Podcasts
Podcasts
Monday, December 16, 202412/16/2024
Western Mass Business Show on 12.14.24 — Dawn Corderio and John Grossman, Holyoke Hummus
Monday, December 16, 202412/16/2024
Flagging Ups & Downs
12/16/24: Ehmptn Mayor Nicole LaChapelle: fights over the American flag & the Mayor’s salary. Tapestry Health ED Mavis Nimoh: abortion rts under Trump. Lawyer-profs — Smith’s Carrie Baker w/ WNEU Law’s Erin Buzuvis: transgender athletes. Megan Zinn w/ local author Eric Bennett: “Noodles & Albie on Thin Ice.”
Friday, December 13, 202412/13/2024
The Hustler Files Ep 90
WE DO CRAZY
In Episode 89 we became acquainted with Sheriff Karl Leonard of Chesterfield County, Virginia. We circled back with the Sheriff to meet his Behavioral and Mental Health Division Director, Kerri Rhodes. Kerri is no stranger to the tragedy of addiction, and in looking for a way to heal herself, she found a pathway at the Sheriff’s HARP program by helping incarcerated individuals with addictions and introducing a coping and healing mechanism called Trauma Tapping. According to Kerri, Trauma Tapping is based on acupuncture and works with the 12 energy meridians in the body. As a clinician, Kerri is the first to admit that she was highly skeptical of how Trauma Tapping could help people to break free from long-standing addiction, and emotional and psychological barriers. With training and consistent effort, Kerri started to see the positive results of this untraditional treatment not just with the incarcerated individuals, but even the correction officers and other members of the Sheriffs’ staff. Standing by their, ‘we do crazy’ mantra, Kerri launched a series of Trauma Tapping videos for Tik Tok Tuesdays. It wasn’t long before these videos garnered millions more views, but also attracted the attention of Bunnie, wife of country music artist, Jelly Roll. Once Jelly Roll started following the Trauma Tapping videos that were posted, weekly, millions more opted in to watch this unique and evidence-based treatment. In 2023 Jelly Roll made his first in-person visit to the Chesterfield County jail, asking to ‘meet the tapping lady’. He returned again in the Fall of 2024, while touring, and made a one-of-a-kind grand gesture, that impacted more than the men behind the wall.
Friday, December 13, 202412/13/2024
Survive & Thrive
12/13/24: Rep Natalie Blais: Trump v. Massachusetts, climate, & econ devel. MTA’s Max Page: HS diplomas for students MCAS failed. Donnabelle Casis w/ HCC’s Taber Art Gallery Dir Rachel Rushing on the exhibit “Thrive.” Smith Prof Steven Heydemann & human rts atty Laura Pitter: Assad’s fall & Syria’s future.
Thursday, December 12, 202412/12/2024
Resolutions
12/12/24: Local high school for LGBTQIA students w/ Dr. Allison Druin & Dr. Ben Bederson. Rabbi David Seidenberg: Israel, wars, Gaza & Zionism. John Berkowitz & John Feffer: the Russia-Ukraine War, Putin & Trump. Ruth Griggs w/ Sophie Michaux: the upcoming Tiny Glass Tavern concert.
Wednesday, December 11, 202412/11/2024
Today’s 3 Rs: Rendition, Recommendations, & Our River
12/11/24: DA David Sullivan: the alleged murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Larry Hott highly recommends “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” & “Separated.” Brian Adams w/ Andre Boulay of A2Z: this year’s best toys! Environmental journalist Karl Meyer: save the Ct. River—don’t relicense Northfield Pump Station.
Tuesday, December 10, 202412/10/2024
The Hustler Files Ep 89
BELIEVING THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE BEHIND BARS
You have to love a person who has spent 43 years in a career and when asked ‘When are you retiring’ their response is, ‘When I don’t have anything else to learn’. Sheriff Karl Leonard of Chesterfield, Virginia, is that person. For his entire career, he’s been a public servant; from a military career to the Chesterfield Police Department to the Pentagon and now the Sheriff of Chesterfield County, and despite all he’s experienced, he continues to understand the human condition and find ways to be progressive to help those under his watch. His transparency in taking over the Sheriff’s office is refreshing, as he’s the first to admit that there was no Sheriff’s instruction book. When his jail was inundated, daily, with locals, addicted to Heroin he trusted his instincts and felt that a higher power was guiding him. This led to the creation of the HARP program, a peer mentor-run program that over the last eight years has successfully helped 3500 people, overcome not just Heroin but other drug or alcohol addictions. As Sheriff Leonard says, ‘There’s a lot of good people behind bars, and there are bad people too, that deserve to spend their lives there, but that’s a small percentage of incarcerated people, and when you learn about (the good people) and their life and the challenges they grew up in, since birth, these are good people with bad circumstances presented to them…’
Tuesday, December 10, 202412/10/2024
The Hustler Files Ep 88
FEAR HAS NO END DATE
Sadly domestic violence is a 365-day-a-year issue, but the more survivors step forward, ask for help, and share their stories, the more aware society becomes of this ongoing epidemic. Liz Dineen, CEO of the Western Massachusetts YWCA, has been one of many organizations across the country to take up the protection sword to help women and men, of domestic violence. In conjunction with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, a recent media campaign drew hundreds of calls and walk-ins, to her YWCA facility. Every story of domestic violence is unacceptable, and many survivors wish to keep their stories secret out of fear of retaliation, but also out of embarrassment and shame. This was the case with Stephanie of Idaho. Her story is one of beatings, kidnapping, starvation, broken bones, and being stabbed repeatedly with a chisel, to within a literal fraction of her femoral artery. Stephanie’s story is chilling, but her bravery in sharing her abuse is to be applauded! For 13 1/2 years she has rebuilt her life while her abuser has been serving a 15-year prison sentence. But despite her new lease on life, and a 100-year protection order from the courts, Stephanie is terrified of what might lie ahead.
Tuesday, December 10, 202412/10/2024
Hello, Goodbye
12/10/24: Michael Klare: Assad’s fall & Ukraine’s future. Duke Goldman: the Mets’Juan Soto, the Yankees’ & Red Sox’ futures. Todd Gazda: Trump’s ed policies and Secretary of Ed nominee, Linda McMahon. Smith’s rocker-scholar Steve Waksman says goodbye.
