Truthfully, Tracy is a podcast about what it means to be human — in all its beautiful, messy, honest forms.Hosted by speaker and coach Tracy Dando, this show invites you into real conversations with real people about the stories that shape us — the ones we carry, question, heal from, and grow through.From solo episodes to deep, meaningful interviews with men and women from all walks of life, you’ll find connection, reflection, and a reminder that you’re never alone in what you’re feeling.If you’re craving deeper dialogue, softer spaces, and th
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Episode #30
Ep 30 | Dr. Emad Rahim — One Last Chance
Sep 28, 20261h 9mS2
Dr. Emad Rahim was born in a concentration camp in Cambodia. His father was killed there. His brother died of starvation. His mother escaped with him to a refugee camp, then to Brooklyn — into Sunset Park in the 1980s at the height of the crack epidemic — where Emad was shot in the leg as a child while playing with friends. Strangers from the neighborhood pooled money from their pockets and saved his life. His stepfather was abusive. He ran at 12 or 13 with $40 and was homeless in Syracuse. He stole cars to help his mother keep the lights on after she finally got the abuser out. A school counselor told him in 10th grade she couldn't see a path for him to graduate. And then a vice principal named Mr. Darnell pulled him into a hallway and said: meet me halfway. I will too. In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Emad shares his full story — the survival, the grief, the homeless nights behind the bushes of a church on James Street, the healing that came decades later through therapy after panic attacks finally forced him to stop and look in the mirror. He talks about the judge who caught him stealing a car and sent him to volunteer instead of juvenile detention. The comic book store owner on Salina Street who let a cold, bullied kid stay warm without ever asking for anything. The community that gave him second chances he had no reason to expect. And why he came back to Syracuse — because this city saved his life, and he intends to return the favor. This is what it looks like when someone refuses to let their beginning be their ending. Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK] EmadRahim.com | @dremadrahim @lovingmycompany | ️ @kayleenspicer | Season sponsor: @tangosquared ✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week! Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.
Bob Searing moved to Syracuse in 2006 for graduate school. He never left. And nine years into his role as Curator of History at the Onondaga Historical Association, his love for this city and its stories is still completely uncontrollable. In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Bob pulls on one of the most remarkable threads in CNY history — the story of Reverend Jermain Loguen, who escaped enslavement as a teenager from Tennessee and made his way to Syracuse, where he and his wife Caroline helped over 1,500 enslaved people reach freedom in Canada. Together with his compatriots, Loguen helped turn Syracuse into what became known as the Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad. We talk about the Jerry Rescue of 1851 — a major event in antebellum American history celebrating its 175th anniversary on October 1st — and the ways the parallels between that era and today are impossible to ignore. We also talk about the Onondaga Nation and the sacred history of this land, what it means to do public history in a way that actually reaches people, and Bob's own journey from would-be history professor to the city's most beloved storyteller. Plus Syracuse football, rock and roll, Buddhism, the universe, and why you absolutely cannot fake the funk. This one is a pure joy. Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK] cnyhistry.org @robertsearingsghost on Instagram Repeating History podcast on WCNY Branding photos: @lovingmycompany ️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE! Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared ✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week! Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.
Ep 28 | Barb Shepard — From Clinician to Advocate: PANS & PANDAS Movement in CNY
Sep 14, 202652 minS2
Barb Shepard spent 16 years as a pediatric mental health counselor in Central New York — treating OCD and anxiety in hospitals, schools, foster care, and her own private practice. She thought she knew what she was walking into. And then PANS showed up in her own home. In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Barb breaks down exactly what PANS and PANDAS are — why a child can seem completely fine and then change overnight, why the medical community remains divided on the diagnosis, and what it costs families when the system doesn't have answers. She shares what she has built in response: a training for mental health counselors across New York State, legislative advocacy for insurance coverage and disability services for children with PANS, the first-ever parent-led PANS support group in CNY, and her work with the MIND Global Council. She also gets honest about her own OCD diagnosis — discovered in adulthood — and why so many helpers end up walking the same path as the people they set out to serve. PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day is October 9th at the National Grid Building and Salt City Collective in Syracuse. Come out and show up for these families. If you are a parent who has been told to wait and see — don't wait. Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK] barbshepardcounseling.com | @anxietyOCDfamily CARE Loudly merch (100% to ASPIRE): etsy.com/shop/CareLoudlyUS Resources: aspire.care | pandasnetwork.org | mindglobalcouncil.com Branding photos: @lovingmycompany ️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE! Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared ✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week! Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.
Leah Stiles served 20 years in the Navy with an eating disorder she had carried since she was 11 years old. She watched a gap in care exist, tried to ignore it, nearly lost her life trying to find help within it, and then decided if not her, then who. In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Leah — retired Navy Senior Chief, Syracuse University alum, and founder of SEA WAVES — opens up about what it means to carry something invisible through a culture that demands strength above all else. We talk about the military's weight standards and the perfect storm they create, the devastating overlap between eating disorders and military suicide, the 2023 law requiring eating disorder education for military leadership that still isn't being implemented, and her book Battle Scars and Body Wars — with a foreword by the legendary Carolyn Costin — which is already being used by therapists and treatment centers across the country. We also talk about the hallway at Syracuse University's IVMF where Leah and I met for the very first time, and the moment that changed everything. SEA WAVES stands for Support, Education, Awareness, Wellness, Advocacy, Validation, and Suicide Prevention. Every letter is a gap Leah is personally closing. Need a light? Be a light. Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK] sea-waves.org @seawavesinc Battle Scars & Body Wars: a.co/d/08Fpx25o Also follow: @carolyncostin | @syracuseuniversity Branding photos: @lovingmycompany ️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE! Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared ✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week! Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week. ⚠️ This episode contains discussions of eating disorders, suicide, and trauma. Please listen with care.
Ep 26 | Tommy Lincoln — Stay Fresh: Building a Creative Legacy in Syracuse
Aug 31, 202652 minS2
Tommy Lincoln didn't leave Syracuse when he could have. And everything about Stay Fresh is the reason why. Tommy is the founder and creative director of Stay Fresh — a design studio and art gallery on Syracuse's Near West Side that has quietly become one of the most important creative anchors in Central New York. He grew up here, skated these streets, snuck into swing nights at the Phantom Club, and absorbed the city's creative energy long before he started shaping it. From the branding and packaging for Beak & Skiff and 1911 Hard Cider to the visual identity for Ayrloom, Glazed & Confused, and Mayor Ben Walsh's campaign — Tommy has helped define what this city looks like. He's also built a gallery that hosts monthly shows, created the annual Chalk Jam, the Nickelodeon Tribute Show, and a December artist portrait exchange that brings the creative community together every year and regularly moves people to tears. But this conversation goes well beyond the portfolio. Tommy gets honest about imposter syndrome — the door that opens for every creative whether they admit it or not — and about the creative burnout he's been quietly navigating, what it took to finally admit it, and how therapy, rest, and a road trip across the country have all been part of finding his way through. He talks about why he stayed in Syracuse when leaving felt like the easier call, what the Near West Side arts corridor means for the future of the city, and what's coming next — an expanded gallery space that will bring workshops, local artists, and community energy under one roof. This one is for every creative who has ever wondered whether the work is worth it. It is. Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK] @stayfresh.design | @stayfresh.gallery | @designpackets | @saturdaydetentionradio stayfresh.design | stayfresh.gallery Branding photos: @lovingmycompany ️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE! Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared ✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week! Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.
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