Swan Dive

Crime rates around the world have declined, but the global prison population is rising. The US is worlds greatest jailor with 5% of the world population and 25% of its prison population. This is clearly not logical, and Dr. Baz Dreisinger's life is dedicated to solving this inhumane problem. Heralded by the New York Times and  named a notable book of 2016 by the Washington Post, Dr. Dreisinge...

"We make the compass that points to the future we want to live in," says Amplifier.org founder and celebrated National Geographic photographer, Aaron Huey. Aaron's deep photographic storytelling captures and honors his subjects — from war victims to rock climbers to indigenous peoples — with elegance and fearless sensitivity. At 27, Aaron walked across America alone for 154 days and...

Miami entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist, Dennis Scholl , made his first documentary film at age 50. Fifteen years and thirty films later, this former attorney and CPA now has thirteen regional Emmys to show for his humble excellence as an artist. Films celebrating creative titans Tracy Emin, Theaster Gates, Wynton Marsalis and Frank Gehry have been featured at festivals worldwide, inc...

This legendary Buddhist bon vivant, restauranteur, hotelier and serial entrepreneur’s only conscious memory of his mother is watching her grab her head and die of a brain aneurysm when he was five. Nevertheless, nearly 50 years later, Tracey Ryans ' wondrous self-made empire of business, personal and spiritual success, has transformed this gregarious seeker into an arbiter of “cool” at the fo...

Imagine starting an Internet company amidst the wreckage of the first Dotcom crash, then growing that company to 250 people and selling for nearly $200 million. Next, a bit of "healthy stalking and serendipity" got Chrysi Philalithes to RED, Bono's AIDS organization, where, as Chief Digital Officer, she mixed technology and altruism to creatively raise $600 million and improve globa...

Michelle Woo is Wide Awake, but that was not always the case. This incredibly humble yet fabulously accomplished behind-the-scenes leader at For Freedoms and the Wide Awakes shares how she remembers little of her life up to a few years ago due to being distracted for most of it. Motherhood changed that,  and Michelle now actively practices  mindfulness through meditation. The results speak for the...

Imagine knowing virtually nothing of a father who disappeared, then getting a text at 42 from an unknown cousin saying, "We might be related." Immediately, the generous warmth of a large, loving family replaces the cold emptiness of a son abandoned. For over a decade, visual artist Yashua Klos has employed a unique process of paper construction and  woodblock printing to engage ideas abo...

Gina Belafonte has excelled at many things. An accomplished actress, director and activist and the youngest child of Julie and Harry Belafonte, Gina produced HBO’s internationally acclaimed documentary, SING YOUR SONG, exploring the extraordinary life and legacy of her father; the film was selected to open the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. As Executive Director of Sankofa.org , a social justice...

Africa's first black, female neurosurgeon, Dr. J. Nozipo Maraire received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her neurosurgery training at Yale. During residency, she wrote the novel, Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter, a 1996 New York Times "Notable Book of the Year." In 2010, her vision for cutting-edge, affordable health care in Southern Africa, Ecosurgica, won her the Briti...

The biggest challenge most of us face before we swan dive is  internal, the conflict btw our ingrained belief systems and what we know we must do to find contentment. Harvard-trained psychologist and trauma expert, Christine Rothberg , unpacks this complex notion of "maladaptive behavior" - behavior that prevents you from making adjustments that are in your own best interest. This surpri...

Holly Rilinger is one of the top fitness instructors in the world.  Her instructor career followed years as one of the best professional basketball players in the world ... which followed her All-American college basketball career. Holly has always been at the top of her game, until she wasn’t. After injuries put an end to her professional career, Holly was left without an identity and was no long...

Melissa Ross 's steady, confident voice can be heard throughout Florida on NPR affiliate WJCT FM in Jacksonville ... and nationally, as Fill-In Host for The Diane Rehm Show. As the 11-year host of "First Coast Connect," her firm-but-fair interview style has earned her Emmy's and national recognition as one of America's top radio news personalities. 20 years ago, her young...

For Dr Allen Chiura , a profound difference exists between success and significance. Zimbabwean born, this exceptional Urological Surgeon studied and practiced in the USA for nearly 30 years. Eight years ago, while living and working in the snowy mountains of Klamath Falls, OR, he and his wife, also a Zimbabwean doctor, realized something critical was missing from their lives. With four beautiful...

Rob Smith is the CEO and Founder of The Phluid Project , a leader in the gender expansive movement. The Phluid brand celebrates freedom, authenticity and self-expression and is dedicated to the values and priorities of Gen Z. This global platform emerged from the intersection of Rob’s vast retail executive experience, including Macys, Victoria’s Secret, Levi’s & Nike, and his passion for socia...

Champion Kenyan runner, Marko Cheseto downed a handful of anti-depressants and ran into the Alaskan wilderness nearly 10 yrs ago. He woke in the snow 3 days later, so frostbit his feet had to be removed. In 2019, Marko set not 1 but 2 world records running a marathon on 2 prosthetic legs. He shares how he discovered the silver lining in his most tragic events. This absolute gentleman is not ashame...

Prissy Elrod is an accomplished author whose books, "Far Outside the Ordinary" and "Chasing Ordinary" are truly extraordinary.  Prissy's books detail her life, the untimely loss of her husband and how she re-imagined and transformed herself, not just into a published author, but into the person she was destined to become.  Her first book was published after her 60th birthd...

Shawn Forbes spent ten highly successful years as a fashion director at Macys, an expert in the color, texture and intuition of fashion. As an executive at Levis, she loved the people she worked with but was not doing those creative things she most enjoyed. As the bread winner and provider for her Bay Area family, she could not easily leave the paycheck and insurance. Then, she was laid off (along...

It has been 3 and a half months since Ron Rothberg took his Swan Dive.  So how is it going?  What is working?  What is not working?  And how about the pandemic?  On this episode of Swan Dive, Stu brings back a familiar guest, Ron, to look back on his Swan Dive journey and relive some of the highlights from the last 3 months of the podcast.   Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us! We are always lookin...

Nick Holt is a highly sought after health and fitness coach and founder of Nick Holt Fitness & SaltwaterFit.com. An athletic kid raised in New York, Nick found himself falling out of shape after 7 years in the finance world. He did not like who he was becoming, physically or spiritually - "I realized I was essentially spending the vast majority of my existence taking no risks, dropping ev...

Earl M Johnson, Jr's father was Martin Luther King, Jr's attorney. The son followed his father's footsteps as an attorney and, even though he grew up in a privileged upper middle class black family, Earl Jr. is no stranger to the indignities of systemic racism. Just 5 weeks ago, in a moment of clarity which he describes breathtakingly for Swan Dive, Earl Jr. founded TakeItDown.org ,...

As Executive Director of the The Armory Show in NY, Nicole Berry leads strategic vision for one of the world's A-list contemporary art fairs. Yet, she started as a public school teacher. Nicole shares her magnificent, winding, grinding path from teaching to arts non-profit, gallery gigs and, finally, the esoteric world of cutting edge art fairs. She now directly oversees all aspects of produc...

Nancy Hogshead-Makar won 3 golds and a silver at the 1984 LA Olympic Games. She received a law degree from Georgetown and has devoted her life to fighting for gender equity in sports. Three years before her Olympic triumphs, Nancy was brutally raped while attending Duke University. She feared she was too emotionally damaged to swim again, but the support of her coach and community in getting her b...

Michael Sharkey , The Shark, climbed to the top of his profession in radio, on air and running radio stations nationwide. He accomplished more than he ever dreamed but something was changing in the radio industry and inside him--he knew it was time to make a change. So, he followed his gut and traveled the world with his family. Now a host and talent coach, Michael hosts the podcast, "Your Po...

A breath-taking 140-ft mural, titled Swan Dive, just appeared in a leafy Deep South neighborhood, in the midst of a pandemic and a national racial awakening, at the beginning of 6 young artist's careers. Inspired by our podcast, this group of art students and friends safely took broke quarantine to bring public art and joy to an appreciative urban neighborhood block. In the process, their lif...

We need live entertainment, it is a gathering of community and human interaction that brings us immeasurable joy.  But the lights are now dark and the curtains remain closed. So what will live entertainment look like in the months and years to come?  Our guest today is Numa Saisselin , President of the historic Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida.  On this Swan Dive, we explore an industry pi...