100 times over, Georgia and Daniel share their stories 

On a recent steamy Sunday afternoon, Georgia Hunter and Daniel Smrokowski celebrated the 100th episode of their Georgia and Daniel Show podcast by recording it in front of a live audience gathered in Georgia’s mother’s Oak Park backyard. Although they had prepared an applause cue card, it wasn’t necessary with the enthusiastic audience.

“We have more people than we expected,” said Daniel, laughing. “We thought it would just be our parents.”

The podcast is produced under the umbrella of Special Chronicles, an online platform created by Daniel in 2008 to give individuals with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to share their stories. The podcast originally focused on Special Olympics athletes that Daniel met in his role as an athlete and ambassador. With more than 750 episodes, the podcast features segments on inclusive employment, interviews with disability advocates, and coverage from several Special Olympics World Games.

“There is lack of understanding and acceptance of people with special needs because there is a lack of inclusion in the media,” said Daniel. “Special Chronicles gives us a chance to discuss our lives, from a different angle.”

The Georgia and Daniel Show was launched in 2015, after Daniel met Georgia through the Special Olympics Athletic Leadership Program. The two, both of whom are 36, became a couple online and offline and have been together for 10 years.

“The only way I knew how to get to know her was to ask her to be on my show,” said Daniel, who had never dated before.  

Georgia claims that, for her, it was love at first sight.

“Daniel was the guy I wanted to get to know more, and the one I want to be with for the rest of my life,” she said during the live podcast. 

“I think we have a few tears in the back of the audience — our parents,” said Daniel. 

Their podcast is produced monthly, although they took a six-month hiatus during the first half of this year. The show, which has a global reach, was originally called the Daniel and Georgia Show but an Instagram survey revealed that 85% of their fans were in favor of changing the title to the Georgia and Daniel Show. Daniel seems happy to give Georgia top-billing. 

“We speak from the heart. We don’t edit. It’s all unscripted—we just let it flow,” Daniel said. 

The podcasters have shared dozens of adventures and travels, including celebrating their birthdays at Cooper’s Hawk (Daniel suggested during the live broadcast that the restaurant consider sponsoring the show.), a special May The 4th Be With You episode (Georgia is a huge Star Wars fan), and a Mother’s Day bike ride with their mothers. 

Their repartee, frequently punctuated by Daniel’s boisterous laugh, gives George Burns and Gracie Allen a run for the money.  “I love his fashion sense — he got that from me. We both love wearing t-shirts and shorts,” said Georgia during the live broadcast.

Besides their popular podcast, Daniel and Georgia have very busy lives filled with numerous other activities. 

Georgia, a 2007 OPRF graduate, is one of the original Warriors at Opportunity Knocks, a local nonprofit supporting people with different abilities. She has been on the staff of the organization’s Knockout Kitchen since 2017 and helped launch its popular Knockout Catering enterprise. Her certificate, with honors, in cooking and baking from Triton College make her a valued member of the team. She recently served as a keynote speaker for Opportunity Knocks’ annual gala. 

As Chef G, Georgia’s cooking skills are on display on her Georgia’s Grill show, available on Special Chronicles’ website. She is a popular presence at Trader Joe’s, where she has worked part-time for 16 years. 

Georgia, whose specialties are breakfast burritos and smoothies, is trying to teach Daniel how to cook. She insists he’s really good at making pizza. 

Daniel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Roosevelt University, where he worked for the college newspaper and radio station and in the university’s Communication Lab. He received the Matthew Freeman Award for Social Justice in recognition of his passion for giving voice to people with disabilities. Following graduation, he freelanced for the Bugle newspaper in Plainfield, covering village board meetings, writing feature stories and a column titled Special Voices. 

As a Sargent Shriver Global Messenger, Daniel served as one of 10 international Athlete Spokespeople and spokespeople in the 2018-2023 class. He covered the World Games in Abu Dhabi and Berlin. He also attended a 2024 Special Olympics Christmas event hosted by President Joe Biden. 

Daniel is one of the first Special Olympics athletes hired by United Airlines, a global partner of the nonprofit. He works part-time as a Service Ambassador, welcoming customers and helping at the gates, and serves on United’s disability business resource group. 

Georgia and Daniel have participated in numerous Special Olympics events over the years, including swimming and basketball. They competed in bocce ball at last month’s Summer Games in downstate Bloomington. Georgia came in first. Daniel came in fourth place. 

“It was very neck-to-neck in the second round,” said Georgia. “It started pouring rain but we still played. It was kind of fun.” 

Daniel’s game went into overtime, but he lost by an excruciating 1/8 inch. “There’s always next year!” he said. 

“If all the world were like the Special Olympics, there would be no wars,” Daniel’s mother, Linda, said.

Daniel is planning a future podcast revolving around his trip later this month to Colorado to visit family. He and Georgia are open to suggestions from their audience. Daniel’s dream is to create a platform hosting many podcasts for people with disabilities. 

Recognition for the podcast is growing. They appeared on Fox 32’s Good Day Chicago in a promotion for their 100th episode. Georgia kept the media attention in perspective. 

“It was kind of emotional because I did a fantastic job — but the best part was having a victory breakfast at a café with my mom, Karen Hunter,” she said. 

Check out the Georgia and Daniel podcast on specialchronicles.com.