland: Member of Just St ..read more

If you've ever been bullied, you know how all-encompassing the terror of it is. But what if you could get inside the bully's head? And find out why they do it? On this episode of Audacious, meet two people who were once bullies talking about how they turned their lives around and how they think bullies can learn to make different decisions. For more information, visit StopBullying.gov. GUESTS:  Robbie Romu: Vancouver writer who published the essay, I Was A School Bully. Here's Why I Terrorized My Classmates Kristen Geez: CEO of Advising Generation Z, a non-profit ..read more