{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspeaking-broadly.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2F16976ec6-16976ec6","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"“I Didn’t Want to Explode”: Zahra Tangorra","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/838468/838468c3-d45e-44f7-8b4b-da06df162778/d244db41-b9f9-42f3-8ad1-b86c54ad33f1/1554055415artwork.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/d244db41-b9f9-42f3-8ad1-b86c54ad33f1\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"“I Didn’t Want to Explode”: Zahra Tangorra\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"“I don’t want to feel myself explode.” After a bus carrying her and a rap group went off a cliff and crashed 40 feet below, that was Zahra Tangorra’s first thought. Now, thirteen years later, this horrible accident feels “like an opportunity.” Tangorra used her settlement to fund a career change from visual merchandiser in retail to first-time restaurant owner in Brooklyn. Her place, Brucie, was a huge success and got global attention with special events like a wacky Kimye Valentine’s Day themed dinner. After five years, exhausted by the soul-crushing routine, she eventually closed the restaurant and felt not only that she had failed herself, but worse—that she’d failed all women by not being a young, female, chef-owner role model. Listen in to hear how Tangorra recovered her sense of purpose, pivoted her career (again) and launched “Life’s A Banquet,\" a witty podcast with Bretton Scott on Heritage Radio Network, adding a new title to her impressive list of achievements: radio host."}