PODCAST · society
Real Things Living
by Brigitte Cutshall
Discover the real things that matter in life.Real Things Living explores resilience, connection, and navigating life’s challenges. Host Brigitte Cutshall shares her journey of surviving cancer twice and a rare brain tumor, offering insights to help you focus on what’s important and find strength. Each episode features practical tips and inspiring stories from Brigitte and her guests to help you overcome adversity, build resilience, and create a meaningful life.
Episodes
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Beyond the Stage: Healing, Family & Second Chances with Ezra Vancil
Texas singer-songwriter, Ezra Vancil, joins Brigitte Cutshall to talk about music as “another language.” Ezra shares how he rebuilt his life after a collapse in his 30s, why he walked away from chasing fame, and how writing and touring with his daughter became the best part of his career. It’s a...
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Leave Your Bubble: Wesley Warshawer on Travel & Common Ground
Wesley Warshawer went from studying abroad in India and Korea to a career in tech. When COVID made his job remote, he left his comfort zone and moved to a new U.S. city every four to six weeks, meeting his neighbors one conversation at a time. He joins Brigitte Cutshall to share how stepping...
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Unseen Pain: Dr. Olaf Kroneman on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Medical Advocacy
Dr. Olaf Kroneman trained at Mayo Clinic, the University of Virginia, and Mass General before bringing his medicine home to Detroit. He treats patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue condition that can bring POTS, mast cell reactions, and pain that is too often dismissed,...
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High Risk Doesn't Mean Doom / Fetal Medicine with Dr. Panicos Shangaris
Does a "high-risk pregnancy" mean something will go wrong? Fetal medicine specialist, Panicos Shangaris, of King's College Hospital speaks with Brigitte Cutshall; he explains how the label works, why preconception counseling matters, and how AI is changing prenatal care. 3 Takeaways (1) "High…
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Is Free-Range Childhood A Lost Art? / Meghan Cox Gurdon
Wall Street Journal columnist and author, Meghan Cox Gurdon, joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to talk about her new memoir, "Free Range Girl." The true story of the year she spent as a 12-year-old living off-grid on a homestead her father built with his own hands in rural Maine. They...
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How to Reclaim Your Joy & Independence at Any Age / Dr. Sieglinde Othmer
How do you build a vibrant, purposeful life through every chapter? Brigitte Cutshall sits down with Dr. Sieglinde Othmer, author of the award-winning book Joyous Longevity: An A to Z Fuel Guide. From her childhood escape as an East German refugee to her extensive career in psychiatry research,...
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How to Help Your Pet Live Longer (Start by Removing These Hidden Toxins)
In this episode of Real Things Living, host Brigitte Cutshall sits down with natural pet health advocate and podcaster, Angela Ardolino. Angela shares her personal journey from losing her first dog to toxic standard treatments to helping her second dog live to 17 using holistic care. Together…
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The Science of Love in Healthcare: Mindset & Recovery with Winston Meikle
A 40-year ICU nurse says your response to a diagnosis matters more than the diagnosis itself, and he's built a whole theory of care around it. Winston Meikle — nurse educator, author of "The Power of Love: A Nursing Theory", and founder of Loving Care Partners — joins Brigitte Cutshall to explore...
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Autism & Mental Health: Stop Trying to Fit the Mold / Lawrence Harris
Youth mental health advocate, Lawrence Harris, breaks down why we need to stop trying to fit the mold when it comes to autism, mental health, and choosing our own path. Brigitte Cutshall speaks with 20-year-old Lawrence to explore neurodiversity, self-advocacy, and bridging generational divides.…
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He Asked Himself One Hard Question — Then Chose to Live / Devin Fish
16 moves before he turned 18. Another 16 in the Army. Here's what it built. Devin Fish grew up in poverty, moving constantly and eventually joining the Army at 18 to escape instability at home. After a decade of service — including a mental health crisis that landed him in the hospital — he...
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Why Your Mouth Might Be Driving Inflammation Everywhere Else / Dr. Eugene Antenucci
Dr. Eugene Antenucci — dentist, LSU dental school instructor, and author of "A Journey of a Thousand Smiles" — joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to break down the mouth-body connection most people never learn about. We cover gum disease and chronic inflammation, the blue zones' link...
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Control-Alt-Delete: How Thayne Martin Rebooted His Life Using Neuroscience
Can you actually rewire your nervous system to get unstuck? In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with transformation coach Thayne Martin to discuss trauma recovery, emotional intelligence, and how experiential neuroscience can reset your life. After surviving severe...
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Unfiltered Truth: From Poverty and Pain to Blue-Collar Purpose / Denny LaVe
Denny LaVe joins Brigitte to talk about a life defined by pivots — from a broken childhood in Montana, to a near-fatal heat stroke that ended his Marine Corps dream, to nearly taking vows as a monk, to marriage, fatherhood, and building a construction company from the ground up. He opens up about...
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Rewiring Trauma from the Inside Out / Dr. Judith Swack
A biochemist accidentally became a pioneer in trauma-clearing therapy—and it all started when she couldn't figure out her own dating life. Dr. Judith Swack was told repeatedly by mentors that she had a "research mind" and belonged in a lab, leading her to earn a PhD in biochemistry and...
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NIL & Mental Health: The Real Cost of Winning / Jay Paterno
College sports used to be about the love of the game. Now the money, the betting, and the pressure are rewriting what it means to be a young athlete. Brigitte Cutshall sits down with author, coach, and commentator - Jay Paterno - for an eye-opening conversation on the shifting landscape of…
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The Guy With Stage 4 Breast Cancer / Jake Messier
Less than 1% of breast cancer diagnoses belong to men—leaving Jake Messier on a mission to demand representation in a system that often forgets they exist. Jake Messier, a former Marine and marketer turned patient advocate living with stage IV male breast cancer, joins Brigitte Cutshall to talk...
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Just Keep Tri-ing: James Logan's Stage 4 Cancer Comeback
He was given six months to live. Twenty-five months later, he's training for the Ironman World Championship. James Logan was 59, in the best shape of his life, and training for triathlons when a stage four cancer diagnosis gave him six months to two years to live. In this episode of Real Things...
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Creativity is Survival / Antonio Michael Downing
A cemetery at the end of a one-road village in Trinidad, a grandmother who couldn't read without help. This is where author, speaker, and musician Antonio Michael Downing learned that creativity isn't a talent, it's a survival tool. Antonio joins Real Things Living to share how his grandmother in...
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Embracing Non-Traditional Paths to Motherhood / Leslie Lopez
Six years of uncertainty, navigating a high-stakes third-party journey, and finding the courage to redefine motherhood on her own terms. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with Leslie Lopez, founder and host of the Mothers in Arms podcast. Leslie opens up about her...
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A Combat Marine's Faith-Driven Recovery / Keith Cole
Surviving mortar rounds in Vietnam was only half the battle. The deepest healing began when a Marine veteran finally confronted the invisible weight of lifelong trauma. Keith Cole, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran wounded three times in combat, joins Brigitte to talk about the invisible wounds that...
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Unsung Heroes and Final Redemption / Neil Adams
He wasn't a doctor, but he talked his way past the barricades on 9/11 anyway — and spent the next 24 hours saving strangers' eyes. Author, Neil Adams, joins Brigitte Cutshall to talk about his book "From the Pile", written to honor his late best friend Michael Dorian — a veterinary technician who...
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He Almost Lost His Son — Then Found His Purpose / Drew Norton
A standard check-in call, an ambulance, and a mother's quick instincts changed everything for Drew Norton's family in a matter of minutes. That terrifying crisis became the ultimate wake-up call, completely reshaping how he leads, loves, and shows up for the people who matter most. In this…
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Living Beyond a Diagnosis / Nicholas Kelly
Every obstacle is an open door for greatness, and staying in motion is exactly how you step through it. Nicholas Kelly is a registered dietitian, patient advocate, and TEDx speaker who has lived with cystic fibrosis for all of his 39 years. Nick shares how he turned his own health journey into a...
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Fueling the Human Machine / Axay Shah
He turned 50, watched his energy crash, and instead of reaching for a pill, he threw out cooked food entirely — 16 years later he's run eight marathons and never taken a single medication. Axay Shah, author of "In Nature We Trust," joins Brigitte to explain why he ditched cooked food at 50 and...
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From Seizures to Self-Trust: Hannia Zanana's Journey
Before she was a healer, she was numb—trapped under heavy medication for epilepsy and jumping out of airplanes just to feel a spark of life. Hannia Zanana, founder of Be HLTH, opens up about living with epilepsy and the six years she spent over-medicated and disconnected from her own body. She...
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Your Mindset Is Your Business Plan / Joy Foster
Women are launching businesses in record numbers — and most still won't charge what they're worth, show up online, or ask for the funding they need. Joy Foster has spent a decade figuring out why. Joy Foster, founder and CEO of Tech Pixies, joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to explore...
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Reclaiming the Heart: Overcoming Trauma and Finding Joy / Lena Fein
From a hyper-vigilant engineering career built on survival to a life anchored in pure, unadulterated joy—discover how one woman broke through a lifetime of shame to reclaim her authentic voice. Retired engineer turned author, Lena Fein spent decades outrunning a childhood shaped by relentless...
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Remembering as an Act of Justice: Isabel Reddy on the Buffalo Creek Disaster
A survivor's poem lived in Isabel Reddy's heart for a decade, and became the spark for a novel that refuses to let 125 forgotten lives stay forgotten. Isabel Reddy, scientific writer and author of "That You Remember", joins Brigitte Cutshall to unpack the real-life coal mining disaster that...
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AWEtism: Rethinking Autism From the Inside Out / Dr. Theresa Lyons
One diagnosis flipped a scientist's entire life upside down, and led her to research that's giving parents real hope. Dr. Theresa Lyons, scientist and autism mom, joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to break down what autism actually is — a wide spectrum that can look completely…
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Rewiring Pain: The Future Is Already Here / Dr Steven Falowski
Sixty thousand people a year get a procedure that could change their pain forever...and most have never heard of it. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall sits down with Dr. Steven Falowski, a neurosurgeon with nearly 20 years of experience who is helping lead the charge…
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Ease, Grace, and the Power of "I Am Willing" / Dr. Maria Nemeth
Most people are exhausted not because they're doing too much, but because they're doing it wrong. Dr. Maria Nemeth, psychologist, master certified coach, and founder of the Academy for Coaching Excellence (ACE), joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to share a deceptively simple…
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From a Jungle Village to Healing Cancer Patients Across America / Dr Fazlur Rahman
A boy who nearly died after losing his mother at age seven grew up to become one of West Texas' most pioneering oncologists — and he's now telling the full story. Dr. Fazlur Rahman joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living for his second visit, this time diving into his newly republished…
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Lost in the System: Connecting the Dots with Sam Yeruva
Imagine waiting ten days for important biopsy results only to discover the patient sample was entirely lost; meaning someone has to go under the knife all over again. In modern medical systems, this chaotic scenario is more common than you think. Sam Yeruva, Founder and CEO of PyCube, sat down…
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Move Better, Feel Better: Tyler Bramlett on Rebuilding from the Ground Up
Getting hit by a car cracked Tyler's femur — and shattered everything he thought he knew about fitness. Tyler Bramlett, co-founder of WeShape, joins Brigitte Cutshall on Real Things Living to flip the fitness script. After a cycling accident forced him to relearn movement from scratch, Tyler...
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Finding Your Voice in the Chaos with Hannah Turner
She woke up to a video of her drunk self begging her sober self to change — and that was the moment everything shifted. Hannah Turner is a poet, author, and coach whose debut poetry collection, The Clarity of Chaos, was born in the most unlikely place: a Paris apartment, a year into sobriety, in...
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How Roberta Samuels Turned a Life Pivot into a Page-Turner
After a 30-year marriage ended, most people wouldn't buy a house alone in rural France. Roberta Samuels did and then wrote four books about it. Roberta is an author, painter, and lifelong Francophile who studied at the Sorbonne, led small-group tours through the hidden corners of France, and...
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Carrying Love Forward with Enya Flack
Grief doesn't ask you to move on. It asks you to carry love forward. Brigitte Cutshall speaks with Enya Flack, an actress, reporter, and Infinity Garden advocate for an honest, heartfelt conversation about navigating loss. Drawing from personal experience — including losing her husband in 2018 —...
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People Over Process: Fixing a Broken Health System with Gil Bashe
A system designed to heal shouldn’t wait for people to get sick. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with Gil Bashe, Chair of Global Health & Purpose at FINN Partners and author of Healing the Sick Care System: Why People Matter. With decades of experience across...
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More Than Hope with Glenn Sturm
Survival shouldn't be a guessing game. Diagnosed with advanced T-cell lymphoma in 2009, Army veteran and attorney Glenn Sturm refused to leave his survival to chance. He built his own integrated, multidisciplinary cancer care team before most hospitals even knew what that meant. Now he's writing...
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Driving Forward: Dignity in Divorce with Joe Dillon
You don't have to blow up your life — or your kids' — to end a marriage. Joe Dillon, co-founder of Equitable Mediation Services, joins Real Things Living to challenge the traditional divorce narrative by treating it as a forward-looking financial and emotional transition rather than a post-mortem...
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Still Here with Tom LeNoble
When life serves up a terminal diagnosis or a career-altering shift, most people search for a way out. Tom LeNoble searches for the lesson. From growing up in a Florida shack to becoming employee #57 at Facebook, Tom’s journey is a masterclass in risk, renewal, and the art of "living fully while...
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From Near-Death to Leadership: Dominic Forth's Journey
What happens when everything is stripped away? In a split second, Dominic Forth went from a honeymoon rafting trip to fighting for his life beneath the surface of the Zambezi River. That "flipped moment" didn't just change his perspective—it redefined how he leads and how he helps others share...
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Reflecting on Your Best Self with Rhonda Farrah
Stop surviving your circumstances and start thriving through the "adventures" that shaped you. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall hosts Rhonda Farrah, a lifestyle empowerment alchemist who shares how she navigated high-stakes life "adventures"—including a federal prison camp...
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Resilience Beyond the Diagnosis: Greg Smith's Unbreakable Story
Doctors said he wouldn't survive childhood. At 69, Greg Smith is believed to be the oldest living person in the world with his condition...and he's got a book to prove the odds wrong. Greg Smith was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) before his second birthday and given…
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Finding the Magic in the Movement: A Dialogue on Well-Being
The conventional view of healthcare often starts with a problem, but Dr. Peter Kevorkian believes the true essence of health begins with removing the interference to your body’s own brilliance. As a renowned chiropractor and the President of Life Chiropractic College West, Dr. Peter joins…
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Oxygen Revolution: Reclaiming Your Health from Chronic Illness with Brad Pitzele
"I walked out of that appointment freaked out... no one seemed to see it but me". Brad Pitzele was a young father losing his functionality to what doctors called "minor" issues—until it became a fight for his life. Brad Pitzele, CEO of 1000 Roads, shares his harrowing journey through "medical...
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From Combat to Calm: How to Reclaim Your Energy with Tim Thomas
A decorated Special Forces veteran nearly lost everything to the system that was supposed to save him—until he discovered the one tool the body has always had. In this episode, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with Tim Thomas, an ex-Australian Special Forces member dedicated to helping people reclaim…
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Joy is the Medicine: Reimagining the Dementia Journey with Marilyn Reichle
Instead of a long goodbye, imagine a nine-year journey filled with newfound creativity, laughter, and deep connection. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall talks with Marilyn Raichle, author of "Don't Walk Away: A Care Partner’s Journey." Marilyn shares how her mother’s...
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Beyond Coping: The Science of Higher Consciousness
Is your life running on an outdated operating system? Brigitte Cutshall sits down with enlightened master Dahryn Trivedi to challenge the modern definition of resilience. Backed by 6,000+ scientific experiments, they explore why "coping" is actually a sign of failure and how to move into a state…
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Permission to Launch with Chanda Coston
You've poured into everyone else — your career, your family, your community. Now it's your turn. But where do you even start? Brigitte Cutshall sits down with Chanda Coston, a business coach and strategist who helps women in midlife build businesses that actually fit their lives. Chanda shares…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Discover the real things that matter in life.Real Things Living explores resilience, connection, and navigating life’s challenges. Host Brigitte Cutshall shares her journey of surviving cancer twice and a rare brain tumor, offering insights to help you focus on what’s important and find strength. Each episode features practical tips and inspiring stories from Brigitte and her guests to help you overcome adversity, build resilience, and create a meaningful life.
HOSTED BY
Brigitte Cutshall
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Real Things Living have?
Real Things Living currently has 301 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Real Things Living about?
Discover the real things that matter in life.Real Things Living explores resilience, connection, and navigating life’s challenges. Host Brigitte Cutshall shares her journey of surviving cancer twice and a rare brain tumor, offering insights to help you focus on what’s important and find strength....
How often does Real Things Living release new episodes?
Real Things Living publishes regularly with 301 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Real Things Living?
You can listen to Real Things Living on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Real Things Living?
Real Things Living is created and hosted by Brigitte Cutshall.
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