Lives Radio Show & Podcast with Stuart Chittenden

Anastasiia Solianyk, a refugee from Ukraine, talks about the grief of losing the life she imagined, and the courage of building a new one with her family in Nebraska. Hers is a story not only of survival, but of how people carry memory, protect hope, and look for steadiness and community when the ground keeps shifting. Solianyk was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to the United States with her family in 2022. Her experience of displacement began much earlier, in 2014, when she had to leave her hometown in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Eight years later, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Solianyk and her husband and daughter were forced to leave Ukraine and begin again in America. Professionally, she works in manufacturing quality and has more than ten years of experience in the metallurgical and automotive industries. Outside of work, she enjoys playing piano and painting, and much of her life today is devoted to supporting her young daughter’s figure skating journey. Now living in Nebraska, Solianyk brings a story of resilience, adaptation, family, creativity, and the difficult work of building a future after losing home more than once.

In my conversation with reporter and news anchor Melissa Wright we trace the roots of her calling, what she’s learned along the way, and what it takes to be the “face” of the news in a world of mistrust, misinformation, and algorithms. It’s a wide-ranging talk about journalism, neighborhoods, identity, and the kinds of questions that don’t just inform us, but help us live.Melissa Wright is a journalist and former North Omaha Neighborhood Reporter and Weekend Anchor at KMTV Channel 3, and she is known for community-centered storytelling that informs, uplifts, and connects people. A graduate of the University of Houston, she earned her master’s in journalism from New York University and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Raised in California’s San Fernando Valley, Wright brings a deep respect for how neighborhoods shape lives, which guided her reporting in North Omaha. After two years here, Wright is now preparing for her next reporting role closer to home.*************************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only features exclusive content and more. Find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Nebraska State Poet, Jewel Rodgers, talks about how her poems arrive, and how they land; the possibilities of writing and performing to make sense of herself and for community, and what it takes to step fully into an artistic life when your creativity and work become public and the stakes feel real.Jewel Rodgers is the 2025–2029 Nebraska State Poet, a 2025 Academy of American Poets Fellow, and a nationally touring interdisciplinary performer who blends poetry, storytelling, and placemaking. A three-time TEDx speaker and Omaha Entertainment & Arts Award–nominated performance poet, she’s shared her work from major arts stages to civic gatherings and moments of social witness. Beyond performance, Rodgers also reshapes neighborhoods through PlaceMade, the resident-led initiative she founded to transform blighted lots into community spaces.*************************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only features exclusive content and more. Find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Community activist and organizer Leo Louis II has spent nearly two decades turning pain into purpose. From roles leading the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation and in the documentary film “My Omaha” he shares why, after decades of struggle and service, he is doing the work he was born to do.Louis has experience in various disciplines including gang intervention, urban farming, entrepreneurship, public speaking, fatherhood, facilitation, and more. Louis has led various community efforts, including the March for Solidarity in Omaha during 2020 unrest after George Floyd’s death, in which more than 2000 people took part. Louis was featured in the Nick Beaulieu 2025 documentary "My Omaha," which addresses racial and cultural prospectives in Omaha; is a recent recipient of the Omaha NAACP Presidents Award, and the Civic Nebraska's Adam Morfeld’s Founders Award of 2025. Louis is most known for his decade plus volunteer leadership role with the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation from which he stepped down in 2024 as the board chair. He currently continues his work serving as a community organizer, strategist, owner of Visionary Lions LLC, and builder of humanity.*************************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only features exclusive content and more. Find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Public health expert Dr. Athena Ramos shares her commitment to public health and justice, such as tobacco prevention efforts and improving farmworker health, safety, and equity in the Midwest. Dr. Ramos talks about the cultural, health, and lived experiences influencing this award-winning passion and that are reshaping her life and her work, including becoming a cowgirl.Dr. Athena Ramos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health, where she leads community-engaged research focused on farmworker and agrifood worker health, social determinants of health, and reducing health disparities across the Great Plains and Midwest. A native Nebraskan and first-generation scholar, Dr. Ramos partners closely with Latino, immigrant, and rural communities, working with producers, workers, and organizations to improve conditions in agriculture and meatpacking. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including UNMC’s 2025 Distinguished Scientist Award, and she serves on multiple local and national boards and networks. Beyond campus, Dr. Ramos is a sought-after speaker, advocate, and mentor, and at home she and her husband are raising four children in Omaha.*************************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only features exclusive content and more. Find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Organizational and community development consultant Sarah Phelps recognized early in life that she was neurodivergent and very very smart. Influenced by her experiences from the rural midwestern town of her upbringing to time in France, India, China and more, Phelps has become a champion for people thriving, bringing a deep care for community at every opportunity.With an IQ over 160, Sarah Phelps is smart. She is a facilitator, strategist, and community builder who helps organizations weave wellbeing, equity, and innovation into the everyday realities of learning, leadership development, and culture change. Drawing on more than 20 years of nonprofit and corporate experience in strategic HR and organizational development, she’s known for identifying solutions that stick. Phelps has consulted with values-driven organizations nationwide—including OutNebraska and Inclusive Communities—to cultivate inclusive, mission-aligned teams and brave, growth-oriented conversations. She is the founder of the Emerging Speakers Institute, co-founder of Leaders for Equity, Allyship and Diversity, a speaker with Hummingbird Humanity, and Board President of Umbrella US, where she champions neurodivergent and LGBTQ thriving. A voracious reader, gardener, and singer, Phelps brings curiosity, creativity, and deep care for community to every room she’s in.********************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only features exclusive content and more. Find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

James Eagle Feather is a formerly incarcerated individual returned to the community as a mentor and entrepreneur. Surrounded by gangs and violence in north Omaha, Eagle Feather was incarcerated at 18 and spent nearly two decades behind bars. From those years emerged a story of resilience and redemption in a calling to mentor youth on the same problematic paths. Now a motivational speaker and TEDxOmaha presenter, Eagle Feather shares a journey towards hope, from prison to purpose.Listeners are advised that today’s show features descriptions of violence that some listeners might find disturbing. ********************Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.*Bonus content* for Lives members only includes James Eagle Feather sharing more on the context of his name and heritage and entertaining examples of his discovering new technologies as he returned to the community from incarceration. For that exclusive content and more, find a Lives membership tier that fits you - support link here.

Dr Lucas Schulte, Director of Education and Outreach at Tri-Faith, was raised on a Nebraska farm, tutored in college and divinity schools, seasoned on archaeological digs, and blends grit and thoughtful reflection. As well as deep religious scholarship, he has spent decades asking how people of different faiths live well together. We talk about all that in the show, as well as Indiana-Jones moments, religious identity, and why interfaith engagement matters in a polarized era.Dr. Schulte leads efforts to promote Religious Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through community education and engagement. A Nebraska native, he earned degrees from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Yale Divinity School, and Claremont Graduate University, specializing in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, and the ancient Near East. His career includes teaching at universities and seminaries nationwide, archaeological work in Israel, and published scholarship, including a book on the Book of Nehemiah and a chapter in The Cambridge Companion to the Book of Isaiah. Today, he brings both academic expertise and practical creativity to advancing interfaith understanding, while also enjoying life with his wife, two children, and passions ranging from biking and cooking to Star Trek and K-dramas.____Today's show and others are supported by the generous membership of Amy and Tom Trenolone.