Welcome to Real Talk with Tina and Ann!
Real Talk with Tina and Ann
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Real Talk with Tina and Ann

Tina and Ann met as journalists covering a capital murder trial 18 years ago. Tina is a broadcaster, mom of three boys, and caregiver to her mom. Ann has a master's in counseling and has worked in the jail system, was director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center, worked as an assistant director at a school for children with autism, worked with abused kids and is currently raising her three children who have autism. The duo share their stories of overcoming and interview people who are making it, despite what has happened. This is more than just two moms sharing their lives. This is two women who have overcome some of life's hardest obstacles. Join us every Wednesday as we go through life's journey together. There is purpose in the pain and hope in the journey!

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Recent Episodes

Dec. 17, 2025

Hope on the Border part 2: I Love the Me I See in You with Gil Gillenwater

We follow a wrong turn that became a mission and explore how dignity-based service transforms both givers and receivers. Gil shows how housing, education, and reciprocity can turn charity into equity, and why true joy is found when we serve. • enlightened self-interest and why service elevates the …
Dec. 10, 2025

Border of Hope: I love the Me I See in You with Gil Gillenwater

We bring the border into focus as a lived place, not a line, and confront how wealth disparity, US demand, and policy choices shape human lives. Gil Gillenwater shows why enlightened self interest, housing with dignity, and education beat walls and fear. • wealth disparity between $18 an hour and $…
Dec. 3, 2025

Life in Tandem: Love, Loss, and Identity After Stroke with Stroke Onward's Deb Meyerson and Steve Zuckerman

Send us a text A single weekend can reroute a life. When Deborah Meyerson, a tenured Stanford professor, suffered a stroke that stole her speech and altered her body, she and her husband, Steve Zuckerman, had to reimagine everything—career, communication, purpose, and the very shape of partnership.…
Nov. 25, 2025

November 25, 1975: 50 years after the loss of my Dad

Send us a text The Tuesday before Thanksgiving can feel ordinary—until it isn’t. Fifty years ago, a dad kissed his child goodbye and didn’t come home, and that single day rewrote every holiday that followed. We open the door to that memory and walk through its rooms: the neighbor who showed up at s…
Nov. 25, 2025

Even Here, We Are Thankful

Send us a text A glossy holiday is easy to post, but the real story of Thanksgiving often lives in the places that ache. This year, our table looks different—empty chairs, fading memories, and traditions that no longer fit who we are now. Still, gratitude finds a seat beside grief. We talk about th…
Nov. 19, 2025

Beyond Shame: The Freedom of Hearing “It’s Not Your Fault with RJ Formanek on Living with FASD part 2

Send us a text We dig into life with FASD beyond labels: how shame warps identity, how routines protect mornings, and why late-blooming brains change everything. RJ shares the red shoes origin, practical language for kids, and a hopeful path from rage to self‑acceptance. • removing shame and naming…

Recent Blog Posts

Dec. 10, 2025

I love the Me I see in you: Inspired by Gil Gillenwater

I Love the Me I See in You Inspired by our latest podcast with Gil Gillenwater There is something sacred that happens when we show up for another human being. Not with perfection. Not with answers. Not with the right words tied in a neat little bo…

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Dec. 3, 2025

When Life Pivots US

When Life Changes the Plans There are seasons when life gives us a choice. And then there are seasons when it does not ask for our permission at all. One day you are walking in a direction that feels familiar, and the next day life taps you on the …

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Nov. 17, 2025

It's Not Your Fault

It Is Not Your Fault: Understanding FASD, Neurodivergence, and the Power of Compassion Not every wound is visible. Not every struggle is understood at first glance. For those living with FASD and other forms of neurodivergence: you are not broken, …

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About the Hosts

Ann Kagarise Profile Photo
Ann Kagarise

Writer/Podcaster

What do I say about myself? I love telling other people's stories, but hmmmm...Let me think.
When I think about my life, I have so many chapters. I am a very compartmentalized person.
I am first of all a mom of 5 kids. Yep...5!
I am a grandma to 5 beautiful children! All gingers lol.
I am a writer, author, podcaster, oh my gosh...I've been a journalist, columnist, hard news writer for print. I have actually won quite a few awards for my writing.
I am a photographer. I LOVE getting the money shot and capturing life! I do have a website called Spectrum Photography, but I have it offline more than on because I cannot figure out how to make the pictures work on Etsy lol. I'm not good at that kind of stuff.
I very much am an autistic individual, ADHD and dyslexic. Yep I got it all lol. I'm not that great a executive functioning, but I have many great ideas! I am trying to put things into fruition, but it just takes me longer and I probably make more mistakes, but I don' give up!!!
I have had many lives in the working world. I've worked in the jail system with helping women and talking with them, praying with them. I was the director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center. I oversaw the crisis hotline at the center. I worked with abused boys. I was an Assistant Director at a school for kids with autism. I was a head swim coach for 12 years. Yep--former swimmer myself lol.
I was adopted. I've adopted 5 kids. And if you want to know the history of my crazy buffet of a family lol...I will tell you, but not here. You will have to join the podcast and hear it on there. I do share about my life. But you have to tune in.
That’s me in a nutshell… okay, maybe more like a cracked, slightly dented nutshell rolling down the yellow brick road chasing a dream. Lions and tigers and OH...Wi-Fi... oh Wait—where was I? Oh right. I was raised in the glorious pre-phone days of the '70s and '80s—back when we had to actually write letters, lick stamps, and pray our crush was home to answer the phone that was attached to the wall. No internet, no cell phones, and “lol” wasn’t a thing (though we laughed out loud just fine without it). But hey, us vintage folks? We adapt... lol.
Give me a call or message me. I'll answer.

Real Talk with Tina and Ann
Host--Tina!! Profile Photo
Host--Tina!!

Tina is an amazing Radio personality in the morning! She has been a journalist for decades and brings her own spice to the podcast!
She is a mom of three boys and brings her wit and wisdom to the podcast when Ann and Tina banter and bring real life to your listening ears!