Author Susen Edwards wrote a memoir on behalf of a woman whose troubled life took her into and out of three bad marriages, addiction, a Kenyan prison, and the global drug trade. As an author, Susen was committed to writing a true account of the subject's life while being careful not to invade the privacy of some of the principals. A fascinating tale of a true story written by a skillful writer who endured the same emotional roller coaster as her subject.

Podcasts have come a long way since the early 2000s. There's a podcast for every interest and many come in video form. It's easier than ever to do your own podcast for very little money. Tom Kranz has it all in this episode celebrating International Podcast Day 2025.

Kim Curry spent 30 years as a Top 40 radio DJ in markets across America, mostly in Miami at Power 96 and Y100. His air persona, Kid Curry, was synonymous with radio stardom of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Then, things changed forever with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis at age 50. But life goes on and the Kid is still in charge.

During his 25 years working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Deric Gilliard dealt with a lot of change under five different presidents. But it was his four years with the first Trump administration that threw the most obstacles in the path of his agency's mission to promote the health and welfare of Americans. His book The Longest Four Years of My Life examines his career in detail.

Nu-Blu has been a bluegrass institution for 22 years. With Daniel and Carolyn Routh at the helm, the band has recorded seven albums and toured the world. The Rouths also have stakes in two iconic businesses in their hometown of Siler City, North Carolina. Thus, their music brings their hometown sensibilities to audiences everywhere. We hear music from their latest album, Where You've Been, and Carolyn's remarkable story of surviving two strokes and learning to play the bass as part of her recovery.

Percussionist Brad Dutz doesn't just play drums, marimba and vibraphone. He plays pots, pans, artillery shells, saw blades and cookie tins. Brad has collected hundreds or traditional and non-traditional instruments at his Percussion Ranch in Kelso, WA and he's busy playing and recording his work every day.

Cheri Carandanis's career as a nurse came to a screeching halt in 2019 after a car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. The cognitive and physical disabilities that resulted left her unable to do her life's work.

"I could not trust my brain," she recalls. "And so I, I retired my license, and that was tough."

How would she recover? How would she move forward? During her rehab, one doctor suggested she get a coloring book.

"So I did, and I hated it. It was horrible. I ripped up the book. And I think I was just in that moment, like, you are handing me a coloring book and like, literally, you're telling me this is my life now?"

But then she watched a YouTube video of a woman painting on a large canvas. "I'm like, she's painting her feelings. She's not painting a house. She's not painting a bird. She's not painting the ocean. She's painting her feelings, and my intuition kicked in, and it was like, you need to do that."

Six years later, Cheri's paintings are magnificent and selling for thousands of dollars. She's living a life she never imagined. Check out our inspiring conversation!

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A lifelong curiosity about how things work led John Kamal to earn a master's degree in mechanical engineering, which led to Career #1 as an aerospace engineer, Career #2 as a supply chain software innovator and Career #3 as a public school teacher. And then, there's the accordion.

John's creativity has been written in all these venues and it's still going strong. Hear about his invention that showed up in the movie The Martian and his thoughts on teaching STEM in American public schools at a time when homegrown talent in science and technology is sorely needed.

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Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia School District

The full Rube Goldberg project video

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