Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Steve Cuden
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A Podcast for the Creative Mind

  1. 5h ago

    Jane Herschlag, Poet and Artist-Episode #423

    This episode includes discussions of mental health issues, familial trauma, and sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. The poet, Jane Berger Herschlag, is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology.  She has been an apparel designer, textile designer, and model home decorator.  Jane also received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies from Hunter College, and an M.A. in Creative Writing from City College of New York. Her writing has won numerous awards. Jane curated open mic readings at New York’s West Side YMCA for seven years.  She also ran a peer workshop for 10 years, taught creative writing at New York City schools and at ESCAPE to the Arts at the YMCA of Western Connecticut.   I’ve read Jane’s full-length poetry collection with her photographs, When the Mouth Can’t Speak the Body Will, and found it to be powerful and insightful. Readers travel with Jane through the pain of discovery and joy of regaining a self free of victimhood.  Jane believes going public in writing and at readings frees one from the captivity of abuse. Hopefully, it seeds that growth in readers and listeners. If you like potent, no-holds-barred poetry, I highly recommend Jane’s book to you. She’s also written a Docu-Poetry chapbook, Bully in The Spotlight.  And she’s contributed prose and poetry to two anthologies of resistance from Awatum Press, in which Jane is one of six authors. So, for all those reasons and many more, I’m privileged to welcome the author, poet, designer, and teacher, Jane Herschlag, to StoryBeat today.  Jane, welcome to the show….

  2. Oct 27

    Chad Boudreaux, Novelist and Lawyer-Episode #422

    Novelist Chad Boudreaux is a Washington insider who was hired by the US Department of Justice the night before the attacks on September 11, 2001—launching him immediately into counterterrorism work that earned him high accolades at an early age.  Chad’s success at the DOJ carried him to the Department of Homeland Security, where his role as deputy chief of staff allowed him to work directly with the head of the department, advising on significant policy, operational, and legal issues.  He’s currently the chief legal officer of a publicly traded, Fortune 300 company and America’s largest military shipbuilder.  As a novelist, Chad leverages his unique, high-level experience in global security matters and his extensive legal expertise to craft breathtaking, insider stories of mystery and intrigue that are ripped straight from today’s headlines. Following his first two novels, Scavenger Hunt and Homecoming Queen, he published Mob Justice, which I’ve read and found to be a riveting, fast-paced ride through Chicago’s mob scene.  If you’re a thriller fan, I highly recommend Mob Justice to you.

  3. Oct 20

    PJ Gaynard, Producer, Director, and Writer-Episode #421

    PJ Gaynard is a multi-talented award-winning storyteller with over thirty years of experience as a producer, director, writer, director of photography, and editor.  PJ is the current producer for Pittsburgh’s 48 Hour Film Project. He also created and is the executive director of the nonprofit Pittsburgh Shot. He co-created the accredited Film Technician Associate Degree and Certificate Program at The Community College of Allegheny County. Recently, his work has strongly leaned toward community filmmaking. In 2025, PJ received seven Telly Awards for his commercial work.  I’ve seen 2 short films that he’s made, Art Tableau and Second Hand Ghouls and can tell you they’re both very well made and fun to watch.

  4. Oct 13

    Michael Tove, Writer and Producer-Episode #420

    Writer-producer Michael Tove is finally seeing his long-term vision of a film career coming to life with the successful completion and multiple festival run of his first film, the Hitchcockian short, “Yard Saleing.”  It’s rare to find a screenwriter whose first project is made in what would otherwise be one’s retirement years, but Michael has always been a big fan of unpredictable stories like those by O. Henry, and on shows like ‘The Twilight Zone”.   As a young man, writing stories didn’t seem like a lucrative future, so Michael earned degrees in biology, only to find little work.  Over time, he gave screenwriting a try, turning his focus to an enduring historical subject – the legendary pirate, Blackbeard.  Though Michael readily admits he had no idea how movies were actually made, he answered a cattle call for a film that was shooting locally, and suddenly found himself on the set of a major motion picture.  Michael has appeared in movies like the 1990 feature of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Exorcist III, and Love Field. I’ve seen, “Yard Saleing,” which finds a young married couple in possession of a small, locked box purchased at a yard sale. Driven by the wife’s imagination, she and her husband seek out what she believes to be a found hidden treasure.  I’ve seen “Yard Saleing,” and can tell you it’s quite an amusing and charming tale with a truly surprising twist ending.

  5. Oct 6

    Joe Lex, Writer, Researcher, and Podcaster-Episode #419

    Joe Lex retired in 2016 after 45+ years in emergency medicine. He started as a combat medic in Viet Nam and ended as a professor of Emergency Medicine at Temple University  When he took a tour of Philadelphia’s historic Laurel Hill Cemetery, which was founded in 1836, he realized that the role of a cemetery docent seemed to suit his personality. After a year or so of giving tours, he decided that both cemeteries, Laurel Hill East and West, needed a podcast to talk about their amazing inhabitants. The result was "All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories", followed a couple of years later by "Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories." Soon, Joe had accumulated hundreds of scripts loaded with biographical and historical information, along with some pretty astounding stories of movers and shakers, artists, authors, entertainers, scholars, educators, healers and givers, among many more.  After Viet Nam, Joe earned an associate degree in nursing. He later graduated from medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. He subsequently spent 14 years as a community emergency physician before entering academia in 2003.  He’s been an invited speaker at dozens of national and international meetings of Emergency Physicians. After serving five years as chair of the education committee for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, its Educator of the Year Award was renamed the "Joe Lex Award."  And for seven years he was the producer, researcher, and announcer for a weekly radio show on WPPM-Philadelphia.  One of his podcasts is now ranked the Number 1 Philadelphia History Podcast. Recently, Joe published All Bones Considered: 52 Laurel Hill Women, which I’ve read and found to be a fascinating compendium of amazing women buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, many of whom helped make the United States the remarkable place it has been for so long. I highly recommend it to you.

  6. Sep 29

    Laurie Berkner, Singer/Songwriter of Music for Kids-Episode #418

    Laurie Berkner has been recognized by People Magazine as “the queen of kids’ music.” Laurie’s a singer, songwriter, performer, author, and founder of Two Tomatoes Records. Laurie’s songs have become beloved classics for children worldwide. Her work has received more than 1.7 billion online streams, averaging more than 22 million streams monthly. She’s also amassed more than 578 million YouTube channel views. And her CDs and DVDs have sold in the millions. A leader and innovator in children’s music and entertainment for the past quarter century, Laurie has released 17 bestselling, award-winning albums. She was the first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Noggin and Nick, Jr., appearing regularly on Jack's Big Music Show. She helped develop the Universal Kids short-form animated musical preschool series, Sing It, Laurie!  She also created two Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen series with Audible Studios, later released as audiobooks. Laurie’s also authored several picture books based on her songs. I’ve read two of those, Monster Boogie and Pillowland. Like her music, I found her writing to be colorful, energetic, and entertaining in ways that help children perceive, absorb, and live life. She’s also written the music and lyrics for three Off-Broadway children's musicals: Wanda's Monster, The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess, and Interstellar Cinderella. And you can catch her in the children’s music documentary, Happy and You Know It, directed by Penny Lane, which is streaming on HBO Max. Laurie maintains a busy, nationwide touring schedule, both solo and with The Laurie Berkner Band. She’s performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the White House, among many other prestigious venues.   Please be sure to stick around at the end of the show for a very special treat.  Laurie has generously lent us her wonderfully fun song, “Everyone’s Demanding Bananas,” which you can find on her new tonie, “Harry the Chipmunk’s Treasure Hunt.” You can also find it on Laurie’s album, Walking With The Penguins.

  7. Sep 22

    Spade Robinson, Screenwriter-Producer-Director-Episode #417

    Spade Robinson is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and director, with experience that spans feature films, documentaries, TV, commercials, and theater. Spade is the owner of the full-service production company Spade Ink Media, producing and developing a slate of film, television, and podcast projects. In 2015, Spade founded Atlanta Film Project to support storytellers more democratically, around the world, with labs, workshops, and bespoke consulting, helping storytellers and companies tell the most compelling versions of their stories. Spade began curating screenplays, films, and documentary projects during her time at the Sundance Institute, where she worked with the Feature Film Program, Documentary Film Program, and Sundance Film Festival. During that time, she helped hundreds of filmmakers.  Other companies with whom she’s consulted include: The Sundance Institute, Film Independent, FOX Networks, Disney, and HBO, among others!

  8. Sep 15

    Thaao Penghlis, Actor-Author-Greek Historian-Episode #416

    This is Thaao Penghlis’s second time on Storybeat. Among Thaao’s many talents, he’s an actor, writer, director, and podcast creator. If you’re a fan of daytime dramas, then you know Thaao from his more than 40 years of playing Tony DiMera and Andre DiMera on Days of Our Lives and Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem. For his work, he’s been nominated for three Emmy Awards.  In 1989, he starred as disguise master Nicholas Black on the primetime TV series revival of Mission: Impossible. You may have also seen Thaao in various miniseries and movies like: Sadat, Sydney Sheldon’s Memories of Midnight, Under Siege, Tribe, and in perhaps his most unusual role, Colonel Godowni, the lover of Dame Edna in the cult classic Les Patterson Saves the World. He’s also starred in the films, The Story of Esther, Job’s Daughter, Redeemed, and the short film The Secret of Joy that deals with children experiencing cancer.  Thaao published his first book, Places, in 2015 to great reviews. It deals with his journeys to the Middle East and the dangers he encountered in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. His second book Seducing Celebrities One Meal at a Time was released in November 2016, and many of his short stories have been published as well.  Thaao’s lifelong fascination with Archaeology led him to create the podcast series, The Lost Treasures, which is based on Heinrich Schliemann’s discovery of Troy and ‘Mycenaean,’ Greece.  Most recently, Thaao’s been writing, producing and performing his new podcast, The Great Escape. I’ve listened to the first 3 episodes that have been released and found it to be a riveting dramatization of the story of Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus fleeing capture and certain death by Herod’s forces.

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About

A Podcast for the Creative Mind

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Cuden
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    439
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Steve Cuden
  • Show Website
    Storybeat with Steve Cuden

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