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Real Talk with Tina and Ann
Tina and Ann met as journalists covering a capital murder trial, 15 years ago. Tina has been a tv and radio personality and has three children. Ann has a master's in counseling and has worked in the jail system, was a director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center, worked as an assistant director at a school for children with autism, worked with abused kids and is currently raising her three children who have autism. She also is autistic and was told would not graduate high school, but as you can see, she has accomplished so much more. The duo share their stories of overcoming and interview people who are making it, despite what has happened. This is more than just two moms sharing their lives. This is two women who have overcome some of life's hardest obstacles. Join us every Wednesday as we go through life's journey together. There is purpose in the pain and hope in the journey.
Episodes
176 episodes
From Immigrant to 700 million dollar deal: Taking the road to discover self with Michael Yang
The internet didn’t arrive with fanfare for most people, but Michael Yang remembers the exact moment it became real: a friend opens the Mosaic browser, types a simple URL, and information appears from far away. That flash of possibility turns i...
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From Invisible Courage to Visible Success: The Michael Yang Story
A life can look “successful” from the outside and still be held together by courage you never see. We sit down with Michael Yang, author of *Coming Alive on the Ride*, to trace the real roots of his drive: family history shaped by Japanese occu...
Parenting Redefined: A Brain-Based Parenting Conversation with Dr. Kristen Cook
Your child throws the sandwich, melts down on the floor, and you can feel every set of eyes in the room. We know that moment, and we also know the shame spiral that comes right after it. Today we’re sitting with Dr. Kristen Cook, pediatrician, ...
Life is on the Other Side of Fear: From a Detention Center to a Golden Gloves Champion
A 12-year-old watching his grandfather die in the hallway doesn’t just lose a person, he loses direction. Our guest, professional boxer Ryizeemmion “Johnny” Ford, grew up in Ohio as one of eight kids raised by grandparents after pa...
When Your Past Is Waiting For You
A single trip back to Cuba turns into a confrontation with the one place Mario Cartaya never truly left: his own childhood. After 56 years away, he walks familiar streets, returns to his old school, and finds himself pulled toward a balcony whe...
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Returning to the Place that Made you: Identity and finding Lost Memories with Mario Cartaya
This week’s episode is one everyone needs to hear—a story of miracles, identity, and the kind of closure most people never expect to find.In his book Journey Back into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints,...
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Raising Resilient Kids Begins with Regulated Parents with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Kate Lund
Today we’re talking about something every parent wants for their kids but often struggles to build in the middle of real life—resilience.We’re joined by clinical psychologist and author Kate Lund, whose work focuses on help...
What if Dementia isn't the end of Connection, but an Invitation to a Different Kind of Presence?
What if dementia isn’t the end of connection, but an invitation to a different kind of presence? We sit down with author and advocate Marilyn Raichle, whose book Don’t Walk Away, A Care Partner’s Journey chronicles how her mother’s unexpected p...
The Invisible Hard
What do you say when a five-year-old whispers, “Can someone take the disease out of grandma?” That tender question anchors a conversation about late-stage Alzheimer’s, new diagnoses for our kids, and the gritty, everyday work of loving people w...
Beyond the Diagnosis: Understanding the FASD Brain (Part 2)
We dig into the real-life supports that help neurodivergent brains thrive, from the hard science of FASD to daily tools for executive function, transitions, sensory needs, and affect regulation. RJ Formanek and Ann Kagarise share candid stories...
Brain Wiring, Not Character Flaws; Symptoms, not Bad Behavior with RJ Formanek
Ever watch someone recite the rules and still miss the first step? We dive into that gap with FASD advocate RJ Formanek to reveal what’s actually happening under the surface —and why replacing blame with understanding can change a life. We’re t...
Belonging Begins Before Permission: Nancy Shear Part 2 | Creativity, Mentorship, and Life Inside Music
The room changes when a true maestro enters—yet the most revealing stories often happen offstage. We sit down with Nancy Shear to explore the hidden lives behind classical music’s brightest names and the personal courage it takes to step throug...
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Diagnosis Day: Neurodivergent Parenting-A Segment of Real Talk with Tina and Ann
Today on Real Talk with Tina and Ann we are talking about neurodivergence and share a raw, practical look at “diagnosis day,” advocacy, and the tools that actually help our kids thrive. Nothing about our kids changed with labels; only our map d...
Belonging Begins Before Permission: Nancy Shear’s Story Inside the Mind of Music’s Greats
A teenage girl finds her way through the stage door and into the inner life of a great orchestra, learning how courage, craft and attention can open rooms that seem shut. Nancy Shear reflects on mentors, trauma, Stokowski’s charisma and the qui...
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Right On Time: Growth that Waits for Safety
What if you’re not behind at all—you’re right on time for a life that finally feels like yours? We dive into nonlinear living and redefine progress as capacity, not speed. Instead of chasing milestones and highlight reels, we talk about the qui...
He Polished My Soul: When You Only Have One Quill Left with Deborah Weed
We sit with creator Deborah Weed to explore how love, loss, and art can coexist, and why self-worth must be defined from within. Her stories of hospice dignity, cross-country wandering, and the evolution of Paisley the Musical point to a courag...
Fear is not a Prophecy: Living, Showing Up, Advocating and taking Charge
Tina and Ann explore gratitude that tells the truth in crisis: not a list, but a lifeline beside cancer, caregiving, and long grief. Kara Lockwood’s story and Robert Emmons’ research anchor practical ways to find small joys that help us keep sh...
When Your Own Body Throws a Plot Twist: A Survival Comedy with Best Selling Author Cara Lockwood
Fear is not the enemy, until it starts running the show. In this episode, we sit down with USA Today bestselling author Cara Lockwood (aka Cara Tanamachi) to discuss her book, There Is No Good Book for This But I Wrote On...
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Rethinking Possible: Acceptance, Autism, And A Life Rebuilt
We trace a life rebuilt through acceptance, humor, and purpose, from paralysis and autism advocacy to grief, faith, and the daily practice of choosing better. The path moves from why to how, from pity to power, and from isolation to community t...
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Rethinking Possible, When Life Throws Curveballs, Build a Batting Cage
Some stories don’t fit inside neat arcs. Rebecca Galli’s life holds a brother gone at 17, a son who passed at 15, two children with special needs, and sudden paralysis nine days after divorce. What unfolds is not a list of tragedies but a bluep...
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Hope on the Border part 2: I Love the Me I See in You with Gil Gillenwater
We follow a wrong turn that became a mission and explore how dignity-based service transforms both givers and receivers. Gil shows how housing, education, and reciprocity can turn charity into equity, and why true joy is found when we serve.
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Border of Hope: I love the Me I See in You with Gil Gillenwater
We bring the border into focus as a lived place, not a line, and confront how wealth disparity, US demand, and policy choices shape human lives. Gil Gillenwater shows why enlightened self interest, housing with dignity, and education beat walls...
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Life in Tandem: Love, Loss, and Identity After Stroke with Stroke Onward's Deb Meyerson and Steve Zuckerman
A single weekend can reroute a life. When Deborah Meyerson, a tenured Stanford professor, suffered a stroke that stole her speech and altered her body, she and her husband, Steve Zuckerman, had to reimagine everything—career, communication, pur...
November 25, 1975: 50 years after the loss of my Dad
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving can feel ordinary—until it isn’t. Fifty years ago, a dad kissed his child goodbye and didn’t come home, and that single day rewrote every holiday that followed. We open the door to that memory and walk through it...
Even Here, We Are Thankful
A glossy holiday is easy to post, but the real story of Thanksgiving often lives in the places that ache. This year, our table looks different—empty chairs, fading memories, and traditions that no longer fit who we are now. Still, gratitude fin...
