Home 2008 shows 2007 shows 2006 shows 2005 shows About Contact KOOP 91.7 FM	• Simply click on the date of the show you'd like to hear • December 2006 December 20 Mark Swingler In November, we had some serious topics, so this week we turn to the lighter side: the world of the rodeo clown. Coming from Boston, rodeo clowns and rodeos in general were not on my horizon, so this was an opportunity for me to learn how you become a rodeo clown, what the job entails, and why someone chooses it for their profession! December 27 Dorothy Chandler Appearing for the second time on Inner Views (see August 3, 2005), Dorothy shares the time in her life when she embezzled a million dollars from work. She describes how she did it, why she did it, and how she ultimately got caught. November 2006 November 1 "Robert" Robert is clearly not his real name but he didn't want his wild past to interfere with his present life. Robert's story is one of substance abuse (alcohol and drugs of every kind), fights, getting arrested around 20 times, and at least 10 stints in jail. Robert has been clean for 18 years—listen to the amazing story of Robert's life and how he cleaned it up.  November 8 David Wise David was a pastor of the Peoples Temple, the church founded by Jim Jones. Jim Jones was notorious for his responsibility for the mass suicide of his followers at Jonestown in Guyana. While David was close to Jim Jones in 1971–1976, he saw Jim going downhill during that time and actually chose to leave the church before the move to Guyana. I can't say whether or not David's version of events is the truth, and he is not the most linear thinker, but he has some fascinating things to say. You can also read sermons and other writings at his Jonestown Legacy website. November 15 Unified Tribe Several members of Unified Tribe joined me in the studio to talk about a most remarkable thing: the 12 band members not only make music together, they all live together! They appear to be genuinely happy people, having prioritized happiness in their lives and working hard to make it a reality. They are both fun and inspiring. November 29 Dora Robinson Dora is one of those people who suffered an unimaginably difficult past, and has come through it okay. Her father regularly beat up her mother, and constantly abused Dora and her siblings, such as locking them in the basement without food or access to a bathroom. Dora's uncle sexually molested her. In the end, her mother killed her father in self-defense. Dora shares her story with grace and humanity. October 2006 October 4 Mani Bruce Mitchell Mani is another one of my special guests, who tells her astonishing story with beauty and utter honesty. She is an intersex person, which means she bears traits of both genders. Her story is one of secrets, surgeries, despair, awareness and acceptance. She challenges us to expand our notions of gender and identity and encourages us to embrace difference. She is featured in the movie Black and White and the book Assume Nothing. October 11 Mary Schneider of The Holographic Repatterning Institute at Austin Mary is a practitioner of Holographic Repatterning, a healing modality that Mary says can be used to help people with all kinds of problems, both physical and emotional. The basic premise has to do with the belief that everything (e.g., feelings) has frequencies, and it's possible to change or "optimize" those frequencies. October 25 Edward Mannix of One Earth Mortgage Edward is the founder of One Earth Mortgage, a mortgage company donating one third of its profits to charity, specifically to charities supporting environmental causes. Worried that you're "paying" for that charity through your rates or fees? Not so, says Edward, who offers competitive rates and a transparent process. Edward's passion encompasses all kinds of businesses being socially conscious and contributing to the planet's well being. Imagine that! September 2006 September 6 Kristin Gerhard & Allison Stelly Kristin Gerhard aka "Trevor Endeavor" is a drag king—think drag queen but the opposite sex. Allison Stelly aka "Cherry Poppins" is a femme performer, part of the drag king community. Trevor and Cherry give us an inside look into the drag king community and discuss intriguing issues of gender. September 13 Annah Moore Annah is one of my favorite guests because she is so open about herself and tells a terrific story. She was born a man but had surgery to become a woman. Annah shares details of her intense inner struggle to figure out her gender, and tells us step by step the process of becoming a woman. She has written a book, Right Side Out, which is now available. September 20 "Joe" and Allison Joe (not his real name) was born a woman but is in the process of becoming a man. He has been on hormones for several years and had various surgeries, and is currently pursuing "bottom" surgery. He shares the process of figuring out his gender and learning male socialization and behaviors. Allison, born a female and still a female, is engaged to someone in the process of changing genders from female to male. Allison has a remarkable attitude, perfectly content with the gender change in progress. September 27 Rhywnn Gaffney A delightful and upbeat guest, Rhywnn performs search and rescue operations with dogs. She talks about training her dogs (who joined us in the studio) to be able to do search and rescue and describes actual missions they have been on. Her work is exciting and inspiring, and her love for it shines through. August 2006 August 2 Jeanine Plumer of Austin Ghost Tours Leader of ghost tours around the city of Austin, Jeanine talks about haunted buildings, ghost stories told to her by others . . . and the ghosts she herself has experienced. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, Jeanine's stories make for great entertainment. August 9 Levi Oliver Levi is what you call a competitive eater. That is, he consumes large quantities of food in short amounts of time all in the hopes of setting a record and winning a prize. He was last year's world tamale champ. This interview is unusually educational (trust me), and hilarious, too. August 16 Geoff Thevenot Geoff took 2nd place in the 2006 U.S. Scrabble Open, a major accomplishment that came with a whopping $10,000 prize. If you've seen the movie Word Wars or read the book Word Freak (both fabulous), then you're familiar with the competition and the characters who participate. For me, this competition is larger than life—it was exciting to have a real-life Austinite do so well and come talk with me about it.  August 30 Amy Gremillion Amy's profession is little thought of and quite essential: she performs crime-scene cleanups. Amy talks about the kinds of crime scenes she cleans up and the tools of her trade. We had a technical glitch, so only the 2nd half is available, but the interview is still compelling and worth listening to.  July 2006 July 5 Bobby Moore Since childhood, Bobby suffered from panic disorder as a result of childhood sexual abuse. In college, his panic attacks got so bad that he started drinking to relax himself but, in time, he became an alcoholic. Bobby has now been sober for one full year and cured himself of the panic disorder. On air, he shares stories of his past and talks about his recovery.  July 19 Matt Dillahunty Matt is the president of the Atheist Community of Austin. He talks about what it means to be an atheist, perceptions of atheists by non-atheists, and the various issues of separation of church and state that his group helps to support. July 26 Doug Christy An ice sculptor for 7 years, Doug explains how an ice sculpture is made and tells us what sculptures he has been hired to make. Doug is the owner of Amazing Ice Designs. June 2006 June 7 Byron Reese from HappyNews.com Publisher of a website dedicated to happy, upbeat and inspiring news, based on the belief that citizens should have access to all types of news, not just negative stories, as a way to have a more balanced view of the world. June 14 Max Nofziger Former city councilman, Max has lived many years in Austin and seen how the city has changed. A real character, Max talks about his days of selling flowers on South Congress, running for mayor and city council, and his latest project, RADIO (Reducing America's Dependence on Imported Oil). June 21 Tyson Cole Chef and founder of Uchi, a hot Japanese restaurant in Austin, Tyson was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2005. However, as a caucasian, Tyson had to overcome racism and other obstacles in order to achieve his goal of becoming a sushi master. June 28 Abe Louise Young Creator of Alive in Truth, an oral history project dedicated to recording the stories of Katrina survivors. Abe shares the stories and talks about the issues the survivors faced. May 2006 May 2: Pt. 1 May 9: Pt. 2 Pearl Martinez A 24-year-old woman who has had anorexia since the age of 14, Pearl is not ashamed to use her real name or share inside details of her life, including stories of rape, abuse and kidnapping. May 17 Gigi Dayton Convicted for felony DWI, Gigi spent 2 1/2 years in prison. The experience was a major wake-up call that led to a complete turnaround, including total sobriety. While in prison, Gigi was helped by the program Truth Be Told. May 24 Pat Hazell This is Pat's second time on Inner Views, this time promoting his latest play Bunk Bed Brothers. Pat's family moved to Austin after Hurricane Katrina—he talks about the move and adjusting to Austin. May 31 Nathan Hall Nathan put on his first annual gecko symposium, called The Geckophile Gathering 2006, this June here in Austin. Nathan has a passion for geckos, a self-proclaimed gecko dork. He owns over 400 geckos, including exotic species, which he breeds and sells. April 2006 April 4 Stacey Huston & Laura Norton Stacey owns Footworks dance studio and Laura learned ballroom dancing there. Both either currently participate or have participated in ballroom dancing competitions—with success. April 18 Patrice Carter A practitioner of watsu—shiatsu water massage—at The Crossings Spa in Austin. Watsu, a wonderfully relaxing form of massage, is performed in a small pool with the practitioner holding the floating client in her arms, performing both traditional massage and movements using the water. April 25 Laura Spero from StoryCorps Laura facilitates interviews with everyday people interviewing other everyday people—these are being recorded and ultimately placed in the Library of Congress. The project's goal is to record 250,000 interviews, creating the country's largest oral history archive. March 2006 March 7 Reverend Mojo A former Baptist minister, Reverend Mojo is now an atheist, having abandoned organized religion altogether. His website, firstvirtualchurch.com uses humor to poke fun at religion but ultimately offers a message of tolerance and understanding. March 14 Linda Kaufman For 15 years, this Jewish woman with her Jewish husband and children, converted to a fundamentalist Christian group, including a 5-year stint on a rural farm in Georgia. Linda now considers herself bi-religious. March 21 David Henry A mild-mannered plant maintenance supervisor during the week, David turns into a dueling knight on the weekends, using real swords and armor in renaissance festivals around Texas. March 28 "John S." Not using his real name, John gives the inside, scandalous scoop on working for a major chip manufacturer in Austin. He feels used by the system until he figures out how to use it to his advantage. February 2006 KOOP was off the air February 4–22, so only one Inner Views show aired this month: February 28 Austin Toros players Ezra Williams & Jeff Hagen The Toros are Austin's NBA Development League team. The D-League is in its 5th season, but this is the Toros' 1st season. Ezra is one of the teams' best players, a killer with the 3-point shots; Jeff is 7' tall (!) and great with rebounds. January 2006 January 3 Aisha Mendoza Aisha, 22 years old, had a troubled childhood involving neglectful parents and foster homes. She was on a path to joblessness and homelessness until she got involved with the Austin LifeWorks program, which taught her life skills and provided her with a job at Austin's Ben & Jerry's Partnershop. ***Because the intro is not in the audio file, please click here to read it first (it's helps provide context). January 10 No show due to fire on January 6! January 17 Aftermath of January 6 KOOP fire Austin firefighters were scheduled to come in to the studio to talk about the fire, but they were busy putting out another major fire during show time! KOOP Promotions Director Rebecca Gutierrez, who was at the fire the night it happened, spoke to us about what she saw during the fire, how it looked inside the studio after the fire, and what it's been like at KOOP since then. (This show not available due to technical problems). January 24 Chris Caillouet Find out what it's like inside the head of this master punster, and hear him recite his winning performance from the 2005 O.Henry Pun-Off held here in Austin.   January 31 Susan Schaffel Some consider her to be the crazy bird lady, but Susan has a serious and sincere purpose: she wants to protect native birds from being harmed or killed by cats. She proposes that cats should either be kept indoors or else put on leashes when outdoors. Her goals are controversial, but whichever side you fall on, Susan is passionate, well-spoken and entertaining. See also Austin Chronicle article about her from 12.9.05.
Copyright © 2008 Abigail Mahnke