Lives Radio Show & Podcast with Stuart Chittenden

Certified retirement coach and business consultant, Dr. Ginny Curley, as the seventh of eight children, learned early how relationships, and their loss, shape our lives — insights deepened through decades of study and personal experiences in surviving a near-fatal heart attack and cancer. Today, as a certified retirement coach and consultant to family-owned businesses, Curley brings wisdom to questions of meaning, legacy, and what truly matters.From a big family, Ginny Curley learned early to navigate complex relationships—deepening that knowledge with a theology and sociology degree, a master’s in counseling, and a Ph.D. in educational administration and leadership. After decades in higher education and leading organizational development in industry, she now helps family-owned businesses develop continuity and helps those nearer to retirement navigate change with clarity and confidence. As a survivor of a near-fatal heart attack and of cancer, Curley brings a hard-won clarity about meaning, legacy, and what makes a good life.____Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only includes Dr. Curley sharing her perspective on the benefits of studying in Austria and the meaning of life! For that exclusive content and more, find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Dr Lucas Schulte, Director of Education and Outreach at Tri-Faith, was raised on a Nebraska farm, tutored in college and divinity schools, seasoned on archaeological digs, and blends grit and thoughtful reflection. As well as deep religious scholarship, he has spent decades asking how people of different faiths live well together. We talk about all that in the show, as well as Indiana-Jones moments, religious identity, and why interfaith engagement matters in a polarized era.Dr. Schulte leads efforts to promote Religious Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through community education and engagement. A Nebraska native, he earned degrees from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Yale Divinity School, and Claremont Graduate University, specializing in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, and the ancient Near East. His career includes teaching at universities and seminaries nationwide, archaeological work in Israel, and published scholarship, including a book on the Book of Nehemiah and a chapter in The Cambridge Companion to the Book of Isaiah. Today, he brings both academic expertise and practical creativity to advancing interfaith understanding, while also enjoying life with his wife, two children, and passions ranging from biking and cooking to Star Trek and K-dramas.____Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.

Veteran and fundraising professional Kenley Sturdivant-Wilson traces a journey from a childhood in Thailand to a small Arkansas delta town, and from profound loss to a life of service. His story blends tragedy with resilience and weaves a diverse cultural heritage. What emerges is a life committed to equity, hope, and belonging.Sturdivant-Wilson’s life bridges cultures, tragedy, and service. Born in Thailand to a Thai mother and Black American father, he grew up a military child, moving often but ultimately calling home a small Arkansas delta town. The early death of his mother left a lasting sorrow, yet also shaped his compassion and resilience. Inspired by her courage and his grandmother’s trailblazing achievements in the segregated South, he has dedicated his professional life to philanthropy—strengthening communities through the arts, education, and affordable housing—always grounded in equity, heritage, and belonging.____Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.

Wellness entrepreneur Glenisha Nelson has faced obstacles in life, including a difficult childhood environment, becoming a teenage mom, and people that doubted her, but through talent, determination, and faith, she built her vision, creating The G Spot Spa & Wellness as a place for healing, balance, and community. Nelson shares her journey of strength, entrepreneurship, and purpose.Nelson, a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Lymphatic Therapist who founded of The “G” Spot Spa & Wellness in Omaha. Nelson has combined determination with vision and resilience with kindness to overcome hurdles in her life, develop her entrepreneurial success, and and respond to a calling to serve people’s wellbeing and healing.____Today's show and others is supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.

Entomologist Doctor Jody Green takes us from her roundabout path into entomology to her current role as a science communicator and extension educator. With warmth, humor, and a no-nonsense style, Dr. Green talks about changing perceptions of the buzzing, crawling world around us and the surprising insights and life lessons she’s found through both bugs and people.Dr. Green is a Board‑Certified entomologist specializing in urban and industrial insects. Originally from Ontario, Canada, she earned an associate’s degree in environmental pest management at Sir Sandford Fleming College and went on to complete her M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology at Purdue University. After working as a pesticide applicator, termite inspector and pest consultant, she joined Nebraska Extension, where she serves as an extension educator for Douglas-Sarpy Extension. She co‑hosts the Arthro‑Pod podcast and appears regularly on the PBS Backyard Farmer program on Nebraska Public Television. Known for her no-nonsense style and motto “stop and think before you step on a bug”, Green enjoys sharing how insects play vital roles in ecosystems. When she isn’t answering bug questions for Nebraskans, Green is a keen runner and volunteer with various conservation and nature groups.

Cartoon artist and comic book author Caitlin Cass creates comics about failing systems, strange historical narratives, and irrational hope. From mail-order zines to Eisner Award winning graphic histories, she crafts stories that are sharp, strange, and full of heart. Hear how ghosts, humor, and historical research fuel her singular artistic world.Cartoonist and illustrator Caitlin Cass uses comics, cartoons, and installations to explore failing systems, query traditional historical narratives, and pursue irrational hope. Her 2024 book - Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race, and Voting Rights in the US - which won an Eisner Award, dubbed the Oscars of the comic book industry. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Lily, and The Nib. Growing up near Chicago, Cass studied the Great Books at St. John’s College in Sante Fe and earned an MFA in Visual Studies from the University at Buffalo, and since 2021 teaches studio art and illustration at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Conversation with architect and sustainability consultant Stuart Shell for whom built environments are not just physical spaces—they are reflections of what we value and how we relate to one another. Who gets comfort, who gets beauty, who - and what - gets left out? Shell invites us along with him to consider the built world as our collective lived and moral landscape.Stuart Shell is an architect, sustainability consultant, and passionate advocate for reimagining how our built environments reflect and shape our shared values. Shell believes our cities and buildings are more than structures—they are living habitats that reveal how we care for each other and the planet. As an Associate Principal at BranchPattern, he works to integrate biodiversity, health, and climate resilience into the real estate sector. His journey runs from Omaha to Chicago’s South Side, to rural Nebraska and back, always shaped by a deep commitment to justice, joy, community, and the environment. Shell lives in Omaha with his partner. Their young son, who passed away in 2021, remains a profound source of meaning in their lives.

Brandy Wallar, President and CEO of New Visions Homeless Services, grew up in poverty and was raised lovingly by a mother trying to escape domestic violence with four kids and nowhere to go. Now Wallar leads one of the region’s most impactful homelessness organizations, turning lived experience into bold, compassionate leadership. In the show, Wallar shares powerful personal stories, exposes the myths around homelessness, and shows what real change can look like.Brandy Wallar is a lifelong advocate for individuals experiencing homelessness and hunger in the greater Omaha and Council Bluffs area. Wallar brings over two decades of nonprofit leadership rooted in empathy, resilience, and community impact and holds advanced degrees in human services, has received multiple awards for her leadership, and serves on numerous boards and councils, including the Iowa Governor’s Council on Homelessness. Wallar is deeply involved in civic life across Iowa and Nebraska, championing systemic change and human dignity.

Political activist and community organizer Joyce Vondrasek shares a deeply personal journey—from coming out in a conservative religious family to becoming a vibrant voice for democratic socialism in Nebraska. Influenced by the moral clarity of the Scout Law and Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Vondrasek reflects on civil disobedience, political activism, and hope through action.Vondrasek is a political activist, community organizer, and bicycle mechanic with deep roots in Omaha and a lifelong commitment to progressive change. A former Nebraska State Senate candidate and co-founder of the Omaha chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Vondrasek has organized across cities—from Boston’s transit unions to Nebraska’s legislative districts. By day, he works for Heartland Bike Share; by night, he is dedicated to political education and grassroots activism. Vondrasek gets around Omaha on a bright orange electric cargo bike, often with his dog Kaiju happily riding along.

Filmmaker, colorist and digital image technician Cody Jones, who takes us behind the scenes of a memorable shoot with the late Pope Francis. Jones shares not just the craft and technicalities of color and image in movies, but the deeper human connections that power his creative work across the globe, and how meaning and purpose for him are rooted in gratitude, collaboration, and making people feel seen.Cody Jones’s passion for filmmaking began in childhood with home videos and evolved through photography and cinematography into his current role as a Digital Imaging Technician and Colorist, blending technical skill and creative insight to film production. Whether as cinematographer, assistant camera, colorist or Digital Imaging Technician, Jones has worked on projects for major brands like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify, and - as a member of Local 600 DIT - the International Cinematographers Guild - continues to focus on feature films, including Daft State, The Snack Shack, Going For Two, and The Headliner.

Sisters Heather and Jessica Hottman, performing as The Hottman Sisters, share their evolving story of music, identity, and reconnection. After years apart pursuing individual paths—one to acting in New York, the other navigating life in the West—they reunite with their sister Tiffany to create the vibrant new EP titled "Human Form." Our conversation is a moving look at how creativity, distance, and time can deepen both artistry and family bonds.The Hottman Sisters have been immersed in music since childhood, launching their career from Omaha with a 2015 debut EP titled “This Two” and nationwide tours alongside acts like Belle and Sebastian. After years on the road and a 2018 follow up EP titled “Louder", a musical pause gave way to a powerful reunion in 2023, as the trio returned to ARC Studios to record “Human Form.” The sisters are back on tour—recharged and ready for the next chapter.Jessica and Heather had planned to perform a few of their songs for us live in the studio, but Jessica was recovering from vocal laryngitis, so we hear some of their new recorded music in the show.

Award-winning author Anna Monardo shares how her Italian-American heritage, family history, and exploration of memory, place, love, and belonging shape her writing. We talk about identity, gender, and the power of reimagining one’s life through story. From Italy to Pittsburgh to Omaha, fiction and memoir, Monardo traces the emotional geography of the immigrant heart.Anna Monardo was born in Pittsburgh, spent many years in New York City, and now lives in Omaha, Nebraska, where she teaches in the Writer’s Workshop of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is the award-winning author of the novels—The Courtyard of Dreams and Falling In Love with Natassia—and the creative nonfiction memoir – After Italy – exploring her family’s immigration from southern Italy. Monardo is the recipient of residency fellowships from the Djerassi Foundation, Yaddo, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts among others and her stories, essays, and poems have been published and anthologized in The Sun, Poets and Writers, Salon.com, Huffington Post, and many other magazines and journals.

Dr. Andrea Grover, Associate Professor in Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, discusses their journey from a childhood love of learning to an academic career focused on the intersection of technology, nature, and public participation in science. They explored how citizen science enables everyday people to contribute to meaningful research and our understanding of the world. Grover also reflects on how their passions for nature, birding, community engagement, and much more inform their work and sense of purpose.Grover's work includes exploring how technology enables diverse public participation in large-scale scientific research, particularly in citizen science. Grover has served as an advisor and collaborator to public science initiatives around the globe in disciplines ranging from astrophysics to social sciences. Their recent work focuses on how using generative AI to write speculative fiction can help students develop and demonstrate ethical reasoning skills. Outside academia, Grover is a certified Nebraska Master Naturalist, avid birder, and is passionate about outdoor adventures and community engagement.

AB Gorham, artist, poet, and Assistant Professor of Book Arts and Papermaking at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In the show Gorham talks about the tactile and transformative nature of book arts, where a choreography of sculpture, language, and paper come together in experiential forms. She shares how her creative process is driven by intuition, the discipline of daily practice, and even her dreams.AB Gorham's poems have been published in Puerto Del Sol, The Call Center, American Letters and Commentary, DIAGRAM, and Gulf Coast, among others. Her artist books can be found in special collections at UCLA, the Institute of Art Chicago, the Rhode Island School of Design, Miami University, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and many others.

Matthew Henkes is the Vice President of Grants and Initiatives at the Iowa West Foundation. He talks about a life spent exploring the tensions between human connection and achievement. Raised in California, Henkes studied and worked across the world on various philanthropic and community aid projects. He then made the choice to move to Council Bluffs to work on supporting others in making a positive impact on the community and, as it transpires, on himself too.Matthew Henkes's goal at the Iowa West Foundation is to ensure that every outgoing dollar not only furthers the foundation’s goals of well-being, belonging, opportunity, and financial stability but also makes a lasting impact on the community. His journey in philanthropy began at Chemonics International, a global professional services firm, working on a variety of projects, such as an economic development program in Asia and the Middle East, and an environmental grant program covering a three-country area in Southern Africa. Henkes earned a MPA in nonprofit management from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and an MA in international economics and conflict management from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Henkes moved to the Omaha/Council Bluffs area in 2014, where he lives with his wife and son.

Mike Battershell, President and CEO of Bergman Incentives, talks about growing up a punk kid in a cowboy town; his efforts to make Omaha better as a community trouble-making do-gooder, and the evolution of that spirit to better the world now through the lens of building his business as a self-described capitalist and socialist.Bergman Incentives a provider of promotional products and branding solutions based in Omaha, Nebraska with offices from the Western Rockies to the Great Plains. Beyond his role at Bergman Incentives, Battershell honed his skillset through extensive service in Omaha’s nonprofit and civic sectors, holding numerous board and leadership positions. Battershell has consistently embraced disruption as a means of challenging the status quo and fostering progress. As a father of four, Battershell and his wife are vested in improving the experiences and resources available to the next generation and endeavor to make a lasting impact on the region’s business and civic landscape.

Mental health counselor and community activist, Elaine Wells, talks about her work as a counselor - helping couples find relationship harmony - and what drew her to that field. Wells also shares her evolution from being raised in a conservative Southern Baptist faith to Unitarian Universalism and how that religion of love and humanism aligns with her values and a calling to community activism.Elaine Wells, as a mental health counselor, especially enjoys helping couples to create and maintain happy, healthy relationships. Wells has long been a community activist - advocating for world peace, inclusive justice, and a sustainable environment, working with groups including Nebraskans for Peace, RESULTS, and Omaha Together One Community (often referenced as OTOC). Wells created a Dialogue process to bring people together for constructive conversations on controversial topics, facilitating Pro-Life/Pro-Choice, Black-White, Conservative-Liberal; and Racism in Omaha dialogues. Having grown up in East Texas as a Southern Baptist, she converted to Unitarian Universalism in 1970, and this religion of love and humanism has been a huge part of her evolution.

The Reverend Kevin Jagoe, minister to BuxMont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, shares his journey from small-town Minnesota to Unitarian Universalist ministry, weaving together life as a gay man, humanism, and a call to serve. He reflects on religion, purpose, and - in a changing spiritual landscape - what it means to lead with love.The Reverend Kevin W. Jagoe was born and raised in small-town Minnesota. He lived in Brooklyn, NY before being called as minister by BuxMont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in 2018 and now lives outside of Philadelphia. He completed his Master of Divinity at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and is currently working on his Doctorate of Divinity at United Lutheran Seminary. Prior to seminary, he completed a BA in anthropology, criminal justice, and forensic sciences with minors in psychology and biology as well as a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management. Beyond congregational life, Jagoe is Adjunct Faculty with the Humanist Studies Program of the American Humanist Association and has worked professionally within the Humanist movement since 2013.

Poet Steve Langan talks about his poetic craft and his new poetry book, Bedtime Stories, with themes of death and desire, faith and healing. Langan also reads some of his poems for us and shares how art and poetry in his life have yielded new emotional knowledge.Steve Langan has a background in creative writing and public health. His most recent poetry collection “Bedtime Stories” follows on his previous poetry collections: Freezing, Notes on Exile and Other Poems, Meet Me at the Happy Bar, and What It Looks Like, How It Flies. Langan served as Director and Community Liaison for Medical Humanities at the University of Nebraska Omaha and founded the Seven Doctors Project, in which Omaha area writers guide healthcare workers in writing workshops. Langan developed the course, Writing About Sickness and Health, and currently teaches at Baylor University's Medical Humanities Program.

Environmental consultant and biologist Barbi Hayes talks about a passion for the natural world that encouraged her as a nontraditional student to study biology and later to start her own environmental and research consultancy. Revealing a zest for life, Hayes shares her advocacy for changing our attitudes to nature and how we live with and within it.Barbi Hayes earned her degree in biology from the College of Saint Mary, after which she went on to found Hayes Environmental LLC, an environmental regulatory and research company, which she ran from 1994 to 2020. Hayes is a managing partner in two farming operations - one called Roy Johnson Family Partnership and the other Soybean Babes LLC. Hayes was the first woman appointed to the Douglas County Planning Commission in 1995 and was elected the first woman chairman in 2003. Hayes’s love for nature inspired her donation of her family’s 1900s-era historic barn to Glacier Creek Preserve for the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s environmental research and education facility. As well as her love for nature, Hayes’s love for art resulted in the MoonRise Gallery, an art gallery in downtown Elkhorn, which after several years closed its doors at the New Year.