October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To help raise awareness, we return to our conversation with Sam and Susan Simon. You may remember Sam and Susan from our first episode of season two. Adaobi and Carter visited with them about his Alzheimer's diagnosis, the importance of care partners and his one man play called "Dementia Man, An Existential Journey."

Back in 2000, Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer and wasn't expected to survive. Sam wrote a book and one man play called "The Actual Dance, Love's Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer." That play and book is about Sam's journey as a care partner during that time.

Now, in episode six we excerpt that conversation and learn about Susan's cancer, Sam's reaction as a care partner and their perspectives on care giving and grief.

Food is at the center of all of our lives. We enjoy it at celebrations. It provides comfort during tough times. Food helps define our family culture, our regional cultures and our national culture. We also need it to survive.

Food can also help drive both sickness and health. Hari and Jenneffer Pulapaka understand the importance of food as a family and cultural touchstone as well as the connection between food and our health. Hari is a four-time James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef - South. Jenneffer is the first podiatrist to become Board Certified with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Together, they have written "The Heart Healthy, Plant-Based Cookbook." It is filled with more than 100 recipes that are packed with flavor while also being heart healthy. We talk with them about their food journeys, how to make healthy food tasty, and the importance of food to a healthy lifestyle.

During a career in tobacco control that so far has spanned more than 40 years, Myers has participated in virtually every major tobacco-related policy initiative in the United States as well as supporting advocates driving change around the globe. We talk about how the anti-tobacco movement found success and the new challenges public health advocates face as the industry comes roaring back.

Arlan Dobson talks about the power of friendship, the power of sticking to your core values while building your career and the power of algae as a plant that can have a significant, positive impact on our environment. Arlan's friend Doc Williamson had a great idea about how to significantly increase algae yields. Arlan is helping bring Doc's idea to fruition.

Bill Novelli has spent his career focused on driving positive social change. The blue-collar kid from Pennsylvania grew up to be the co-founder of Porter Novelli, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. Bill has also been an executive at CARE and CEO at AARP. We talk about his career taking on some of America's toughest public policy fights, the values that have stayed at the center of his work, and how we all can move forward in challenging political times.

Sam Simon was diagnosed in 2018 with Mild-Cognitive Impairment and in 2021 with Early-Stage Alzheimer's. He is currently under medical treatment and a participant in a drug trial. Susan Simon was diagnosed with stage 3, triple negative breast cancer in 2000. We talk about a lifetime of caregiving and love and what it is like to be a couple when one has Alzheimer's disease.

In 1989, when Ingar Kristiansen attended” The Ultimate Event” in Oslo (a concert featuring Liza Minelli, Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra), he knew instantly that he wanted to be a part of the crooning experience, one way or another. However, ten years passed by before he started performing songs with different big bands in the Oslo area. And this, he claims, was a most treasured learning experience. In 2000 he formed his own sextet, The Sinatra Songbook, consisting of professional musicians. It was meant to be a one night only gig, but as it turned out they all got such a kick out of what they did (the audience too!) and decided to continue. In addition to several TV performances, Kristiansen and his group have toured and played at all sorts of clubs, festivals and venues in Norway. And they have released two highly critically acclaimed albums as well, consisting of both standard and original material. A personal highlight was being the guest star with The Count Basie Orchestra during the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2019. His list of the most inspiring vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Harry Connick Jr and Bobby Darin.