Audacious with Chion Wolf

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 C...

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 fin...

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...

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 gia...

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...

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:  R...

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 b...

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 origin...

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 p...

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 ....

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 Amer...

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 follo...

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 h...

Audacious kids run the world. Or at least, they ought to, because they have a lot to teach us! Meet a young woman whose unique voice made her stand out to bullies - until she flipped the script and turned it into her superpower. A young man talks about why he's cleaned up over a quarter million pounds of trash in our waterways, and finally, an 8 year-old friend of animals talks about why he held a...

Everybody knows the "Can you hear me now?" guy. And everyone knows Flo from Progressive. But what are the stories behind Paul Marcarelli and Stephanie Courtney, the actors who play these characters? What's it like being internationally known as the face of a brand? What's awesome about a gig like this, and what are some of the challenges that come with it? GUESTS:  Paul Marcarelli:  Actor known as...

When you think of the word, "Psychopath", what do you picture? A serial killer? A dictator? A cut-throat CEO? Your ex? Sure, a few of those folks may be psychopaths. But many people with this mental health condition would argue that the usual stereotypes are way off. They are incapable of feeling empathy or developing any attachments, but that doesn't mean they are compelled to cause harm. Today,...

When you think about the history of things that have gone viral, poetry is not usually what comes to mind. But as the latest surges in violence rage across the world, it turns out that poetry is something folks unite around. Meet three people whose poems about war have gone viral, and find out how it both fed their purpose and GUESTS: Lena Khalaf Tuffaha :  Palestinian American poet, essayist, and...

Look at the people in the background of any rich person's dinner party - real or fictional - and you'll see them: The butlers. How did they get there? How did they learn? And what do they get out of it - beyond the money, of course? To answer those questions the founder and CEO of The  International Butler Academy  joins us alongside his executive head butler. And hear from a palace manager in the...

Until 2003, very few people knew her name, and that was exactly as she liked it. She was an undercover CIA operative working to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - specifically, nuclear weapons. But then, when members of the Bush administration leaked her identity to a journalist, all hell broke loose. Hear about why she became an undercover agent, what exactly happened when...

Some people collect stamps. Coins. Trading cards. And as you've heard on our show before,  some people collect barf bags. Tiny chairs. Bricks. And some people's collections are a bit… darker. Today, come with me as I tour the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal in Stratford, CT, containing hundreds of objects that are suspected of being haunted. And find out what William Harder has learned about...

Oh my gourd do we want you to meet a man who set a world record for riding his giant pumpkin down the Missouri river! And hold your breath as you hear from two women who won an underwater pumpkin carving contest! And since it’s officially decorative gourd season, meet the author of that McSweeney's essay whose enthusiastic profanity somehow brings us all together every single autumn. GUESTS:  Duan...

Back in the day — with your Walter Cronkites and David Brinkleys — it felt kind of   inappropriate for an interviewer to bring their full selves to the conversation. It was all about the guest, after all, so why bother bringing their own distinctive flairs? But now, people tune in as much for the interviewer as the one being interviewed. And because of that, the experience feels much more authenti...

Mehdi Hasan is the host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC and Peacock. His latest book is called Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking . Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Ziwe and Gayle King . Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ziwe is a comedian, writer, actor, executive producer and star of ZIWE on Showtime. She is also known for her web series, Baited. Her book is called Black Friend: Essays. Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Mehdi Hasan and Gayle King . Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gayle King is the co-host of CBS This Morning, and editor-at-large of O, the Oprah Magazine. Curator of the book, Note to Self: Inspiring Words From Inspiring People . Listen to our extended conversations with interviewers Mehdi Hasan and Ziwe . Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.