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We continue our conversation and pilgrimage to Minkowitz in Ukraine with Paul Ross and Judith Fein. Their journey a few years ago predated this year’s new horrors inflicted upon a beautiful land tossed back and forth in blood since at least the 15th century. What were the six, small facts that Judie’s grandma recounted of her youth in the shtetl and how did they form clues to lead Paul and Judie to their ancestral village? Who did they meet and how important is simply being completely in the moment critical for all of us who love to travel? How do you become fully present, how do you stumble upon people and places with such synchronistic timing? And did they ever find the village of Minkowitz and what happened just before they arrived? The Spoon from Minkowitz: A Bittersweet Roots Journey to Ancestral Lands. www.globaladventure.us

Award-winning travel journalist Judith Fein and her husband, photojournalist Paul Ross, join me with their most personal and provocative book yet, The Spoon from Minkowitz: A Bittersweet Roots Journey to Ancestral Lands. Sitting in her Grandmother’s kitchen, little Judie learned six seemingly unrelated facts about the shtetl where her maternal ancestors lived until forced to flee or be killed first by the pogroms decimating Jews and later by Nazis. Her grandma’s stories were few and filled mostly with sadness, yet ignited in Judie a burning desire to see from where she came. How surprised she was on the eve of her wedding to Paul when his usually-distant father presented the young couple with a old spoon, a last remaining memento of his family’s life in the very same shtetl, Minkowitz. In Ukraine. This is part one of a riveting interview filled with history and hope and more. Find Judie and Paul, their books and travel tips at www.globaladventure.usPart 2 next week!

Continuing the conversation with Bonnie Blue about her new book, Finding My Soul: Five Years at The Findhorn Community. Tips for listeners and writers hoping to publish, Bonnie shares her process of writing a memoir and finding help in the world of self publishing and book design. Why write a memoir, we ask ? She also shares more about what’s happened since she “found her soul” and also more about life in the inspiring Findhorn Community now, 35 years since she lived there. Contact Bonnie at beaublue4@gmail.com and the Findhorn Foundation at findhorn.org

At age 33 Bonnie Blue’s life in the 1980’s Midwest took a turn that would transform her for ever. A lifelong spiritual seeker and always happiest in nature she took herself off to Scotland to the pioneering Findhorn Community originally made famous for its miraculous gardens grown in sand. Nearly 40 years later Bonnie shares her memoir, Finding My Soul: Five Years at The Findhorn Community. She weaves a fascinating tale of adventure and very personal exploration inner and outer, inspiring for all of us. This is Part 1 of a chat with Bonnie Blue. Part 2 next week on July 21st. Contact Bonnie at beaublue4@gmail.com and learn more about The Findhorn Foundation at findhorn.org

How do we take care of ourselves while taking care of so many others ? Is self care selfish? These and other questions are answered by Mariah Edgington co-author with her husband Byron Edgington of “Journey Well: You Are More Than Enough.” Mariah, a former critical care nurse flying to accident scenes met her husband Byron, the helicopter pilot and Vietnam veteran, and when both retired were inspired to continue their mission to “mandate to elevate.” This time elevating friends and strangers by speaking and writing about rediscovering our passion and purpose and love of life. Journey Well has a companion Guidebook and invites readers in with personal and very relatable stories. mariahedgington.com and byronedgington.com Byron joins Mariah for Part Two next week, August 18.

A show filled with heart for the week of Juneteenth with Laurie Gunst discussing and reading from her memoir Off-White. Born into a prominent Jewish family in Richmond, Virginia, Laurie tells the intimate story of being raised by the family’s beloved Rhoda Lloyd. Beautifully written with the deft hand of mystery, Off-White reveals a life of many twists and turns uncovering shocking and often shameful actions of the family’s hidden past that shaped this country’s history as well as the author’s own. How do you find a way to belong ? And what if you never do ? Laurie Gunst can be reached at lgunst49@gmail.com

Santa Fe listeners monsoon season is upon us and as excited as we are to finally have blessed rain on our parched land what’s the chance of being Struck by Lightning? Statistician Jeff Rosenthal joins us from the University of Toronto to reassure us. The respected author of numerous professional research papers and two books for the lay person (us), we chat about the weather, election polls, algorithms, gambling and how statistics help to make order out of our lives. His fascinating books are Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities and Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance and The Meaning of Everything. Find Jeff and his work at www.probability.ca

How do you chronicle the journey into Alzheimer’s from the inside out?Internationally renowned flutist and writer Eugenia Zukerman takes up her pen to describe her days and delightful life in prose and poetry that sweeps away many preconceived ideas held by those of us who fear a diagnosis of dementia for ourselves or close family. Like Falling Through a Cloud: A Lyrical Memoir of Coping with Forgetfulness, Confusion and a Dreaded Diagnosis is filled with beauty and perception and joy. Hold this exquisitely designed book in your hands and hear Eugenia’s voice and passion inspire you. www.eugeniazukerman.com

How does a mystery thriller writer get inside the criminal mind? Why are we, the avid readers, fascinated by murder mysteries whilst surrounded by real-world horrors and crime? These are some of the questions I ask award-winning author Carole Lawrence after reading her newest book, Cleopatra’s Dagger, late into the night. Set in Manhattan in the last decade of the 19th century, Carole’s protagonist takes us into “old money” society teas, notorious seedy dives, and the icy morgue, mixing and mingling with characters we grow to love and hate.www.celawrence.com

History is written by the victors, so it is said. If that is so, how do we know it is accurate? Even oral history handed down through millennia may have changed as each generation adds their unique flourish. With this in mind, how can we rely and trust how history is taught in schools ? Today’s guest, Wendy Leighton, has been teaching Social Studies for 31 years and in 2021 she was invited to join the team of educators writing and revising the New Mexico K-12 Social Studies Standards. Ms. Leighton’s focus on the US high school history team was specifically on including the history of marginalized peoples including LGBTQ+ history [for the first time in the history of the state], tribal sovereignty, social justice and sustainability. Adopted earlier this year by the New Mexico Public Education Department, this ground-breaking document could prove to significantly improve education in the state and set an example for the teaching of history nationwide.Wendy also brought into the studio four essential books that NMPED have made available for all students. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of The United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, A Queer History of The United States by Michael Bronski and his companion volume for young people. And Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. Wendy Leighton can be contacted at wwhite66@gmail.com