At Risk Youth, True Crime, Summer Songs, Aesthetics of Joy, Born Just Right

Theater for At-Risk Youth (00:00)  If you’ve ever kept a journal, you know that writing about your experiences can be cathartic. For at-risk kids, having a creative outlet to express their emotions can change their lives. That’s why Heidi Mendez Harrison founded the “Act Risk No More” theatre company, which performs original plays based on the writings of youth in juvenile detention centers. The company helps kids to write stories based on their own experiences. These stories are then made into plays and performed in rehab centers, group homes, and detention centers. For many of these kids, just being able to share their story and know someone is listening makes a big difference.Heidi Mendez Harrison is an actor, director, and acting coach, and founder of the Act Risk No More theatre company. She joins us today to talk about her experiences working with at-risk youth.  True Crime (18:42)  Are you interested in true-crime media? So many podcasts, books, television shows, and movies are using the narrative of true-crime to reach their audiences. In fact, if you browse through the top charts for podcasts being listened to, about half of the shows are about true crime. So why are we so fascinated by stories about crime and murder? Today on the show we have Barna Donovan, the director of the master’s program of communication and media culture at St. Peter’s University. Among the courses he teaches are The Horror Film, The Conspiracy Theory Film, The Science Fiction Film.  Best Songs for Summer (33:31)  Some songs just make you want to take your shoes off and drive with the windows down. What is it that makes a song feel like summer? Today we’re bringing you the songs you need to put on your Ultimate Summer Playlist. Emilie Campbell is a lifelong rock and roll enthusiast, and her husband Branden Campbell is the bassist for the band Neon Trees. Today they bring their musical expertise and their favorite summer songs to discuss with us. Aesthetics of Joy (51:14)  Have you ever noticed that the spaces where we spend most of our time are bland and monochromatic? Many of our schools, office buildings, and hospitals are painted dull and lifeless colors, and do little to feed the imagination and inspire the mind. But could there be a link between our physical surroundings and our mental health? Today we have Ingrid Fetell Lee, author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, joining us to answer our questions about how color and design can help bring greater joy into our lives and communities. Born Just Right (1:23:57) If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Would you want to shoot glitter out of a unicorn horn? Well that was the dream of one little girl. Jordan Reeves was born with a limb difference where her left arm stops just above her elbow—but that hasn’t stopped the 13-year-old from doing anything. Along with designing a prosthetic that shoots glitter out of a unicorn horn, She has also co-authored a book and co-founded a nonprofit with her mom called Born Just Right. We have Jordan and her mom, Jen, on the show with us today to tell us all about Born Just Right.