The Key and the Kite

Caregiving and Living with Alzheimer’s Disease

Sam Simon was diagnosed in 2018 with Mild-Cognitive Impairment and in 2021 with Early-Stage Alzheimer's. He is currently under medical treatment and a participant in a drug trial. Susan Simon was diagnosed with stage 3, triple negative breast cancer in 2000. We talk about a lifetime of caregiving and love and what it is like to be a couple when one has Alzheimer's disease.

Ingar Kristiansen - The Sinatra Songbook

In 1989, when Ingar Kristiansen attended” The Ultimate Event” in Oslo (a concert featuring Liza Minelli, Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra), he knew instantly that he wanted to be a part of the crooning experience, one way or another. However, ten years passed by before he started performing songs with different big bands in the Oslo area. And this, he claims, was a most treasured learning experience. In 2000 he formed his own sextet, The Sinatra Songbook, consisting of professional musicians. It was meant to be a one night only gig, but as it turned out they all got such a kick out of what they did (the audience too!) and decided to continue. In addition to several TV performances, Kristiansen and his group have toured and played at all sorts of clubs, festivals and venues in Norway. And they have released two highly critically acclaimed albums as well, consisting of both standard and original material. A personal highlight was being the guest star with The Count Basie Orchestra during the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2019. His list of the most inspiring vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Harry Connick Jr and Bobby Darin.

Brian Bonner and Events in Ukraine

Brian Bonner became chief editor of the Kyiv Post on June 9, 2008. He took on the additional responsibilities of executive director on March 21, 2018, following the purchase of the newspaper by businessman Adnan Kivan, owner of the KADORR Group in Odesa, Ukraine. Kivan fired him along with the entire staff on Nov. 8, 2021. Bonner announced his retirement on Nov. 30, 2021, after spending the last weeks winding down operations. Bonner also held the chief editor’s job in 1999, three years after first arriving in Ukraine on a journalism exchange program. He spent most of his career with the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota, where he covered international, national, and local news for more than 20 years as a staff writer, foreign correspondent, and assigning editor. Besides Ukraine, he has also reported from Russia, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom. In 2007-2008, he served as an associate director of international communications at the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, D.C. He also worked as an election expert on six observation missions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s ODIHR in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan between 1999 and 2013. From 2017-2020, he served on the boards of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine and European Business Association. He also won election to the EBA board in 2021 but resigned after leaving the Kyiv Post. He has a B.A. degree in history from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he wrote and edited for the Minnesota Daily, the student newspaper. He worked from the Kyiv Post headquarters at 68 Zhylianska St. in the Holosiivsky district of the Ukrainian capital.

Vanessa Weisbrod

Vanessa Weisbrod is the Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Boston Children’s Hospital Celiac Disease Program where she works to build a robust community engagement and education program. Vanessa comes to BCH after 12 years as the Director of the Celiac Disease Program at Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC where she led the effort to create national recommendations for managing children with celiac disease in learning environments and research looking at cross contact with gluten in shared kitchens and schools. Vanessa sits on the executive committee of the Harvard Medical School Celiac Research Program and the board of the Celiac Kids Connection. She is also on the executive council for the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease. She has authored four gluten-free cookbooks and wholeheartedly loves gluten-free food.
You can find the celiac program website here: https://www.childrenshospital.org/celiac
And check out Vanessa on TikTok here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@bostonchildrensceliac

Kate Caldwell

Today on The Key and The Kite, a conversation with Emmy nominee, casting director, Kate Caldwell.
Kate has experience in many areas of casting having worked the studio and network side at ABC Television and on both voice-over and live-action feature films at 20th Century Fox Feature Casting.
Her favorite, though, is being in the trenches of independent casting. Her credits include the Netflix series UNBELIEVABLE for which she was nominated alongside Laura Rosenthal, Jodi Angstreich and Melissa Kostenbauder for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting For a Limited Series, Movie or Special, KINGDOM, HERCULES, the western series HELL ON WHEELS and BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2 & 3.
After 23 years in Los Angeles, Kate Caldwell took her casting skills to the UK where she currently works with Emmy winning Casting Director Suzanne Smith.

Colorado Representative Leslie Herod

“Forget political stereotypes: This history-making legislator is unapologetically progressive, is insistent that state government can be bipartisan (even now), and wants to transform the criminal justice system.“ - 5280 Magazine. Leslie Herod is the first LGBTQ African American in Colorado’s General Assembly. Her Dad works in law enforcement. When George Floyd was murdered, her leadership resulted in Colorado passing the most far reaching, bipartisan, police reform in the country. Others say it could be a model for other states. We talk with Rep. Herod about what Colorado did, why she cares so much about criminal justice reform, and what comes next.

Jim McCorkell

Jim McCorkell is the founder and former CEO of College Possible, a national nonprofit organization making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support.  He currently consults with a variety of clients, with an emphasis on helping social entrepreneurs create, grow and scale their efforts.As CEO at College Possible, Jim was responsible for leading strategic organizational development, engaging and building relationships with national partners and championing the organization’s commitment to creating more college graduates. Over his 20 year tenure, the organization grew from a start-up in his spare bedroom into a national organization operating in eight American cities, reaching 25,000 low-income students, with an annual budget of $30 million. Under Jim’s leadership, the organization helped 98% of its students earn admission to college, and he helped raise nearly $150 million.

Jeni Grouws - Avey Grouws Band

“It’s been a while since a vocalist gave me the chills. Grouws digs deep and you can’t turn away. She’s a belter with deep rooted soul.” (Martine Ehrenclou/ Rock and Blues Muse)
Jeni Grouws writes roots and Americana music for Avey Grouws Band as well as for her solo project. Working as a songwriter and performer, Jeni released her solo EP “Scenic Route” in 2008. In 2017, Jeni co-founded Avey Grouws Band. Avey Grouws Band went on to twice win the Iowa Blues Challenge, they landed on the Billboard Blues Album charts at #10 and #7 for their two full length albums and the band continues to tour nationwide. Jeni won top honors in the Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition in 2020 and in the 2021 International Songwriting Competition and continues to write for a variety of projects while touring. Jeni has recently accepted a residency in Omaha, NE where she will be living and working on her own artist solo project from September 2024-May 2025. Grouws continues to tour solo and with Avey Grouws Band.

Julie Becker

Julie Becker is the CEO of Saint Francis House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where they help people transition from homelessness to hope.  Every day, Julie helps people find their new path in life.  She told KELO TV, "That’s kind of what my job is to show them that they have abilities. They are good people; they’ve maybe made some bad decisions or life circumstance have led them down the wrong path. I’m here to let them know that they’re valued and they’re appreciated. That’s why we call the people we serve at the St. Francis house guests because they are guests in our home,” 
 

Kevin Tuerff

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we visit with Kevin Tuerff.  Kevin's experience of being stranded in Gander, Newfoundland was one of the true stories that inspired the Tony award winning musical, "Come From Away."  It is also the basis for his book, "Channel of Peace, Stranded in Gander on 9/11.  Kevin is using his experience now to inspire others though his kindness focused charity, Pay It Forward 9.11.