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| August 2010 | |
| August 18 | Steve
Huskey The defining moments in Steve's life were two near death experiences that took place 3 months apart. First he was kidnapped in Caracas, Venezuela, held at gunpoint and driven around the country for hours. He finally escaped. The second was when he contracted meningitis, also in Venezuela. After arriving back in the U.S., he was told he had just hours to live. We hear these stories and how they changed him. |
| August 11 | Lizzie Velasquez Lizzie has a syndrome so rare, it doesn't even have a name, and only 2 others in the world have it. No matter what or how much she eats, Lizzie can not keep weight on. At age 21, she weighs just 60 lbs and has zero body fat. She has written a book that just came out: Lizzie Beautiful. |
| August 4 | LZ Love LZ Love is a versatile singer songwriter, performing dance, jazz, blues, World, roots rock and more. Born as Arnold Elzy, she performed from a young age but always knew inside that she was different. She made the transition to LZ Love and, while she has nothing to hide, most people don't know she was born a man. Some of the songs on her latest album, Mysterious, are about being transsexual. |
| July 2010 | |
| July 28 | Tish Morgan Mata Beginning at age 9, Tish used drugs and alcohol and made her first suicide attempt. She continued to use drugs and would descend into suicidal depressions for many years. She was diagnosed as bipolar and spent time in mental hospitals. She ultimately discovered Recovery International, which has helped her tremendously and she is now off almost all medications and feeling better than ever. |
| July 21 | Pantera Blacksmith As a pole dancer, Pantera travels all over the world performing and giving workshops. She has won titles (who knew such things were awarded for pole dancing?) and she's got a pole dancing DVD. Oh, and did I mention she is covered neck to calf in tattoos? She talks candidly about starting as a stripper and things like wardrobe malfunctions. You can watch a video of her performing. |
| July 14 | Charles S. Herrman As a philosopher and behavioral theorist, Charles has written hundreds of essays and contributed to a variety of disciplines, including law, sociology and psychology. All this despite having autism, bipolar disorder, dyslexia and Asperger's Syndrome. He has made learning about his illnesses a major focus, which he says has enabled him to manage them as well as he does. |
| July 7 | The Final Buntier! It's Veggie Dog Contest time again! Last year we interviewed Mike Litt, the founder of Austin's Veggie Dog Contest and some of the contest winners. Well, another year and veggie dog contest have gone by, so I brought them back on the show. Mike Litt joined me along with co-organizer Chris Ledesma, doubles winners Zach Dilworth & Russ Cullen, and video contest winner, Deneice O'Connor. You can watch the winning video here. |
| June 2010 | |
| June 30 | Lola Stephens Lola is the owner of the Cajun restaurant Nubian Queen Lola's in Austin. She feeds the homeless every Sunday, and did so even while she and her 6 children were homeless for 3 years, living in the restaurant during that time. She basically sacrificed everything in order to be able to open the restaurant (including having a home), something she's wanted to own since she was a child. |
| June 23 | Russell Freeland In 2008, Russell decided to get rid of all his possessions, fly to Austin where he knew no one and get by trading his artwork for food & lodging for a year. He called it Absolute Zero Project. Additionally, he set 4 specific goals to complete before he could return home to Boston: have a gallery showing, perform live, give a $100 tip and pay for his own flight home. Did he succeed in trading his art for necessities? Did he accomplish all of his goals? Listen in to find out. |
| June 16 | CJ Legare Growing up, CJ was tormented relentlessly by her father about her weight because she didn't measure up to his particular ideal of beauty. She ran away at age 15 and ultimately became a plus-sized model with a major modeling firm. She now has her own business, Power Pinc, whose goal is to help women love themselves and their bodies as they are and take charge of their own style. |
| June 9 |
Saffire
T. Stone Saffire is a popular drag queen who performs all over Austin, including her recent gig after Sandra Bernhard during PRIDE week. She raises money for charity through her performances, and is known for her celebrity impersonations, including Barbra Streisand, Cher, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion and more. |
| June 2 | David Little On May 12, Lacy Coleman was on Inner Views talking about the stroke she had at age 25 and how Austin Speech Labs helped her get her life back. David Little has also been through Austin Speech Labs' programs after his stroke at age 40. His stroke occurred while he was driving and left him paralyzed on one side of his body and unable to speak much. A lawyer, David is now practicing law again thanks to the therapy he received. |
| May 2010 | |
| May 26 | Austin Chronicle Adult
Spelling Bee On May 20, the Austin Chronicle had its annual Adult Spelling Bee at Threadgill's. Geoff Thevenot, 4-time spelling bee champion (though not this year) and word announcer Erika Allbright (cool job!) were both on. In an odd twist of fate, host Abigail Mahnke attended the spelling bee as "research" for the show and ended up taking 4th place in the bee. By the way: Geoff Thevenot was on Inner Views in 2006 after placing 2nd in the U.S. Scrabble Open. |
| May 19 | Melanie Typaldos, owner of Caplin
Rous the
Capybara Never heard of or seen a capybara? It's the world's largest rodent and it comes from parts of South America. Melanie Typaldos is the owner of Caplin Rous the capybara, who lives here in Austin. What possesses someone to own a capybara? What are capybaras like? These questions and many more will be answered. |
| May 12 | Lacy Coleman At age 25, Lacy had a stroke that left her right side paralyzed and unable to speak. After 3 months of hospital therapy, she was far from recovered, but had to quit because she had no insurance and had run out of money. Enter Austin Speech Labs, a non-profit speech therapy center offering drastically reduced or free services to stroke survivors. Lacy spent 6 months in their programs - she recovered her speech and reading and was able to re-enroll in college. |
| May 5 | Paul
Williams About the same time that Paul started volunteering for the Red Cross, he was also losing his sight. Now legally blind, he volunteers full time for the Red Cross, using public transportation to get there. Despite being someone in need himself, he spends his days helping others. |
| April 2010 | |
| April 28 | Stephen MacMillan Moser You know him as the Style Avatar of the Austin Chronicle. His bout with cancer is public as was his arrest last year on arson charges for setting his roommate's car on fire (which he did do). But you may not have known about his history of drug use or that his father committed suicide. Stephen holds pretty much nothing back in this honest and compelling interview. |
| April 21 | Bijoy Goswami Austinites know Bijoy for any number of reasons—he started Bootstrap Austin and he's the author of the amazing book, The Human Fabric. I interviewed Bijoy about his book back in 2005: listen here. He's coming back on Inner Views to talk about something completely different: What happens when you actually grow up with loving parents, lead a charmed life, living in exciting places and attend a top-notch university? Oddly enough, such a life can create its own challenges when you have nothing to bump up against, nothing that forces you to figure out who you are or who you are not. Bijoy is a fantastic and engaging speaker, and a terrific storyteller. |
| April 14 | Veronique
Matthews Veronique is the founder of Hearts & Hooves, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing interactions with animals that lead to healing smiles and joy. When Veronique got breast cancer, she benefited greatly from her interactions with Toby, a miniature horse, which gave her the idea to help others heal from their own challenges through animals. |
| April 7 | Sean
Quirk Sean Quirk is the manager, producer and interpreter for the Tuvan throat singing ensemble, Alash. Raised in Milwaukee, Sean's passion for Tuvan music developed to the point where he got a Fulbright Fellowship to study the music in Tuva, decided to live there permanently, married a Tuvan woman, had some Tuvan babies, and now devotes his life to promoting Tuvan throat singing touring around the world. Listen to a sample of Alash's Tuvan throat singing. Sean can also throat sing—hear a clip of him from our interview. |
| March 2010 | |
| March 31 | Debbie Richardson In 2008, I interviewed Debbie when she participated in the Texas Water Safari, probably the most grueling canoe race in the world. Well, she's back at it again, only this time she paddled 466 miles with a group from San Saba, Texas to the Texas coast over the course of 18 days. |
| March 24 | Saxx Williams Saxx is one of those people who appears to be cursed. He was arrested at age 17 for illegal posession of a firearm, a crime he did not commit. Then he went to prison again for possession of counterfeit currency. And while he did have counterfeit currency, it had been given to him when he won at craps and he didn't use it. Then he fathered a child after having sex with the mother only once—and he had used protection. Despite all he's been through, Saxx is optimistic, good-natured and enjoying his life. |
| March 17 | Marwencol—wins
Best Documentary at
SXSW! After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark Hogancamp built a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populated the town he dubbed Marwencol with dolls representing his friends and family and created life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helped Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds from the attack. Through his homemade therapy, Mark was able to begin the long journey back into the "real world", both physically and emotionally - something he continues to struggle with today. |
| March 10 | SXSW
Documentary Film: When I Rise When I Rise is a feature-length documentary about a gifted black music student at the University of Texas—Barbara Smith Conrad—who is thrust into a civil rights storm that changes her life forever. In 1957 Conrad is cast in an opera to co-star with a white male classmate, fueling a racist backlash from members of the Texas legislature. When Conrad is pulled from the cast, the incident escalates to national news, prompting unexpected support from pop superstar Harry Belafonte. This small-town girl, whose spirit stem from her roots in East Texas, struggles against the odds and ultimately ascends to the heights of international opera. When I Rise is an inspirational journey toward finding forgiveness within oneself. |
| February 2010 | |
| February 24 | Austin Facial Hair Club The members of the Austin Facial Hair Club have some seriously bushy beards and moustaches. They say, "We are here to support the choice of not shaving, and to celebrate the many styles that can come out of selective shaving." They just competed in the 4th annual Misprint Magazine Beard and Moustache Competition on February 19. We'll learn how they did and what all the hair is about. |
| February 17 | Robert Beck In March 2009, Robert Beck was arrested for possession of 277 marijuana plants in his home in Taylor and was placed in jail for 5 months without bail. It turned out he was innocent and, in the meantime, he lost his home, his pets and his business. Almost a year later, he is still trying to put his life back together. |
| February 10 | Marlayna Glynn Brown Marlayna grew up in a dysfunctional family with alcholic parents who divorced when she was 7 years old. At one point, her family was so poor that her stepfather chose to pick food out of grocery store trash bins rather than find a job to feed the family. Her mother has been married 5 times and her real father is currently missing. Marlayna somehow managed to transcend all this - she's the first college graduate in her family, a professional writer and yoga instructor, and she has written 2 books. |
| February 3 | Russell Secker Russell is an ultrarunner. This past summer he completed the Trans Europe Footrace, a 2,800-mile race over 64 days! (That's an average of 44 miles/day.) And this is just one of several multi-day races that Russell has competed in. Despite swearing he would never do anything this crazy again, he's already signed up for the next Trans Europe Footrace—which takes place in 2012. Russell is the author of Running Across Countries. |
| January 2010 | |
| January 27 | Seth Green Seth was born with severe cleft and lip palate and told he would never speak. Seven surgeries later, not only did he learn to speak, but he became a champion debater in high school. He went on to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton, earned masters degrees from Oxford and the London School of Economics, and got a law degree from Yale. |
| January 20 | Mikaya Heart Mikaya wrote a memoir, My Sweet Wild Dance, about growing up with parents who seemed to wish she didn't exist, boys and men who constantly used her as a physical object for their own pleasure, the struggle to realize she was a lesbian, and ultimately a journey of self-acceptance and expression. |
| January 13 | Alan Alan, who wishes to remain anonymous, smoked crystal meth for 5 years and actually kept his life under control during that time. He switched over to injecting meth and then his life went to hell. After getting fired from a couple of jobs, he checked himself into rehab and has been clean since last July. He speaks candidly of what meth is like, how it affected him and what it feels like to be clean. |
| January 6 |
Glenna King In 1992, at age 34, Glenna had a brain aneurysm. Two surgeries were performed to remove infected parts of her brain. After that, she spent months with therapists relearning some of the basic skills of life, such as reading, cooking, driving and even making the bed. |
Copyright © 2009 Abigail Mahnke