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

Jan. 14, 2026

Fear is not a Prophecy: Living, Showing Up, Advocating and taking Charge

Send us a text Tina and Ann explore gratitude that tells the truth in crisis: not a list, but a lifeline beside cancer, caregiving, and long grief. Kara Lockwood’s story and Robert Emmons’ research anchor practical ways to find small joys that help us keep showing up. • Cara Lockwood’s remission st…
Jan. 7, 2026

When Your Own Body Throws a Plot Twist: A Survival Comedy with Best Selling Author Cara Lockwood

Fear is not the enemy, until it starts running the show. In this episode, we sit down with USA Today bestselling author Cara Lockwood (aka Cara Tanamachi) to discuss her book, There Is No Good Book for This But I Wrote One An...
Dec. 31, 2025

Rethinking Possible: Acceptance, Autism, And A Life Rebuilt

Send us a text We trace a life rebuilt through acceptance, humor, and purpose, from paralysis and autism advocacy to grief, faith, and the daily practice of choosing better. The path moves from why to how, from pity to power, and from isolation to community through Pathfinders for Autism. • trackin…
Dec. 24, 2025

Rethinking Possible, When Life Throws Curveballs, Build a Batting Cage

Send us a text Some stories don’t fit inside neat arcs. Rebecca Galli’s life holds a brother gone at 17, a son who passed at 15, two children with special needs, and sudden paralysis nine days after divorce. What unfolds is not a list of tragedies but a blueprint for living when certainty disappear…
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 $…

Recent Blog Posts

Jan. 7, 2026

When Life Throws a Plot Twist and You Have to Rewrite the Story

  There’s this moment in life that doesn’t get talked about enough.It’s when the story you thought you were living quietly falls apart. Not dramatically.Not with fireworks.Just… suddenly, something changes.And your bo…

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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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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!