She's Bold with Beth Whitman

Jennifer Jordan is the director of the documentary 3,000 Cups of Tea: The Rise and Ruin of Greg Mortenson. Greg is the author of the NY Times Bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, and was accused of, among other things, a number of inaccuracies in his story. After seeing a 60 Minutes expose on Greg, Jennifer wanted to tell his side of the story which, she felt, was neglected. In this conversation we talk about the film and the affects of someone being taken down after having done so much good in the world.

You likely know Samantha Brown from her 10+ years as a TV host on the Travel Channel where she traveled the world introducing viewers to the greatest hotels, getaways, weekend adventures and interesting places in China. Most recently, she launched her latest series on PBS, Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, where she travels around the US and world to highlight little-known but well-loved people who make a destination an enriching experience for travelers and viewers.

Debi Goldman leads an amazing life. She helped co-found the Tibetan Nun’s Project, she's spent years living and traveling in India, speaks Hindi, has met with the Dalai Lama on numerous occasions AND she’s leading our North India tour this year. In this episode, we talk about what led her to spending so much time in India, how ego and expectations can get in the way and how important it is to process experiences so you can fully appreciate and understand them.

Nicole Davis is a two time Olympian, having won silver medals in volleyball at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was also part of the 2014 US team that won the World Championships in volleyball. She retired from the sport in 2015 and now works at Compete to Create as a Mindset Coach. This organization was started by Seattle Seahawks' Coach Carroll and high performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais. Nicole now helps people become the best versions of themselves in whatever they are pursuing.

In this episode I deconstruct how I ran four marathons in four days during the Seattle Quadzilla over Thanksgiving weekend. I answer many of the questions I've been asked about the why and how of running this series of races. I address the physical preparation of training runs in the weeks and months leading up to the event, my nutrition before and during the runs, what I wore, how I recovered each day and how I felt afterward (pretty darn good!).

Musician Laura Love is best known as a singer/songwriter whose sound has been called Afro-Celtic. She was one of the first musicians to be signed with the Putamayo record label. Though she hasn't recorded for the past decade or so, she has recently begun writing again after experiencing some very dramatic struggles. This conversation is both heart-breaking and heart-warming as Laura shares her tragic origin story. Somehow through it all, she still sees the world as a place filled with love and kindness.

You might know Dr. Pepper Schwartz from any one of many places. She’s a professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. But she’s also the author of 25 books, the former Sex and Relationship Expert with AARP and she is now on her sixth season of Lifetime TVs Married at First Sight. She continues to change with the times and her teachings reflect her own interests and path including sex in the aging population.

Nicole Antoinette is the host of the wildly popular podcast, Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette. She knows how to get to the heart of a matter and, in the process, she’s going to have a really strong opinion about a topic. In this conversation, we covered a wide range of topics including what she observes as the reason many people are afraid to commit to a decision and also her ongoing search for figuring out how to close the gap between saying what we want and actually doing it.

I take time out this week to provide some perspective (and tips) on how to make healthy food choices over the holidays. With so much pressure to eat (often unhealthy) comfort foods with family and friends, it takes Being Bold to say "no" to food (and drink) that aren't good for you. These tips can easily be used for travel as well!

Shannon Huffman Polson is a former Apache helicopter pilot. She estimates that there’s probably fewer than 100 women trained as Apache pilots, putting her in rare company. But she's also a wife, mom of two boys, public speaker and the author of North of Hope which chronicles her grief after losing her dad and stepmom in a rare grizzly attack in the Arctic. Shannon's discovered the importance of owning her own story and narrative and, through storytelling, encourages others to do just that.

Mona Das is running for Congress in the 8th District of Washington State. This is no ordinary candidate. Mona challenged my perception of Indian women as well as politicians. At 5'1", Mona is a powerhouse of strength, motivation and opinions. AND, she has a heart of gold. We covered a wide range of topics far outside typical political conversation. It's her ability to be honest with herself and others that I believe will appeal to her voters (and listeners of this episode)!

Meg Noble Peterson is an author and lifelong traveler. At 89, she hasn't stopped traveling abroad. As a matter of fact, she had just returned from Mongolia when we recorded this episode. Meg's enthusiasm for travel continues, even after nearly 70 years of globetrotting. She still loves airplanes and watching the clouds out the window and is motivated by getting to know other cultures. She's got a few tips to share after visiting so many countries that she's lost count.

Ashley Fullenwider is a co-founder of Nuu Muu, the makers of exercise apparel for women. But her skills and time are spent well beyond Nuu Muu. Ashley also works at Argonne National Laboratories as a political scientist and linguist and travels extensively to work against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She’s also a National Collegiate Champion of Ultimate Frisbee and is on the Board of Bellingham Youth Ultimate where she gets to coach young people in Ultimate Frisbee.

Michele Westmorland is best known for her underwater photography. But she has just released a new documentary film called Headhunt Revisited that follows the story of an American woman who, in the 1920s traveled to the Solomons and Papua New Guinea to document the tribes in oil and canvas. We talk about this passion project of Michele's and how it took her 15 years to complete this film about a woman who was as tenacious in the 1920s as Michele is today.

Carol Odera is a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow, a program started by Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama that recognizes African leaders for outstanding work in a variety of fields. Carol holds an MBA in Strategic Management and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. These accomplishments barely scratch the surface of what she’s trying to accomplish in Kenya. There she’s changing a culture by educating women & helping them find sustainable ways to live through a variety of innovative resource