In this episode, we hear from Heather McCarthy, mother of O'Shea McCarthy, known as Shea, who was born in December of 1988. 

His love of art and music was apparent from an early age, and by the time he reached adolescence, he had become proficient in a variety of instruments and was the recipient of numerous art awards.  Shea excelled in his studies throughout his K through 12 education, especially in his love of nature and science.  Upon graduation from high school, he was admitted to Purdue University where he was accepted in the Earth and Atmospheric Science Program.  Prior to undergoing corrective surgery for a deviated septum the summer before his sophomore year, Shea was prescribed an extremely large dose of the antibiotic Levaquin.  After a three-week course of this veritable atomic bomb of antibiotics, Shea's life would never be the same. Heather remembers that her son became a shadow of the “intelligent, curious, beautiful young man” he was as he was suddenly struggling with anxiety, cardiac issues, insomnia, and a host of other adverse effects caused by Levaquin.  Despite telling his treatment providers that he believed his condition was the result of an adverse effect of Levaquin, they chose a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and subsequently prescribed a host of psychotropic drugs that included Risperdal, Lamictal and Ativan. 

[Heather McCarthy] I think these drugs are so insidious on how they affect your spirit and your mind and, my belief, your soul, because it’s such a slow walk.  It’s such a slow chipping away at who he was.  And his anxiety was all the time.  He, you know, was twitching a lot and he had so much anxiety.  And I think he just got tired.  And how degrading it is to not be listened to and to not be believed.  I mean, we have medical records that says, “I’m afraid,” he’s telling his therapist, “I’m afraid I’m going to crash my car."  In hindsight, it’s just this ridiculous, to me, belief that he was — you know, he’s going, he’s getting the treatment, he’s going to get better.  Like, this is going to pass.  This is a brilliant young man.  You know?  Like, this is going to pass.”   

Heather McCarthy is an attorney from Northwest Indiana who holds advanced degrees in public administration and English lit.  Prior to establishing a private law practice, she was an executive in the mental health industry.  She served in the role of vice president at the administrative services organization for Regional Mental Health Center, the facility that treated her son, O’Shea.  After his death, Heather pursued an eight-year legal case alleging medical malpractice of the mental health treatment providers in the wrongful death of her son.  She also testified, with numerous other victims, at the 2015 FDA hearings that resulted in additional black box warnings for the antibiotic Levaquin and the acknowledgment of a disability, Fluoroquinolone Associated Disability, of which symptoms include cardiac issues, insomnia, restlessness, and psychosis, some of which can be permanent.  Heather also supports the efforts of MISSD in creating awareness about akathisia, a condition that was fatal for Shea after receiving mental health treatment.

In this episode we hear two interviews with Heather, the first of which was recorded in late 2019, following the MISSD organization's silent auction in Chicago.  At that time Heather's lawsuit was in progress and she was not permitted to make mention of it.  Later, we hear an interview recorded just last month, following resolution of that litigation.

Visit: www.studiocchicago.com/akathisia-stories

Episode 11 of "Akathisia Stories": Heather McCarthy

On this debut episode, we hear from Innocents at Risk founder and director Deborah Sigmund and retired flight attendant Sandra Fiorini, who for many years has worked closely with Innocents at Risk in training aviation industry personnel and reporting suspected incidents of child trafficking. We'll hear about that work and several of those incidents in our conversation.

"Turning A Million Eyes To Save Lives" is a podcast co-production of Innocents at Risk and Studio C.

Since 2005, Innocents at Risk has been working to raise awareness about the horrors of child trafficking in America and around the world. In 2008, Innocents at Risk launched the Flight Attendant Initiative to train flight attendants, who are our first line of defense in spotting and reporting situations of trafficking, and a year later, Innocents at Risk founder Deborah Sigmund took the Flight Attendant Initiative to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  An official protocol was established with DHS after several meetings that included Deborah and senior American Airlines flight attendant Sandra Fiorini.  That protocol, called Blue Lightning, is used to this day.

Innocents at Risk conducts educational outreach programs through churches, clubs, organizations, schools, and embassies, and now this podcast.

Andy Miles hosts this monthly series which seeks to educate and motivate listeners through a series of conversations with flight attendants and passengers, hotel employees, transportation officials, government officeholders, and anti-trafficking activists who are making a difference and helping to save the lives of women and children.  We'll also hear the real-life stories of survivors of human trafficking and, using the DHS Blue Campaign Training, we'll help everyday citizens be able to identify red-flag situations and how to report them.

Episode 1 of Turning A Million Eyes To Save Lives (Deborah Sigmund and Sandra Firorini)

Now available: "Resistance, Resilience and Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories," a podcast series hosted by Andy Miles which tells the stories of nine Holocaust survivors in the Chicago area.  Each episode features a conversation with a survivor, each traveling back in time to tell their story as it happened in Hungary, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, England, Shanghai, Israel, and America.  During the Holocaust, the survivors in the series ranged in age from toddlers to teenagers, some of them held captive in urban ghettos and remote concentration camps, others in hiding and on the run.  

"Resistance, Resilience & Hope" is a podcast co-production of Illinois Holocaust Museum and Studio C and is generously sponsored by Wintrust Bank.

A Preview of Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories

On this episode, we hear from Judy Kolb.

Judy's maternal grandparents owned a fabric and dressmaking shop in Swinemünde, Germany, a fashionable spa town on the Baltic Sea.  Their daughter, Carla, met a cantor named Leopold Fleischer in January 1937 when he moved to  Swinemünde and rented a room in the same building.  Carla and Leopold fell in love and married in the spring of 1939.  By that time, the Nazis had begun encouraging Jews to emigrate from Germany, and when Judy’s grandfather, Julius, was arrested and imprisoned for six weeks in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, his wife, Martha, insisted that the family leave Germany as soon as possible.  She set her sights on Japanese-occupied Shanghai, an open port city which refugees did not need a visa to enter.  To be able to afford passage there, Martha sold her house, clothing store, and some furnishings to a wealthy, non-Jewish neighbor.  She bought tickets for the entire family on the German Lloyd Line.  After obtaining exit papers to leave Germany, Martha presented the passenger tickets to the Gestapo at Sachsenhausen.  Soon after, Julius was released from the camp.  

In June of 1939, Julius, Martha, Leopold, Carla, and her brother Heinz embarked for Shanghai.   The journey took four weeks.

In Shanghai they were immediately taken to a Heime, German for “home.”  Many Heimes were converted barracks crammed with narrow bunk beds, sleeping anywhere from six to 150 people a room.  Soon, the whole family moved into an apartment in a small area called Hongkew.  On March 6th, 1940, Carla gave birth to her daughter, Judith “Daisy” Fleischer.  

Then, on December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor happened.  The Japanese were at war with the United States and formed the Axis alliance with fascist Italy and Germany.

[Judy Kolb] So the following spring, in 1942, Colonel Meisinger came to Shanghai.  He was called the Butcher of Warsaw.  So he came to Shanghai and tried to convince the Japanese to somehow dispose of all the Jews living in Shanghai.  Rumors were that they were going to put everybody on ships, send them out to sea without water, food, or whatever.  There was even talk about crematorium being set up.  Certainly they wanted to get rid of us.  But what happened — the Japanese would not go along with the plan.  So one of my saviors are really the Japanese.

Judy Kolb arrived in San Francisco in January 1948, nearly 8 years old.  Soon after, her grandparents, parents, uncle, new aunt, and her aunt's parents bought a home not far from the Golden Gate Bridge.  In 1955, her father accepted a position in Chicago as cantor at a synagogue founded by German-Jewish immigrants who fled Nazi persecution.  Upon graduating from Hyde Park High, Judy says she had "no inspiring ideas of what to do."  A friend was taking the entrance exam at South Chicago Community Hospital School of Nursing and suggested Judy come along.  She did and ended up taking and passing the entrance exam herself, and entered the three-year R.N. program at the school.  After graduating in 1961 and passing board exams, Judy started working in pediatrics at the University of Chicago hospital.  Two years later, she married Louis Kolb, a resident in orthopedic surgery.  Their first child, Jeffrey, was born in 1966.  They had two more children and she remained home, doing volunteer in the schools and the community, later working in her husband's office.  In 2001, Louis died, and in 2003, Judy returned to working part time in a pediatric office, retiring in 2015.  She started volunteering at Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center when it opened in 2009. 

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/judy-kolb-transcript

Also visit: https://www.studiocchicago.com/holocaust

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Judy Kolb

On this episode, we hear from Estelle Glaser Laughlin.

Estelle was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929.  When she was 10 years old, her family was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto.  The family hid in a secret room to avoid deportation during liquidations in 1942.  Estelle’s father built a bunker in which the family hid during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943.  The bunker was eventually exposed by a bomb, and the family was sent to Majdanek Extermination Camp, when Estelle was 13 years old. 

[Estelle Glaser Laughlin] We were with a group of women, and a group of men were sitting opposite us.  And my father had TB at that point, and he was running a very high fever.  His eyes were so filled with pain.  I was so used to looking into his eyes for comfort and reassurance.  There was such pleading in his eyes.  So at some point, when the guards passed and were on the other end, I shoved myself through the first row and I dashed across.  And my father wiggled his way to be close, and I ran across to him and kneeled down in front of him.  And I said, “Dad, don’t worry, Tata.  They won’t get me.” 

Estelle Glaser Laughlin arrived in America with her sister and mother in 1947.  With only three years of public schooling and brief underground tutoring in the ghetto, she entered college and earned a master's degree in education and taught in Montgomery County, Maryland.  After retiring, Estelle found a new passion in writing prose.  Her memoir, Transcending Darkness:  A Girl's Journey Out of the Holocaust, published by Texas Tech University Press in 2012, was named a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Review Book of the Year Awards.  Her new novel, Hanna, I Forgot To Tell You, also published by Texas Tech University Press, was released last year.  She’s currently writing another novel.  Estelle has three high-achieving sons, seven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.  Of course, they’re all wonderful, she says. 

We spoke in late 2019 in her living room.

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/estelle-glaser-laughlin-transcript

A "podcast extra" is also available: https://www.studiocchicago.com/estelle-glaser-laughlin-podcast-extra
 
Also visit: www.studiocchicago.com/holocaust

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Estelle Glaser Laughlin

On this episode, we hear from Vera Burstyn.

Vera was born in 1939 in Budapest, Hungary.  In 1942, her father was taken to a forced labor camp, sent to the Russian front, and never heard from again.  When Germany occupied Hungary in 1944, Vera’s apartment building became a so-called yellow star house, and she and her mother struggled to survive, with the city under constant assault of Nazi bombs and day-to-day living conditions extremely difficult.  That fall, her mother was sent on a forced march to Austria and eventually to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.  Left on her own, Vera lived in a Red Cross orphanage in Budapest until an aunt with Swedish papers found her and took her in.

[Vera Burstyn] "When I got to the Red Cross shelter, just by chance of fate, my cousin Judy was also in the Red Cross shelter.  Now, her parents were still in Budapest.  Her mother had some Swedish papers and her father was hiding, but I think they thought that Judy was safer, you know, in the shelter than to be with them.  And so we recognized each other at the shelter and we shared our, you know, blanket and we hugged and we kissed and we were together in the shelter."

Vera Burstyn arrived in Chicago on December 26th, 1956 with her mother, dad, and younger brother, having escaped from the Hungarian Revolution.  She had many jobs over the years, from working on an assembly line to owning a store and later selling real estate.  In 1958 Vera married and she and her husband, Hyman, have four children, six granddaughters, and six grandsons.  She says, "If the Great American dream is to educate the children, have a house and a car in the garage, I have done that."  Vera and Hyman have lived in Skokie since 1967. 

We spoke over Zoom.

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/vera-burstyn-transcript

A "podcast extra" is also available: https://www.studiocchicago.com/vera-burstyn-podcast-extra

Also visit: www.studiocchicago.com/holocaust

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Vera Burstyn

On this episode, we hear the incredible story of Erna Blitzer Gorman. 

Erna was born in France but ended up spending almost two years of the war hiding with her family on a farm in Ukraine.  In the tiny hayloft where they hid, Erna had to keep so still that she became mute and her muscles atrophied so severely that she temporarily lost the ability to walk.  Just ten years old at the time she escaped this confinement, with the war still on, Erna and her family crawled in the snow near the Russian border with Katyusha rocket artillery lighting up the sky. 

[Erna Blitzer Gorman] So because of those flashes in the sky and the shooting back from the other side of the road, the dirt road, there was an airplane raid and we scattered off, crawled off the road.  And I was with my mom and my dad had my sister.  And the airplane came; I imagine it must have been a German airplane that they must have communicated in some ways for it to be there.  And they dropped a bomb.  And all I could see was the blood running down her side. 

[Andy Miles] Erna Blitzer Gorman has had, in her words, "a very eventful life, and a very interesting one."  She came to the United States in 1953 and settled in Detroit, where she lived with her aunt and father.  She initially found work in a sweatshop, where she did piecework in the manufacture of shirts, but soon left the low-paying job and found work as a salesperson at a wholesale jewelry house and, years later, sold real estate.  Erna was married for 63 years, until her husband passed away about five years ago.  She has two sons and three granddaughters, and in late 2019 moved to Highland Park, Illinois, to be closer to family.  Erna began telling her Holocaust story in 1992 and has spoken to thousands of audiences, from Detroit's Holocaust museum to schools and churches throughout the Midwest.  She has also been the keynote speaker at two university graduations and holds a pair of honorary doctorates of education.   Erna is the author of the memoir While Other Children Played: A Hidden Child Remembers the Holocaust, published in 2010.  

We spoke over Zoom. 

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/erna-blitzer-gorman-transcript

A "podcast extra" is also available: https://www.studiocchicago.com/erna-blitzer-gorman-podcast-extra

Also visit: www.studiocchicago.com/holocaust

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Erna Blitzer Gorman

On this episode, we hear from Ben Goldwater.

Ben was born in December 1938, in Brussels, Belgium.  He was living in Eisden, a small city in the north of Belgium, near Antwerp, when war broke out in September 1939.  When the German army attacked the French and British armies though Luxembourg and Belgium, his family fled to France.  The French government was not friendly to refugees, particularly Jewish refugees, so after several months, his family returned to Belgium, settling in Mons, near the French border.  Ben’s family lived under constant fear of denunciation as Jews and did whatever they could to avoid the local Gestapo.  Ben's father was active in the Belgian resistance and used his underground contacts to find a woman in a nearby village who was willing to provide a hiding place for Ben and his sister.

[Ben Goldwater] We got to this woman’s house — her name was Josephine — and I realized that I was going to be left there.  I started to cry bitterly.  That feeling of abandonment was just overwhelming.  I was devastated.  My father promised he would send my sister the next day, which he did.  He brought my sister to stay with me the next day.  And that’s when my sister and I went into hiding with this woman Josephine, who lived in her home with her daughter, Denise.  Her daughter, Denise, was a teenager then.  So, anyway, she took us in and set up two rickety beds in an attic, which was neither finished nor heated.  And that’s the area that was given to my sister and I. 

[Andy Miles] Ben Goldwater arrived in Chicago on December 18, 1949, his 11th birthday, and enrolled in the 5th grade at Mason School on the West Side of Chicago.  He later attended Chicago’s Senn High School, where he graduated in 1957.   When he was a senior at Northwestern in 1960, Ben met his wife, Linda.  They've been married for almost 60 years and have two children and two grandchildren.  Ben earned his JD degree from IIT Chicago Kent College of Law and has been practicing law, to this day, since 1964.

We spoke in the Illinois Holocaust Museum Library just before his 81st birthday — and the 70th anniversary of his arrival in Chicago.  

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/ben-goldwater-transcript

A "podcast extra" is also available: https://www.studiocchicago.com/ben-goldwater-podcast-extra

Also visit: https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Ben Goldwater

On this episode, we hear from 24-year-old Marcello, who, prior to being severely injured by a prescribed antidepressant, was a healthy and happy college sophomore at The New School in New York City.  Just days after starting the prescription, he suffered a catastrophic adverse reaction to the medication that led to akathisia, inappropriate polypharmacy, and years of suffering.

[Marcello] The experience for the sufferer during all of this is nightmarish.  It’s unbelievable because you know what’s happening.  You know that there’s incredible injury and you also know that there’s likely no help.  

We also hear from Marcello's mother, Lisa, who has watched her son suffer the devastating effects of akathisia for more than two years.

[Lisa] What it looks like from the outside is like a horror show.  It’s unfathomable.  You know, he’s a very normal looking, functioning young man and suddenly he’s rocking, grimacing, in torturous pain as though someone were torturing him.  I know that people with akathisia use the word torture a great deal, and it’s apt.

Visit: www.studiocchicago.com/akathisia-stories

Also visit missd.co.

Episode 14 of "Akathisia Stories": Marcello and Lisa

On this episode, we hear the story of Ida Paluch Kersz. 

Ida was born in Poland in May 1939, just months before Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began.  The Nazis immediately occupied the city she lived in, creating a ghetto that ultimately saw the deportation of 35,000 Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp.  In the summer of 1942, with deportation imminent, her family tragically came apart, but Ida was given a new life, her Jewish identity known only to her new parents, a young Polish Christian couple anxious to start a family.  Ida's twin brother was also saved, but the two would not see each other — or know the other's fate — for 50 years. 

[Ida Paluch Kersz] I got this Chicago Tribune and there was this picture of this young man and I also have a picture of my grandparents, and when I looked at him and I looked at my grandfather, you know, I saw him in his face.  And I said, I have to find out more about him.  And the lady who interviewed him in Warsaw, I found her and I talked to her, and she said, “Ida, he does not have any memory.”  I say, “Give me his phone number.”  And I called Poland and one of his sons answered and I told him, “I want to speak to your father.”  He said, “He’s not here.”  I say, “Well, when your father comes, tell him to call me because I think he may be my twin brother.” 

[Andy Miles] Ida Paluch Kersz arrived in Chicago in 1963, having spent the previous six years in Israel, where she had married and gave birth to her daughter, Esther.  In Chicago she found work in a microphone factory and later owned a dry-cleaning and alteration business, eventually selling the business, divorcing her husband, and moving with her daughter to Skokie.  She remarried in 1976.  A few years later, she made a visit to the newly opened Holocaust Museum in Skokie, where she became a volunteer and speaker, contributing countless hours sharing the story of her survival with thousands of students and visitors to the museum.  She currently serves on the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's Board of Directors and lives in Winnetka, Illinois.  In 2019, her memoir, Unveiled Memories, was published.  

When Ida was born in May of 1939, the second of twins, her arrival was unexpected.

[Ida Paluch Kersz]  They didn’t even know there were twins.  They thought one child. 

We spoke over Zoom. 

Read the episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/ida-paluch-kersz-transcript

Also visit: www.ilholocaustmuseum.org

Resistance, Resilience & Hope: Holocaust Survivor Stories | Ida Paluch Kersz

This time on “Gathering Ground,” Mary welcomes activist, advocate, internationally recognized academic, and dear friend Dr. Cathy J. Cohen. Mary and Cathy discuss Cathy’s Black Youth Project, how it informed Mary’s 2011 documentary Woke Up Black, and GenForward and More Than Diversity, two of Cathy’s most recent initiatives. Later, they share experiences of the pandemic’s forced shelter-in-place providing unexpected family bonding; Cathy’s recent Freedom Scholar award; and her extensive work in the realm of HIV and AIDS. You won’t want to miss this special episode!

Read the full transcript here: https://www.studiocchicago.com/gathering-ground-episode-29-transcript

Also visit:  gatheringgroundpodcast.com

"Gathering Ground" Episode 29: Dr. Cathy J. Cohen

On this episode, we hear from Denise Collins, whose husband, John, died in 2018, nine days after going on the antidepressant Citalopram, better known in the United States as Celexa.  Earlier this year, her book, What Happened To John?: A memoir of enduring love, mental health, and suicide, was released and is available now in paperback and for Kindle.  Denise spent three years researching, writing, and doing her best to recover following the tragic death of John and her experience of becoming a widow.  The book opens on what Denise calls Day Zero, Monday, the 29th of October, 2018, a day that began "quite unremarkably," she says, but later that day, two uniformed police officers appeared at her front door.  "In that moment," she writes, "I was blissfully unaware that life as I knew it had ended and that a living nightmare was about to begin."  [Below are excerpts from the book.]

Staring at these strangers, these aliens so totally out of place in my home, I couldn't make sense of what they were telling me. From what sounded a long way off, I heard my voice pierce the white noise flooding my head, roaring so loud it obliterated every other sound, even the barking dogs. I was screaming. 

His life was finished and so was mine. I was still breathing. My heart still beating. My body was alive, but life as I knew it had ended at the same moment that train hit John.

Simultaneously, I was in more pain than I’ve ever experienced and also numb. 

For the rest of the world, this was just another ordinary day. Other people were absorbed in mundane activities. Waking. Working. Shopping. Looking after children. For me it was the beginning of a life I neither expected nor wanted. A life I had no idea how to live. It was the first day John was no longer in the world. He was dead. I was his widow. Everything had changed.

Denise Collins is an independent psychological therapist, coach, and trainer with over two decades experience. Since becoming widowed she also trained as a “Happiness Facilitator” using evidence-based positive psychology approaches, and as a grief educator, with David Kessler, using the principle that healthy bereavement requires us to grieve fully and also to live fully.

READ THE FULL EPISODE 16 TRANSCRIPT: https://www.studiocchicago.com/denise-collins-transcript
(includes a podcast extra: https://www.studiocchicago.com/denise-collins-podcast-extra)

Her website, denise-collins.com, is aimed at what she terms "corporate clients."  She coaches female executives on developing their authentic leadership style and building a sustainable work/life balance.

Her specialties are:
Guiding People In Discovering and Celebrating Their Unique Personal Power (UPP©)
Supporting Those Navigating Life After Loss
and Teaching Resilience And How To Embrace Change.

Akathisia Stories, a co-production of MISSD and Studio C Chicago, is a podcast series that features interviews and news concerning the adverse drug reaction akathisia and medication-induced suicide. MISSD, the Medication-Induced Suicide Prevention and Education Foundation in Memory of Stewart Dolin, is a unique nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the memory of Stewart and other victims of akathisia by raising awareness and educating the public about the dangers of akathisia. MISSD aims to ensure that people suffering from akathisia's symptoms are accurately diagnosed so that needless deaths are prevented. The foundation advocates truth in disclosure, honesty in reporting, and legitimate drug trials.

Episode 16 of "Akathisia Stories": Denise Collins

On this episode we hear from two remarkable individuals who are at the forefront of a collaborative effort to raise awareness about the critical issues of mental health and polypharmacy challenges faced by our military personnel and veterans.  Joining us are Wendy Dolin, the founder of MISSD, and Mike Tellerino, the director of K9s for Veterans.  Together, they are working to combat the devastating effects of medication-induced harm, polypharmacy, and akathisia-induced suicidality within our military community.

Episode 17 of "Akathisia Stories": Wendy Dolin (MISSD) & Michael Tellerino (K9s For Veterans)

In this episode, Mary and her guests, Sean Thomas-Breitfeld and Frances Kunreuther, co-directors of Building Movement Project, dive into the challenges and triumphs of BIPOC leadership in nonprofits. Centering data from the most recent Race to Lead Report, they explore data on racial equity and the importance of mentorship for future leaders.

Find the full transcript at www.studiocchicago.com/gathering-ground-episode-53-transcript.

Lear more about "Gathering Ground" at gatheringgroundpodcast.com.

Gathering Ground Episode 53: The Push and Pull with Race to Lead

On this episode, we hear from Vincent Schmitt and Yoko Motohama, parents of Romain, a 16-year-old boy who tragically ended his life in 2021 after being prescribed a high dose of Paxil -- known in France as Paroxetine -- and suffering the effects of akathisia for several agonizing months.

Yoko Motohama was born in Japan and earned a Ph.D. in computer science.  She did postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom and spent a decade in Japan as an entrepreneur importing French wines.  

Her husband, Vincent Schmitt, a native of France, also earned a Ph.D. and became a lecturer in mathematics and computer science at the University of Leicester.  Now based in France, close to Lyon, Vincent focuses on applied mathematics in the research department of a multinational company.  

Romain Schmitt was born October 12th, 2004, in Leicester, United Kingdom, the son of Vincent and Yoko.  When the boy was four years old his parents decided to relocate the family — which also included Romain's younger sister — to France, and not long after that to the Japanese countryside.  Romain had already learned English and French and now became a fluent speaker of Japanese.  After nine years the family returned to France, in 2018, where 13-year-old Romain started the third year of middle school.  He had a good mind for math and physics and was interested as well in geography, philosophy, politics, and even nuclear science and energy, which his grandfather taught him about.  Romain was also a good swimmer, played rugby and tennis, and aspired to become a professional soccer player, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.  His love of the game even inspired Romain to master a fourth language, German, so that he could better follow his favorite team, Bayern Munich.

Read the full episode transcript: https://www.studiocchicago.com/vincent-and-yoko-transcript

Visit the "Akathisia Stories" main page: https://www.studiocchicago.com/akathisia-stories

Episode 18 of "Akathisia Stories": Vincent Schmitt and Yoko Motohama tell Romain's story

In this episode of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten speaks with ChaNell Marshall and Delmar Gillus from Elevate about climate justice and sustainability. Chanel, Vice President of Program Support and Engagement, and Delmar, Chief Operating Officer, discuss Elevate's work in solar energy, policy advocacy, and healthy housing. They emphasize community involvement, equity, and the role of government support and innovative funding in reaching underserved communities. Tune in for practical steps to contribute to environmental justice.

Episode Highlights
- Elevate's work in climate justice and its evolution from CNT Energy
- The diversity and equity focus at Elevate, and how this drives their efforts in climate justice
- The importance of community involvement and partnership in reaching climate justice

Learn more about Elevate:
- Elevate: www.elevatenp.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElevateNPOrg
- X: https://x.com/ElevateNPO
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevatenp/mycompany/verification/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK7S5GkG8Fz8uGrkhYLzeHg
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatenpo/

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Visit the "Gathering Ground" main page: http://gatheringgroundpodcast.com

Gathering Ground Episode 61: Elevate: A Journey into Climate Justice

In this episode of “Gathering Ground,” host Mary Morten speaks with Juan Pablo Torres-Meza and Shirlonda Brooks from Elevate. In this third and final episode in our series with Elevate, the three discuss how equity and sustainability intersect in workforce development. This conversation dives into how Elevate is equipping individuals and small businesses with the tools, training, and long-term support to thrive in the clean energy economy—especially those from communities historically excluded from these opportunities.

Episode Highlights:
- How Elevate provides mentorship, skills training, and access to capital for workforce and business development
- Shirlonda’s insights on flexible program design and holistic support for reskilling and upskilling
- Juan Pablo’s breakdown of the Clean Energy Business Accelerator and how it removes barriers for small contractors

Links and Resources:
- Elevate –www.elevatenp.org
- Clean Energy Workforce Development –www.elevatenp.org/workforce

Gathering Ground Episode 70: Workforce, Wealth & the Clean Energy Economy

In this special live episode of “Gathering Ground,” Mary sits down with journalist Natalie Moore to talk about her new podcast, “Making: Stories Without End.” The series explores the cultural and political power of soap operas—yes, soap operas—and why they deserve a second look.

Episode Highlights:
- The untold history of Erna Phillips and the women behind soap opera innovation
- How soaps pioneered social issue storytelling through shows like “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light”
- Natalie’s behind-the-scenes experience at “Days of Our Lives” and her journey creating this podcast passion project

Links and Resources:
- Making: Stories Without End – www.wbez.org/making-stories-without-end
- WBEZ – www.wbez.org
- Natalie Moore – www.natalieymoore.com

f you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Gathering Ground Episode 71: Live with Natalie Moore on Stories That Matter

Mary is joined by Kelly Thompson, Daisy Moran (Quad Cities Community Foundation), and Evette Cardona (Polk Bros. Foundation) for a powerful conversation on the philosophies and practices of philanthropy. They reflect on their personal paths into the sector, the shift from charity to solidarity, and what it means to fund with equity, trust, and imagination. 

This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating, challenging, or reimagining the philanthropic space.

Episode Highlights:
- How Kelly, Daisy, and Evette each found their way into philanthropy and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
- The growing call for philanthropy to move beyond charity toward solidarity, trust, and systems change.
- What gives each guest hope for the future of the sector, from young leaders to activist-informed grantmaking.

Links and Resources:
- Polk Bros. Foundation – www.polkbrosfdn.org
- Quad Cities Community Foundation – www.qccommunityfoundation.org

Gathering Ground Episode 72: The Future of Philanthropy: Shifting Power, Centering Community

In this live edition of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten welcomes longtime friend and Chicago media icon Tracy Baim to discuss her latest book, "Liberating Healthcare: 50 Years of Resistance, Resilience, and Healing at Howard Brown Health."

From the early days of LGBTQ+ organizing to the modern fight for inclusive, affirming healthcare, Tracy unpacks why she felt this history needed to be documented now. Together, they explore journalism, movement building, and the urgent need to preserve community memory.

Episode Highlights:
- Why Tracy felt compelled to document 50 years of Howard Brown Health’s legacy
- The role of Windy City Times in LGBTQ+ journalism and preserving community history
- Press Forward Chicago and what’s next for local, independent media

Links and Resources:
- Liberating Healthcare Book – donate.howardbrown.org/campaign/678582/donate
- Press Forward Chicago – www.cct.org/press-forward
- Windy City Times – www.windycitytimes.com

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Gathering Ground Episode 73: Tracy Baim on 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Health and History

Welcome to Season 8 of "Gathering Ground"! We’re kicking things off with a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW). Host Mary Morten is joined by Christine Grumm, Alicia Bailey, and Keenya Lambert for a powerful conversation on philanthropy, collective giving, and building community from the ground up.

Together, they reflect on the evolution of CFW, the South Side Giving Circle, and the broader women’s funding movement, from personal pathways into philanthropy to the global push for justice and financial empowerment.

Episode Highlights:
- Christine Grumm on co-authoring The Uprising of Women in Philanthropy and decades of movement-building
- Alicia Bailey’s reflections on belonging, grantmaking, and collective giving in the South Side Giving Circle
- Keenya Lambert on becoming CFW’s new CEO and the legacy she’s proud to inherit and advance

Links and Resources:
- Chicago Foundation for Women – www.cfw.org
-The Uprising of Women in Philanthropy – www.womensfundingnetwork.org/the-uprising
- South Side Giving Circle – www.cfw.org/southside

Gathering Ground Episode 74: 40 Years of Collective Power: Chicago Foundation for Women

In this annual fireside chat episode of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten is joined once again by friends, leaders, and truth-tellers Tracie Hall and Angelique Power. Together in Chicago, they reflect on a year marked by grief, resistance, clarity, and community.

From the normalization of cruelty and censorship to the beauty of collective care and intergenerational strength, this conversation is a raw, reflective, and strategic look at what it takes to keep fighting - and keep feeling - in a world that demands both.

Episode Highlights:
- Angelique shares her reflections on urgency, cruelty, and the clarity required in today’s political climate.
- Tracie discusses her work on Black Information Future and the threats of narrative erasure.
- All three emphasize the role of self-care, ancestral wisdom, and Black joy as essential forms of resistance.

If you’ve been listening to "Gathering Ground" over the years, you know this is one of our most anticipated annual conversations—and we’re so grateful you’re here for it.

Find more: https://www.studiocchicago.com/gathering-ground


Gathering Ground Episode 75: Fireside Chat with Tracie and Angelique

Summary
In this episode of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten welcomes Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and Joel Brammeier, CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, for a powerful conversation on environmental justice, water equity, and community voice in the Great Lakes region.

They discuss the legacy of environmental racism, the role of policy and federal investment, and how community-centered solutions, from permeable playgrounds to local volunteer programs, are building climate resilience.

**Episode Highlights**
- Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis shares her path from LGBTQ+ advocacy to water leadership and her vision for community-centered infrastructure.
-Joel Brammeier reflects on civic engagement, clean water access, and the regional work of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
-Both guests speak to the intersection of climate change, racial justice, and the power of community-driven solutions.

**Links and Resources**
- Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis: www.mwrd.org/commissioner-precious-brady-davis
- Alliance for the Great Lakes: www.greatlakes.org
- MWRD Rain Barrel Program: www.mwrd.org/rain-barrels
- Learn more about your water: www.greatlakes.org/get-involved

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Gathering Ground Episode 76: Environmental Justice and Community Power

This episode of "Gathering Ground" brings together four visionary media leaders—Jhmira Alexander, Silvia Rivera, Susy Schultz, and Tracy Baim—for a candid conversation about the state and future of journalism. They explore the collapse of legacy news models, the spread of misinformation, and why community-centered, equity-driven journalism is not just a goal, but a necessity.

Episode Highlights

-   Jhmira Alexander on building trust and centering community through storytelling at Public Narrative
-   Silvia Rivera on reimagining local news infrastructure at the MacArthur Foundation
    
-   Susy Schultz on creating investigative tools to dismantle systemic racism in media
    
-   Tracy Baim on the LGBTQ+ press, legacy media preservation, and Press Forward Chicago
    

Links and Resources

-   Public Narrative: https://www.publicnarrative.org
    
-   Press Forward Chicago: https://www.cct.org/pressforward
    
-   MacArthur Foundation: https://www.macfound.org
    
-   Investigative Project on Race and Equity: https://www.raceandequityproject.org
    

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

GatheringGround Episode 77: News at the Crossroads

In this episode of "Gathering Ground," Mary leads a powerful conversation marking the 50th anniversary of Howard Brown Health, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ health organizations. With guests Staci Bush, Ron Nunziato, Jessica Halem, and current CEO Dr. Travis Gayles, the discussion traces Howard Brown’s past, present, and future.

Together, they reflect on the organization’s early days, the HIV/AIDS crisis, the fight for culturally competent care, and the political realities shaping LGBTQ+ health today. From personal stories to policy, this episode uplifts a community-centered legacy and the urgent work ahead.

Episode Highlights

-   Dr. Travis Gayles on leading Howard Brown through a shifting political and public health landscape
    
-   Ron Nunziato on the organization’s early days and its transformation during the AIDS crisis
    
-   Jessica Halem and Staci Bush on culturally competent care and the legacy of the Lesbian Community Cancer Project
    

Links and Resources

-   Howard Brown Health: https://howardbrown.org/
    
-   Liberating Healthcare: https://donate.howardbrown.org/campaign/678582/donate
    

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Gathering Ground Episode 78: 50 Years of Care: Howard Brown Health, Legacy, and the Future of LGBTQ+ Health

Summary
In this episode of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten sits down with three dynamic guests (Anna DeShawn, Victor Salvo, and Haven Crawley) for a powerful conversation about queer joy, representation, and the enduring fight for LGBTQ+ equity. From grassroots media to public art, the stories shared in this episode remind us that history, creativity, and visibility are all tools for liberation.

Episode Highlights
- Anna DeShawn on building a Black queer media ecosystem through E3 Radio and Queer News
- Victor Salvo on the creation of the Legacy Walk and why public memory matters
- Haven Crawley on performing queer narratives and making space for youth expression

Links and Resources
- E3 Radio: https://e3radio.fm/
- Queer News Podcast: https://e3radio.fm/queer-news/
- Legacy Walk: https://legacyprojectchicago.org/legacy-walk

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

Gathering Ground Episode 79: Living Out Loud: Queer Visibility in Action

This special "Gathering Ground" episode looks back at the most powerful conversations from 2025. Join Producer Vince Pagán-Hill as he revisits memorable moments that reveal how people create meaning, challenge injustice, and build collective power, from journalism and philanthropy to the arts, climate justice, and healthcare.

Gathering Ground Episode 80: Best of 2025: Stories of Care, Creativity, and Collective Power

Voiceovers, podcasts, audio books, audio plays  — if it’s spoken word, Studio C can record it for you!  We also do sound editing, voiceovers, podcast hosting, transcription, and consultations.  Visit https://www.studiocchicago.com to learn more and contact us.

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