After cancer, one woman swam farther than anyone ever had in a lake. Another ran 104 marathons in 104 days on a carbon-fiber running blade.

Marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas returned to the water following aggressive breast cancer and went on to complete multiple record-setting open-water swims.

And Jacky Hunt-Broersma lost her leg to bone cancer, then redefined endurance one marathon at a time.

Their stories are about ambition, adaptation, and the audacity to ask the body for more.

Suggested episodes:

• From wingsuit BASE jumping to record-breaking South Pole expeditions with Ellen Brennan Frat and Liv Arnesen
• What a runner’s high feels like when you’re 105 years old
• What it’s like to be allergic to water
• Below the surface: The stories behind underwater world records

GUESTS:

• Sarah Thomas: marathon swimmer who holds multiple world records for the longest current-neutral swims ever completed, including a 104.6-mile swim in Lake Champlain. After aggressive breast cancer treatment, she returned to the water and became the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel
• Jacky Hunt-Broersma: an ultrarunner and amputee who lost her left leg to bone cancer at age 26. In 2022, she ran 104 marathons in 104 consecutive days on a carbon-fiber running blade, setting a Guinness World Record and raising nearly $200,000 to help other amputees access running prosthetics. Her memoir, Duct Tape and Determination: A True Story of Turning Devastation into Grit, is coming out in August 2026

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Meet two men who survived suicide attempts, and built lives around helping others imagine a future beyond despair.

Kevin Hines, one of the few to survive a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge, reflects on the instant regret, the long recovery, and the tools he uses when “brain pain” returns - recorded just days before the 25th anniversary of his attempt.

Then, Connecticut therapist Steve MacHattie shares what it means to live with chronic suicidal urges, after his first attempt at six years old, and how reaching for connection can change the outcome.

Resources:

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
• Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board
• In an emergency, please call or text 911

Suggested episodes:

• 911, What's Your Emergency? Tales From Dispatch
• Finding purpose in life after accidentally killing someone
• What it's like surviving a plane crash
• Equine therapy

GUESTS:

• Kevin Hines: suicide attempt survivor, author, film producer, and mental health advocate. At 19, he survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. Over the past 25 years, he has dedicated himself to suicide prevention, sharing his story to reduce stigma and help people through moments of crisis. Kevin is the author of Cracked, Not Broken, The Art of Being Broken, and The Art of Wellness, hosts the HINESIGHTS podcast, and was a leading voice in the effort to install safety nets on the Golden Gate Bridge. His latest documentary, Death Bridge, is set to be released in 2027
• Steve MacHattie: a suicide attempt survivor, clinical social worker (LCSW), and founder of the Charter Oak Family Center in Manchester, Connecticut. He first attempted suicide at six years old, and today he supports clients ages 5 to 105 and serves as co-chair of the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board’s Lived Experience Committee. He also writes poetry used in clinical trainings to help care providers see the humanity and strength in the people they serve

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TV shows and movies set in places like field offices, courtrooms and hospitals entertain us, sure... But they also tell us something - about crime, medicine, danger, and heroism. So who makes sure they don’t get it wrong?

Meet three entertainment consultants whose real jobs exist far beyond the screen: a former FBI profiler behind Criminal Minds, an ER doctor, who advised on The Pitt, and NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, who worked on the Amazon film Space Cadet.

They reveal what Hollywood gets right, what it often misses, and the surprising responsibility that comes with shaping what millions of people believe.

Suggested episodes:

• Behind The Screens: Hollywood Hairstyling, Coordinating Intimacy, And Illustrating The Great British Bake Off
• Becoming fluent in English by watching 3 hours of American and British television every day
• Behind The Screens: Dressing Schitt’s Creek, Special Effects Make-Up, and Casting Queer Eye
• Stunt performers David Holmes and Jonathan Goodwin on life after paralysis
• When actors teach: Embodying the lives of an enslaved woman and a medical patient
• Who decides? Ethicists help doctors and patients answer big, nuanced questions

GUESTS:

• Jim Clemente: Former FBI special agent and prosecutor, who spent more than 20 years working in criminal behavioral profiling and became an entertainment consultant, writer, and producer on the Criminal Minds series
• Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah: Emergency medicine physician, EMS medical director, and educator, who also serves as a medical consultant for the Emmy Award-winning HBO series, The Pitt
• Nicole Stott: NASA astronaut, engineer, artist, and author, who spent more than 100 days living and working in space. She also consults on film and television, including the Amazon movie Space Cadet

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Meet two influential voices in autism advocacy whose lives and work have reshaped how the world understands neurodiversity.

Dr. Temple Grandin - a scientist, author, and animal behavior expert - reflects on growing up autistic, thinking in pictures, and building a career by leaning into the way her mind works.

And Dr. Kerry Magro, an autism advocate, speaker, and consultant on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum, shares his path from being nonverbal to becoming a public voice for autism, and why accurate representation can change lives.

Suggested episode:

• A conversation with 12 year-old Sophie Rupolo, who has Williams Syndrome, and her mom

GUESTS:

• Dr. Temple Grandin: Scientist, author, and professor whose work in animal behavior has transformed livestock handling around the world. Her life and thinking were introduced to a global audience through the HBO film Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, and through her books, including Thinking in Pictures, which helped change how autism is understood by clinicians, families, and the public
• Dr. Kerry Magro: Autism advocate, professional speaker, and author who was nonverbal until age 2.5 and did not speak in complete sentences until age 7. He is a consultant on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum and works with schools, companies, and media organizations to challenge stereotypes and promote accurate, human portrayals of autistic lives

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Some rituals are spiritual. Some are silly. Some are inherited, and some are self-made.

Casper ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices, walks us through how we create all sorts of meaningful, grounding rituals.

And you'll hear clips from past two years of Audacious guests who have shared the rituals that matter most to them, from morning journaling and bedtime affirmations to pre-show sign-slapping.

Whether you've already got your rituals down pat, or are still developing your own special routine, this episode shows you how to honor the sacred in the everyday.

This episode originally aired on May 17, 2025.

Suggested episodes:

• Forgiveness: How we define it and how it defines us
• Life advice, one Audacious guest at a time
• Kitchen objects with a story. Listen at your own whisk
• Why you so salty? The anger episode
• Change Of Art: Stories About Tattoo Coverups
• Awe yeah! Exploring the magic of mind-blowing moments

GUESTS:

• Casper ter Kuile: author of The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices. He holds Master's degrees in Divinity and Public Policy from Harvard University, and is a co-founder of Sacred Design Lab. He also co-hosts the podcast, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
• Audacious guests who shared their personal rituals (in order of appearance): Dean Edwards, Jessica Jin, Kristen Geez, Anna Holland, Lena Khalal Tuffaha, Chris Crowe, Bruce W Brackett, Moon Ribas, Azie Dungey, Pony Tromper, Mary Elizabeth Kelly, Paul Marcarelli, Brad White, Begoña Gómez Urzaiz, Dr. Gale Ridge, Mehdi Hasan, Stephanie Courtney, Rosanna Ramos, Sonya Horton, Greg Viloria, Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers, Zarna Garg, Jada Star, Luis Mojica, RoseMarie Wallace, Mindy Glickman, David Roche, Paul Gladis, and Arwen, Aidan, and Willow Gladis Perez-Sauquillo

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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What happens when a mother can’t raise her children? Not out of neglect, but because systems, partners, and survival leave her no real choice?

This episode challenges the assumptions we place on “non-custodial mothers.” Rebekah Spicuglia explains how immigration rules, economic pressure, and unequal power led to her relinquishing custody of her son, Oscar, and how she channels her grief after his murder into research on gun violence and family separation.

And from Cameroon, Marie Abanga shares why escaping abuse meant leaving her three young sons behind.

For a full transcript of this episode, click here.

Suggested episodes:

• Life after Parkland: A victim's dad turns to art and activism
• The weight of family secrets: Finding freedom in the truth
• The reality of 'Forever Parenting' when your child needs lifetime care

GUESTS:

• Rebekah Spicuglia: bereaved mother, writer, advocate, and PhD student in Health Policy & Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She focuses on gun violence and family separation, drawing on her own lived experience to inform her work
• Marie Abanga: Cameroonian author and mental health advocate whose 2011 decision to give up custody of her children guides her mission to support others facing loss, stigma, and recovery

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Step into the technicolor world of PEZ!

We tour the Connecticut factory where more than 12 million tiny candies are pressed each day, guided by archivist Shawn Peterson, whose personal collection helped shape the Visitor Center.

Meet Brian Trauman, the Guinness World Record holder whose thousands of dispensers trace a lifetime of joyful obsession.

Hear Emily Tracy’s tender, funny, heartbreaking story about the PEZ tattoo she got to honor her mother.

And the hosts of PEZamania, the world’s largest PEZ convention, talk about how nostalgia and candy become community.

Suggested episodes:

• Discovering delight - and despair - in dumpster diving

• We have to talk about cuddle parties

• Take a tour of the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal

• Pawn queens: Tales and treasures from women pawn shop owners

• Audacious at sea: Wisdom from strangers on a cruise ship

GUESTS:

• Shawn Peterson: Company archivist and historian at PEZ Candy, Inc. in Orange, CT. He manages the PEZ Visitor Center, where much of the collection on display comes from his own personal archive. He is also the author of PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon and Collector’s Guide to PEZ: Identification and Price Guide

• Brian Trauman: Owns the world's largest Pez collection and holds the Guinness World Record for “largest candy dispenser collection.” He has been collecting since 1999 and owns more than 6,400 dispensers

• Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor: hosts of PEZamania in Ohio – the longest running collector convention in the world, established in 1991

• Emily Tracy: Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

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A wise woman once said, “You can tell the ocean anything, but it has to be the truth.“

Chion Wolf boards the MSC Meraviglia expecting a week of small talk and sunscreen. But the farther she gets from land, the more people become willing to hang out in the deep end to talk about love, loss, faith, sobriety and stories they’ve been holding onto for years.

When they speak, the ocean listens. And in this hour, so do you.

Listen to a BONUS track featuring more voices from the ship: Latisha from the Bronx; Vincent Ferrito and Lauren Englemann from Brooklyn, NY; Brittney and Jeana Lockhart from New Bedford, MA; Henry Armbrister, Barbara Williams, Dellie Maycock, and Giovanni Ferguson from Nassau, Bahamas.

Suggested episodes:

• The Big E: What it takes to create 17 days of magic
• Life advice, one Audacious guest at a time
• It's A Brand Nude Day!
• Discovering delight - and despair - in dumpster diving
• Welcome to the Punderdome! We're entering NYC's punniest pun competition
• SOLD! Audacious Auctioneers

Plus, Advice on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, a project Chion did interviewing passengers on a 48-hour train ride

GUESTS:

• A segment: Keith Miller from Long Island, NY; Kevin Luong from New York, NY; Vin Panday from Ontario, Canada; Jessica Struble from Holly, PA; Ruby Selver from Turks and Caicos; and Marty and Mary Pasternak from Buffalo, NY
• B segment: Mike Turner from Levittown, PA; Brian Martignetti from El Paso, TX; Darrell Floyd from New Haven, CT; and Randy Deveaux and Sylvia Wilson from Nassau, Bahamas
• C segment: Joe and Valerie Leone from Blue Bell, PA; Tommy and Cindy Lazarz from Ware, MA; John and Ada Sue Siler from Richmond, VA; and Javier and Angela Mahon from Brooklyn, NY

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.