Mascots: They’re furry, funny, and just a little funky. But what's actually going on in there?

Tom Burgoyne shares what it’s been like to embody the Phillie Phanatic for over three decades.

Mikaela Higgins reveals how her company became a giant in the world of mascot-makers, designing icons from Ronald McDonald to the Energizer Bunny.

And hear how one “yes“ changed the life of Conor Geary, whose turn as a mascot led to a dream sports gig he never saw coming.

This episode originally aired on August 29, 2025.

Suggested episode:

• Banjo Man, 'Woo Woo' Wickers and UConn Huskies superfans share their love of the game

GUESTS:

• Tom Burgoyne: “Best friend” of the Phillie Phanatic, who has been bringing the Phanatic to life for 37 years. He’s also the author of Pheel The Love! How the Most Powerful Force in the Universe Builds Great Companies - Phillie Phanatic Style!
• Mikaela Higgins: Manager of Mascot Sales at Olympus Mascots in Milwaukee, WI
• Conor Geary: Known as “GameDay Conor“, he's been the high-energy host at every major venue in Connecticut, starting out with the Hartford Yard Goats in 2018. This season, he became the stadium host for the New England Patriots

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taxidermied dogs. A CIA agent's hat. A perfume that made strangers on elevators lose their composure.

This is what happens when you pull names from a vase at a brewery and say: show us something you love, and tell us why.

Our fourth live Show and Tell at Little Red Barn Brewers in Winsted, Connecticut delivered exactly what this format always delivers: stories that are intimate, hilarious, and impossible to predict. Even for us.

Suggested episodes:

• Audacious Live! Show & Tell in Stamford

• Audacious Live! Show & Tell birthday bash in Hartford

• Audacious Live! Show & Tell in Willimantic: From rare computers to hand grenades

GUESTS:

• Jon Barbagallo: Director of Sales at Little Red Barn Brewers, who brought a styrofoam curling rock that was used as a movie prop

• Jill Bowen: New Haven resident, who brought Doggie, her stuffed animal

• Lauren Pierson-Gallagher: New Milford resident, who brought a bottle of Shalimar perfume, her late mother’s signature scent

• Gerri Griswold: Director of Administration & Development at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, who brought a taxidermied dog in a display case

• Nils Johnson: Co-founder & President of Little Red Barn Brewers, who brought an 1861 one-dollar note issued by The Winsted Bank

• Theresa Taylor: Canton resident, who brought her late father’s British bowler hat

• Nora Pasco: New Britain resident, who brought her Persephone rosary beads

• Caroline Christensen: Winsted resident, who brought a conch shell

• Alex Harper: Winsted resident, who brought her service dog’s harness

• Terry Wolfisch Cole: Simsbury resident, who brought a tin of 100-year-old Ramses condoms from her late uncle’s collection of antique pharmaceutical containers

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fewer than 10% of truck drivers are women, and in this episode, you’re going to meet three of them.

Spend the day with Chion and a tow truck driver, get to know a woman who runs a CDL training school, and hear about life on the road from a truck driver who happens to be a trans woman.

This episode originally aired on January 13, 2023.

GUESTS:

• Chantel Comerford: A driver for Meagan’s Towing & Recovery out of Danbury, Connecticut. She lives in Sandy Hook
• Michele Howard: Owner of Affordable CDL Training School in Colchester, Connecticut
• Hope Alexander: Host of the podcast, Simply Live with Hope, where she talks about being a trans woman and her 12 years in the trucking industry. She lives in Georgia

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.