The Audra Show #51

It's Episode #51, a "The Audra Show" Very Special Episode with some Very Special Guest Hosts who I cannot thank enough, my niece and nephew the lovely Anthony and Sophia! We discussed our Colorado vacation, their fun-filled summer, our evening plans and Gilda's feelings toward them. There may have been some kazooing, but you'll have to listen to know for sure!

Check out episode #51 below, on the Podbean app or on iTunes! Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #50

Episode #50: For the Current and Future Citizens of HeidiTown

Thank you so much to my episode #50 guest, the Mayor of HeidiTown.com, Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer for calling in to the show for a very fun chat about:

• How she barely escaped a career in international relations law
• The origins of HeidiTown - which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this month!
• Keeping up with the growth of Colorado and the festival scene
• Getting out to see your state!
• Concerns for the mountains
• A bit of Denver History
• Ryan Schlaefer Fine Furniture & the dual self-employment lifestyle
• The importance of connections & maintaining positivity

Check out HeidiTown.com, join the HeidiTown block party on Facebook, or tweet her your Colorado (and surrounding states) trip planning questions @HeidiTown. She loves that! Yes, really!

Since we chatted by phone & weren't able to take a selfie together, please enjoy this picture of Heidi & her husband, Ryan!

Check out episode #50 below, on the Podbean app or on iTunes! Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #49

Episode #49: “She got in her private plane and flew home. Local girl makes good”

Thank you dearly to my guest, 96-year old Anita Hessin who told me her amazing life story which included:

• Growing up on a farm in Ohio
• A secret marriage
• The first time she saw her husband after WWII
• Life in Cabimas, Venezuela:
  • the only song the native orchestra knew
  • what it sounds like when a “big lizard” falls onto a tin roof
  • the mail sedan
• The years they were taken in by the country club set of Oil City, PA
• Becoming the first female operating manager of Allstate
• And after all this the highlight of her life... learning to fly at age 45!

Check out episode #49 below, on the Podbean app or on iTunes! Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #48

Trapper Johnson

A great big thank you to The Audra Show Episode #48 guest, Green Beret and Bronze Star winner, Trapper Johnson. I took a drive up to the mountains to chat with Trapper about:

• His amazing and heroic service in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia including his time being carried by the military as killed in action
• Thoughts on torture, heroin, communism, drones, US interference in foreign governments, Russian interference in ours & the dualities of life
• The guy in Cambodia who owes him 2 cents/week for renting his water buffalo since the 1970s
• Emotionally separating from the military and PTSD
• A shout out to the officer holding the nuclear football if Trump ever gets upset enough w a critic to give the order
• Predictions for our short-term future
• And more!

Listen to or download episode #48 of The Audra Show right here:

Or on the Podbean app or on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #47

Beata Nazem Kelley

Beata & Gil

Very big thanks to my houseguest/episode #47 guest Beata who is the “Persian Girl Desperately Addicted to Food” behinds Beats Eats, a food blog where she makes delicious cooking easy and accessible for busy people. Now featuring videos!

She decided to travel to Colorado for The Audra Show in-person experience (admittedly, not the best ever) which gave us the chance to go on a mini-food tour of downtown Denver and describe it to you in detail, including this delicious item.

We also discussed:

• Bloody Marys
• Things to do with your extra mint, beets, chicken (which just inspired me to add some leftover green onions to my egg salad!)
• The staples of Persian cooking
• Recipes for tadeeg rice, curry chicken salad and easy homemade meals, taco tuesday and Persian pistachios!
• Reflections on life in America as a Muslim
• Nothing about politics!

Please checkout Beats Eats on Facebook, Instagram @beatseats and at beatseats.com!

Or find The Audra Show on iTunes or the Podbean app. Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #46

With Joshua North-Shea at the 6th Avenue United Church of Christ 

"Who Is Nellie Bly?" art project by Joshua North-Shea. Clockwise from top left: Jane Addams, Ida B. Wells, Margaret Sanger, Emma Goldman

Finally, it’s episode #46 of The Audra Show. Thank you and apologies to my guest Joshua North-Shea, the Sexton of the 6th Avenue United Church of Christ in Denver. We had a fun and fascinating conversation that originally ran almost 3 hours, so took this long to edit (with a vacation in-between).

Topics of discussion include: 

• What is a sexton?
• Joshua’s time with the guerilla in the Guatemalan jungle at age 15
• His art project entitled “Who Is Nellie Bly?” featuring revolutionary American women from the turn of the century
• How to find a commune
• Why more people aren’t married by Jedi Knights (or are they?)
• What it means to be a Christian Anarchist and why it’s about hope (which i finally understood)
• Religion vs Spirituality vs Science
• The concept of America as a Christian nation
• The Open and Affirming Project of the United Church of Christ to invite congregations to think about their relationships with the LGBTQ community
• Community discussions provoked by statements he’s put on the church marquis
• Our thoughts on how to solve racism and other bigotry

Or click here to find The Audra Show on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

The Audra Show #45

Jeffrey Zucker

For your weekend listening pleasure...it's The Audra Show episode #45. Big thanks to my guest Jeffrey Zucker of Green Lion Partners and Saltshaker Holdings. We had a very interesting and informative chat about his love of hockey, his start as a serial entrepreneur, the innovative ways that Green Lion Partners is working to enhance the public perception of the cannabis industry, and why that needs doing!

Or check out The Audra Show on iTunes

The Audra Show #44

Nathan Lund

Too Much Fun at the Deer Pile

Thank you to my episode #44 guest, Nathan Lund, for being my first-episode-in-Denver guinea pig! We had a fun chat that covered the Denver comedy scene - starting with the last comedy show at The Squire, Nathan's many gigs including hosting Film on the Rocks and being promoted to a Comedy Works Pro, what it means to be an alt comic, roommates and relationships, and why the F everyone is moving to Denver.

Catch Nathan hosting:

• Film on the Rocks at Red Rocks
• Bingo & Brunch at the Squeaky Bean
• Too Much Fun at the Deer Pile

Also look for him at the upcoming Bestival in SF and on his new a capella album, Singing in the Dark.

And now, subscribe to The Audra Show on iTunes!!

The Audra Show, now from Denver, Preview

Here's a preview of some of the format changes that will be happening when The Audra Show starts up again from it's new home in Denver, CO!

The Audra Show from Denver Preview

Denver

Yay!

Podcasting equipment purchased! The Audra Show will be coming at you from Denver soon. Watch this space.

Or this space: The Audra Show on Facebook

Or this space: @audrashow

Do you know someone interesting who likes to chat*? Please send them my way!

*Do not have to reside in Denver

On Hiatus

Thank you for visiting The Audra Show website! I don't want people getting sick of me already so The Audra Show is currently on hiatus. We will be back soon. In the meantime, please feel free to download, listen to or comment on any of my first 43 episodes below. Thank you for supporting The Audra Show!

The Audra Show #43

Big thanks to my special guest/really more of a co-host Alyson Hyder for helping me through episode #43, which will be my last show for the time being! We had a very fun chat which covered a range of topics including highlights from the show, imaginary friends, family parties, marking milestones and confronting fears. Then we touched on a variety of current events from Cecil the Lion to I Am Cait, DeflateGate and Fuller House!

Thank you to all for listening and supporting The Audra Show. We'll be back soon!

The Audra Show #42

Thank you to this week's guest, comedian (or not) Chris May, for a very silly chat that covered everything from Bill Cosby to politics to the first time we smoked weed to malt liquor to pop culture.

Episode #42 also featured the music of Chris' friend, L.Rucus and a shout-out from another friend, whose name I didn't even catch since the show was ending!

Check out L.Rucus here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqdSKFq5uk

The Audra Show #41

Very big thanks to my episode #41 guest: Creative writing, meditation and wellness facilitator June Daniella Lucarotti!

We had a fun chat that covered why June started her new business Vola Sessions, her transient lifestyle, her activism as a 10-year old in the Lower Haight and as an adult in CO, the affect meditation can have on your everyday life, and we ended the episode with a guided meditation!

For anyone interested in June's work or in becoming a client, please check out her (still in progress) website: volasessions.com

The Audra Show #40

Thank you SO much to my episode #40 guests for a great show!

For hour 1, Luxe Co-founder, Curtis Lee, and his assistant, Mary Best, came on to chat about the buzzworthy on-demand valet parking app and what it's like to be at the center of a startup that is experiencing explosive growth.

Check out Luxe at http://luxe.com/. First time users, use code VALET144 for a $20 credit in any city Luxe operates in.

In the 2nd hour, I chatted with everyone's favorite 5th grade teacher, the much beloved Lester Leviness! He told me about the beginnings of his teaching career, the origins and all-time winner of the dandelion contest, plus his 12 sky-dives and other adrenaline-fueled adventures. It was wonderful to reconnect after all of these years. YSLY!

Thank you again to all! 

The Audra Show #39

Thank you so much to my episode #39 guest, longtime SF activist and organizer Susan Pfeifer. We had a great chat that covered Obama's amazing week and his "evolution" on marriage equality, the 2016 election and why - after initial hesitation - Susan has decided to go all in for Hillary, what the Supreme Court ruling means for Obamacare and Covered CA and we touched on some local SF politics at the end. Thank you again, Susan!

The Audra Show #38

Big, big thanks to my lovely and awesome niece Kara Curtin for being my episode #38 guest. She let me grill her on what life is like for a 20 year old these days, got me to tell her favorite story from my 10th grade biology class and gave us another installment of Kara's Music Review featuring great tunes from George Ezra, Bleachers (don't forget to check out the music video) and Two Door Cinema Club.

The Audra Show #37

Thank you to photographer, graphic artist, writer and musician Rameen Gasery for being my episode #37 guest. We discussed his new book of art and poetry, African Oil American Soil, and its themes of racism and responses to it, heard about his stint as Executive Photographer of the show FELA! on Broadway, shouted out a happy birthday to his mom, listened to one of his original jazz recordings and remarked on the power of the phrase "Fuck it!"

Please check out Rameen's work here: http://www.rameengasery.com/

The Audra Show #36

The self-timer works!

Very big thanks to my friend David Elliott Lewis, Secretary of the Mental Health Board of SF, for coming back on the show for episode #36. We covered quite a few mental health topics including:

- The Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier
- Misconceptions about therapy
- Stigma and discrimination
- Crazy vs. mentally ill
- SFPD's Crisis Intervention Team
- NFL's concussion settlement
- Mayor Lee's new housing bond proposal
- SFPD Redistricting

We also had a chance to discuss the ‪#‎MadMenFinale‬, Dave's final show ‪#‎ThanksDave‬ and the future of virtual reality.

Mental Health Board meetings are the 3rd Wednesday of every month at City Hall and are open to the public: http://www.mhbsf.org

The Audra Show #35

There was a mishap with the episode #35 selfie so thank you to Ed Attanasio and Simone Alexander for being my guests, for providing the official episode picture AND for the show summary...

Ed Attanasio "We talked about art, Deflategate, marriage and love. It was a great two hours." We also talked about reality TV for a while.

Please check out Ed's show this Friday May 15 from 6-9 at Resource Furniture in SF called My 3x3 World: The Post-It Note Art of Ed Attanasio!