Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle

What If Joy Is a Choice? Natalie Miller on Living Fully

Natalie Miller, writer, creator of Eat, Stay, Wheel, and disability advocate, joins Radio Maine to share how she is redefining what it means to live fully and visibly.

With a background in corporate leadership and more than two decades in Maine, Miller reflects on how a breast cancer diagnosis and lifelong mobility challenges reshaped her perspective—leading her to create a platform that celebrates accessibility, adventure, and everyday joy. Through adaptive sports, storytelling, and creative expression—from painting on cardboard to documenting life’s “soundtracks”—she invites others to expand how they see possibility.

Rooted in coastal Maine and inspired by community, Miller’s work encourages small shifts in perspective that can open the door to meaningful experiences—whether on a mountain, in the ocean, or just outside your door.

Join our conversation with Natalie Miller today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

How Life Shapes Art: Kim Case on an Evolving Process, and Painting

Kim Case, a longtime Portland Art Gallery artist, returns to Radio Maine to reflect on the evolution of her painting practice and her deepening exploration of abstraction. Trained in photography and art history at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts, Case began with a focus on realism but has increasingly embraced abstraction as a way to express emotion, energy, and the subtle presence of human experience in nature.

In this conversation, she shares how life changes—from raising a teenage son to adapting to new studio spaces—have shaped both her process and perspective. Case discusses the importance of light, discipline, and treating art as a professional practice, while also trusting intuition through the highs and lows of creation. Her work, rooted in New England landscapes, now pushes toward a more expressive, vibrant visual language.

Join our conversation with Kim Case today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

From Personal Tragedy to Powerful Storytelling: Cameron Kelly Rosenblum

Cameron Kelly Rosenblum, young adult author with HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to share her journey of resilience, creativity, and finding her voice later in life. After years of teaching and navigating personal challenges—including raising a son with significant special needs and processing the loss of a close friend to suicide—Rosenblum reflects on how writing became both a refuge and a form of healing.

Drawing from her own experiences, she explores the emotional depth behind her novels, including The Stepping Off Place, which examines grief through the perspective of those left behind. Rosenblum also speaks candidly about perseverance, rejection, and ultimately publishing her first book at 49—proving that creative success doesn’t follow a fixed timeline.

This conversation is a powerful reminder of the role storytelling plays in understanding ourselves and others.

Join our conversation with Cameron Kelly Rosenblum today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

Art as a Portal to the Unconscious: Victoria Zurkan

Victoria Zurkan, licensed marriage and family therapist and painter based in Portland, Maine, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to explore how the impulse to understand people and the impulse to make art are, at their core, the same. With roots in animation studios in San Francisco and Budapest and graduate training in psychology in London, Zurkan reflects on the winding path that brought her to Maine and to a body of work entirely her own. Now painting with a clearer sense of intention, she shares how her latest series was born from a simple question: what would happen if something unexpected appeared in a quiet winter landscape? From the ways drawing can serve as a portal into the unconscious to her plans for teaching portrait painting at the South Portland Community Center, Zurkan reveals how curiosity about the human experience continues to guide both her clinical work and her art. This conversation invites listeners to consider how creativity can be a form of healing, and how the act of making something is a gift worth giving yourself. Join our conversation with Victoria Zurkan today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

What Your Body Knows That Words Can’t Say

Annie Kloppenberg, professor of performance, theater, and dance at Colby College and director of the Lyons Arts Lab, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to explore how movement, curiosity, and collaboration shape contemporary artistic expression. With roots in New England and a career spanning performance, teaching, and choreography, Kloppenberg reflects on her early influences in dance and the moment that transformed her understanding of what movement could communicate.

Now working at the intersection of dance, visual art, and music, she shares how her creative process embraces ambiguity, non-linear storytelling, and deep collaboration with performers and artists across disciplines. From inspiring new work through visual art to fostering student creativity through the Lyons Arts Lab, Kloppenberg reveals how curiosity continues to guide her work.

This conversation invites listeners to reconsider how we experience art—not just intellectually, but physically and emotionally.

Join our conversation with Annie Kloppenberg today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

Inside Surrender: Love, Loss, and Life on a Goat Farm

Jennifer Acker, author, founder and editor-in-chief of The Common and director of the Amherst College LitFest, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to explore how place, storytelling, and personal transformation shape both literature and life. Raised in rural Maine, Acker reflects on how her early experiences—family reading traditions, small-town culture, and global travel—deeply informed her commitment to place-based writing. She shares the origin story of The Common, a literary magazine dedicated to capturing the nuances of place across the world, and discusses her upcoming novel Surrender, inspired in part by her family farm and the emotional complexities of midlife change.

From goats and farming to identity, aging, and unexpected love, Acker offers a thoughtful perspective on how stories help us understand ourselves and others.

Join our conversation with Jennifer Acker today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

From Professional Skateboarding to Cushnoc Brewing: Tobias Parkhurst’s Journey Back to Maine

Tobias Parkhurst, Head of Business Development for Cushnoc Brewing Company and a longtime Maine entrepreneur, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to share an unconventional journey from professional skateboarding to revitalizing community life in central Maine. Growing up in rural Maine, Parkhurst found identity and resilience through skateboarding, eventually traveling widely before returning home to help run his family’s glass business. After years in construction, he shifted toward ventures that reflected his passions—helping launch Cushnoc Brewing Company in Augusta and contributing to other local businesses like State Lunch, Sand Hill Bagel, and Cushnoc Cantina.

In this thoughtful conversation, Parkhurst reflects on lessons learned from skateboarding, entrepreneurship, and travel—especially the importance of persistence, community connection, and bringing new ideas back to Maine. From building breweries and skate parks to fostering spaces where people gather over beer, pizza, and conversation, his work highlights how small businesses can shape the identity of a place.

Join our conversation with Tobias Parkhurst today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

From Peace Corps to Global Health: John Kuehnle’s Journey to Helping Hospitals Worldwide

John Kuehnle, CEO of Partners for World Health, brings a global public health perspective to Maine through his leadership of an organization that transforms surplus medical supplies into lifesaving resources for communities locally and around the world. In this episode of Radio Maine, Kuehnle joins Dr. Lisa Belisle to reflect on a career shaped by service—from four years in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua to more than a decade working with USAID across Africa. Now based in Maine, he leads an effort that collects unused medical supplies from hospitals across New England, redistributing them to healthcare systems in need while reducing environmental waste.

Kuehnle shares how thoughtful partnerships, cultural understanding, and sustainable planning help ensure that donated equipment truly benefits the communities receiving it. He also discusses the organization’s lesser-known work supporting Maine residents with refurbished medical equipment. Along the way, he reflects on art, photography, and the value of global perspective in solving complex challenges.

Join our conversation with John Kuehnle today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

Building Confidence Across Cultures | Beryl Cui’s Maine Story

Beryl Cui is a Cross-Cultural Communication Trainer and English Instructor who moved from Beijing to Maine to begin a new chapter. In this episode of Radio Maine, Cui joins Dr. Lisa Belisle to share her journey from corporate language training in China to building connection and community in Portland. For over a decade, she has coached CEOs and business leaders to communicate with clarity, confidence, and cultural awareness—teaching that language is more than grammar; it is trust, mindset, and relationship. Now in Maine, she is blending that expertise with her lifelong practice of Chinese calligraphy, creating personalized artwork that reflects both meaning and identity. Thoughtful and energetic, Cui reflects on courage, small acts of change, and the power of stepping into discomfort—whether giving a speech, moving across the world, or jumping into cold water.

Join our conversation with Beryl Cui today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.

How the Maine Irish Heritage Center Is Reimagining Tradition

Dr. Eric Brown is the executive director of the Maine Irish Heritage Center and a scholar whose background spans Renaissance drama, poetry, and even insect studies. In this episode of Radio Maine, Brown joins Dr. Lisa Belisle to explore how Irish heritage, literature, and imagination intersect in Maine today. Raised in Dover-Foxcroft with deep Irish roots, Brown reflects on rediscovering his ancestry during the pandemic and how that journey led him from academia into community leadership. Now stewarding the former St. Dominic’s Church in Portland, he is helping transform the historic “Irish Cathedral” into a vibrant cultural hub—hosting music, education, and cross-cultural events like the upcoming Shalom & Shamrocks dinner. Thoughtful and wide-ranging, this conversation touches on diaspora, creativity, discomfort, and the power of shared space to build understanding across communities.

Join our conversation with Dr. Eric Brown today on Radio Maine—and be sure to subscribe to the channel.