Audacious with Chion Wolf

How brave can a nine-year-old be?

We follow Lola Fraisse from Kidderminster, England, as she leaves home for six months to live with a host family in Lüneburg, Germany. She learns a new language, new rules, and new ways to see herself. Along the way, Lola grows her confidence, builds friendships, and even picks up a slight German accent!

We also hear from Lola’s mom, Jennie, who did a childhood exchange herself and knows...

After cancer, one woman swam farther than anyone ever had in a lake. Another ran 104 marathons in 104 days on a carbon-fiber running blade.

Marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas returned to the water following aggressive breast cancer and went on to complete multiple record-setting open-water swims. 

And Jacky Hunt-Broersma lost her leg to bone cancer, then redefined endurance one marathon at a time.

Their stories are about ambition, ...

Meet two men who survived suicide attempts, and built lives around helping others imagine a future beyond despair. 

Kevin Hines, one of the few to survive a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge, reflects on the instant regret, the long recovery, and the tools he uses when “brain pain” returns - recorded just days before the 25th anniversary of his attempt. 

Then, Connecticut therapist Steve MacHattie shares what i...

TV shows and movies set in places like field offices, courtrooms and hospitals entertain us, sure... But they also tell us something - about crime, medicine, danger, and heroism. So who makes sure they don’t get it wrong? 

Meet three entertainment consultants whose real jobs exist far beyond the screen: a former FBI profiler behind Criminal Minds, an ER doctor, who advised on The Pitt, and NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, wh...

Meet two influential voices in autism advocacy whose lives and work have reshaped how the world understands neurodiversity. 

Dr. Temple Grandin - a scientist, author, and animal behavior expert - reflects on growing up autistic, thinking in pictures, and building a career by leaning into the way her mind works. 

And Dr. Kerry Magro, an autism advocate, speaker, and consultant on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum, share...

Some rituals are spiritual. Some are silly. Some are inherited, and some are self-made.

Casper ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices, walks us through how we create all sorts of meaningful, grounding rituals.

And you'll hear clips from past two years of Audacious guests who have shared the rituals that matter most to them, from morning journaling and bedtime affirmations t...

What happens when a mother can’t raise her children? Not out of neglect, but because systems, partners, and survival leave her no real choice?

This episode challenges the assumptions we place on “non-custodial mothers.” Rebekah Spicuglia explains how immigration rules, economic pressure, and unequal power led to her relinquishing custody of her son, Oscar, and how she channels her grief after his murder into resea...

Step into the technicolor world of PEZ!

We tour the Connecticut factory where more than 12 million tiny candies are pressed each day, guided by archivist Shawn Peterson, whose personal collection helped shape the Visitor Center.

Meet Brian Trauman, the Guinness World Record holder whose thousands of dispensers trace a lifetime of joyful obsession.

Hear Emily Tracy’s tender, funny, heartbreaking story...

A wise woman once said, “You can tell the ocean anything, but it has to be the truth.“ 

Chion Wolf boards the MSC Meraviglia expecting a week of small talk and sunscreen. But the farther she gets from land, the more people become willing to hang out in the deep end to talk about love, loss, faith, sobriety and stories they’ve been holding onto for years.

When they speak, the ocean listens. And in this hour, s...

Ahoy! Here’s a little bonus treasure from our episode, Audacious at Sea: Wisdom from Strangers on a Cruise Ship. 

Chion spends a blissful vacation week aboard the MSC Meraviglia with about 5,000 fellow humans, sailing from Brooklyn to the Bahamas and back. And because we couldn’t fit everyone she talks with into the on-air version, this bonus gives you even more of their voices and stories.

Somewhere in between sun...

Would you leave your family, friends, home, and job to move over a thousand miles away to take care of a pet squirrel? Meet two people who did just that for 8 year-old Thumbelina.

Then, meet a birdkeeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute who was chosen by an endangered crane to be her life partner for almost 20 years.

This episode originally aired on September 13, 2024.

Listen to an updated conversation with Chris C...

We recently rebroadcast our Audacious episode featuring Chris Crowe. He's a bird keeper at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia. He spent nearly twenty years as the chosen partner of an endangered white-naped crane named Walnut. She was one of only 5,000 in the world, but to Chris, she was one of a kind. 

Walnut's life expectancy as a bird living in ca...

Some people “age gracefully.” These three women age audaciously!

91 year-old comedian, D’yan Forest, commands the stage with her ukulele and sharp wit, spinning the stories of her long life into laughter.

Family law attorney Harriet Newman Cohen, 92, is the kind of lawyer who changed history for LGBTQ+ families and plans on never stopping.

And Charlotte Guttenberg, the 77-year-old Guinness World Record holder for ...

Who rejoices in making a bad episode of public radio? We do! But only the best kind of bad. 

On this episode of Audacious, meet Jon from Jon Breaks Bad News, who delivers other people’s worst messages for a living. Then, the co-founders of the Golden Raspberry Awards - also known as the Razzies - celebrate Hollywood’s most spectacular cinematic failures. And finally, a few listeners share their stories of terrible ...

What happens when a Brooklyn woman who identifies as queer, liberal, vegan, and an atheist donates her kidney to a conservative Christian man from Virginia?

Kerry Kennedy and Joey Shervey tell the story of what it looks like when compassion outvotes everything else. Their transplant crossed party lines and personal beliefs to create an unexpected friendship.

Then, Lindsay Vigue describes how a small flyer on the wall of a diner led...

When does creation become prayer? And when does prayer become protest?

Artist and poet Zulynette talks about her new book, Becoming a Soft Woman with a Machete. It's equal parts gospel, therapy session, and roast.

From laughter to liberation, explore how art can be both sanctuary and sword.

Suggested episodes:

• Poet Zulynette on “Seeing in the Dark” 
• The playfulness of poetry with Andrew Dean Wright
• A fire...

Have you ever seen Reborn Babies?

They’re these hyper-realistic-looking dolls that are collected for their extraordinary artistic accuracy… And they’re also used therapeutically for people who suffer from anxiety and depression.

Hear from a woman who uses them for just that reason. Plus, meet a painter who makes them look so real, a researcher on the Reborn community and culture, and a photographer who made these...

It’s 2 a.m.; the phone rings. The caller ID says Stockholm, Sweden. The voice on the other end of the line says, “Congratulations! You’ve just been awarded a Nobel Prize!”

What goes through your mind in a moment like that?

Meet two people who received that life-altering call. Discover not only the incredible doors it opened for them, but the unexpected challenges that came with such a prestigious honor.

This...

DING DONG!

Crash headfirst into the world of singing telegrams: bizarre, moving, and absolutely unforgettable. 

You’ll meet Joy Brooker, whose TikTok serenades bring millions to tears and laughter; Jay Bragg, who blends hospice care and honky-tonk into acoustic telegrams; and Paul Mordoff, a children’s entertainer who joins us on a bench by a lake in a tutu-clad gorilla costume. 

At the end, Chion puts it all ...