Podcasts about La La Land

A new DNA test can distinguish between patients who are likely to benefit from chemotherapy and those who are not, meaning many with the most common form of breast cancer can avoid the brutal treatment. Also, scientists have found a daily pill that could double the survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer. Daraxonrasib appears to be a breakthrough in managing a disease that has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. Plus, we hear from Sterling Nasa, the student who ended up on stage during a concert performance of La La Land. A pianist was taken ill half way through the show, and the conductor appealed to the audience for help. A British man is hoping to become the first person with a physical disability to go to live and work in space. John McFall lost his leg when he was 19 -- but he hasn't let that stop him -- he has already become a paralympian and a surgeon. Finally, we meet Dr Shaunna Burke who has reached the summit of Mount Everest despite living with stage 4 incurable cancer. She becomes the first woman to do so Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson(Picture: A doctor examining a mammogram to determine if a woman has breast cancer. Credit: PA)

You’re listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for June 4, 2026. We open with a conversation about Congress's seemingly unlimited capacity for symbolism and its equally limited appetite for actual governance — prompted by the bill to rename the street in front of the Chinese embassy Tiananmen Square Memorial Boulevard. We love the trolling, we love the underlying principle, and we think every Chinese diplomat should have to write that address on their stationery every day. But we also note that the SAVE Act — which 70% of Americans support, including 69% of independents and nearly half of rank-and-file Democrats — is still sitting unactioned. You cannot tell us you can walk and chew gum at the same time if you're only blowing bubbles. In our Top 3 Things You Need to Know, President Trump announced he wants Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch to become the permanent AG — and after overseeing the indictment of James Comey and launching the National Fraud Enforcement Division, we think he's earned it. Then the federal government cut off Hawaii from Medicaid funding after decertifying its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit — a unit that received millions of dollars to fight fraud, produced zero criminal indictments between 2022 and 2025, and watched Medicaid enrollment explode by 40% in the same period. And water began flowing again into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — restored for an estimated $13 to $20 million, which is less than half of what the Obama administration spent on a failed repair project that left the pool just as dirty six months later. Our American Mama Teri Netterville responds to the Black Crows concert in Florida where the lead singer told a crowd chanting USA that he didn't understand why they were cheering for this country. Thousands walked out. Teri says she would have been one of them — and explains why the cultural fatigue is real and permanent now. We talk about why woke entertainment keeps failing at the box office, why Snow White bombed, why the all-lesbian Star Trek didn't survive one season, and why Americans are done pretending they'll tolerate being told their country is awful by the people it made wealthy. We dig into the Austin Metcalf murder trial — which CBS News and most of the media are calling the Carmelo Anthony trial, burying the name of the murdered boy seven paragraphs down. We explain why the jury ended up without any Black members — and the answer, straight from CBS News itself, is not that prosecutors were racist. It's that several prospective Black jurors admitted under oath they could not vote to convict a defendant who looked like them, or who looked like a kid, regardless of the evidence. One said he would have a hard time putting a brother in jail. We ask the question nobody wants to ask — if jurors in the other direction had said the same thing in reverse, what would happen? And we ask how many juries have had people on them who felt the same way but didn't say so out loud? The Senate voted to strip the SAVE Act from the reconciliation package — with four Republicans joining Democrats to kill it: Murkowski, McConnell, Tillis, and Collins. We explain why each of them voted the way they did, and we note that 81% of Americans support requiring voter ID and 80% want states to purge non-citizens from voter rolls. This is not a radical idea. It is the will of the American people, and four Republican senators just overruled it. For our Bright Spot, Senator John Fetterman — standing alone again among Senate Democrats — went on record calling out Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Plattner over the new revelations about his explicit messaging to women on a platform known for sexual predators. Fetterman said if you've already lied about the Nazi tattoo situation, there are probably a lot more ranches you haven't seen yet. We make the comparison to Alexander Hamilton's endorsement of Thomas Jefferson — I may disagree with his principles, but at least he has them. We also cover the Israel-Lebanon-Hezbollah ceasefire framework — and explain why the big if in that deal is Hezbollah, which has never wanted peace with Israel and still doesn't. And we close with Sterling Nassa, who was sitting in the audience at a live orchestra performance of La La Land in Sydney when the pianist came down ill at intermission. The conductor walked out and asked if anyone in the house could play. Sterling was a trained pianist and an accomplished sight reader. He walked up, sight read the second half of the concert, including a complicated piano solo, and saved the show. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features the most scorching NDHT (Nicholas Dostal Hot Take™) in the history of the pod. Few modern directors have been as impactful as Damien Chazelle. Alex and Nick have a blast diving into Chazelle's small but remarkable filmography. Stray topics include Justin Hurwitz's score in “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” the “Whiplash” short film, the lasting magic of “La La Land,” the sound in “First Man,” the cultural reclamation of “Babylon,” and much more.Visit our brand new website waywpodcast.comBuy WAYW MerchJoin WAYW Bonus Features on Patreon

In this episode we reviewed Lala Land with special Guest Sammy Neilsen. Lala Land is an award-winning musical that blends dreams, love, and ambition. We discuss its memorable performances, stunning visuals, unforgettable soundtrack, and the emotional story that made it a modern classic.

Hour 1: Come play Bridge The Gap with us! SarahandVinnie@audacy.com. Peabo Bryson, the Grammy-winning soul singer, has passed away at 75. It reminds Matty of his days making emotional mixtapes. It's a good day for a music tangent. Owain Rhys Davies passed away suddenly. An attempted murder reminds Vinnie of the gang's new favorite show. Would you go to a party celebrating a boob job reveal? A story about a guy with a leaf blower. Hour 2: Jeremy Clarkson bought a farm! He needs a lamborghini tractor. ‘Hoppers' is now on streaming. Scott Pelley has been fired from CBS. This director has no problem speaking ill of the dead when it's Val Kilmer. Kristin Cavallari talks about her weird run-in with an A-lister. Want to see if any of us are outfit repeaters? Watch Sarah and Vinnie on YouTube! Fitting back into your skinny pants? You could sell your old stuff. You'd be amazed at how fast you adapt. It's Global Running Day! A vandalized Ronald McDonald is selling big on eBay. Hour 3: It's time to Bridge The Gap! Jason, our favorite wine bar owner, is back for GenX. He's taking on Reverend Josh for the Zillennials. This might be our toughest battle yet. Vinnie wants the Sharks to get better so he can go to games. There's a new grocery store drama. Ew! Barry's been everywhere, and he says NEVER leave the house without these 5 things. Plus, try this weird travel hack for cheap food and a new experience! Hour 4: Reality star Spencer Pratt moves forward in the mayoral race. Vinnie asks a hypothetical question that breaks Bob: Taylor Swift and your mom are getting married on the same day, and you're invited to both. What are you attending? A 21-year old got the surprise of a lifetime at a live performance of La La Land when the conductor asked if anyone could sight read the piano. 4th of July is just around the corner. Consider these new favorite snacks for your picnic. Plus, How Old Is That Guy?

Reality star Spencer Pratt moves forward in the mayoral race. Vinnie asks a hypothetical question that breaks Bob: Taylor Swift and your mom are getting married on the same day, and you're invited to both. What are you attending? A 21-year old got the surprise of a lifetime at a live performance of La La Land when the conductor asked if anyone could sight read the piano. 4th of July is just around the corner. Consider these new favorite snacks for your picnic. Plus, How Old Is That Guy?

Val Cameron from the KSL Movie Show fills in for Ethan today. We kick off the stream with a conversation about snacks that should and should not be on a plane! Flight attendants have opinions. Then, a woman sues Outback Steakhouse after slipping in a pile of mashed potatoes. In Sydney, a 21-year-old university student named Sterling Nasa was pulled from the audience at a La La Land in Concert show to replace the keyboardist who fell ill — and absolutely crushed it.. Plus, scientists discovered a swarm of bees underground a cemetery in New York.  Plus a heads-up — no stream tomorrow because of KSL NewsRadio's Give-a-Thon. Donate at KSLKids.com or text "SMILE" to 57500.   Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KSLBrightside Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KSLBrightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KSL_Brightside TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ksl.brightside

Have we got a great story to brighten your Wednesday. Over the weekend an event called 'La La Land in Concert' was on in Sydney; that's where an audience watches the Oscar award winning film La La Land with a live orchestra and jazz band performing the soundtrack, all conducted by the film's Oscar-winning composer Justin Hurwitz. Except this performance didn't go to plan. Here to explain what happened next is audience member Sterling Nasa.

From Guinness taking over Sydney to Sarah discovering what “splitting the G” actually means, it was one of those shows. We met Hayden, a bloke who somehow needed two million swipes to land his first date, then took a deep dive into the dating profile that may have been holding him back. There was heated debate after a man on Instagram absolutely butchered the pronunciation of “linguini”, plus a wild story from a La La Land concert where an audience member ended up saving the show. We also unpacked a new Aussie study claiming baby brain isn't real, investigated the avalanche of Easter eggs hidden in Taylor Swift’s new Toy Story 5 song announcement, and chatted to Jason Momoa, who accidentally gave Tim the perfect excuse to never go to the gym.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In aflevering 62 kiest regisseur Dries Vos (Allemaal Familie, Bad Trip, De Dag,...) drie films uit de kast: The NeverEnding Story (1984, Wolfgang Petersen) Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan) Whiplash (2014, Damien Chazelle) Komt ook ter sprake: Britse series, La La Land, Babylon & de nooit afgewerkte film 'Ibiza'. Veel luisterplezier!

Der australische Student Sterling Nasa hatte Karten für "La La Land in Concert". Als der Keyboarder plötzlich erkrankt, findet er sich unerwartet auf der Bühne wieder - und rettet die Aufführung.

Ricki and Tim were blown away by the story of a 21-year-old audience member who saved a live performance of La La Land after a musician became ill mid-show. Not only could he sight-read the music, he was such a fan that he already knew most of the score and jumped straight in front of 2,500 people. That sparked a chat about the unexpected moments when ordinary people become heroes, including one listener who got called into her girlfriend’s netball semi-final after a few sneaky wines and somehow scored the winning goal. There was also an unexpected detour into Tim’s hatred of “Smooth” and a surprisingly passionate debate about Carlos Santana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

結構好きだから出来るだろ【トピックリクエスト送り先】https://forms.gle/T1DoGnv361nS8NLc7

Audience participation was taken to a whole new level at the opening night of 'La La Land in Concert' in Sydney, with an audience member called up on stage to fill in for a musician who had fallen ill.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Crews speaks with composer Justin Hurwitz about the concerts he is in "La La Land Live"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh and Bryan overanalyze and overanalogize the finale of Survivor 50, including a very memorable Jeff moment, a unique jury, and more.Cover Art by the llustrious ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.If you have enjoyed our coverage, please consider leaving us a review or rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Intro Music: "Lord of the Rangs" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/R.E.S.I. horn taken from "Erabor-Like Horns" by Vendarro

Join host Buzz Knight for an unforgettable episode of takin' a walk as he dives deep into the vibrant world of music with the incredibly talented Bryce Vine. Known for his chart-topping hits like "Drew Barrymore" and "La La Land," Bryce shares his inspiring journey from fronting punk bands in his teenage years to becoming a celebrated solo artist. This episode is packed with insights into his creative process and the making of his latest album, "Let's Do Something Stupid," which beautifully blends pop, punk, and ska influences. With collaborations featuring legendary artists like Tony Hawk and Goldfinger, Bryce's new work is a testament to his artistic reinvention and passion for music. As they stroll through the conversation, Buzz Knight and Bryce Vine explore the rich tapestry of the boston music history scene, highlighting the significance of collaboration in the music industry. Bryce opens up about his musical influences, the excitement of returning to the iconic Vans Warped Tour, and his commitment to creating authentic, relatable music that resonates with fans. They also delve into the impact of AI on music creation, a hot topic in today's rapidly evolving music landscape. Expect to hear captivating stories behind songs, including personal anecdotes that illustrate the emotional journey of a musician. Bryce Vine emphasizes the importance of staying grounded and connecting with fans, reminding us all that music is not just a career but a lifeline. As the episode wraps up, Bryce answers the dream walk question, revealing his desire to take a stroll and chat with literary giants Michael Crichton and Iceberg Slim, showcasing his love for storytelling in all its forms. This episode of takin' a walk is not just a conversation; it's a journey through the creative landscapes of music and personal growth. Join us as we explore the music history that shapes our favorite artists, the music journey of Bryce Vine, and the stories that inspire us all. Tune in for a mix of indie music journey, music inspiration stories, and the joy of musician storytelling. Whether you're a fan of classic rock history, jazz music, or the latest pop hits, this episode promises to deliver inspiring music conversations that will resonate with your soul. Don't miss out on this engaging episode that is part of the iheart podcast network, where we celebrate the legacy of music and the artists who shape it! Support the show: https://takinawalk.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of the Billy and Lisa Show is a birthday celebration like no other, as they mark a special day for their young friend Max. But it's not all about the birthday boy - the hosts also dive into some of the biggest blunders in live TV history, from the infamous Oscars mix-up to a recent Survivor finale mishap. And, as always, they dish out the latest entertainment news, including a new Ariana Grande contest and a Michael Jackson documentary.The hosts kick off the episode with a fun segment on live TV blunders, sharing some of the most memorable moments of mistakes made on live TV. They discuss the recent Survivor finale, where the host accidentally revealed the wrong winner, and the infamous Oscars mix-up in 2017, where La La Land was incorrectly announced as the Best Picture winner. They also touch on other notable blunders, including Steve Harvey's mistake at the Miss Universe pageant and John Travolta's flub at the Oscars.The hosts also discuss some of the latest entertainment news, including a new contest where listeners can win Ariana Grande tickets and a trip to Chicago. They also talk about a Michael Jackson documentary that's set to drop on Netflix, and a new clothing line from Bad Bunny and Zara.If you're a fan of live TV, music, or just love a good laugh, this episode of the Billy and Lisa Show is not to be missed. Tune in to hear the hosts dish out the latest news and share some of their favorite moments from the world of entertainment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP. 492 Best to the Nest: May 2026 WRLHappy watching, reading, and listening! Margery: Watch: VEEP HBO Max Read: The Best American Essays 2020Listen: The soundtracks to La La Land and The Greatest Show Eat: Bone Broth, Kale, Carrots, Garlic, Noodles, and Blueberry Cake Elizabeth: Watch: The Secrets of Bees on Disney/HuluRead: Awaken Your Highest Self by Danny Morel Listen: Travel Squad Podcast Eat: Ferndale Farms Turkey Sausage Schuler Shoes. We are so happy to share our love of Schuler Shoes with you. Stop in and check out their top brands for spring and summer: Dansko, Taos, Ecco, Keen, Vionic, Clarks and Birkenstocks. Experience Schuler Shoes service, selection, and proper sizing at ten locations in Minnesota or online at schulershoes.com. Mark June 4, 2026, we are coming to the Schuler Shoes Apple Valley location for to record the podcast live!Ramsey Recycles. Yay to this mission! If you are a Minnesota resident, more than likely, you can drop of your household hazardous waste for free at the Ramsey County Environmental Center in Roseville. You can drop off household hazardous waste, electronics and small appliances, plastic bags and wrap, household recycling (bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, and more), food scraps, and even properly prepared scrap metal. Find out more at RamseyRecycles.com/EC. Healing Insight. Founded by Dr. Senia Mae, Healing Insight is based in St. Paul Minnesota. Healing Insight is a sanctuary for women seeking answers beyond conventional medicine. The team at Healing Insight will guide you through all stages of life whether it's pregnancy preparation or perimenopause. New patients receive $200 off a Women's Health Acupuncture package when you mention Best to the Nest. Find out more at https://healinginsightonline.com/.Our Website: https://www.besttothenest.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/besttothenest?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/besttothenest/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Store-bought pity morels, J. Jordan Peterson, and foraging for Mountain Dew: Code Red.

From Mamaroneck to Hollywood! Former Mamaroneck High School graduate and producer of La La Land, Fred Berger joins LMC Cast to talk about his journey from the Sound Shore to the big screen. Hear about his memories growing up in Mamaroneck, breaking into Hollywood, and helping bring the Oscar winning film to life.La La Land on the big screen at Mamaroneck Cinemas as part of their Curated Classics series. Like us on Facebook & Instagram: @lmcmediacenterVisit LMC media website: http://lmcmedia.org/

Welcome back to Oscar Wild's Season 7 premiere where co-hosts Sophia and Nick break down one of the most exciting awards races and Oscar ceremonies in recent memory: the 89th Academy Awards and Moonlight's Best Picture win! First, they celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the releases of Damien Chazelle's La La Land and Barry Jenkins' Moonlight (45:18) with a detailed summary of each film and a lively discussion about their legacies.Then, they turn to the telecast (and Envelopegate) and answer some fun listener questions (1:20:30). Who did Faye Dunaway vote for? What film was in third place? How do you feel about the Picture/Director split? How have these movies and their Oscar wins aged over time? Tune in to find out all of this and more then be sure to comment on socials!Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok @oscarwildpodFollow Sophia @sophia_cimFollow Nick @sauerkraut27Become a patron and listen to more content at patreon.com/OscarWildFind merch @ oscarwild.squarespace.comMusic: “The Greatest Adventure” by Jonathan Adamich

Revisitamos, analizamos y discutimos la película LA LA LAND de Damien Chazelle (2016).Fico CangianoRobert GarciaAlexis LeonJose Morales

Tune in every Friday for more WOW Report.10) Met Gala Blues @00:479) Hot Flick: The Devil Wears Prada 2 @08:488) A Tale of Two Annas: It's Wintour's World @16:097) LaLaLand's 10 Year Anniversary @24:246) Hot Listicle: 50 Best TV Shows @28:345) Alan Cumming: The High Life @31:194) Rest in Perfection: Ted Turner @36:37 3) Hot Throwback Foreign Film: Young Törless @41:332) Second Cumming: Not My Father's Son @43:431) Per Meta, James is No Longer an Influencer @49:21

Well, here's a film that many people remember for being snubbed and then redeemed as the wrong film was called out at the 2017 Academy Awards cemermony. No, La La Land did not end up winning the Oscar, it was Moonlight that took home Best Picture.  And what a film it is! A powerful story, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, about three stages of a life of a boy ... and then man who is dealing with identity and someone to guide him through his confusion of life, love, and race.  Looking back, was it deserving of the Best Picture Oscar from all the films releaed in 2016?  Listen and find out what film critic Jack Ferdman thinks, and which film he chooses for his Rewatch Oscar of that year.Download, listen, and share ALL Rewatching Oscar episodes.SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW Rewatching Oscar:Website: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comApple Podcasts/iTunesSpotifyGoogle PodcastsiHeart RadioPodchaserPodcast AddictTuneInAlexaAmazon Overcasts Podcast Addict Player FMRSS Feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1815964.rssWebsite: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comSocial Media Links: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, BlueSkyShare your thoughts and suggestions with us through:Facebook Messenger or email us atjack@rewatchingoscar.com or jackferdman@gmail.comMusic by TurpacShow Producer: Jack FerdmanPodcast Logo Design: Jack FerdmanMovie (audio) trailer courtesy of MovieClips Classic TrailersMovie (audio) clips courtesy of YouTubeSupport us by downloading, sharing, and giving us a 5-star Rating.  It helps our podcast continue to reach many people and make it available to share more episodes with everyone.Send us Fan Mail

Doug's 10-year-old daughter Natalie finally sat down to watch The Martian and her reaction was everything. Sweaty palms, emotional investment, and a death grip on dad's hand during the finale. Is she officially a movie person now? We think so. But that's just the beginning. This week Justin and Doug go deep on the art of introducing kids to classic films: what lands, what doesn't, and why a 10-year-old has exactly zero interest in Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Space Jam. From The Martian to Top Gun: Maverick, Alien, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Gremlins, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we rank, debate, and reminisce about the movies that shaped us and wonder which ones are ready for the next generation. Then we play The Verdict: our Letterboxd review guessing game where Doug reads real (and absolutely unhinged) user reviews and Justin tries to guess the star rating and the movie. This round features reviews for Donnie Darko, La La Land, 28 Days Later, Midsommar, Companion, and a "Roses are red, violets are blue" review for 500 Days of Summer that you will not see coming. Plus: gym etiquette crimes, weight droppers, weight hoarders, filming yourself at the gym, and the chaotic state of dumbbell organization at Doug's LA Fitness. This week's recommendations: Justin: Go support your local ballet, orchestra, or performing arts company. You might surprise yourself. Doug: Potion Seller (Grand Rapids, MI). Check out their new single Irish Exit and their upcoming album Buzzard dropping May 15th.

We are still Going Ga Ga For Gosling and have come to a film where he was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award 10 years ago, La La Land. It was a great time rewatching this musical and feeling all the feels with Gosling and Stone. Rob's best friend from Kindergarten, Timmy St.Sauver, came back to give his thoughts and it was really really fun. Hope y'all enjoy!

AVM Burst in the Brain: A Recovery Story of Patience, Aphasia, and Finding Your Way Back Jennifer Tomscha was 39, driving her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter home from preschool, when an AVM burst in her brain. She felt a wash of dizziness first. Then her vision started collapsing on the right side. She pulled onto a narrow verge on the highway between Greytown and Carterton in New Zealand, tried to reach her husband, got no answer, and dialled 111 instead. When the dispatcher asked what was wrong, she said something she still can’t fully explain: “I think I’m having a stroke.” She didn’t know yet that she had two arteriovenous malformations in her left frontal lobe — one discrete, one diffuse. She didn’t know that within hours she’d be helicoptered to Wellington Hospital for an emergency craniotomy, or that the following Monday a neurosurgeon named Dr. Woon would spend thirty hours trying to remove both malformations from her brain. She just knew something was wrong, and that her daughter was in the back seat, and that she couldn’t keep driving. That moment — pulling over, self-diagnosing, refusing the urge to simply lie down and rest — may be the reason she’s alive. What happens when an AVM bursts in the brain An arteriovenous malformation is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels that connects arteries directly to veins, bypassing the capillary network that normally regulates blood flow. Most people with an AVM never know they have one. But when an AVM bursts in the brain, blood floods into surrounding tissue at high pressure, and the consequences are almost always severe: haemorrhagic stroke, seizures, sudden neurological deficits, and in many cases, death. Jennifer’s first surgery controlled the bleeding. The second, five days later, was supposed to remove both malformations. It didn’t go as planned. The surgical team discovered that blood flow to the first AVM was feeding the second one, causing the brain around it to swell. Dr. Woon had to make an impossible decision in the middle of the operation: let her die, or remove a portion of healthy brain tissue along with the malformation. He chose to keep her alive. The surgery took thirty hours. When it was finally over, he called her husband and said, “Well, you’ll be lucky if she talks.” The six weeks she can’t remember Jennifer has no memories of the first six weeks after her AVM burst. She was in a medically induced coma for the surgery, then in intensive care, then transferred to rehabilitation. Everything she knows about that period has been told to her by other people. When her memory started returning, she found herself in a rehabilitation ward in Masterton, using adult nappies, unable to sit up in bed. The front of her skull had been removed and wouldn’t be replaced for months. She wore a protective helmet whenever she walked. And yet — she insists — she felt fine. [Quote block — mid-article] “I kept saying, ‘I’m okay, I’m fine. You guys should just take it easy around me.’ But of course, I wasn’t really fine.” — Jennifer Tomscha The honest recognition of what had happened to her didn’t come for almost two years. It took that long for her brain to have enough capacity to think about her brain. The myth of the one-year recovery window Most stroke survivors are told, either directly or by implication, that the first year matters most. That after twelve months, improvements slow. That after two years, you’ve plateaued. Jennifer’s experience — and the experience of nearly every long-term survivor interviewed on this podcast — contradicts that narrative. Four years after her AVM burst, she is still discovering what recovery means. Her academic writing, once her profession as the Director of the Writing Program at NYU Shanghai, doesn’t flow the way it used to. She can’t recall songs from memory anymore, or sing the ones she used to sing. Her aphasia shows up most at night, when she’s tired. She still takes an afternoon nap most days. But she’s also finishing a PhD. She can read as well as she ever could. She’s speaking, articulately, in a podcast interview eighty minutes long. And the parts of recovery she thought had stopped improving are, quietly, still improving. What Jennifer wants other survivors to know Her advice, offered near the end of the conversation, is short and unsparing: “You can rest, and that’s okay. You can be as slow as you want to be, and that’s also okay. But don’t give up. Just keep going — at whatever pace feels right.” It’s a rejection of both the productivity culture that tells survivors to push harder and the clinical culture that tells them to accept their limits. Recovery, for Jennifer, isn’t a race against a deadline. It’s a long, patient process of finding out what comes back and learning to live fully with whatever doesn’t. Bill’s book and community If Jennifer’s story resonates with you, Bill Gasiamis’s book — The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened To — explores the same territory: the slow, unexpected, sometimes beautiful work of rebuilding a life after a brain event. Get the book here Readers who want to support the podcast and connect with the community of survivors it serves can do so at Patreon. Support on Patreon This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Jennifer Tomscha: An AVM Burst in Her Brain at 39, and the Four-Year Climb Back to Herself She self-diagnosed her own stroke while driving with her daughter. Four years on, she’s still discovering what recovery really means. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction and Background 10:00 Reflections on the Experience 18:00 Long-term Effects and Adaptations 26:45 Identity and Self-Perception Post-Stroke 38:48 The Long Game of Recovery 51:07 The Journey of Recovery 01:03:42 The Evolution of the Podcast Transcript: Introduction and Background: AVM Burst in the Brain Jennifer Tomscha (00:00) Dr. Woon was my neurosurgeon. And he just said, I’ll never do another surgery like that ever again. it was really long. And I think he definitely had made me worse. Like they had taken out. too much of my normal brain. when he called my husband after the surgery was over, Dr. Woon said like, well, you’ll be lucky if she talks. he was just so discouraged from how the AVM surgery went. when I finally talked to him on Zoom. was so you And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course I can. He was like, will you show me? and I walked up and down the room and he was like laughing so hard at my being able to walk. He was like so enthusiastic about it. Bill Gasiamis (00:44) Welcome back everybody. I am Bill Gassiomas and my guest today is Jennifer Tomche. In March, 2022, Jennifer was 39 years old living in New Zealand, finishing the first year of a PhD program when something happened to her brain that changed everything. What followed was a medical emergency unlike anything I’ve heard described on this podcast and a recovery story that quietly dismantles one of the most damaging myths in stroke survivor community. That after a certain point, the window for improvement closes. Jennifer is four years out from what happened to her. She still takes an afternoon nap every day. She still notices the edges of what her brain can and can’t do. And she is also finishing a PhD, raising two children and speaking with a clarity and warmth that will stop you in your tracks. This is a conversation about what it actually means to play the long game and why might be the most important thing any survivor can do. Before we get into it, if this podcast has been part of your recovery journey, I’d love for you to check out my book, The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened, at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And a genuine thank you to everyone supporting this work on Patreon. If you wanted to support the show, you can go to patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. really helps me keep the conversation going. Let’s get into it. Bill Gasiamis (02:12) Jennifer Tomscha welcome to the podcast. Jennifer Tomscha (02:14) Thank you. I’m glad to be here. Bill Gasiamis (02:17) It’s lovely to have a local with me. Usually all my guests are from the United States or Canada or the United Kingdom. You’re just a hop, skip and a jump away in New Zealand. Jennifer Tomscha (02:20) Yeah. Mm hmm. Yep. Yep. I’m American originally, but we moved here in 2020. So ⁓ we I’m grew up in Iowa. And then and then I after but we were living in Shanghai for us for almost seven years, my husband and I were living in Shanghai and I was teaching at New York University, Shanghai and then when COVID happened in China. Bill Gasiamis (02:35) Where are we from in America? Jennifer Tomscha (02:54) they told us to leave the country because it was where it started. So, and we had two kids, so my husband didn’t want to go back to the United States. And so my sister lives in New Zealand. So we moved here and then we just stayed here. mm-hmm. So, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (03:11) So in China, was it just a request? Was it a directive? What was the situation? Jennifer Tomscha (03:18) From New York University, they said if you weren’t a Chinese national citizen, they strongly urged us to leave because they just didn’t know how they were gonna manage it. everyone, mean, in China, they had had SARS in the early 2000s, so they had already had it. And so right away, everyone had their masks on. They were ready to… go and I was like, I want to get out of here. So we went to New Zealand and they also had a lockdown, but it was just for a month and then everyone could wander around because the virus was not here. we just stayed and I got into this PhD program. So that’s why we’re still in New Zealand. Bill Gasiamis (04:00) Wow. That kind of brings us to the first question I ask most people these days is what was life like before stroke? So there was a little bit of stuff going on. was, work in China. There was a bit of, ⁓ travel from the United States to China. was children, but daily life. What, what was that like before the stroke? Jennifer Tomscha (04:21) When I saw my stroke happened in March of 2022 and at that time I had been in my PhD program for about a year. And I was just finishing up my research proposal. And so I was doing that during the day and my kids were both at, I have an older son who was in second grade year two. And then I have a daughter who was in preschool. And so my days were I dropped them off at their schools and then I would work for a little while. And then I would. go and get them. So, and then they would come home and we would do all the other stuff in parenting. And my husband at that time was working at the library. So he had, he was at the libraries from nine to five every day. So he was at work. And that’s what, that’s what we were doing. Yeah. When I had my stroke. I was busy trying to finish up this research proposal. And then, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (05:14) 39 years old at the time as well. Jennifer Tomscha (05:16) Yes, was 39. Bill Gasiamis (05:18) any signs, any kind of inkling that something was not right. Jennifer Tomscha (05:23) I didn’t, weirdly, so I’m trying to think about, my whole life I’ve had this thing where if, especially at just certain points if I hit my, this is maybe nothing to do with anything, but if I hit my elbow or my wrist, then I would pass out. And sometimes I would have like a little seizure while I was passing out. So wasn’t just like a regular fainting, it was like a seizure. And I had some of those in high school and I actually went to the, hospital for those at one point and I think they didn’t know what that was and they just did an EEG. I don’t even think we had an MRI where I lived. So I didn’t really know and then that sort of passed. But I was feeling when I have a daily journal that I was writing and when I go back and read that daily journal, the whole, for a couple months ahead of time, I was like, I just feel kind of weird. I don’t feel great. I feel like a little bit sick and I don’t know what’s wrong with me. And at that time they were allowing COVID to enter New Zealand. They were putting it in. So I was like, I think I might have COVID, but I took a bunch of tests. They were all negative. And then my stroke happened on Tuesday, but the Friday before I was so sick. And then that weekend I was really sick too. And then I got, like, I kind of felt like I woke up, I felt really nauseous. And then I felt better on Monday and Tuesday. And Tuesday was when my stroke happened. So I think that was all, it was all, think, my body reacting to, I was probably bleeding in my head at that time or something. mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (06:57) I got it. And we’re to have to go back and talk about how it was that when you got hit on your, on your wrist and your elbow, how hard was the hit? Jennifer Tomscha (07:05) I don’t know. Not super hard, I just, I don’t know what, I actually don’t know, and maybe it’s nothing to do with it. You know, maybe it’s something else in my body that I am prone to fainting. But I don’t know, I don’t really know why that, and maybe it wasn’t anything like that. But I had one day when I was 16 and I passed out three times and that did seem kind of funny. And I went to the doctor and I passed out while I was at the doctor’s office. So they were like, there’s nothing wrong with you. So they put me to the hospital. They did the EG. stayed the night. And then they were like, there’s nothing wrong with you. So that was it. But I think if nowadays they probably would have done an MRI, maybe, and they would have seen that I had my AVM and my whole life would have been different because I wouldn’t have done all the stuff that I’ve done now. Like my mom was like, if we had known you had had an AVM, you would have gone to school. in Sioux City, you know, or we would have done something to keep you nearby because we would be worried about you. Instead, I was just like, doing whatever I wanted to, which is good. Bill Gasiamis (08:14) Laze, but that’s kind of good. But also I get the preventative thing. One of the, my former guests had a daughter who had an AVM and I think she was five when she passed away from a bleed in the brain because of an AVM. That’s horrific. And one of the, it’s actually worth listening to that episode and it’s worth me interrupting this right now to jump on and find that episode so that I can share it with people. And this particular lady has made it her life’s mission to raise money, get an MRI machine and do preventative scans for people in case they have an AVM or some other undiagnosed neurological condition. I think it’s Gina. Gina Keely. OK, it’s. And her ⁓ foundation is now called the Paige Keeley Foundation, it’s the most heartbreaking story. It’s episode 141 and I’ll have the link in the show notes and I’ll have it in the YouTube description. So for anyone listening, jump back and have a look at that. And also maybe even consider supporting the foundation because the story is heartbreaking and the efforts that this lady is going to ensure that this doesn’t happen to other people is just amazing. So. I wanted to, I raised that because I had a, in 2011, no, no, in 2010, about 18 months before my actual AVM bled, I had a really terrible negative episode, nauseous, room spinning, like all the signs of stroke, but completely missed the, completely missed Jennifer Tomscha (09:47) Mm. Bill Gasiamis (09:55) the AVM when I went and actually had an MRI. So yeah, I went to the hospital, gave them my, rundown of what was happening to me and they were so switched on and they got me in and they did all the tests, but they didn’t find anything because they didn’t know what they were looking for. And there was no obvious sign of bleeding. So they didn’t dig deeper. And I have a friend of mine who is a radiographer who actually did my MRIs Jennifer Tomscha (09:58) ⁓ really? Mm. Reflections on the Experience Bill Gasiamis (10:22) when I was in hospital being treated after my AVM burst in 2012. And he said to me, the preventative stuff is very difficult because if you don’t specifically know what you’re testing for, you don’t know how to set up the machine and how many slices that it needs to take and at what resolution. So that when you deliver that to the radiologist and they’re looking at it, can they see an AVM and then pass that on? Jennifer Tomscha (10:37) Mmm Bill Gasiamis (10:49) that information onto the neurologist. They might even miss it, even though they’re doing MRI. But what Jena is doing, it sounds like they’re specifically going after aneurysms, AVMs, other malformations, and therefore they have kind of this better opportunity to find it. So if somebody is considering getting a preventative scan of their brain, you have to be very specific. Jennifer Tomscha (10:53) Bye. Bill Gasiamis (11:14) with the team of doctors, radiographers, neurologists, as to what you want them to look for and make sure that they adjust the scan so that it’s fit for purpose. Jennifer Tomscha (11:25) That’s interesting. That’s really interesting. Bill Gasiamis (11:26) Yeah. So what was the day of the stroke like? Was it, you said you’re feeling better on that Tuesday. Jennifer Tomscha (11:34) Mm-hmm. I had a good day. I have like lots of notes from my research proposal and I went to pick up. I don’t know why I did it this way actually. I went, my daughter’s preschool is in our town, Greytown, and I went and picked up her first and then I went to get my son. His school is a Montessori school. It’s in one town north. And so I went and got her and we were driving in the car and when I turned onto the highway that connects Greytown and Carterton, I just felt like a wash of dizziness and I started losing sight, I think, in my right eye. And it’s seven kilometers from Graytown to Carterton. And right before we got into Carterton, I pulled over onto the side of the highway. I tried, so by that time I think I had lost most of the sight in my one, my right eye. And so it wasn’t very long actually. And so I tried to call my husband, he didn’t answer. And then I just called 111 and I was like, I don’t know why I was like, I think I’m having a stroke, but I don’t know why I even thought that actually. Do know what I mean? I just, was like, something is wrong with me. And so my daughter was fussing in the back and, I don’t really remember anything after that. I don’t remember the paramedics coming. I don’t remember talking to anyone. but so when they, I think the police came first and then Then the paramedics came and they said I was nauseous, but talking a little bit. But then they moved me into the ambulance and, I started, choking and, or something, and they had to intubate me in the ambulance. And then they took me in. I was helicoptered off to Wellington hospital. So. Bill Gasiamis (13:12) How did you feel about it? I know you did the right things. You nailed it. But how did you feel? What were you thinking? I was completely oblivious to the risk I was at or in. Jennifer Tomscha (13:14) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I don’t know. just, let’s see, I think… I think when I was losing my vision, that was hard. I mean, I’m really lucky. There was a little ⁓ path on the side of the road right before you enter Carterton. So I pulled over there so I could still control the car. You know what I mean? I wasn’t so bad. And I could dial 111 on my phone. I could still think about those things. But it wasn’t very long after I dialed 111 and talked to those people that I’d that my memory is gone. So I think, I mean, I have spent a lot of time trying to like go back and figure out like, what was it? What could I have done early? know, like I was really lucky I was in the car, because honestly, because if I was at home, I might’ve like laid down and taken a nap and not called anybody actually, or called Dan and half have not answered. So then I could just see myself. Bill Gasiamis (14:14) you Jennifer Tomscha (14:22) It was actually really lucky that I was in the car with my daughter because it made me, I mean, I couldn’t keep driving very well. And so it made me pull over and it made me, I’d have to do something because I wasn’t in town. So I had to like figure out how I was going to manage the situation. And so I was really lucky actually that I was in the car and that I was in a public space where I was easy to find and like I could, so I felt like really lucky that all that happened. in that time period, but also that soul that my daughter was with me because it made me, I had this like parental responsibility that I had to, I couldn’t keep driving with her in the car. Like I just, I knew I had to do something and quickly. I feel like, I feel really lucky that that was the situation that I was in because I could see a different day where I didn’t go get the kids at that time. And I maybe would have tried to take a nap and it would have been totally different. So you know what I mean. Bill Gasiamis (15:19) It’s such a common thing for people to go, oh, I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll just go lay down and have a rest and see if I can just get over it, sleep through it or whatever. yeah. And then it just leads to even more and more trouble or problems. The fact that you said, I think I’m having a stroke, right? That is so cool and bizarre and amazing. Jennifer Tomscha (15:29) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The guy was like, why? And I was like, well, I’m losing my sight. I was like, I mean, I don’t know how it was. I was like, why do you think you’re having a stroke? I was like, I don’t know. But there was something wrong. You know what I mean. Bill Gasiamis (15:52) Yeah, that’s such a good question for me. Why do you think I’m going to strike? I don’t know, but I just came up with it. What? That was enough though. Like that was such a response from you to say, I think I’m having a stroke. It’s very, very rare that people get there, but the fact that you got there kind of gave, gave them also like an understanding of how to attend the site and what to do. Jennifer Tomscha (16:01) Mm. Bill Gasiamis (16:18) And that saves time as well. That saves a ton of time. Jennifer Tomscha (16:21) Right. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (16:23) and gets them, even though you may have been wrong, right? Gets them looking in the direction because they’re already got that in their mind. And then, well, let’s look at that first and then let’s suss it out. She might be completely wrong. But I walked into the hospital after my, while I was having the third blade and said, I’m having a brain hemorrhage or something like that. And I was in the hospital upright, standing, looking normal and Jennifer Tomscha (16:27) Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s true. That’s ⁓ Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (16:51) They were looking at me like, okay, what are you on? This guy, this guy must be on something because it doesn’t look like he’s having a stroke. And then I had to try and convince them, but I wasn’t giving them my contact details. So they weren’t able to bring up my record. And all they were saying was just give us your name, give us your name. We’ll put it in the system. We’ll have a look. And eventually they got it out of me and, ⁓ and I was right. But yeah, such a good thing. Jennifer Tomscha (16:54) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-huh. no. Hmm. you Bill Gasiamis (17:21) I love those little bits and pieces that go well together because you often hear I often hear the bits and pieces that didn’t go well and and it turned out differently and how old was your daughter at the time? Yeah, wow. Jennifer Tomscha (17:30) Mm-hmm. She was three and a half. And so she was still in the backseat, know, backwards in her car seat. And then we stopped and she was like, why are we stopping or whatever in her three and a half year old voice? And I was like, I just had to make a couple of phone, you know, I don’t know what I said to her. And then I think when the police came, she was asleep. Like she fell asleep back in the car. then, and then. It’s just, I, I’ll, so then for the next six weeks I don’t have any memories of anything. So all, all of the information has been given to me by other people. But, so, yeah. Long-term Effects and Adaptations Bill Gasiamis (18:04) So was quite a large blade after all of that. Jennifer Tomscha (18:06) Yeah, it was large. They took me, so I flew in the helicopter from Masterton to Wellington and I think they, by then my sister had gotten to the hospital and they, yeah, I think they said, yeah, they did an emergency, is it craniac? Or what’s the? Bill Gasiamis (18:25) Craniotomy, Jennifer Tomscha (18:26) Yeah, they did an emergency cradionomy and they saw that I was bleeding. And then they saw that I had this large left frontal or frontal lobe AVM. So, and then they said that at that moment they couldn’t tackle that AVM. So they, controlled the bleeding and then they, and they left my skull out and then, yeah. And then, then they, they talked to the neurosurgeon and He, that was a Tuesday and he said, why don’t you, I was in a coma, just keep her in a medical coma. And then Monday they would do the, the, the surgery to get rid of the AVM. Bill Gasiamis (19:05) And then that surgery happened. Jennifer Tomscha (19:07) That happened and it was, had my, actually had two AVMs. One was really discreet and they could see all the endings of it. And the other one was diffuse. I don’t really understand it, but, the neurosurgeon said there was like parts of regular brain in and around the AVM. I don’t really understand how that happens, but, ⁓ so they started in the morning and they did, they got rid of the one AVM. They were taking it out. And then something about the blood vessels that had some of they had been putting blood into that AVM. They then started feeding into the other AVM. So then that AVM made my brain sort of swell where that AVM was. And so the neurosurgeons had to decide if, mean, basically it was like, let me die. because they couldn’t do anything about it, or they would get rid of that AVM and they would just take out the brain that was, the normal brain that was in the regular AVM. So they took, they decided not to let me die, thank goodness, and they decided to do that. so, but it was really long surgery, it was 30 hours, I think they just didn’t, yeah, it was really long. And… And I think Dr. Woon was my neurosurgeon. And he just said, when he went and sewed my head back together, he didn’t think I was listening, but I was in the other room and I could hear him after I had my skull put back in. And he was like, I’ll never do another surgery like that ever again. it was too, it was really long. And I think he definitely thought that he had made me worse. Like they had taken out. too much of my normal brain. when he called my husband after the surgery was over, like they didn’t call him. Dan, my husband was waiting for the whole 30 hours and they only called him one time at like 11 o’clock that night. And they were like, we’re finishing up. But then they had all this other stuff happen. So they didn’t actually call him again until noon the next day. And Dr. Woon said like, well, you’ll be lucky if she talks. Because we had to take out. he was just so discouraged from how the AVM surgery went. And so, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (21:24) Dr. Woon needs to give himself way more credit. Jennifer Tomscha (21:27) I know, I know, I also think that. I also think that, I mean, it’s, I mean, neurosurgeons, they’re, it’s amazing that you could, I’ve just, it’d be so weird if your job was to cut people up and go into their brains and try and fix something in that organ, which is so mysterious, do you know? Like, yeah, so. Bill Gasiamis (21:48) Wow. 30 hours. So he also is thinking in his career, he’s probably never going to come across another 30 hour surgery. Yeah. Well, only if it’s necessary to make somebody better, but yeah, we definitely want to avoid that if we can for every human on the planet and for Dr. Woon, but I just, I’m just completely in awe of these people. I bumped into my surgeon last year. Jennifer Tomscha (21:57) I hope not. mean, I hope, you know, yeah, I don’t think, yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (22:15) because I had another MRI, because I had another bout of headaches and all that kind of stuff. still, you know, it hasn’t ended. I still go through all these things. And I mean, I mean kind of, I get emotional when I’m around her and when I’m in the room with her. If she told me to jump off a cliff because there is something positive down there and I would do it. If she said, if she said punch a hole through that wall, I would do it. Like I would do whatever she said because Jennifer Tomscha (22:20) no. Yes. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (22:44) I just cannot get over the, know, when, you know, when you make a decision, some people, my phone is weird. I’ve never done this before, but you have a piece of fabric and it’s got some lines on it. And you know, if you cut it wrong, that you can’t use that piece of fabric for that pair of trousers anymore. You’ve got to use it for something else. Like that’s a pretty mild problem to happen. Like you cut wrong, you go in the wrong place. You pop that aside and. You’re useful. If you do that to a human, there’s no going back. And you’ve got to make that decision every single time you walk into the operating theater. And imagine his family. Like, I feel like we need to reach out to his family and say, is there anything we need to make up for? I know we had your husband for 30 hours, but like, how can we support your family now that he’s done that for my family? Jennifer Tomscha (23:40) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (23:40) Do you know, like it’s so interesting that these people have been able to get to that level of capability. Jennifer Tomscha (23:49) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (23:50) with humans and helping people stay alive and be here with their family, be a mom, be a wife, be a daughter, be a member of the community. Jennifer Tomscha (23:51) Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep, exactly. It’s just, it’s amazing. It’s just so, and I’m so grateful to him and he had another neurosurgeon working with him and yeah, it did, I mean, yeah, it’s amazing. I always think though, I’m trying to think about like, did, why, if he cut out those parts of my brain, why weren’t they, why? I mean, I have some things I can’t do that I could do before. Like I can’t, this is so weird. I can’t recall songs very well and I can’t sing songs from memory, like at all. Like that part of my brain is done, which is fine, but I used to sing a lot. but I think because if the AVM is there when you’re in your, if it’s there when you’re in your mom’s womb, like if you’re, when you’re developing. It’s probable that my brain was like, there’s a little issue here in this brain. We’ll move some of the stuff away from, don’t you think that would be, yeah, because I just think like, I think where my AVMs were, my brain was like, we’re gonna move, we’re not gonna put stuff by those AVMs because yeah, because your brain is really adaptable. Like that’s one of the things that I’ve been reading since I had my stroke. Bill Gasiamis (24:59) Wow. Yeah, I’ve never thought about that. Why not? That makes sense, Jennifer. Because it’s… Yeah. Jennifer Tomscha (25:18) My mom’s like, your brain is so adaptable and flexible and it can do different things. You just have to try doing things, you know, and failing. Bill Gasiamis (25:26) And the blood flow is not right. So you imagine with blood flow not being right, then the brain’s not developing correctly in that spot anyway. And it’s just developing where there is blood flow. Jennifer Tomscha (25:37) Yes, exactly. Exactly. I just I feel like that makes sense to me. And that’s why if you’re the neurosurgeon, I mean, you really don’t know. Like Dr. Woon didn’t know what was there. But I just feel like maybe my brain when it was developing was like, well, this isn’t a good spot and this other spot isn’t a good spot. So we’ll just do everything in a different place. And the brain is really you can really do that. I think your brains are really plastic in the way that they can order themselves. And so I So it’s still all Dr. Woon. I’m just so grateful to him and everything that he did. Because honestly, I feel like I come from the States. I don’t know that a neurosurgeon, I just don’t know how long a neurosurgeon would have, they might be like, I’m done, I can’t do this anymore. I just don’t really know. It just all depends on the doctor and who sees you and everything. So I just felt so lucky to have been here. Bill Gasiamis (26:30) Imagine doing a 30 hour shift on any day for anything. Jennifer Tomscha (26:34) No. And the thing about neurosurgery is like you’re in, I mean you’re doing like, you’re in a microscope or whatever doing that little and you’re tying off a little blood vein and I don’t know, it’s nuts, it’s so nuts. mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (26:39) them. Identity and Self-Perception Post-Stroke Yeah. And they talk about, you know, how dangerous it is to drive when you’re off a take when you haven’t slept, when all those things. And these guys are going for 30 hours and they’re doing the most intricate, life altering surgery and it all goes perfectly well. So how wrapped was he when he realized how well it went. Jennifer Tomscha (27:09) I didn’t talk to him until June, so that was at the end of March. And then I was in the ICU for a while. then they moved me to Masterton and I did rehab. And then I went to this last clinic, this ABI, this brain clinic for people who had brain injuries. And that’s when I finally talked to him on Zoom. And he was like, so can you walk? And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course I can. He was like, will you show me? and I walked up and down the room and he was like laughing so hard at my being able to walk. He was like so enthusiastic about it. I was, you know, I mean, we can talk about this too. was, everyone was like, when I finally have my memory back, I was in Masterton and I was using a diaper. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t step in bed, but I remember being, actually, ⁓ I remember being like, I’m fine. I’m fine. Everyone is just fussing over me. But of course, they were right too. Do you know what I mean? But I was like, I’m okay. Everyone needs to just like, let me just relax around me. And everyone was like, everything I did, they would be like, you know, I couldn’t feed myself. And then, you know, there’s all this stuff. And I was like, I’m really okay. You guys should just. take, like, I’m fine. I kept saying that, like, I’m okay, I’m fine. You guys are all. But of course, I wasn’t really fine, but I felt like, Bill Gasiamis (28:36) It sounds like you weren’t physically there yet, but you were emotionally and mentally fine. Like it sounds like you were on the, you kind of knew that things were going to turn out or. Jennifer Tomscha (28:48) I think so. I think, or maybe, I always think like maybe you can only manage so much. like at that time I had my front part of my skull was gone because it had been taken out when they did both my surgeries. And so I had to wear like a rugby helmet or whatever when I walked. But otherwise I would sit in my room and it looked terrible. It’s just so terrible. but I just didn’t really recognize that. Like I didn’t, wasn’t, I couldn’t do all the things at once. So I think I was just thinking about like, and finally at the middle of May, my mom and sister, I still had my like long hair in the back and short in the front. So my sister was gonna cut the long hair in the back. And I saw myself in a mirror and I was like, that doesn’t look very good. You know, like I wasn’t, I don’t feel like I was totally aware. I wasn’t, my brain wasn’t. totally back in it. It’s a long time to recover and I feel like my brain only gave me, I don’t know, I felt like I couldn’t think about my own brain, maybe for like a year or something, really think about it in a second order way. Bill Gasiamis (29:59) allow yourself to kind of observe your state, your brain condition. Jennifer Tomscha (30:02) Yes. Yes, I think I was like, it was like that my it was like maybe in October of the next year, October of 2023, where I was like, Oh, I can think about my brain and what it is in a way that I couldn’t. Because I don’t know, you have to go through, you just have to relearn a lot of stuff. But I didn’t like I’m lucky, like, it didn’t affect my reading, so I could read right away. I’m not a very good writer, like, I don’t have good handwriting anyway, and my handwriting still maybe isn’t as good as it was before I had my stroke, but, yeah. I feel like, felt like, the actual healing was a longer process than I thought it was going to be, especially right when I first woke up, because I was like, I’m fine, but I wasn’t really fine, actually. Do you know what I mean? Bill Gasiamis (30:55) 100%, they can make doctors and neurosurgeons do a 30 hour surgery, find that part, fix it, ta-da-da-da-da, do all those things, but they can’t make a helmet for God’s sake look half decent after they’ve taken your skull out. Like as if it’s bad enough, have skull missing and then they put this terrible looking thing over your head. Jennifer Tomscha (31:11) No. It’s true. It’s true. It’s true. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (31:22) And I know for women like hair is a big deal and become. Jennifer Tomscha (31:27) It was really, I have always liked my hair and it was, I had short hair for about a year and a half maybe, you know, and I started growing out more and that was a little bit hard. I felt like that’s really vain, but I was like, man, I just did not like that short hair. Cause it’s not very, I don’t know. I just, wanted my old hair back. So I was lucky that it came back though. You know, everything, it’s not cancer. It’s a different thing. So you have a different, you know. Bill Gasiamis (31:51) I never would have told you that your hair didn’t look good, but my favorite hair is brunette curly hair. Yeah. My wife is a brunette naturally and she has curls in her hair and she straightens it all the time. I haven’t seen her brunette curly hair for 30 years. Jennifer Tomscha (31:57) Thank you. ⁓ yeah. no. Bill Gasiamis (32:13) I’m like, woman, that’s what I like. Like that’s my thing. you stop straightening your hair, but I can’t get it to stop. ⁓ Jennifer Tomscha (32:20) Yeah, that’s fine. Everyone has to do what they want with their hair and everything. you know, that’s something that one thing I think about my stroke is you just got to go live your life. Like you can’t and you’ve done that beautifully. You know what I mean? Like this podcast is amazing. it’s just like, you just got to go do what feels good for you at the time and what you want to do and just do it. and stop saying no, or you know what I mean. Bill Gasiamis (32:49) I’m trying. am. know exactly what you mean. One of the biggest things is identity is a big, big thing. And I don’t talk about me so much. I’ll talk about what happened to me, my stroke journey, but I don’t really give people a look behind the curtain. You know, sort of really understand what’s going on. This is just all a facade. And one of the challenges that I have is this painting company that I started 20 years ago was the main source of income. And it stopped abruptly seven years in when I became. Jennifer Tomscha (33:02) Hmm. Mm-hmm. Great. Bill Gasiamis (33:17) and it sort of still kept bubbling along. And then I got back to it in 2019 because my clients were still calling me and I was well enough after seven years of going through stroke and all the stuff of surgery, learning to walk again and all that. I was good enough to sort of get back into it. And of course in 2019, I only had six months and then we were in lockdown. And then in lockdown, we had two years of lockdown in Melbourne, and then I’m trying to keep that thing going again. And then there was this massive influx of work after lockdown because everyone’s going, I’ve been looking at these walls for two years. They look terrible. Let’s get them painted. They had spare money because they hadn’t spent anything for two years. And that was like, let’s do this and let’s do that. And there was this massive amount of work for about 18 months. And then that was done. It was gone. And it’s been a steady decline since as soon as Trump opened his mouth and did something in Iran and said what he said, and he plummeted like we’ve got no work. And I’m okay to have no work because I’ve been there before and we’ve managed our affairs so that we’re okay. But I can’t employ people right now at all. That’s gone. And getting people back and starting that again is going to be extremely difficult because the curve Jennifer Tomscha (34:27) Yeah. Mmm. Hmm. Bill Gasiamis (34:36) is not it’s not going to be a sharp dip and then it’s going to be a big spike of work and demand and all that kind of stuff. this podcast has been my saving grace every time I’ve needed to occupy myself with a project and make it so that I’m not thinking about me. The podcast was there. I did. I did an interview. It got me over the line. But now the biggest void that’s going to occur is not that I’m going to Jennifer Tomscha (34:47) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (35:05) potentially not have work in this field and after shut it down, which is gonna be fine if I do that, I’m okay with that. I’ll kind of pass it on to my younger son who’s looking to do some work in a similar space. I’ll give him the phone number and he’ll be able to take those types of inquiries and then he’ll do it on his own, like very small, the way I started at the beginning. And is that I’m gonna have all the time in the world. Jennifer Tomscha (35:23) Mm. Bill Gasiamis (35:29) on my hands to do the thing that I’ve been avoiding doing because I had this business that relied on me and the thing was to do public speaking. Right. And to actually do it the way that I’ve wanted to do it for more than a decade, which was to talk about the topics that I want to talk about, which no one’s talking about post-traumatic growth, overcoming trauma, how that’s applicable in organizations. Jennifer Tomscha (35:38) yeah, yeah, Mmm. Bill Gasiamis (35:56) how to treat people better in an organization so they have less mental health issues, so they have less physical issues, so they’re sick less, so they enjoy their work, so they’re not hating their life. And now I’m going to have all the time in the world to do it. And I’m shitting myself. That’s the biggest issue, right? So that’s a little bit of a look behind the curtain. I am loving this. This is an amazing thing. And I do remember when I first started it, I was concerned about what people would say about me. You’re going to sound dumb, Bill. You you’re not going to, you know, what authority do you have? All those kinds of things, they were coming up in my head. And then when I wrote the book, the same thing, I wrote my first book, The Unexpected Way That a Strike Became the Best Thing That Happened to Me. Everyone has said, don’t write that book. Don’t write that. Jennifer Tomscha (36:27) Mm. Bill Gasiamis (36:39) Don’t let that be your title. It’s bizarre, it’s weird, like it’s strange, it’s too long and all these things. So I did it. And of course, the first time I spoke about it on YouTube, one of the first comments was a negative comment on my YouTube channel. It’s like, ⁓ okay. My God, that’s a kick in the guts. Jennifer Tomscha (36:44) really? ⁓ yeah. Bill Gasiamis (37:03) So those little kicks in the guts that I’ve had along the way have been few and far between, but they’re the ones that seem to persist the most. And they stay in that part of your head, which says, you know, that public speaking gig, you’re probably going to do the first one and they’re going to say you were terrible. And then you’re to feel all sad at 52 about, you know, yourself and all these things. Jennifer Tomscha (37:15) Yeah. you Bill Gasiamis (37:29) how you’re going to overcome that emotionally and mentally and all this kind of stuff. It’s like, Bill, relax. You’re gonna have time to build your new career at 52. You’re gonna have time to do it. So that’s like, all right. I find myself getting pushed into a corner and only then responding with, all right, all right, I better step up again. I better do this again. Jennifer Tomscha (37:33) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (37:58) Very strange, re-imagining yourself and recreating yourself after stroke is a huge thing because you’re also doing it with a stroke brain. Whereas before I had no excuses, I was doing it still. Like the pattern is the same. The stroke brain part of it is an obstacle that I wish I didn’t have, but somehow this stroke brain part has made me do things I’ve never done before. Jennifer Tomscha (38:14) You The Long Game of Recovery Bill Gasiamis (38:27) a podcast, a book. You know, I was a tradie. I was like, I didn’t study. didn’t read. In my, by the time I got to the age of 37, honestly, Jennifer, I reckon I’d read maybe seven books. And they were about this criminal underworld figure in Melbourne who had this, who had this career and of being like really terrible and somehow. He was the thing that I was interested in reading about. Like that’s the only thing that captured my imagination. Everything else, everything else I picked up from listening to podcasts or watching shows on TV and that kind of stuff. So I wanna just, I wanna make people understand that the battles that you’re fighting, I’m fighting, it’s real. Like you’re not doing it alone. Everyone’s fighting this. How do I reimagine myself? Jennifer Tomscha (38:56) Bye! Bill Gasiamis (39:20) after stroke, you know, I don’t tell people I’m an author. Still, this book has been out for three years. I’ve had amazing reviews. I’ve had a couple of, you know, negative reviews and that’s okay. I’m not, I’m not an intellectual. I haven’t, I’ve never studied how to write literature, any of that stuff. And it’s sold about seven or 800 copies just through the podcast. Jennifer Tomscha (39:21) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That’s pretty good. That’s actually quite a bit, I feel like. It’s quite a bit, actually. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (39:47) I feel like to like I don’t promote it. I don’t tell anyone about it just in the podcast. And it’s like, I still don’t say I’ve authored a book. Nobody knows. Jennifer Tomscha (39:56) You should say it. mean, I do think the what are you going to do after you have a stroke? How are you going to do it? It’s all very strange and scary, I think. And like, yeah, I, I totally get your feeling about it. And it’s just really tricky to know what is the You know, for me, I feel like I was in middle of my PhD, so I took 22 months or 20 months off of doing the PhD just to rest. And then I went back in and it was, it is still, it was really hard. I like, wasn’t very good at figuring out how to write in the academic way. Which was my position. I was director of the writing program at NYU Shanghai. So I was like, that was my thing. And it was very hard to figure out how to return to do the critical work of my thesis. was just, it’s just, I don’t know, my brain just couldn’t figure out how to do it right. It was really interesting. was like, the sentences I was writing weren’t as good. They probably still aren’t as good. You know, like when I look at what I was writing before I had my stroke, which is part of my thesis, and then the stuff I wrote after my stroke, I feel like I can tell a little bit of a difference in the fluency of my writing, for sure. So, yeah. And I just, so… Yeah, I don’t know. It’s tricky. It’s tricky to figure out. But I was really lucky, actually. I think the PhD was helpful because… I could just go at it on my own time and I could just take however much time I needed. And I, I had a deadline. but it was good to just, it was actually like a really good place to start to work my brain again, to be like, okay, I have to, I’m going to write on this author and what she thinks about character. And I’m just going to, and I have these other texts that I’m interested in and I have to figure out how I’m going to. Represent them in my own work. And so it was really good to do all that. It was a good stepping stone for me I think actually to get back into it and to see What I could and couldn’t do very well, like I feel like I’m a really good reader. I’m a really good Critic and I’m not so good at ⁓ writing down what I think anymore as well So I’m just I really have to work on and I don’t know how you get it back like Bill Gasiamis (42:26) articulating Jennifer Tomscha (42:28) Yeah, articulating what I mean and yeah, I feel like I can’t, I can’t say things as artfully or as proficiently as I used to. So I don’t know, this woman who is getting her PhD at Vic too, she’s like, she studies how people learn to read. And she was like, if you’re having problems with academic writing, you should get a, and I still haven’t done this, you should get an academic book and you should listen to it because a lot of learning to read is listening to how sentences sound. She was like, so you should listen to an academic book and that will help you think about how those sentences work and how they’re maybe different from like, I write fiction. So fiction is one thing and then this is a different way of writing. So she said that was one thing that she thought I should do to help. develop my proficiency in academic writing, which was really interesting. So. Bill Gasiamis (43:25) Yeah, it’s a different approach. You know, it’s coming from the auditory, you know, system and therefore the auditory digital system. Therefore you go in and you you, you pick up nuances that you wouldn’t have known were there if you’ve never heard an academic speak or if you’ve never read an academic document in that way. So you might read it. Jennifer Tomscha (43:28) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (43:51) to get something out of it. Like, okay, what is this academic saying about this topic? But that’s not paying attention to the structure of how it’s written. That’s a different filter. Jennifer Tomscha (43:55) Mm-hmm. No, exactly. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Exactly. So I thought that was an interesting way to think about, like, how I could get better at that thing. That was, like, a really important thing for me. That, for some reason, it did just get a little bit, I don’t know, stunted? Or I don’t know what happened, you know? Or I just haven’t been in academia as much. So you know what I mean? So, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (44:17) Yeah. Yeah, 100%. The skill is not as refined or, or practiced as your other skills. So it’s not the thing that you’re the best at. and you’re getting better at it. The thing about it is also, may I add you’re only four years out from all the drama that you had with your brain. So there’s a lot of healing to happen that is going to improve. That’s going to get better and better. And in four or five years from now, you will have Jennifer Tomscha (44:29) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (44:49) turn the corner again, you’ll see that there’s more and more improvement. It’s really important for people to hear this, who are three, two, one, five, six years in, there’s still heaps of healing and recovery to come. So it’ll happen. Jennifer Tomscha (45:07) Yeah, that was something that my husband and I, in my first year after my stroke, he would be like, go to the gym. And he did. He, I went to the gym and I, had me lift weights and he wanted me to like exercise. And he was like, what are you doing to improve your mind and your body over this first year? And I was like, I’m, I’m again, I was like, I’m fine. I’m really fine. And, and, ⁓ he thought I wasn’t doing enough. Like he wanted me to just go at it with this intensity. I don’t know. was an, cause I was like, I am going at it with my own sort of intensity, but he wanted me to be more aggressive than I wanted to or something. You know what I mean? He wanted me to be like, he wanted to see me really working at it and like sweating or doing, you know what I mean? And I was like, I don’t wanna, I don’t know. Bill Gasiamis (45:59) He wanted it to be more masculine. Jennifer Tomscha (46:01) Yeah, I guess. And he’s not very masculine guy. I mean, he’s a masculine guy, but he’s like, he was just he just wanted to see me sweating it out or doing the really see my focus. And I just yeah. And that has been an issue because he’s like, yeah, he’s just like, are you going to work again? I was like, yes, I’ll work. I just don’t know what I’ll do. And I don’t know if I could do a full eight hour day right now. I still take a nap every day in the afternoon. So But yeah, it’s just, don’t, yeah, so. Bill Gasiamis (46:34) It’s easy for a caregiver to say that because they haven’t had a stroke. Thank God. Thank God. ⁓ Jennifer Tomscha (46:40) No, I know. Thank goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually, I mean, I feel really bad for Dan and my mom and my sister. Like, it’s actually worse to be the caregiver in some ways because you just, you don’t go through it. So you, you don’t really know what it’s like. Bill Gasiamis (46:55) I and you, and if you’ve got an imagination, a wild imagination, you could turn it into something completely way worse than what it is. And if you’re ignorant, which most family members and caregivers are, let’s face it. And that’s okay. Then you do the other thing. You play it down and you assume she should be going harder than that or Jennifer Tomscha (47:11) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (47:19) If I was, if it was me, I’d be doing that. But your brain has actually been injured and in that space, perhaps where motivation is for some people. And there is no way that you can make that person more motivated by willing them on or telling them to go to the gym or whatever. That could actually be missing the motivation part. So there’s a whole bunch of things that caregivers and family members miss. And it’s for me, it’s when I’m surrounded, when, when the people that are around me are Jennifer Tomscha (47:33) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (47:46) ⁓ people who don’t want to engage deeply in those types of troubles, life and all that kind of stuff. they’re great people. They’re just like, emotionally they don’t go deep, right? They love it that there’s ambiguity around like what’s wrong with me. Cause they look at me, I look right. And then they just go, everything’s fine. He looks amazing. I feel better now. And when I’m around him, I can just talk about dumb stuff. Jennifer Tomscha (48:07) Mmm, yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (48:14) And we can talk about things that are not important and everything’s fine. And it’s kind of like head in the sand. It’s a, you know, one step, one emotional step removed from the actual goings on. And it kind of also helps me strangely enough, because then I don’t have to deal with their inability to handle actual life and the real things that are going on. Jennifer Tomscha (48:39) Mm. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (48:43) that can just be living in La La Land and I don’t have to deal with that level of complexity. So it’s kind of, they’re both situations are helping me in a way. Whereas at the beginning I was taking that negatively. The thing I do, the thing I would like to do is challenge caregivers to listen to the podcast, especially of the spouse who I’ve interviewed. Jennifer Tomscha (48:50) Yeah. Yeah, that’s true. Bill Gasiamis (49:09) You know, and then a couple more after that to get an insight so that they’re not guessing or second guessing or think they know better, et cetera. No doubt about it. they, know, they know some things about us that they can see that we’re not doing a pattern in behavior that we’re avoiding. Perhaps they know that part and all that type of thing. But we’ll say, we’re also dealing with a messed up brain. So have a bit of a kind of a Q Jennifer Tomscha (49:13) Hmm. Right, right. Bill Gasiamis (49:36) be curious about where that person’s coming from, not how you’re feeling about where they’re coming from. And that’s what family members and caregivers do. They make it about them. And I had to say a few times to people in my circles, like, it’s not about you. Jennifer Tomscha (49:43) Right. Ha Tomscha Tomscha! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (49:56) It’s actually really about me. cannot walk and I can’t use my left hand. It’s not about you. Like I know you woke up with a numb leg one day because you slept on it wrong, but it’s not the same. Jennifer Tomscha (50:05) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s funny. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (50:14) My wife was dragging my foot in the wheelchair. It had fallen off the, you know, the rest where your leg, your feet sit. It had fallen off and I hadn’t noticed. This is like day three or day four after brain surgery. And it was dragging underneath the footrest. And she noticed that the wheelchair wasn’t moving and she was shoving it until we realized. Jennifer Tomscha (50:22) higher. Bill Gasiamis (50:40) My foot was stuck underneath the rest and we had a laugh. that kind of like, that’s one of those, if those people were there and they saw that, they would realize like, it’s not about your numb leg when you slept on it weird one night. take your stuff and just, you know, park it for now. So it’s interesting. That’s kind of why I think I do this podcast. I think it’s for those Jennifer Tomscha (50:44) Yeah, yeah, Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The Journey of Recovery Bill Gasiamis (51:08) people if they, I’ve never told them that they should jump on, but if they, for example, get curious one day and they want to know what it’s like to be in Bill’s head, pick one of the 400 episodes. Just have a listen. Jennifer Tomscha (51:09) Mmm. I have a question for you. you, this is something that, so you think you could just, you can keep improving from your stroke. There’s not like a deadline. There’s not like a couple of years or any. Bill Gasiamis (51:36) One of the things I learned from my wife and my brother, my brother is my biggest nemesis. You he’s older and he’s the most loving guy. He’s the most supportive guy, but he has a weird way of doing it. Just, you know, we’re different characters, right? So he just is a bit different in the way. one, one of the things my brother said was that I picked up, I reckon it was five, six years ago is he’s in it for the long game. Jennifer Tomscha (52:03) Hmm. Bill Gasiamis (52:04) When I was young, I had 20 jobs in 10 years. He said two jobs in 40 years or 30 in 30 years. So he just chips away, works away, works away, works away. This is an analogy, right? But also a true story. My wife started her, her, her master’s in psychology. She only started that a few years ago, but the whole. Jennifer Tomscha (52:08) Hmm. Hmm. Bill Gasiamis (52:28) journey to get to the Masters of Psych started in I think late 2011 or early 2011, about a year before I ended up in hospital. She is just now finishing the last part of her Masters degree and she found a job literally a week ago in her field two days a week. Jennifer Tomscha (52:35) Mm. Mmm. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (52:56) to work as a provisional psychologist so that she can get the 1500 hours of work in the field before she actually gets her actual full psychology license. And I’m like, dude, I get it. So what you’re telling me is that if you just start and never stop, you’re gonna see some kind of progress. And I apply that to… Jennifer Tomscha (53:08) Right. That’s amazing. Mmm. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (53:27) stroke recovery. I know that people are dealing with far more deficits that perhaps you and I show visibly and that their hand may not specifically work the way that it always that they wanted it to work or that the way that it worked before. But that doesn’t mean the brain’s not continuously continuously healing that part of the brain might be gone. But as far as healing the parts around the brain that are still there, that’s continuing. Jennifer Tomscha (53:28) Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (53:58) And if, and, and one of the questions that I have for people is like, is what I’m doing supporting my recovery or is it hindering my recovery? Because I’ve met stroke survivors who have gone back to the smokes, who have gone back to alcohol. And if you’re doing things that are getting in the way of recovery, then you’re not allowing the brain to continuously do what it does best, which is overcome challenges, rewire. Jennifer Tomscha (54:05) Mmm. Bill Gasiamis (54:25) find new ways around, know, develop new neural pathways and adapt. And that’s kind of where I think it’s at adaption, right? And the great thing about understanding these days about neurodiversity and understanding what somebody with ADHD goes through is the one skill they’re really, really good at is adaption. Jennifer Tomscha (54:31) Mm-hmm. Mm, that’s interesting. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (54:49) because and people with dyslexia. my God, like some of the biggest, most wealthy billionaires on the planet had dyslexia. Richard Branson is a classic example of that. Yeah. And they adapt. They find a way to somehow overcome the normal world and be weird in the way that they see letters and what letters do and how they move on a page and all that kind of stuff because their brain adapts and they can just continuously improve their adaption strategy. Jennifer Tomscha (54:57) really? didn’t know that. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (55:17) to get to a point where no one knows that they have this condition. So that’s what I’m really passionate about. That’s why the podcast exists. I’ve interviewed in my 400 episodes, I’ve certainly interviewed stroke survivors who I’ve had improvement 10, 11, 12, 13 years post stroke, got a finger movement back. Yeah, got sensation back, something rewired. So yeah. Jennifer Tomscha (55:19) Right. Mm-hmm. really? That’s amazing. Yeah, becau

Join screenwriter Stuart Wright as he dives into movies that changed your life with writer/director Alexia Melocchi, in this engaging episode of 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life. Explore Basic Instinct's impact, Bridget Jones Diary analysis, and La La Land's influence on his personal growth and cinema's transformative power on him. Alexia Melocchi also discuss her new book: The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood. Movies That Changed Your Life   Find out about Alexia Melocchi's new book The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood and the lasting impact of cinema on their lives with Stuart Wright on his movie podcast.   [1:20] The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life Basic Instinct impact  [14:17] Alexia Melocchi says Basic Instinct is a movie she sold as a distributor and represents a moment in her life where she was starting to success in Hollywood  Bridget Jones Diary analysis [19:30] Alexia Melocchi says Bridget Jones Diary is such a relatable movie for women and a brilliant example of the kind of Romcoms that the UK excels at. La La Land Influence   [24:31] Alexia Melocchi was in the room when Damien Chazelle was arguing the case for keeping the opening freeway scene in La La Land.  Key Take Aways:   Discover how movies that changed your life shape personal and professional growth. Learn about why Alexia Melocchi wrote The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood. Understand cinema's transformative power through Basic Instinct (1992), Bridget Jones Diary (2001), La La Land (2016) About the Guest:   Alexia Melocchi is a producer and author of The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood  published by Routledge. The Heart of Show Business: Your Road Map To Hollywood  is out now and is available at https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Show-Business-Your-Hollywood-ebook/dp/B0FP9TMJKG  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts for more movies that impacted your life!  Share your favourite movies that impacted your life on X (@leytonrocks) and leave a 5-star review and tell us which 3 films impacted your adult life. Best ones get read out on the podcast. Credits:   Intro/Outro music: *Rocking The Stew* by Tokyo Dragons (https://www.instagram.com/slomaxster/)  Written, produced, and hosted by Stuart Wright for [Britflicks.com](https://www.britflicks.com/britflicks-podcast/)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

paypal.me/LibroTobias ko-fi.com/asier24969 Esta semana traemos al podcast una película de Damien Chazelle, se trata del musical “La ciudad de las estrellas (La La Land)” que en 2017 arrasó en todos los festivales y entregas de premios con esta historia de desamor sobre una pareja que debe decidir si apostar por sus sueños a rendirse a la fría realidad. Presentación, dirección, edición y montaje: Asier Menéndez Marín Diseño logo Podcast: albacanodesigns (Alba Cano) Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

L'IA est dorénavant imprégné dans beaucoup de sphères de notre vie. Que ce soit pour des recherches internet, dans nos images du quotidien, dans l'art... Levi's a annoncé en mars 2023 son partenariat avec Lalaland.ai, une entreprise néerlandaise spécialisée dans le design de mannequins par intelligences artificielles. Dans un autre épisode, Maintenant vous savez vous explique comment reconnaître des images générées par IA mais sur le site de lalaland.ai, les images de mannequins virtuels ressemblent à s'y méprendre à de véritables humains. Le but avancé par Levi's : plus d'inclusivité et une meilleure représentation de tous les corps. Mais l'utilisation des IA dans la mode suscite des inquiétudes. Quelles sont ces inquiétudes ? Les IA sont-elles déjà utilisées dans la mode ? Peuvent-elles réduire l'impact écologique de l'industrie ? Écoutez la suite de cet épisode de "Maintenant vous savez". Un podcast Bababam Originals, écrit et réalisé par Antonella Francini.  Pe première diffusion : mai 2023 À écouter aussi : ⁠Pourquoi la France veut-elle miser sur l'hydrogène blanc ?⁠ ⁠D'où vient l'expression “donner sa langue au chat ?”⁠ ⁠Quels sont les albums les plus polémiques ?⁠ Retrouvez tous les épisodes de ⁠"Maintenant vous savez".⁠ Suivez Bababam sur ⁠Instagram⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Nate and Adam review our mainstream pick for the month of April, "La La Land", directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling! Listen now!

Looking for the best coffee shops in Nashville? Local coffee expert LaKeithea Nicole of Brewing with LaKeithea on YouTube joins host Marie Cecile Anderson to share her go-to spots across the city — from top roasters and cozy work cafés to perfect date spots and people-watching patios. Plus, we break down Nashville's latest coffee trends, which spots are worth the hype, and what the city's coffee scene might still be missing. Nashville coffee spots we shout out in this episode: Bongo Java, Cafe Babu, Crema Coffee Roasters, Dawn Cafe, Dose Coffee, Forevermore, Frothy Monkey, The Horn, La La Land, Land of a Thousand Hills, Merge Coffee Bar, Neighborlily, The Pink Hermit, Retrograde Coffee, Steadfast Coffee, Stompin' Grounds, Sump Coffee, The Well Coffeehouse Vote for select county judges, school board members, county clerks, and more. Here's the list of candidates. Here is a sample ballot for the May 5 election with early voting locations and hours. If you haven't yet registered to vote, you cannot vote in the May 5 primary election — but you can still register for the state and federal primary election on Aug. 6. Learn more about the sponsors of this April 16th episode: Visit Tupelo Get more from City Cast Nashville when you become a City Cast Nashville Neighbor. You'll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm/nashville Want some more City Cast Nashville news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Nashville newsletter.  Follow us @citycastnashville You can also text us or leave a voicemail at: 615-200-6392 Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

Tune in for a whole lotta jazz (and not as much Tom Everett Scott as we thought) as we journey through the bittersweet romance of La La Land!   We're getting way better at remembering to read our mail on air! Email us at hotchocmovie@gmail.com.    Music by: Christmas Waltz by SoundGallery

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) was written and directed by Jacques Demy. Whether you call it off-beat, dreamy, or off-beat and dreamy, this whimsical musical is just the right movie to kick off spring thanks to its bright costumes, memorable set design, great dancing, and upbeat tunes. Plus, the situation with the sadistic killer will keep you guessing. Designer Radha Sachdev talks about what makes The Young Girls of Rochefort so memorable, and why it's worth watching not just once, but again and again.-Radha Sachdev is an independent designer working across timezones, helping brands create identities with unique design aesthetics, telling their story with a touch of humor and innovation that connects with audiences in an authentic way through beautiful and impactful results. Her favorite part of design is diving into the creative process with the clients, since the process is just as important as the end result. She created the custom logotype called Creative Roots for Datalily Studio's blog page, an incredible and fun collaborative experience with Amy and Jen Hood. Radha has a weakness and passion for film, as well as graphic design in film, specially the typography created for the set design in film or type you see in the street, such as Annie Atkin's work on The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Teddy Blanks, who created the title card for Wuthering Heights (2026), is also one of her favorites. Radha has invented prop design projects just for fun, such as the Adore brand identity from Materialists (2025) and Florist Lily Bloom from It Ends with Us (2024).https://radhadesignstudio.xyz/ https://radhadesignstudio.xyz/adore/ https://radhadesignstudio.xyz/creativeroots/ https://www.datalily.com/blog-The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062873/https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/criterions-the-essential-jacques-demyhttps://www.indiewire.com/gallery/greta-gerwig-favorite-movies-film-recommendations/ -Other movies discussed:Chennai Express (2013)Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)La La Land (2016)Moulin Rouge! (2001)West Side Story (1961)

Send us Fan MailWe watch Ryan Gosling plays a Nice Guy who must travel to The Place Beyond the Pines to save humanity and return to his LA LA Land. Feel free to send us your questions or comments to straighttopod@gmail.com and follow us on X(Twitter), Threads, BlueSky, YouTube and Twitch @Straight_To_POD. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.    

Pat Boyle takes a deep dive into the Lakers most recent injuries and struggles, while also making the case that Head Coach JJ Redick's time in La La Land could be over sooner than you would think.

T-Bob has returned from his trips to Disney World and Mexico and shares some Disney advice with Mikey A who is about to head out that way. T-Bob is excited to have Will Wade back at LSU. Plus, Taylor and T-Bob review movies far too late.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bryce Vine joins Ralph Sutton and Aaron Berg and they discuss childhood bullies, Bryce Vine's mother's career as an actress, auditioning for the Glee Project, his song Drew Barrymore, the issue with music influencers, his new album Let's Do Something Stupid, getting to do a song with Tony Hawk, performing for the troops, a live performance of La La Land, Bryce Vine's first concert, first drug and first sexual experiences and so much more!Air Date: 3/25/26Support our sponsors!YoKratom.com - Check out Yo Kratom (the home of the $60 kilo) for all your kratom needs!To advertise your product or service on GaS Digital podcasts please go to TheADSide.com and click on "Advertisers" for more information!You can watch The SDR Show LIVE for FREE every Wednesday and Saturday at 9pm ET at GaSDigitalNetwork.com/LIVEOnce you're there you can sign up at GaSDigitalNetwork.com with promo code: SDR for discount on your subscription which will give you access to every SDR show ever recorded! On top of that you'll also have the same access to ALL the shows that GaS Digital Network has to offer!Follow the whole show on social media!Bryce VineTwitter: https://twitter.com/BryceVineInstagram: https://instagram.com/BryceVineAaron BergTwitter: https://twitter.com/aaronbergcomedyInstagram: https://instagram.com/aaronbergcomedyRalph SuttonTwitter: https://twitter.com/iamralphsuttonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamralphsutton/Shannon LeeTwitter: https://twitter.com/IMShannonLeeInstagram: https://instagram.com/ShannonLee6982The SDR ShowTwitter: https://twitter.com/theSDRshowSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

World exclusive. First Listen. You're hearing this before anyone else.On this world exclusive episode of Music of Bond, we sit down with producer Neil S. Bulk and mixer Chris Malone for a deep dive into the brand-new Diamonds Are Forever 55th Anniversary Expanded Edition from LA LA LAND Records.Released today, this is the first conversation anywhere unpacking how one of John Barry's most iconic Bond scores has been restored, expanded, and reimagined for a new generation...and for everyone who listens to MOB.From unreleased cues and fragile tape elements to the art of remastering and the debates behind what makes the final cut, this is a rare, inside-the-room look at LA LA LAND Records, how Bond history is preserved, restored, and reshaped.This isn't just an interview. It's the conversation MOB fans have been waiting for.Now available worldwide on the LA LA LAND website. 

Each critic has picked a movie they can't stand but is adored by the masses. Here's our hot takes on La La Land and Ferris Bueller's Day Off coming at you harder than Matthew Broderick's car Guest info: Mark Krawczyk is a Wisconsin-based critic who constantly pumps out material. You can find his site here https://www.specialmarkproductions.com/ His YouTube Channel here https://www.youtube.com/@SpecialMarkProd You can also find Mark's X profile @SpecialMarkPro Subscribe to YPA Reviews for more content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrUmfPvYdxuBYuvkAREhxA?view_as=public Go to https://www.ypareviews.com/ to read my written reviews and stay up to date on all of my newest podcast and YouTube content. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/youll-probably-agree/id1453935603 Subscribe on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6poDSN5vjKFFk5XVY7SHtq?si=979e81a7063f4005 Subscribe on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-114056851 Follow Me on X and Instagram @ypareviews My TikTok @ypareviewschicago

Live from The Stray Theater in Los Angeles!

We've reached the bittersweet finale of Love Stinks! Month here on We Drink & We Watch Things, and we're closing out our "Not-So-Love-Love-Stories" with Damien Chazelle's 2016 neon-soaked daydream, La La Land. It's time to mix up something sophisticated but a little sharp - perhaps Mackenzie's Lillet-ing Go - as we follow Mia and Sebastian through the traffic jams and jazz clubs of Los Angeles, where the pursuit of a dream often costs more than you're prepared to pay.This week, we examine the film's central conflict: the agonizing choice between the person you love and the life you've always wanted. We explore the chemistry between Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the vibrant, primary-colored cinematography, and the haunting "City of Stars" melody that anchors their journey. Most importantly, we unpack that devastatingly beautiful seven-minute epilogue, debating whether the "happily ever after" montage was a celebration of what they gave each other or a heartbreaking reminder of the life they had to surrender to reach the top. It's a conversation about timing, the reality of "the one that got away," and why sometimes the most romantic thing you can do for someone is let them go.If you love musicals that ground their fantasy in the harsh light of reality, or if you've ever wondered if your success was worth the sacrifices you made along the way, this is the perfect curtain call for the month. We're blending our adoration for the film's craft with our usual casual banter, making this a spectacular, tear-jerking conclusion to our second annual Love Stinks! marathon. Here's to the fools who dream, even if they have to dream alone.This episode VIDEO is live on YouTube AND Spotify!Follow us on Instagram to get ep sneak peaks and find out what's coming up. DM us what you want to hear about next!Interested in what we're watching off the pod? Check out Mackenzie or Lemar's Letterboxd!

Your 'difficult' friends aren't just annoying; they are literally bad for your health. No big deal but it’s official: 'Hasslers' who create drama also accelerate your ‘biological decay’. Is it time to prune the friend tree for the sake of your longevity? Plus, Belle Burden’s divorce memoir Strangers has the internet asking if telling your 'emotional truth' is just a fancy term for fibbing. With inconsistencies surfacing, Clare wonders if we even care about facts if the story is good, while Em insists that if you’re selling your life story, the least you can do is tell the truth. So, who owns your story and… does the truth even matter any more? Meanwhile, in other business, Em presents an 'unhinged' list of rules that states men shouldn't drink matcha and women shouldn't know movie directors' names. Yes, it appears we’re all living in her Mojo Dojo Casa House now. Oh, and, in breaking news, we’ve all been saying 'Chupa Chups' wrong. RECOMMENDATIONS Clare recommends Australian Story: Raising Richard — the moving story of a mother who’s been caring for her son for over 30 years. Holly recommend Tarte Shape Tape peach corrector for undereye dark circles. Em recommends Project Hail Mary — a "science-y" space flick starring Ryan Gosling.SUBSCRIBERS: Get 25% off Nala with your Mamamia subscription. Click here to get your code. Ends 1st April. SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media What To Listen To Next: Listen to: The Salt Path Scandal That Blew Up Listen to our latest episode: Mia's Diary Note: Burnout & Bras & Books, Oh My! Listen: A Dangerous Influencer Trend & Scurrilous Lip-Reading Gossip Listen: 'Are Flaps In Or Out?' Mia's Rogue Oscars Fashion Feedback Listen: A Very Awkward Oscars & That Manosphere Doco Listen: What We Did Before 9am Listen: A Lil' Treat: Jessie’s Very Surprising, Very Wonderful Twins Update Listen: Mia, Female Friendships & The '3-Word Rule' Listen: A Reluctant Pregnancy Announcement On Live TV Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts. SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media Watch Australia's #1 podcast, Mamamia Out Loud: Mamamia Out Loud on YouTube What to read: 'I've been an oversharer my whole life. Finally, science says that's a good thing.' This woman's unbelievable life story was turned into a movie. Then she was accused of making it up. Looking for a good autobiography? Here are the 10 best memoirs we've ever read. 'Mate. Get your d*ck sorted.' A very honest recap of the most bizarre parts of Spare. The 6 words you've been mispronouncing your whole entire life. THE END BITS: Check out our merch at MamamiaOutLoud.com GET IN TOUCH: Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at outloud@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message. Join our Facebook group Mamamia Outlouders to talk about the show. Follow us on Instagram @mamamiaoutloud and on Tiktok @mamamiaoutloud CREDITS: Hosts: Emily Vernem, Clare Stephens & Holly Wainwright Group Executive Producer: Ruth Devine Executive Producer: Sasha Tannock Audio Producer: Leah Porges Video Producer: Josh Green Junior Content Producer: Tessa KotowiczBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From relatable to “wait…what?!” this episode is packed with the kind of topics that'll definitely spark opinions. Is “ready sexy” making a comeback? We dive into the trend and whether it's hot…or trying way too hard. Producer Claire and Laura both bring their book stories to the table—one sweet, one slightly shocking—and you'll definitely have thoughts. And the talent of the show is heading to La La Land to style a celebrity for the Oscars this Sunday. Yes, it's kind of a big deal around here! We're buzzing with excitement and can't wait to spill the behind-the-scenes details next week. It's fun, surprising, a little outrageous, and full of the kind of conversations that make you laugh, gasp, and shout your opinion at the speakers.Love your podcast!!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/laura-cain-after-dark--4162487/support.SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel, FOLLOW us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, SHARE, LIKE, and by all means COMMENT.  We love your feedback.  Thanks for being part of the Laura Cain After Dark family.  Love your podcast!

We're building off a previous conversation we had recently on Da Pod, and the Brothers are dishing out advice for those looking to get into the entertainment industry!Once again, Andy came PREPARED! He compiled a list of common questions the guys have been asked over the years, and the guys get down to the truths and myths of show business.How do I start? Is fame healthy? Is social media necessary? When do I move on from acting if it doesn't work out? And what is that smell coming from the bathroom?Enjoy Da Pod this Friday (or any day) as the Bros dive deeper into all things La La Land!Support our pod with our official merch!https://bropodmerch.bigcartel.com

Howdy do crooners, belters, and smooth operators! Our Heart of Stone marathon continues on this week as we take a look at the film that got Stone her first Oscar, La La Land. That's right, Damien Chazelle returns to the analysis table with his Classic Hollywood Musical. We discuss music, what it takes to accomplish dreams (and when to sell out), and much, much more as we discuss La La Land and Emma Stone's continued rise. Join us now, and don't forget to subscribe to keep up with all our Heart of Stone content!

The stakes feel especially high for this year's top Oscars prize.It feels like every few years there are two films that really set the tone for where American culture is headed. In 2017: it was Moonlight versus La La Land. In 2019: it was Green Book versus BlackKKlansman. And now, in 2026: it's Sinners versus One Battle After Another. And there's one question that host Brittany Luse has at the top of her mind: How do these films capture what it means to live in this moment? And how does the conversation surrounding them become so contentious? Host Brittany Luse is joined by Nadira Goffe, staff writer of culture at Slate, and Robert Daniels, associate editor at rogerebert.com to unpack the discourse taking the internet by storm.Interested in other episodes about cultural critique? Check these out:Pop culture has a 'bean soup problem'Yes, romance & fantasy novels are political.What's so hot about Heated Rivalry?Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Clockwork Torgo: Joe vs The Volcano, AI, Monarch, Godzilla x Kong, Mr. Mercedes, Operation Bounce House, Journey to the Center of the Earth, La La Land, Van Helsing, 1776, The Mutiny, Improv, Diablo 2, Tacta, Southland, Dungeon Crawler Carl pinball, Hawkman, DC Universe, Paramount+ and HBO Max to combine, physical video game sales, Universal monsters, Game of Thrones movie, SLIME,

Kelly and Tammy explore creativity through La La Land, a film that uses color like a second language and turns a highway traffic jam into magic. Tammy reflects on her own journey trying to make it in LA and why the film's authenticity around creative pursuit never fails to wreck her, while Kelly considers the deep self-belief required to chase any dream and the humiliation baked into trying. They talk about what happens when two people are more committed to their art than to each other, how the end of the film refuses to give us what we think we want, and why watching people struggle toward something they might not ever achieve is somehow the most relatable thing in the world. This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, please visit: templeton.org To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices