Diary of a Nation

The US has waged a $1 trillion war on drugs. Even though opioid addiction has faded from the news cycle, drug overdoses have surged during the pandemic, and millions remain addicted. This month, my guest Katie celebrates three years of being clean. Her story offers some solutions.

Massachusetts engineer Peter Degen-Portnoy made the news when the Mars One mission named him as a semifinalist in a competition that intended to establish a permanent human colony on the red planet. The father of five was prepared to die on Mars. This interview will give you a more complete picture of Peter as a man. Website: mars-one.com . 

Dr. Fred Grewe is a hospice chaplain, an author and a fellow podcaster. Over the past 15 years, he has served more than 3,000 people who have died. In this episode, he explains what the dying have taught him about living. Books:  What the Dying Have Taught Me about Living and Time to Talk about Dying . Dr. Grewe's Podcast:  Meditations 4 Misfits . Website: fredgrewe.com .

Vera Rivard was just 16 when she swam the English Channel last year, nearly a century after her idol did the same. Vera's 13-year-old sister Margaret and her mother Darcie supported her along the route as they traveled with a crew in a pilot boat. Listen as the New Hampshire family discusses the trip and their love of swimming. 

Part Two: In the final part of the interview, fighter pilot Capt. Hubert Buchanan discusses solitary confinement and various methods of communication with fellow North Vietnam POWs. He also describes his eventual homecoming, his thoughts on warfare today, and a Harvard study in which he served as a control subject. Photo credit: David Vogt.

The content in this episode is graphic and may be disturbing for some listeners. Former POW Capt. Hubert Buchanan was an Air Force fighter pilot when a Vietnamese fighter ace shot down his F-4 Phantom in 1966. He was quickly captured and moved among half a dozen POW camps over the next 6.5 years. Capt. Buchanan was held captive one year longer than the late US Senator John McCain.  In pa...

A handful of landmark rulings over the past 25 years significantly advanced gay rights in the US. Despite that, institutions and individuals continue to discriminate against gay people. My guest Fausto Di Ianne even tried to pray away the gay. 

Breast cancer dramatically changed Irene Alton. Today, she's a 5-year survivor. Listen as she describes the events leading up to her diagnosis, her cancer treatment and her life today. 

Abenaki Native Mali Obomsawin is an activist. She's also a member of the folk band, Lula Wiles. In this interview, she discusses her activism on behalf of land rights and social justice. Photo credit: Lokotah Sanborn, Penobscot Nation. "Shaking As It Turns" song used with artist permission. Band: lulawiles.com . Articles referenced in podcast appear in Smithsonian Folklife and Boston Glo...

Part Three: In the final part of the interview, Kati Preston discusses her associations with Israeli government officials and fellow Holocaust survivors plus her current interests and her take on American politics. Autobiography: Holocaust to Healing: Closing the Circle .

Part Two: After the Holocaust, Kati Preston emigrates to Israel. She eventually becomes a highly-successful fashion designer, interacting with Christian Dior and Harry Winston while in Paris.  She learned eight languages, moved across seven countries, married three times, and gave birth to four sons. Autobiography: Holocaust to Healing: Closing the Circle . 

The content in this episode is graphic and may be disturbing for some listeners. Holocaust survivor Kati Preston was just five years old when a Hungarian soldier pierced the floor of a barn attic with his bayonet, missing her hay-covered head by an inch. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp where 28 members of her family and 50 of...

The US is home to approximately 1.4 million transgender adults, yet most of us don't know anyone who is transgender. NH State Representative Gerri Cannon is a transgender woman who also serves on the school board in her community. This is her story. Photo credit: Deb Cram. 

Randy Pierce knows life with and without eyesight. He's a husband, a dog lover, a runner, a mountain climber, and a motivational speaker. Yesterday, he ran the virtual Boston Marathon. Two days earlier, his guide dog Autumn passed away. This episode is dedicated to her memory. Memoir: See You at the Summit: My Blind Journey from the Depths of Loss to the Heights of Achievement . Charity: 2020...

Over the past three decades, makeup artist Kriss Blevens has enhanced the face of every single presidential candidate who has traveled to New Hampshire, which holds the distinction of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Blevens also works as an EMT and an energy healer and served as an outspoken advocate during the opioid crisis. Her work is profiled in the August 2020 issue of Allure Ma...

Were it not for his incredible luck in winning a visa lottery slot, there's a good chance Somali immigrant Abdi Nor Iftin would instead be fighting on behalf of the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab. Abdi discusses his memoir as well as his complicated experience living in the U.S. as a Black man while the country reckons with its history of racial injustice. Memoir: Call Me American . Photo...

Diary of a Nation is produced and hosted by Christina Zlotnick. Follow the podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at diaryofanation. Comments and story ideas welcome.