Life on Orcas Island with Edee Kulper

She goes by Liberty, and she lived out her list of hundreds of dreams by the age of 30. She has swum with orca whales in Norway, the only human to have been in a tank with 16-foot Florida alligators with nothing between them and her but a mermaid suit, she's a trained free diver, an equine therapist, a wing walker on small aircraft, a mountaineer, an author of several books, the only female captai...

What hasn't Gordon Koenig done? He's a retired air tanker pilot, a band member in Olga Symphony and JP and the OK Rhythm Boys, a former dress store owner and cookie store owner, a ukulele instructor and craftsman (Barn Swallow Ukuleles), and the list goes on.

Sara Pelfrey grew up in a Sufi community and is one of the kindest, least judgmental people you will ever meet. Her education from a young age included a thorough understanding of and respect for other spiritual traditions, and she still considers herself a Muslim today.

Tenar is one of the few people you will catch a glimpse of out in the sea all year round, even in the cold, winter months. She circumnavigates Orcas Island in a day on her surfski, trains for competitions, and talks about being doggedly persistence over being blessed with a particular skill (though I believe she is an absolute phenom). She's a math lover and instructor, shares her stories of navig...

Bob Nutt is the kind of guy whose full life has led to having a plethora of skills. He's a farmer and raises sheep with alongside his wife on their Warm Valley Orchard, where they sell apples, peaches, walnuts, handspun yarn, handmade garments, and more. He's a volunteer firefighter with decades of experience, and has done everything from working in the geology field to teaching math to school kid...

Sam Blackman is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google Ventures, Founder and Former Head of Research and Development at Day One Biopharmaceuticals, a retired Pediatric Oncologist, an avid writer and storyteller having won two of The Moth's GrandSLAM storytelling competitions, and he has climbed to Mount Everest Base Camp as part of a fundraising campaign to raise $1 million for cancer research at...

After making a living drawing intricate architectural renderings for big design firms representing everything from corporations with fancy building projects to the Port of Long Beach, Frank Loudin struck out on his own, painting scenes that made him famous in his hometown Catalina Island art shows. With his charming brand of self-effacing humor, he's also published two books of short stories while...

Bob Waunch is a retired fighter jet pilot and the founder of the Airhawks Flying Club for local pilot instruction and scholarships. He was pivotal in founding Mercy Flights for people who need non-emergency medical transport to the mainland, instrumental in founding the Orcas Island Community Foundation, and helped coordinate fundraising for the Orcas Island Medical Center. Add to that his myriad...

Both Ken and Karen had phenomenal careers in radio broadcasting before moving to Orcas Island, where they shifted into real estate and philanthropic work. Have you heard of the island's Music Advocacy Group, Community Band, and Orcatrazz swing band? Think Ken and Karen...

Looking at life from Anastasia Riddle's perspective: blind from birth, she shares her thoughts about the catch-all word "disabled" and how she prefers to be seen as a fellow human being rather than a blind person as she shares her thoughts, struggles, and dreams.

Rafe Pearlman is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who has performed all over the world. You can hear his voice featured on soundtracks for NBC, Netflix, Direct-TV, Thunder Road Films, and on Sony’s top video games. He got his start as a kid in the Alaskan wilderness singing with wolves, ravens, and sled dogs, and those are elements you'll still hear today in his performances.

Andy jokes that his life growing up was like a Stephen King novel. I thank him for his vulnerability in sharing intimate details of a psychologically dysfunctional family life - forced to live in a basement, sit on a carpet sample, fight for food, get frisked every day by his mother after school for contraband (books), and more. Incredible that his goals today often center on sharing love and kind...