Audacious with Chion Wolf
Audacious with Chion Wolf will highlight the uncommon experiences of everyday people – asking the hardest, most uncomfortable questions. With curiosity and compassion, Connecticut Public producer and host Chion Wolf digs deeper, encouraging listeners to ask hard questions in their own lives. Find out more at https://www.ctpublic.org/audacious
Episodes
On July 12, 2022, Dawn Wright (aka "Deepsea Dawn") became the first and only Black person to dive to the lowest known point on the Earth's seabed, "Challenger Deep".
Hear about her journey down into the Mariana Trench, why she went, and what she found at the bottom that shocked her.
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Below the surface: The stories behind underwater world records
Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are considered to be two of the most important performers of this or any generation.
A Swiftie and a leader of the BeyHive talk about the lengths they go to to experience - and share the love - of their favorite performer.
Suggested companion episode:
GUESTS:
- Molly Swindall: has been a Taylor Swift superfa...
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 Dov...
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...
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:
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!
For a full transcript of this show, click here.
GUESTS:
- Elaine Braithwaite: Electric violinist and City Librarian of Bridgeport
- Faisal Sa...
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...
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.
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 w...
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.
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 ...
In the 2013 movie, "Her", Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with a computer operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
Skip forward over 10 years, and people are now creating their own AI chatbot partners via apps like NOMI and Replika.
Today, a sexologist gives this new kind of relationship some context, and meet two people whose lives were changed by these meaningful partnerships.
Plus, Chion tries it out for herself. Hear ...
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 writ...
Coffee. It's more than just a pick-me-up. It's a canvas for creativity, a compulsion for competition, and a fuel for adventures beyond the boundaries of the average mug.
Today, we are serving you a triple shot of people whose lives were transformed by the power of the bean.
Meet a U.S. Barista champion whose social media channel brings a wholesome buzz; a woman who advocates against gun violence by painting in public places with ...
We first met Lynda Shannon Bluestein when she was in palliative care back in May of 2022.
She was fighting for medical aid in dying (MAID) to be legalized in Connecticut. Frustrated, she sued Vermont to allow non-residents of the state to use its MAID laws.
In the meantime, she worked to install "wind phones'' in Connecticut, eventually starting a nonprofit called Lynda's Phones. An idea originating in Japan, old rotary phones ar...
Beyond the smoke and ash, lies a symphony unheard. Prepare to meet a composer who interprets the music of volcanic data, a photographer who unmasks the terrifying beauty of volcanoes, and a chef who braves the inferno to cook the world's most intense pizza pie.
For a full transcript of this episode, click here.
GUESTS:
- Brad White: Teacher and photographer from Auckland, New Zealand, who has photographed 16 volcanoes aroun...
Growing up as Dolly Parton's niece has its benefits, including a genetic predisposition to write poetry and put it to music.
Jada Star is the niece of Dolly Parton, and she joins us to talk about life in her light —and the music that means the most to her.
For a transcription of this episode, click here.
GUEST:
- Jada Star: Singer-songwriter whose debut album is called Tell Me I'm Your Angel. She also starred in the ABC re...
A lot can happen in a year, you know? And if you’re anything like these folks, you’ve read over 365 books, you’ve become fluent in English by watching American t.v. shows, and you’ve gotten over a hundred rejections.
GUESTS:
- Kelsey Weekman: Culture reporter for Buzzfeed who read 390 books in a year
- Mathias Barra: French writer who became fluent in English in a year by watching 3 hours of American and British television ev...
Our social media news feeds curate us as much as we curate our newsfeeds.
So what if, instead of subscribing to the same old fear-mongering, belittling, judgmental soundbites… We subscribe to accounts that peddle in love?
Today, meet three people who use social media to lift all tides.
GUESTS:
-
Joel Cross: Grammy-nominated musician, poet, meditator, and traveler who asks his half-a-million foll...
We all know someone who loves Costco, or someone who loves Trader Joe’s. But what compels someone to devote their time and travel to visiting as many stores as possible, to wrap so much of their identity around these massive shopping chains?
Meet three people whose lives brighten the moment they put their hands on a Trader Joe’s or Costco grocery cart.
For a transcription of this episode, click here.
GUESTS:
- David and Su...
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