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.

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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

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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.

Classic Cinema Catch Up With Denzel Washington

I’m playing catch up because I’ve been under the weather and have only been doing the bare minimum to keep Story-Power and Classic Cinema going.

I thought you might enjoy seeing episode 23, Mississippi Masala (1991). It was the last Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters installment of 2025 and episode 25, Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) the first installment of 2026. Both of these movies are examples of the Washington’s immense talent and a shadowing of the star he has become.

Mississippi Masala is about an ethnic Indian family who were expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972. The tragedy for the family is that they were all born in Uganda and had prospered there. 17 years later they find themselves living in Mississippi in greatly reduced circumstances. Mina, Jay and Kinnu’s daughter is now a young woman and has grown up much more independent than the other young people of the Indian community to which she belongs. She meets, Demetrius after a small car accident. He owns a carpet cleaning business and most of his clients are the local Indian hotel owners. Trouble ensues when Mina and Demetrius begin a romantic relationship. Director Mira Nair, (Zohran Mamdani’s mother) and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala created this movie to be solely about race relations between the Indians and African Americans. Many of the cast and crew are famous Bollywood performers and crew members. As far as I’m concerned it’s a must see movie because of the emotional journeys of the characters.

Devil in a Blue Dress is a very different movie. It takes place in 1948 Los Angeles amid a political scandal, which is what Hitchcock would call the mcguffin of the story. The real focus is on Easy Rawlins, a WW II hero who has just lost his job. When a friend of his introduces him to a white man who offers him a questionable job, Easy finds himself mixed up in murder, blackmail, and the search for a mysterious woman who wears only blue. The movie is based on the first book in a long Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley and is what Celeste and I call neo-noir. The movie is atmostpheric taking place mostly at night with Ez as the detective, Jennifer Beals as the supposed femme fatale, moral ambiguity in terms of the job Ez is hired for and dangerous bad guys. It’s also

When Your Genealogy Inspires a Novel

D. H. Morris, a native of San Diego, California, has lived on four continents and traveled through countless countries. Now residing in Kansas City, Missouri, she’s the proud mother of four children and grandmother to eleven. With a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Choral Music Education from Utah State University, she later pursued graduate studies in English at USU and law at the University of Utah. A published playwright, she has recently turned her passion for history into a novel, The Girl of Many Crowns.

Set in the Kingdom of Francia in 856 AD, the book tells the gripping true story of Judith, the first princess of France, and Baldwin “Iron Arm,” a knight of King Charles the Bald. Together, they defy an empire, embarking on a daring journey that will change history.

As a descendant of both Judith and Baldwin, D. H. Morris uncovered their remarkable tale while working on a genealogical project. Intrigued, she dove deep into the 9th century, researching everything from politics and war, to food, clothing, and marriage customs. She is passionate about this remarkable time in history when the European countries we know today were being formed and fighting for their very existence.

Website, X, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Jean Gill, Author, The Troubadours Series

Octavia Randolph, Author, The Circle of Ceridwen Series

PodMatch, a dating service for podcasters

The Space Between Time, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden

Finding Your Roots with Henry Lewis Gates, Jr.

Who Do You Think You Are

The Carolingian Renaissance (8th – 9th centuries)

Pride & Prejudice, (2005) Movie

Pride and Prejudice (1995) TV Mini-Series

Emma, Jane Austen

Persuasion, Jane Austen

PodMatch a Dating Service for Podcasters

This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Deborah Morris, 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.

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.

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. 

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.