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Ellison Farm Beef, Blind Boys of Alabama, introvert coach Janice Chaka

It’s cold outside, but the cows are warm. We head out to Ludlow to explore a farm that’s seen 5 generations of family stewardship. Bud Ellison of Ellison Farm was given a mission in his youth to care for the farm and keep his cattle as local as possible. We hear more about his operations and his farm’s ties to family and community.

We also meet Ricky McKinnie of the Blind Boys of Alabama, the longest tenured member of the band, who talks to us about the group’s legacy, its advocacy, and its depth before you can see them perform holiday classics at the Hope Center for the Arts this Saturday, Dec. 20.

Plus, just because hanging out with everyone in the holidays is fun for you doesn’t necessarily mean that it is for everyone in your life. We welcome Janice Chaka, celebrated career coach for introverts, back to our studios to talk about her podcast and give some tips to survive the holidays for fellow introverts and the extroverts that love them.

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413.