Hey Siri…. What’s the opposite of a damsel in distress?
The women on the Team Never Quit podcast have fascinated me from the
first episode I listened to. I believe it was the podcasts’ Second- or Third
episode featuring Diana Nyad recounting her swim from Cuba to Florida. I
listened enthralled as she recounted the years of training, failures, and
positive commitment as she pursued her goal. Nyad spent Three years
training for the 24 hour 110- mile swim. At 60 years of age, after four failed
attempts, she did it. How? Because she never quit.
I know it sounds easy to never quit, but facing onerous odds is never
simple. The TNQ podcast has featured women as varied as Dana Loesch
to Brogan Wall to Amberley Snyder. Each woman related their Never Quit
moments in humble tones, separately intertwining disparate stories into a
strong narration. As the TNQ podcast continued to produce more
episodes, I noticed their unspoken commitment to spotlight women. The
episode with Lara Logan emphasized this, at least to me. Listening to this
particular Never Quit story is indescribable in its horror… sickening. I had
to pull over in my car while listening to gather myself together. During
Lara’s telling her heinous story, it was the reaction of the hosts that hit me
the hardest. Here were three former SEALS listening to a woman describe
her gang rape in detail, and all they could do was listen. While being the
hosts, these men were quietly taking a step back so the listener can
become their own central character in a vast scene.

Between the different hosts throughout the podcast there exists an
unspoken thread, barely perceptible like gossamer. This moment right
here is what makes the TNQ Podcast vastly different from most out there.
There is a lexical thread evident in each other episode, interlacing these
ladies together. What was that thread? The podcast’s female guests are
as diverse as the day is long. Different ages, races, religions,
professions…. Other than their gender, the Ladies only share that gleam of
subdermal steel which binds all Never Quitters together.

I thought I caught the nucleus of that thread listening to the Mary
“WonderNubs” Dague episode. I didn’t grasp it at the moment, possibly
because Mary is hilarious. (Full disclosure: I snarfed my coffee at least
twice while listening.).
Headed to work this past February, I began listening to the Holly Luttrell
episode. And there is was… that thread. Boom! I heard it when Marcus
and Morgan welcomed their Mama onto the show. It is intimated in their
voices, that unspoken thread. Gentle and substantial, like water on a
rolling boil.

Is their experience in the harsh realities of war a key element? Were they
fighting to create a world where women don’t have to struggle, don’t lose
their arms in a bomb blast or the use of their legs in a car accident? Holly
Luttrell brought that out. Mrs. Luttrell said, “Do not pass your fears onto
your children,”. She emphasizes raising her boys with self-respect and
self-reliance. Her recounting of life with two sons on deployment pulses
with raw emotion and ripe fortitude.
They are bringing their experiences as warriors to a broader audience. The
TNQ Podcast isn’t so much giving us courage, they are focusing the
courage we already have. Mentoring the rest of us with their hard-won
knowledge and honoring the women of the world for theirs. The TNQ
Podcast is singular in a time when human stories dissipate in an instant,
leaving devastation. For me, the Lady guests walked their personal
gauntlet of devastation with determination and an unconquerable audacity
to absolutely never quit.