Hey! I Want Your Job!

If you're a fan (even a casual one) of Lady Mekaella, you've seen a lot more of her than you have most of our other guests.  Her talents are varied, to say the least, including costume design, stilt walking, fire eating, dance, singing, and so so much more.  There is no way to see the vibrant and imaginative costumes she creates and not be clear of how exceptionally gifted she is as a seamstress...

When most of us think of exceptional thought leaders driving an agenda of inclusiveness and trying to force the medical establishment to be better, do better, and treat better - especially those who come from minority groups we don't usually picture a fierce Black woman, who is a health practitioner in Alaska.  Heck, most of us probably didn't realize there ARE Black women in Alaska (with right around 3% of the Alaskan population being Black there is a reason for that)...

What is art?  Do you think of paintings?  Sculpture?  Art takes so many forms and functions within our community and means different things to everyone.  Beautiful, hand-crafted functional things like jewelry, ceramics, and textiles hold a special place as art that we can engage with everyday...

These days it feels like spam messages selling crypto currency is the new, ubiquitous Nigerian prince or penis enlargement scam.  Dozens of these messages a day - and it doesn't stop with email.  LinkedIn is flooded with the fraudsters.  At the same time, crypto exchange is very real and very lucrative if done correctly.  Companies like Coinbase are helping to bringing these opportunities to the mainstream...

Finding ways to cope with loss and, most especially, the impending death of a loved one is a challenge that everyone must learn to combat in their life.  These last few years we have all had to find new and creative ways to grieve and prepare for that change. Shannon MacFarlane photographs individuals, families, and pets in these intimate, vulnerable moments.  Finding the glimpses of joy and moments of laughter is her specialty...

If you grew up in the 80's or 90's in the US you probably have fond memories of LeVar Burton reading you books, and chasing "butterflies in the sky".  The love of reading and books was then, probably, backed up at school with the chance to earn a FREE (tiny) personal pizza at PizzaHut by reading a certain number of books.  Kids loved it. Today Reading Rainbow is off the air, and has been since 2006, and there is no more "pizza for reading" program...

Every year fertility rates are declining, especially in the most developed countries.  Birth rates are lower, and more and more couples are turning to fertility medicine like IVF.  The process is stressful, expensive, and emotional.  For  many it is simply outside of what they can afford, or manage within their lifestyles.  Morgan Rockwell offers a different approach.  Her techniques and treatments come from ancient Oriental Medicine...

Have you heard strange noises in the night?  Heard voices of people not there? Felt a chill and a sudden change in temperature?  Kristy Sumner has.  The team at Soul Sisters (and yes, they are sisters!) travels around investigating rumors of hauntings and looking for clear, scientifically reliable evidence of spectral manifestations.  They have found... a LOT.  Is it all irrefutable guaranteed to convert anyone? Nope - and that may be one of the best parts...

Mara Girone has lived around the world - from Athens, to Mexico, London, and more.  She's started successful business, raised a family, and created a line of beautiful, wearable art.  In this interview she talks about all of those things.

Here's Mara in her own words:

I am Mara.

My passion for the beauty and diversity of our world has taken me from Italy to Mexico to Portugal then Greece, to working and raising my family in London...

Even in 2022 women in science are ridiculously rare.  Less than 30% of the world's researchers are women.  The impact that this overwhelming bias has can be felt across sectors from the lack of focus on women's health, or reproductive issues, to the algorithmic biases found in AI that has been developed overwhelmingly by men...