Travel and World, Especially Africa, and Learn Valuable Lessons

For most of Barry’s forty year broadcast career as an international broadcast journalist spanning five continents, his main area of interest and focus has been on the African continent. 

Both his children were born in Ethiopia while he was employed in Addis Ababa between 1969 and 1975 as both a broadcast and print journalist.  He had the distinction of being among a handful of embedded foreign journalists who told the world about the long, sometimes bloody coup that ultimately toppled Emperor Haile Selassie in September, 1974.

Barry and his colleagues were also the first to bring to the world’s attention the catastrophic drought and subsequent famine that killed countless hundreds of thousands of people in the northern Ethiopian province of Wollo.

In between his two tours of duty in Ethiopia, Barry and his then wife, Suzanne completed a solo overland journey in a Volkswagen Kombi Bus from Egypt to South Africa, visiting fifteen countries along the way. From Addis Ababa onwards, they were accompanied on that odyssey by their one year old son.

From 1976 to 2000, Barry broadcast to Africa on a variety of subjects ranging from politics to sports via the Voice of America’s English to Africa Service in Washington, DC. Long before becoming Service Chief the last five years, Barry broadcast a daily sports program to millions of listeners throughout Africa under the name of The Ole Sports Emperor.

You could say Africa is in Barry’s blood. And you’d be right, both literally and figuratively. During his many forays far and wide on the continent, Barry contracted a variety of diseases including malaria, typhoid, para-typhoid and a couple of other ones either too complicated or not worth explaining.

His memoir, Beneath the African Sun, details both his personal and professional life during the six years after first setting foot on the continent.

Facebook, Instagram

Alexandria, Egypt

Morocco

Ethiopia

Radio Voice of the Gospel

Financial Times, Uk

AP, UPI, New Zealand Broadcasting

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters, YouTube

Mississippi Masala (1991)

BBC, Jonathan Dimbleby

PodMatch for Podcasters

This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Barry Maughan, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.

Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here 

Prolific Writers Life

My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.

They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.

Story-Power on Patreon

 I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

Classic Cinema: To Kill a Mockingbird

Just in case you don’t know this book and movie, it’s 1932 in Maycomb, Alabama. Widower Atticus Finch is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, which he didn’t commit. Jem and Scout, his young children, are witnesses to the tensions this trial brings up in the town.

The story is told from the children’s point of view. They are curious about everything Atticus does, but also about their neighbors, like the Radleys, especially Boo Radley who is rumored to be at the least odd, or at worst mad.

If you haven’t seen this movie, Celeste and I highly recommend it. It won multiple awards, is on the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. It’s also on several American Film Institute lists, including Atticus Finch being named the number one hero beating out Indiana Jones and a host of other notable movie heroes.

Be aware that Celeste and I get very emotional at times about this movie because, like Harper Lee, Gregory Peck’s portrayal of Atticus Finch reminds us of our father.

If you like our discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird, please share it with a friend and subscribe to our channel. And come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

Past Story-Power Guests Promote Social Justice

My Story-Power guest, Jennifer Manocherian, Episode 112, which aired on October 23, 2024, co-wrote and co-produced the film IF I TELL YOU that is partnering with RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, for an 8 day launch event on GATHR.  IF I TELL YOU was adapted from the novel ‘Closed Doors’ by Lisa O’Donnell. The story follows a pre-adolescent boy whose mother shuts down following an incident she won’t talk about, his struggle to understand what had happened to her, and how it impacts him, his family and the community. There is a Q&A after the movie which is available to stream with from January 29 – February 10. The panel discussion, which is hosted by Jennifer Simmona Kaleba, VP of Communications of RAINN, will cover the various issues raised in the movie. Educational materials from RAINN will also be available to viewers. Your tickets support a good cause, one that is extremely important. As I understand it, the Q&A is only during the launch event.

The tickets are $25 the proceeds go to RAINN and a portion goes to the film producers to offset their costs in making the film. Tickets are available through February 8. For more information go to https://www.ifitellyoufilm.com/ . Once you’ve purchased your tickets, you have three months to view the movie.

Please spread the word about IF I TELL YOU, to your social media outlets to benefit a good cause.

Screenshot

The second Story-Power guest I want to highlight today is Robert J Wolf, M.D. His episode 138 aired on October 22, 2025. We talked about his book, Not a Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom. He has been selected as a presenter for the Winter session for the Stand With Us Holocaust Education Center. Their goal is to educate people in order to prevent anti-semitism around the world. For more information about their education programs click here

I read Dr. Wolf’s book before our conversation last year and was riveted by his father’s courage in escaping the Nazi work camp, then again when he was recaptured, and finally when he and his wife, Robert’s mother, escaped the Soviets who had taken over Hungary after the war. I highly recommend reading this book. It’s both educational and enthralling. You can order his book here.

And if you are interested in exploring the many other talented Story-Power guests, there are five and half years worth of wonderful episodes to listen to. It is available here, on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple podcasts.

I met both of these wonderful people on PodMatch, what I call a dating service for podcasters. If you’ve got a story to tell, check PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.

Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here: 

Happy Groundhog Day, and let’s be there for our neighbors as we live through the next six weeks of winter and these difficult times.

Blessings to you all,

Lucinda

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Classic Cinema: Gentleman’s Agreement

This movie from 1947 uncovers the layers of anti-semitism, and all racism. Gregory Peck plays Phil Green a reporter who pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a story on anti-semitism. The result is he personally discovers the true depths of bigotry and hatred. The movie was directed by Elia Kazan and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is one of the first post WW II movies to address social issues. The stars are Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, and Celeste Holm.

Not only did the movie gain 8 Oscar nominations, winning 3 plus a slew of other nominations and wins with other organizations, it was also a commercial success even in the South. Because of this Darryl F. Zanuck and Elia Kazan had the last laugh. Most film studios wouldn’t touch it thinking the story was too controversial. It was added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2017 and was listed on the American Film Registry list of 100 Best Movies in 1998. If those statistics don’t entice you to see the movie maybe this will, it contains wonderful lessons on how to be an anti-racist.

Celeste and I hope you’ll watch our analysis and then go watch the movie. Give us a like and even subscribe to our channel to find out how movies from the past not only reflect what was happening when it was made, but sometimes show us that we still struggle with the very issues the movie shines a light upon.

Why Lucinda wanted to Create This Channel

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

Write and Enhance What You Know

R.L. Carpentier is a 18 year law enforcement professional who uses his experience in the writing of his small town mystery and crime procedural fiction.  His debut novel, Our Lady of the Overlook, the first of a trilogy is out now.

R.L. has a fascination for the mountains and finds a solace in the rural mountain communities in the Catskill Mountains of New York.  He and his wife have traversed a number of the mountains including completing the Catkskill 3500s and completing the 24-mile escarpment trail in one long day. 

This beautiful world is the setting for his fictional crime stories.

Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Books: Our Lady of the Overlook, Quiet Whispers of the Overlook. Third book coming soon.

Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Bastards (2009)

Killer Nashville Writing Conference

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Save The Cat! Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody

Robert McGee, Author 

The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell

The Hunger Games series

The Story Circle Worksheets, Meraki Kreo

Rick and Morty, Community, Dan Harmon, Creator

Prolific Writers Life

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Patreon for Creators

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie 

Laura (1944)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Michael Connelly, Author

PodMatch for Podcasters

Kindle Unlimited and Audible

PodMatch for Podcasters

This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Rodney Carpentier, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.

Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.