Therese Eke: It's Up to Me. It's Up to Us.

Patty Locuratolo Hymanson: The Curious Neurologist

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Patty Louratolo Hymanson, a neurologist, former Maine state representative and chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, and longtime community leader whose life has been shaped by curiosity, courage, and connection. Patty reflects on her Italian immigrant heritage, her upbringing in Yonkers and summers by the sea in Massachusetts, and her family story across generations, from grandparents who arrived from Italy as teenagers to a home shaped by compassion and care. She shares stories from her early medical training during the AIDS crisis in New York City, her years in private neurology practice on the Maine coast, and her later work in public service and health policy, including sponsoring medical aid in dying legislation in Maine. She also opens up about a life guided by exploration through travel, teaching, music, painting, and community, and the lesson that continues to return: know and be true to yourself. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Annette Cyr: A Woman’s Constellations

In the latest episode of “Women Living the Questions”, host Ruby Tugade is in conversation with Annette Cyr, a painter, filmmaker, writer, and professor whose work has been recognized by global cultural institutions and film festivals including Cannes, the Pushcart Prize, and the Guggenheim Foundation. She looks back on a life of shifting between art forms, and learning that when one becomes impossible, another can carry the work forward. Her work, including her long-running “Women in Predicaments” series, explores what she calls the “quiet heroism of women”, or the unacknowledged ways women move through challenge and care. In one of the most moving moments of our conversation, she shares an experience with her mother that feels like one of her paintings…where nothing is said, and everything is understood. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Paula Marantz Cohen: A Portrait of Paying Attention

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Paula Marantz Cohen, a writer and professor who has moved between scholarship, fiction, and teaching, and who looks back on how family history remains a cornerstone, and how creative identity changes over time. Paula shares how her mother, a strong feminist in her time, once had her husband take her name, and how that act of naming continues in her family across generations. She also talks about her long career as a writer, and her recent shift into painting, where she steps away from language and into the act of looking closely at another person, trying to capture not just appearance, but something of how they are seen, and how they might see themselves. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Marie Fortune: A Ministry of Healing & Justice

Content note: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence and clergy abuse within faith communities. Please take care while listening. In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Marie Fortune, clergywoman, writer, educator, and advocate whose work has helped faith communities respond more thoughtfully to sexual and domestic violence. Marie reflects on her childhood in Asheville, North Carolina, where time spent in her father’s hardware store nurtured a lifelong love of curiosity, problem-solving, and conversation. She shares how an early interest in science eventually gave way to a calling in ministry, informed by questions of ethics, justice, and community. She also discusses coming of age during the rise of feminism, recognizing her identity as a lesbian, and finding her place within religious institutions. A pivotal turning point came when a survivor of clergy abuse reached out for help, opening Marie’s eyes to a problem that would reshape her work for decades to come. This is a powerful conversation about justice, resilience, and living a life of purpose. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Helen Glazer: The Art of Exploring & Trying

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Helen Glazer, an artist whose work bridges art, science, and the natural world. Helen shares her path from painted constellation murals in Baltimore to tactile sculptural work for blind children, designed so that form can be experienced through touch. She reflects on how these experiments expanded into photography of complex natural systems and later into 3D and digital modeling. She also describes a lifelong pattern of moving toward the edge of what she doesn’t yet know how to do, where uncertainty signals discovery rather than doubt. There was also a formative cross-country trip as a teenager that exposed her to communities living in very different circumstances across the United States, deepening her understanding of privilege, resilience, and shared dignity. More recently, Helen brings her curiosity to Antarctica and Greenland, documenting landscapes formed by ice, time, and climate change, and exploring how powerful natural and human forces influence what we see and are. This is a conversation about curiosity, and following questions across a lifetime. To learn more about Helen Glazer and explore her beautiful artwork, visit helenglazer.com, follow @HelenGlazer [https://www.instagram.com/HelenGlazer/] on Instagram, or find Helen Glazer, Artist on Facebook. You can also contact her at 410-654-0077. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0