Podcasts Savannah Podcast

Retired social services administrator, writer and former Savannah-Chatham County School Board president Diane Cantor talks about her book “When Nighttime Shadows Fall.” With themes including sexuality, public health, teen pregnancy and women’s self-empowerment, the character-driven novel was set in 1970’s Appalachia and is very relevant to our own times.

Fantasy horror writer Alledria Hurt talks about breaking molds and sticking to others within a broad literary genre. She talks about her influences and pet peeves. And she talks about putting African-American female characters front and center.

Baritone Singer Kurt Ollmann talks about his career from theater in Wisconsin to opera on some of the world’s biggest stages. He considers himself lucky to have won a Grammy Award with Leonard Bernstein. He talks about moving to Savannah, what he’s doing now and his favorite music.

Bicoastal songwriter Josephine Johnson talks about playing the ukulele, crossing seas and continents for music and the inspirations behind her songs. She plays “Let It All Out,” “Tuesday Evening” and “Come Down.”

Pushing to change the name of Savannah’s Talmadge Bridge, Ronald Christopher talks about race, economics, education and our city’s future. A Savannah native who became a New York City lawyer and investment banker, Christopher returned to make the city better. But as of yet, he hasn’t found just the right place.

Laurence and Michael Gottlieb talk about the latest incarnation of their family’s baking business, established in 1885. They explain the origins of their famous Chocolate Chewy cookie. And they talk about mental health in the hospitality industry.

Farmer Willie Johnson talks about his 50-years at Promised Land Farms in Port Wentworth. Although he cites riding tractors and watching things grow as the best parts of his business, he’s clearly motivated more by his love for people and people’s love for him. Now his farming career is coming to an end.

Jim Nowak of the Dzi Foundation talks about risk, determination and focus. His Colorado-based non-profit helps to build schools and other life-giving infrastructure in remote Nepal. But not without overcoming many challenges.

Retired school teacher Peggy Riggins of Jesup talks about her unlikely activism. She and others led the successful fight to stop a corporation from bringing coal ash to the Altamaha River watershed. Republic Services eventually backed down.

Syrian refugee and new Savannah resident Naji Abousaleh talks about his journey to safety and freedom. Lauren Cruickshank, our area’s refugee resettlement coordinator for Lutheran Services of Georgia, talks about her organization’s services and what people can do to help.

Singer Laiken Love talks about her emergence from choirs, karaoke bars and open mics to an in-demand vocalist. Whether it’s jazz, funk, blues, classical, pop, you name it, her style and talent are on show with Savannah’s best musicians. She talks about her own composition, “Promise.”

Yo-yo throwing champion Coffin Nachtmahr talks about the values of being true to yourself and learning new skills. The subject of the documentary film “Throw,” part of MountainFilm on Tour, Nachtmahr turned his passion and hobby into a business.

President Darin Van Tassell and coach John Miglarese of Tormenta FC talk about their Premier Development League team and the growth of soccer in South Georgia. The players come from all over the world. They’re hungry for a chance to move up the tiers of soccer. They’ll play USL Charleston Battery on May 10th.

Author Gwen Strauss talks about her children’s book, “The Hiding Game,” an intense and colorful profile of Varian Fry, who successfully hid and saved Jews and anti-Nazi refugees during WWII. Strauss describes her creative process, the timeliness of a refugee’s story and her personal connections with figures in the book.

Organ donor Harold Mintz talks about the “bread crumbs” that led him to an act of “extreme altruism.” He became one of the first people in the country to donate a kidney to a total stranger in 2000, when Gannett Belay came within days of dying. He was the subject of the documentary “1-800-GIVE-US-YOUR-KIDNEY,” featured at Mountain Film on Tour in Savannah.

Historians Mimi Rogers and Michael Higgins talk about the submarine attacks that killed 22 mariners off the coast of Georgia on April 8th, 1942. Rogers, curator of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, and Higgins, a retired merchant seamen, describe the torpedoing of the SS Oklahoma and Esso Baton Rouge near St. Simons Island.

Archaeologist Laura Seifert of Armstrong State University talks about a Catholic school for newly freed slaves built shortly after the end of the Civil War on Skidaway Island. Seifert and her students are excavating the short-lived school site, which is slated to become a home near a golf course in a gated community.

Singer-songwriter Andrew Gill talks about his new band, Junkyard Angel, his old band, Wormsloew and the difficulty of keeping a band together. He also talks about his solo projects, including a new EP.

Los Angeles postal service worker and marathon runner Johnny Jameson talks about perseverance, legacy and “grinding that bad boy out.” A man of grace and humor, he was the subject of Vincent DeLuca’s film “Mile 19,” which chronicled his 31 annual marathons in L.A. The film was presented as part of Mountain Film on Tour Savannah.

Interior designer Lisa Pinyan of LS3P talks about her profession, what she considers her favorite projects and trends in the industry. She has designed schools, libraries, corporate headquarters and other projects in a career with architecture firms.