Discover the real things that matter in life. Real Things Living explores resilience, connection, and navigating life’s challenges. Host Brigitte Cutshall shares her journey of surviving cancer twice and a rare brain tumor, offering insights to help you focus on what’s important and find strength. Each episode features practical tips and inspiring stories from Brigitte and her guests to help you overcome adversity, build resilience, and create a meaningful life.
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Denny LaVe joins Brigitte to talk about a life defined by pivots — from a broken childhood in Montana, to a near-fatal heat stroke that ended his Marine Corps dream, to nearly taking vows as a monk, to marriage, fatherhood, and building a construction company from the ground up. He opens up about the "shame culture" he grew up in, the years of stoicism that quietly strained his marriage, and the…
A biochemist accidentally became a pioneer in trauma-clearing therapy—and it all started when she couldn't figure out her own dating life. Dr. Judith Swack was told repeatedly by mentors that she had a "research mind" and belonged in a lab, leading her to earn a PhD in biochemistry and neurochemistry. However, personal struggles in her dating life introduced her to Neurolinguistic Programming…
College sports used to be about the love of the game. Now the money, the betting, and the pressure are rewriting what it means to be a young athlete. Brigitte Cutshall sits down with author, coach, and commentator - Jay Paterno - for an eye-opening conversation on the shifting landscape of college athletics. From the financial pressures of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and rampant sports…
Less than 1% of breast cancer diagnoses belong to men—leaving Jake Messier on a mission to demand representation in a system that often forgets they exist. Jake Messier, a former Marine and marketer turned patient advocate living with stage IV male breast cancer, joins Brigitte Cutshall to talk about finding a lump while putting on deodorant, navigating the isolated reality of a traditionally…
He was given six months to live. Twenty-five months later, he's training for the Ironman World Championship. James Logan was 59, in the best shape of his life, and training for triathlons when a stage four cancer diagnosis gave him six months to two years to live. In this episode of Real Things Living, James opens up about the six-month mental shift from "worrying about dying to worrying about…
A cemetery at the end of a one-road village in Trinidad, a grandmother who couldn't read without help. This is where author, speaker, and musician Antonio Michael Downing learned that creativity isn't a talent, it's a survival tool. Antonio joins Real Things Living to share how his grandmother in Trinidad taught him to read and sing, not as hobbies, but as ways to cope with a hard life. It's the…
Six years of uncertainty, navigating a high-stakes third-party journey, and finding the courage to redefine motherhood on her own terms. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with Leslie Lopez, founder and host of the Mothers in Arms podcast. Leslie opens up about her personal six-year journey navigating infertility, pregnancy loss, and the decision to leave her marriage…
Surviving mortar rounds in Vietnam was only half the battle. The deepest healing began when a Marine veteran finally confronted the invisible weight of lifelong trauma. Keith Cole, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran wounded three times in combat, joins Brigitte to talk about the invisible wounds that outlast the battlefield. Keith shares his journey from enlisting after his father's sudden passing to…
He wasn't a doctor, but he talked his way past the barricades on 9/11 anyway — and spent the next 24 hours saving strangers' eyes. Author, Neil Adams, joins Brigitte Cutshall to talk about his book "From the Pile", written to honor his late best friend Michael Dorian — a veterinary technician who posed as medical personnel to help injured firefighters at Ground Zero on 9/11. Neil shares how…
A standard check-in call, an ambulance, and a mother's quick instincts changed everything for Drew Norton's family in a matter of minutes. That terrifying crisis became the ultimate wake-up call, completely reshaping how he leads, loves, and shows up for the people who matter most. In this episode of Real Things Living, Brigitte Cutshall speaks with sales leader and founder of the Abundant Man…
Every obstacle is an open door for greatness, and staying in motion is exactly how you step through it. Nicholas Kelly is a registered dietitian, patient advocate, and TEDx speaker who has lived with cystic fibrosis for all of his 39 years. Nick shares how he turned his own health journey into a career helping others navigate chronic illness, why he calls passion his superpower, and the daily…
He turned 50, watched his energy crash, and instead of reaching for a pill, he threw out cooked food entirely — 16 years later he's run eight marathons and never taken a single medication. Axay Shah, author of "In Nature We Trust," joins Brigitte to explain why he ditched cooked food at 50 and hasn't looked back. His philosophy is simple: if Mother Nature didn't make it, it doesn't go on his…
