Eliza Minden: What She Found Inside

Eliza Minden: What She Found Inside

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Eliza Minden, the founder of Gaynor Minden, a dancewear company that transformed the traditional pointe shoe by bringing modern materials and engineering into the world of ballet. A former dancer and arts administrator, Eliza left her career in dance management to create a shoe that would address the pain, waste, and injuries caused by traditional pointe shoes. Eliza shares the story of examining pointe shoes with her brother’s bandsaw and discovering that many were still made with materials and methods that had changed little over generations. She talks about the resistance she encountered from a traditional ballet world, the support of dancers like American Ballet Theatre’s Gillian Murphy, and the work of rebuilding her company after the devastating impact of the pandemic on the performing arts. Editor’s Note: Eliza Minden is the author of The Ballet Companion, a reference book for ballet students. She describes it as the book written for her younger self, and one she wished she’d had when she was a student. In the photo accompanying this episode, Eliza is signing a copy of The Ballet Companion [https://tinyurl.com/WLTQsElizaTheBalletCompanion]. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Lynn Carman Bodden: Why Not You?

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Lynn Carman Bodden, an intentional interim minister who spent more than thirty years helping churches through seasons of transition by asking enduring questions about identity and purpose. Now retired in Schenectady, New York, Lynn has found joy in walking the Camino de Santiago, working at a local urban farm, and spending time outdoors with the people she loves. Lynn shares the story of the civil disobedience protest that changed how she understood her own authority, the decision to take every class pass/fail at Yale Divinity School, and the quiet work of learning to trust herself after a lifetime of trying to meet other people's expectations.  Together, they explore calling and community, and what it means to answer the question, “Why not you?” Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Sylvia Brownrigg: The Writer Becomes the Story

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Sylvia Brownrigg, a writer whose work explores family, memory, and the questions that persist through a lifetime. Raised between Northern California and England, Sylvia has built a literary life through fiction, nonfiction, and creating spaces where writers can gather across cultures. Sylvia talks about the family histories explored in her memoir, the unexpected presence of an absent father, and how love, loss, and motherhood inform her writing. She also shares the Mediterranean Artists Project, a literary gathering in the south of France bringing writers, artists, journalists, and thinkers together across creative fields. This deeply personal conversation explores how what’s missing can leave its own imprint, and how searching for answers can deepen our understanding of ourselves. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Candace Corson, MD: Kindness Is Medicine

This episode includes discussion of chronic pain and suicidal thoughts. Please take care while listening. In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Candace Corson, MD. From growing up during the Little Rock school integration crisis and entering Yale as part of its first class of women, to practicing family medicine in rural North Carolina, she has spent a lifetime asking what it truly means to heal. She shares the seven years of debilitating chronic pain that transformed her from doctor to patient. With remarkable clarity, Candace reveals why she believes kindness and gratitude are the most powerful medicines we have, and how the small acts of kindness can change the course of a life. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Barbara Wagner: Stop Asking Me How Fast I Can Type

In this episode, host Ruby Tugade speaks with Barbara Wagner, who looks back on a life of expanding what was possible: from entering Yale as one of the first women at the college, to forging a career in corporate law when women were still being asked how fast they could type. She also shares what it was like to navigate Yale's first years of coeducation and the sexism she encountered along the way. With candid honesty and thoughtful perspective, Barbara reflects on the unconventional partnership she and her husband built, and how together they challenged traditional ideas about work, family, and what a woman's life could become. Music: “Love” by Alex-Productions, licensed under CC BY 3.0