RISK!

Originally recorded live at NYC Podfest in January 2014, this is one of those classic RISK! episodes where the theme, confession, actually delivers on its promise. Kevin Allison opens with a story he has told for years, then stops midway to admit he has been leaving out the best part. What he adds reframes everything. Alex Edelman turns a power strip at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport into a secret-collecting operation, until a soldier from Ramstein Air Force Base shares something that neither of them can easily walk away from. Chemda recounts her first time getting high, which escalated from bong novice to shirtless Hulk impersonation to improvised superhero capes, and ended face-first in a party-size snack mix. Keith Malley spent months in a baffling odyssey through free clinics and baffled physicians over a rash that ultimately resolved without medical intervention. Selena Coppock traces her lifelong suspicion of genuinely nice men back to a seventh-grade ski trip, then confesses to acting on that suspicion in a way she is not proud of. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/live-from-nyc-podfest-2014-cre514  Be Part of RISK! 🎟 See RISK! live⁠! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ 💵 Make a one-time donation⁠⁠ via PayPal or Zelle to [email protected] 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two mothers' days that look nothing alike, but hit just as hard. Jobim Santos grew up watching his mother Linda lose her battle with ALS piece by piece, from cane to wheelchair to hospice bed, all while praying at church each week that she would just live long enough to see him turn 13. She didn't quite make it. What he didn't expect was that grief would take another 13 years to fully arrive. (Content note: domestic violence, murder) Amy Brooks got a phone call one Monday morning about a blue-eyed three-year-old whose father had killed his mother. She said yes before the social worker finished the sentence. What followed was two and a half years in court while raising a child whose trauma was showing up in holes in the walls and phone calls from the police. For more info and music featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/the-best-of-mothers-day-stories-4  And you can find all of our Mother's Day Stories at risk-show.com/mothersdaystories  Be Part of RISK! 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in [CITY] ([MONTH & DAY]) or [CITY] ([MONTH & DAY]) ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ 💵 Make a one-time donation⁠⁠ via PayPal or Zelle to [email protected] 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode brings together two of the most gripping conversations in the show's recent run: a man who survived an extended stint in a Philippine jail on fabricated charges, and a medical student whose addiction and grief turned out to be more entangled than she had ever let herself understand. (Content note: accusations of sexual assault, child abuse, false imprisonment) Scott McMahon went to Manila for a construction job, ended up befriending a Belgian neighbor, and got pulled into a nightmare when that neighbor's wife turned the Philippine justice system against him. What followed was five and a half years in a maximum-security cell with 300 men, corrupt cops showing up every six weeks with a cash demand, and a family he could only see through a chain-link fence. It is one of the most staggering survival accounts this show has ever aired. (Content note: addiction, overdose death) Chelsea Dalsey was a medical student with a photographic memory, a habit she couldn't shake, and a lifelong partner in crime named Alex. Her conversation with Kevin Allison is part confession, part excavation, arriving at a truth she had spent 14 years burying alive. Leave your reactions to these stories and find episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/the-best-of-risk-35  You can find all of our Best of RISK! episodes at risk-show.com/bestofrisk Be Part of RISK! 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ 💵 Make a one-time donation⁠⁠ via PayPal or Zelle to [email protected] 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the RISK! archives, this January 2014 episode gathers three storytellers around a theme that sounds simple and turns out not to be: actually being okay with yourself. Joel Kim Booster grew up as a gay Korean adoptee in an evangelical family, and it wasn't until he fell for a man who specifically desired him because of his race that he realized how thoroughly someone else's rejection had shaped his sense of his own worth. Dylan Brody has been performing the postmortem on his own victories since fifth grade, and it took competing in a full-contact TaeKwondo tournament at 41, with blood running down his face, to get a piece of advice he hadn't been able to give himself. Jolenta Greenberg built an entire adolescent identity around the belief that she was a diamond in the rough, and her high school crush Brian eventually put that idea to the test. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/im-okay-youre-okay-cre513  Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, June 9th ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time, we’re putting a Best of RISK! episode back on the feed. Originally released in July 2017, #12 remains one of the most epic compilations of RISK! stories ever: it’s funny, filthy, tender, and at times almost unbearably real, sometimes all at once. Richard Cardillo spent 14 years in a Catholic monastery before leaving his vows and landing in Lima, Peru, newly out and profoundly inexperienced, with a very steep learning curve ahead of him, while Michelle Buteau takes on a brain tumor, IVF, internet trolling, and multiple heartbreaks without ever losing her grip on the absurdity of it all. (Content note on these two, for physical abuse, child sexual abuse, animal abuse) Moloch Masters maps the darkness running through her family tree, from great-grandfather to father to herself, and what she found hiding in a closet she was never supposed to enter. And Tim C. spent 17 years conducting human trafficking and child sex slavery investigations. This is one case he will never forget. Pollo Corral tells the story of being held hostage by a Juarez cartel for nearly 40 days, and what his father gave up to bring him home. And in the middle of it all, Kevin Allison goes to a secret all-male kink camp alone and anxious, which turns out to be exactly the wrong and right place for a lesson about fear. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/the-Best-of-risk-12-cre842  Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on June 9, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Content note: sexual assault, justifiable homicide) Annie Carnrike spent years close to her cousin Michael, a man of fierce loyalty and an equally fierce temper. When he showed up at her home one Thanksgiving night, drunk and out of control, what began as a familiar crisis turned into a fight for her life. What Annie faced that night was devastating enough. What came after was its own ordeal: arrested, charged with first-degree murder, and placed in a men's maximum-security prison as a transgender woman. The case against her was built not on evidence but on bias. Her story is one of the most remarkable RISK! has ever featured. Help support Annie on Go Fund Me Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/into-the-moving-dark  Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ at Caveat in NYC on June 9th, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three stories so worth your time, from darkly funny to devastating. Our 34th compilation of some of our favorite recent stories shared on the podcast. (Content note: sexual assault) Fixxy starts a summer in Pittsburgh doing sex work for quick cash before a move to New York City. One night a client seems different, with an unusually easy request and a ride out to the suburbs. Things escalate in ways Fixxy never anticipated, leading to one of the more genuinely terrifying stories we’ve ever aired. In a completely different vibe, Kevin Allison tells the family legend he’ll never live down: a Super 8 film project, a borrowed jar of jumbo pickles, and an ADHD brain running out of options with the clock ticking. (Content note: child abuse, death) Then there’s Mishelle Roberts, who grew up believing her mother was a devoted caregiver. Years later, she started finding records, asking questions, and pulling at threads that had held her family's story together her entire life. Mishelle’s story was also the focus of Season Six of Nobody Should Believe Me. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/the-best-of-risk-34 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, June 9th 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three stories about snap decisions and what happens next: a classic RISK! episode from December 2013 that still hits hard. Lauren Cook found her date for a stranger's New Jersey wedding on Craigslist Casual Encounters. She showed up with a fake identity, a room full of people who knew nothing about her, and a night that kept escalating in directions she did not plan for. (Content note: gun violence) JJ grew up in 1980s Bushwick, Brooklyn, fought his way into Wesleyan and then Wall Street, but one afternoon a neighborhood confrontation pulled him back to a version of himself he thought he had left behind. He came very close to throwing everything away. Daniel Lobell sank $2,000 into a hairless cat as the foundation of a breeding empire. When the cat ended up at a friend's apartment and she stopped returning his calls, his plan to get it back got increasingly creative. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/impulsive-cre510 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in New York City ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin hears Timothy Vaux's "Males of the City," a story from So Say We All, for the first time. In RISK! Reacts episodes, there's no preview, no prep, just Kevin listening along with you and sharing everything the story brings to his mind. The story: Timothy is a happily single gay man living in the heart of North Park, San Diego, where a buzzy Saturday night out ends with a casual wave to a stranger that sets off a chain of spontaneous, increasingly elaborate, and very adult events. The reaction: Kevin is instantly charmed, finding echoes of his own younger self in Timothy's freewheeling urban adventures. He shares his own surprisingly relatable stories about role play, improv, and the particular chaos of letting a night take you wherever it wants to go. For more info and music featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/males-of-the-city-risk-reacts  Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ June 9th, 2026, in NYC ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True Crime News: The Podcast is your weekly dose of real-time updates on the most gripping true crime stories, current cases, investigations, scams, and schemes. Host Ana Garcia is joined by crime experts, police officers, defense attorneys, and other leading authorities in their fields as they cover murders, scams, investigations, and unsolved crimes from across the country. Join us each week as we take you inside the biggest, most shocking, and most bizarre true crime cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First released in December 2013, this live RISK! episode from Philadelphia's First Person Arts pairs two storytellers with a lot to say about losing control and getting it back. Dawn Jewel Fraser's "Brasilado" follows a young American woman deep into an immersive year in Rio de Janeiro, learning Portuguese street by street from her chain-smoking instructor Marcy, until a late-night taxi ride home unravels spectacularly when Brazilian police find weed in her bag and mistake her for a drug trafficker. Then Katie Samson tells "The First Time Again," the story of rebuilding a romantic and sexual life after a sledding accident left her with a spinal cord injury at 20. Her homecoming weekend story is tender, funny, and genuinely triumphant. Two women, two very different roads back to freedom. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/live-from-philly-4-cre509  Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Content note: child sexual abuse) In 2016, Ed G. got on stage at RISK! and told a story he'd never told anyone. Now, ten years later, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with him to go places that story couldn't: the FBI, the Pope, the survivors who found each other decades later, and the hard-won question of where shame really belongs. Ed's story begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where a boy abandoned by his violent father and drowning in poverty finds an unlikely lifeline in the local Catholic church. What the bishop who runs it asks for in return will take Ed the better part of a lifetime to fully reckon with. 🎶For more info and music featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/quid-pro-quo-revisited  Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17th, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this crossover episode with The Story Collider, Karen McCaffrey and Mary Cyn share stories that illustrate the importance of compassion in healthcare. 🎤Live Story: More than Survival by Karen McCaffrey (Content note: sexual assault, rape) After surviving rape and a traumatic hospital experience afterward, Karen transformed her pain into purpose. Decades later, she directed a sexual assault forensic examiner program, advocating for victims' rights and ensuring survivors receive trauma-informed care. 🎤Live Story: My Vagina Job by Mary Cyn Drawing on her own traumatic experiences with dismissive care, Mary transforms vulnerability into a tool for empathy, helping future doctors treat patients with compassion and helping women feel less fear and isolation about their bodies 🎶For more info and songs featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/where-it-hurts 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on March 16th, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael McFadden and Adrianne Frost share stories about evolving feelings about their bodies over time.  🎙️Radio Story: Growth by Michael McFadden Michael is a child swimming prodigy trapped in a grown man’s body who fails a humiliating puberty test, loses his athletic destiny, and ultimately redefines masculinity and self-worth beyond the pool and beyond his penis size. 🎤Live Story: Smoochin' and Fiddlin' by Adrianne Frost (Content note: child sexual abuse, self-harm) After surviving childhood sexual abuse and years of debilitating endometriosis, Adrianne equates beauty with value and spirals through painful sex and self-harm before discovering lasting love on new terms. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17th ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Byron Bowers and Amy Salloway share experiences from their formative years. A part of The Best of Coming of Age Stories series. 🎤🎙️💻Live Story: My Father's Son by Byron Bowers At 10, Byron goes to visit his dad's crack-addicted father near the projects. Four years later, Byron is selling crack, and he breaks down, wondering how he let his life become like his father’s. 🎤Live Story: Sister Act by Amy Salloway Amy understands as a child that her relationship with her mother isn’t loving. When her half-sister is born, her mom casts Abbie as the angel to Amy’s devil. Even the cleaning lady says Abbie is the reincarnation of Anne Frank.  🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ria Spencer, Mindy Myers and Josh Connors share stories about learning to feel at home in your body. 🎤Live Story: The Only Girl by Ria Spencer Six-year-old Ria is diagnosed with severe cradle cap and must enter an all-male Arkansas barbershop to have her beloved locks shaved. It might have been traumatic, but the men were supportive and encouraging.  🎙️Radio Story: Ample Package by Mindy Myers Mindy orders therapeutic vaginal stretching dildos. When the package goes missing, she discovers one—nicknamed "The Rock"—was mistakenly delivered to a children's cooking class, where a student innocently used it as a mixing tool and taste-tested the sauce. 🎤Live Story: Butt Plug Inferno by Josh Connors Josh falls for Damien, an HIV-positive guy. After a panicked butt-plug-burning incident forces honesty about his fears and desires, they eventually build a trusting, loving relationship that lasts a decade. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 in NYC ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in November of 2013, when Kitty Hailey, Christine Lee and Josh Healey share stories of surprising family situations. 🎤🎙️💻Live Story: Rollin’ With Grandma by Josh Healey Josh's Grandma-in-law gets a pinched nerve and requires medical marijuana. The hilarity ensues of him buying pot for this little old lady and helping her to smoke it. 🎤🎙️💻Radio Story: Two Bowls by Christine Lee Christine gets the rare and risky opportunity to visit her family in North Korea. When she sees the poverty, the graciousness and the extremely sheltered worldview that her family members live with, it breaks her heart.  🎤🎙️💻Live Story: It’s All Happening at the Zoo by Kitty Hailey Kitty falls in love with a brilliant man who is overcome by a neurological disorder that renders him something more like a 7-year old. When visiting the zoo, he yells out that the gorillas are fucking, causing a scene. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma Yarbrough and Joel Gonzalez share stories about learning and growing from hard times. 🎤Live Story: Searching for Blue Sky by Emma Yarbrough Emma believes an intruder has broken in her home but it’s a false alarm. It triggers memories of her PTSD following the murder of her beloved Aunt Day. Emma cherishes her aunt’s memory and is stronger for it.  🎙️Radio Story: Keeping Us Safe by Joel Gonzalez Joel is working a grocery store job during the pandemic and is in charge of enforcing the mask mandate. Joel has a sick wife at home and becomes overly obsessed with people not cooperating but then starts to calm down.  🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in November of 2013, when students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design shared true stories at a RISK! live show on campus. 🎤Live Story: Over the Limit by David Jacobs As a kid, it took David a while to realize he had anger management problems. After a few unfortunate outbursts, a therapist helped him get a hold of himself. 🎤Live Story: Street Smarts by Hania Ansari Hania is held at gunpoint during a robbery attempt in Pakistan. She offers her TI-89 calculator. The robber asks her to teach him how to use it, revealing his educational background. He leaves without taking anything. 🎤Live Story: As Three by D.H. In college, D.H. found herself in a happy three-person relationship. But like so many college relationships, it had to end. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on March 17, 2026 in NYC! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Zellnik tells Kevin Allison about a moment of sexual liberation in a dark back room at a gay bar in the early 90s. Check out all of our Conversation Stories! 🎙️Conversation Story: Allowed to Look by David Zellnik David has a transformative night at a gay bar in the early 90s, during the ongoing AIDS crisis. It felt risky but it also helped him to feel more visible and confident in his identity, changing his perspective on sexual relations. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! Live in NYC⁠! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reba Sparrow and Smith Galtney share some of our favorite unusual love stories from our 16-year history. 🎙️LIVE Story: Pleasant Mountain by Smith Galtney Smith had the perfect husband, house and home... till he returned to the crystal meth habit of his younger years. His husband was able to support Smith in getting to rehab and putting his life back together again. 🎙️LIVE Story: Baby Love by Reba Sparrow Reba has a history of body shame. She’d always felt her breasts weren't big enough. When she met a boyfriend who wanted to role play that he was her baby breastfeeding from her, she was horrified... until they tried. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connor O’Donoghue, JC Cassis and Jay Michel share stories about crushes and rebounds.  🎙️Radio Story: I Was the Appetizer by Connor O'Donoghue A virgin with body shame issues, Connor falls for a straight guy he befriends in a psych hospital. He has a threesome with his crush and a girl, knowing the guy is only into the girl. Decades later, Connor sheds his sexual anxiety.  🎤Live Story: Never Again by JC Cassis JC gets a crush on Bobby, a glamorous classmate, and tells him about it. Bobby rejects her politely,  but when she says, "Let me know if you ever change your mind," with a joking tone, he says, "I'm never gonna change my mind," leaving JC wounded.  🎤Live Story: Ready for Asking by Jay Michel Jay joined the military to try to seem straight. He has a nerve wracking hookup on campus, but later has his first magical gay club experience with the guy, falling in love in a flash while kissing… then witnessing the guy hooking up with others moments later.  🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years when Brian Finkelstein, Carrie Wade and Matt Oberg told true stories at the live RISK! show for the 2013 LA Storytelling Festival. 🎤Live Story: She and I by Brian Finkelstein (Content note: miscarriage, suicidal ideation) Brian’s anxiety around marriage and fatherhood lead to a panic attack at a grocery store just before he learns his wife is pregnant… shortly before he learns of a miscarriage.  🎤Live Story: Power In It by Carrie Wade Carrie describes how her cerebral palsy affects sex, desire, and pain tolerance. She discovers through a BDSM experience that the very traits she was taught to hide are the source of her sexual confidence and power.  🎤Live Story: The New Normal by Matt Oberg With OCD tendencies, Matt strives to seem normal. A disastrous attempt at seduction involving a hidden collection of fingernail clippings leads him to realize honesty matters more than normalcy. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on March 17, 2026 in NYC! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ezra Holmlund and Sarah Adelman tell stories about things involving coming... and going.  🎤Live Story: Things Are Going South by Ezra Holmlund Ezra and his brother are at home when they begin to suspect a stranger has broken into their house upstairs. When the police arrive, the two brothers are mistaken for being the criminals. 🎤Live Story: The Long And Winding Road (To Semen Analysis) by Sarah Adelman Sarah is working at a sperm bank but loses her job after the HR department discovers her stand up comedy material is based off her work, forcing her to abandon a rigid life plan and choose an unpredictable creative path. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on 03/17/26 at Caveat in NYC ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of Jan Scott-Frazier, we revisit her 2011 story called “The Riverside” and, until now unreleased, her conversation about the story in 2021 with narrative therapist David Newman.  00:00 Introduction 01:34 The Riverside by Jan Scott-Frazier (Content note: suicide) At 22, Jan moved to Japan, but was lonely, as foreigners often feel. She began to notice a woman who visited the same river she did, who was even more depressed. Jan strategized how to comfort this stranger, but was too late, discovering from the newspapers that the woman took her own life.  15:49 Discussion: Jan Scott-Frazier & David Newman 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stella Mayerhoff and Rebecca Heron tell stories about the unbearable weight of truth. 🎙️Radio Story: In Ways I Never Could Have Imagined by Stella Mayerhoff In the Democratic Republic of Congo, out in the field studying bonobos, Stella has to get a local man back home by lying to him, saying his baby is sick, when in fact, his baby has already died. Keywords: Congo field research, bonobos, primatology, grief in the jungle, moral dilemma, scientific fieldwork, malaria loss, human conflict abroad 💻Workshop Story: Unfolding by Rebecca Heron (Content note: sexual assault, emotional abuse, child sexual abuse.) In a Zoom session for Kevin’s online storytelling workshop, Rebecca considers how her uncle, a victim of child sexual abuse never shared his story and she feels holding that in killed him, so she shares her own story of her own survival of sexual abuse.  Keywords: trauma memory, dissociation, childhood coping, sexual assault survival, storytelling workshop, inherited pain, silence and disclosure 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shem, Nonye Brown-West and JC Cassis share stories of sexual discoveries. 🎤Live Story: Shem's Guide to Sexuality by Shem As a joke, young Shem's frenemy gives him a sexy book, but it's a feminist book and he learns less about eroticism and more about the emotional needs of middle aged American women.  🎤Live Anecdote: The Joy of Toes by JC Cassis JC marvels at the outsized role that men’s big toes seem to play in that legendary guide to love making from the ‘70s, The Joy of Sex. 🎤Live Story: When I Came To by Nonye Brown-West After a long history of medical trauma, Nonye is diagnosed with colon cancer. It is scary but eventually she is grateful she got her early diagnosis, and it all ends with her having an orgasm while getting a colonoscopy.   🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC March 17th! ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ms. Aishia tells Cyndi Freeman about the time she navigated a complex, emotionally abusive relationship, and ultimately found the strength to prioritize her own happiness and independence. You can also watch this episode on YouTube. Check out all of our Conversation Stories! Conversation Story: Create My Life by Ms. Aishia EDITOR’S SYNOPSIS: After leaving an abusive relationship, Ms. Aishia enters an intense, largely virtual romance that slowly destabilizes her sense of self, leading her to sever ties, confront emotional dependency, and ultimately rebuild her life through radical change and solo travel. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎤 See RISK! live⁠! • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s nothing but laughs in our Funny Stuff compilations of classic RISK! stories on the lighter side. This week, Kumail Nanjiani and Alecia Altstaetter share about penile injuries and barf boats.  🎤Live Story: Pure Fuckmachine by Kumail Nanjiani Kumail learns how to masturbate and is so excited that he zips his pants too quickly afterward and cuts his penis on the zipper. 🎤Live Story: That New Ship Smell by Alecia Altstaetter Alecia and her husband decide to take the kids on the high speed car ferry across Lake Michigan. A huge storm breaks out. The family ends up in the hospital covered in blood, urine, vomit and lake water by the end of the fiasco. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael J Bennett and Jessica Piscitelli Robinson tell holiday stories that are new, true and kinda blue.   🎙️Radio Story: Santa's Revenge by Michael J Bennett Michael is a shopping mall Santa when his worst teacher from High School comes in with his kid. The rule of a store Santa is make no big promises the parents have to fulfill. Michael promises this kid the moon and a pony. 🎙️Radio Story: A Mom-Made Christmas by Jessica Piscitelli Robinson Jessica is a teen when her mom has a stroke right before Christmas. Her mom was the end all be all of making Christmas magical throughout Jessica’s life. But this holiday, the miracle was simply being able to bring mom home on Christmas Day. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ at Caveat in NYC on March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin announces RISK!’s goal this year -- helping listeners connect. More social events, more online fun, and Kevin’s latest online storytelling workshops. One starts on Jan 14, one on Feb 15. Email [email protected] to jump on in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when Kevin Allison, Jen Bosworth, Donna Steele and Dare Campbell all shared stories of humiliation. 🎤Radio Story: Mother’s Little Helper by Donna Steele (Content note: poop) Donna’s mother has a strange habit of pooping in public. On this occasion, it’s into a McDonald’s coke cup in a mall dressing room. Donna is in awe of her mom’s nonchalance.  🎤Live Story: The Hustler by Kevin Allison In his early 20s, Kevin goes to a hustler bar to try to raise money for that month's rent. But despite following a friend's "7 Laws of Successful Whoring," his first attempt is a comedy of errors. 🎤Radio Story: We Could Do a Million Other Things by Dare Campbell A BDSM date with a stranger abruptly derails when Dare’s partner forgets erectile-dysfunction medication, and flees. Dare learns to assure partners that sexual performance is unnecessary. There’s many ways to have erotic fun. 🎤Live Story: Job Satisfaction in Paraguay? by Jen Bosworth-Ramirez Jen’s mother suggests she take a journey to Paraguay. There, Jen is robbed and then nearly sold into sex slavery, but she fakes insanity by peeing all over herself and gets away. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on March 17 in NYC • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JC Cassis, David Crabb and Cyndi Freeman share stories at RISK! live shows when they were hosting 🎤Live Story: Not That Casual by JC Cassis As a young woman, JC is excited to go to a wild NYE party. A hot guy dances with her as if he's a middle school boy. She says he can be more casual. He takes out his dick and grinds on her. She tells him “Not THAT casual.” 🎤Live Story: Kitchen Nightmares! by David Crabb After moving to LA, David invites new friends to try one of the few restaurants in his neighborhood open late, only to discover they’ve wandered into a real-life Kitchen Nightmares episode, the most chaotic restaurant ever.  🎤Livestream Story: Tipping Points by Cyndi Freeman Cyndi's new boyfriend seems to be a dream boat. Jealous over her getting a big tip at her new bar job, his misogyny shows. Cyndi decides to dump him, whereas in the past, she had stayed too long with toxic people.  🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ on March 17, 2026 in NYC • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every holiday season, RISK! fans ask about this small handful of yuletide perennial favorites. Well here they all are, wrapped up in one neat package with a bow. Unwrap and enjoy these stories from Elna Baker, Kevin Allison, Sarah Long Hendershot, and Kate Bohl. 🎤Live Story: For the Love of Nubbins by Elna Baker Selling expensive, real-looking baby dolls for the holiday season at FAO Schwartz, Elna “adopts” an unpopular one she calls Nubbins, a Black babydoll. When the doll is bought, Elna grieves. 🎤Radio Story: The Allison Family Christmas Tree by Kevin Allison Inspired by a Charlie Brown Christmas, Kevin’s dad begins a Christmas Tree procuring tradition in the early 70s that gets more complex and includes more people each year, featuring long distance travel, the Catholic Mass, and dirty diapers.  🎤Radio Story: The Present by Sarah Long Hendershot During a brutally cold winter, Sarah was a single mother with an 11-year old son, but she was out of work and on the verge of going homeless. Then a present arrived. A box filled with money. It was a fellow musician who suspected she might need it.  🎤Radio Story: Snowglobe by Kate (neé Kevin) Bohl Kate (at the time, Kevin) is locking up her bar as a blizzard begins. A beautiful young woman begs to come in for a moment to gather her bearings before figuring out how to get home. They slow dance to Billie Holiday 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ty Gentile, James Rana, and David Hu share yuletide tales about Christmas carols, unorthodox Santas, and of course, excretory health in our annual winter holidays special for 2025. 🎙️Radio Story: A Very Moving Christmas by David Hu David’s dad has Alzheimer’s. David always struggled to understand how to give and receive love from his immigrant father. But when he buys his dad dearly needed laxatives for Xmas, it’s a touching moment of bonding.  🎙️Radio Story: The Widow’s Song by Ty Gentile Struggling with homesickness, Ty gets a gig working as a Christmas elf in costume. He is surprised to find himself crying when an old widow breaks the tension in the crowd by breaking into song singing a Christmas carol.  🎙️Radio Story: Alternative Santa by James Rana James gets a gig as a Santa and, in spite of being dark-skinned with a Muslim surname, he takes it and likes it. Then he’s asked to do a party for Kellyanne Conway (of the Trump administration) and is conflicted. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in December of 2013, when Alex Edelman, Jude Treder-Wolff and Danielle Kramer all shared Yuletide tales.  🎤Live Story: Oy to the World by Alex Edelman In the story that eventually became his Broadway show and HBO special “Just For Us,” Alex shares how, in his childhood, his Orthodox Jewish family hosting Christmas to comfort a lonely friend led to life lessons.  🎤Radio Story: Winter Storm by Jude Treder-Wolff Driving home for Christmas in a massive blizzard, Jude and her sister get into a huge fight in the car. Jude is going to reveal to the family that she’s leaving the country for a while and everyone is upset about it. 🎤Live Story: To Kids from 1 to 92 by Danielle Kramer A rebellious teen, Danielle despises Christmas, but after moving away and experiencing the loss of her grandfather and father, she comes to cherish family traditions, realizing the love her parents put into the holidays. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠• 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nikki Bailey and Hana Nobel share stories about how messy things can get with food and sex, with guest host, Taj Easton. 🎤Live Story: That's Not Sexy, Baby by Nikki Bailey For Nikki, her hookup’s praise of her body is a boost to her self esteem. But when her digestive system acts up, she must become downright defiant about self-acceptance. keywords: Plus Sized Dating, Self-Acceptance, Queer, Body Positivity, BoPo, Self-Worth, Body Acceptance, Empowerment, Mr. Big, Sex and the City, Farting, Fuckboys, Hookup, U Up?, LGBTQ+ 🎤Live Story: Curry Coitus by Hana Nobel After returning from a week of mourning, Hana tries to revive the night with a sexy food-play surprise involving Indian takeout. It triggers a rash, and an unexpectedly grounding moment in her early relationship. keywords: food play, Sex and the City, Samantha Jones, Indian Food, Curry, Shiva, New Boyfriend, Burning Man, Ringworm, unexpected rash, sex positivity, mourning, grief, stages of grief 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live! • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when Amanda Egge and Nayland Blake shared stories about reconciling their own desires with the desires of others. 🎤Live Story: Servant’s Wages by Amanda Egge Although she has little interest in the kink aspect of it, Amanda becomes intrigued that a BDSM "slave" would keep her total mess of an apartment clean for free. She quickly learns that her "slave" requires a lot of care.  keywords: erotic cleaning, fetish foot kiss, MySpace submissive, clean-for-free, dominant-submissive relationship, clutter addiction, prostitution metaphor, Craigslist slave, sobriety story 🎤Radio Story: Absorption by Nayland Blake Nayland wants to attend the infamous Black Party, NYC’s premier leather event, but he doesn’t have a leather uniform. Instead, he goes in a sanitation worker’s uniform. But when he finds himself in a group sex situation there, he finally feels he fits right in.  keywords: Black Party NYC, queer leather community, uniform fetish, gay festival story, erotic confession, communal sex, nightclub kink, leather subculture, orgiastic dance 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live! • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jillian Markowitz and David Joseph share stories about the secrets that haunt families. 🎤Live Story: Uncomfortably Close by Jillian Markowitz Jillian’s relationship with her sister is tumultuous. There are childhood memories of playing with Barbies and a horrible clash over a burn accident. During her sister’s wedding, things get volatile, until they find a way to make up yet again.  keywords: sisters rivalry, toxic siblings, bachelorette trip gone wrong, childhood incident fallout, family conflict, emotional volatility, dangerous sibling dynamics, strained sisterhood, complex family ties, reconciliation tension 🎙️Radio Story: Queer Fears by David Joseph As a creative, odd Black kid growing up in Queens, David frustrates his strict and macho father. When David is 15, his father takes him to meet his legendary Uncle Ron, a bachelor seen as the epitome of Black masculinity. David comes to realize his uncle lived behind a mask and died of AIDS.  keywords: black family dynamics, queer childhood, father-son tension, AIDS epidemic legacy, masculinity expectations, secret double life, Staten Island journey, uncle nephew story, coming-of-age confrontation, hidden illness 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC March 17 and June 9, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠• 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine Gentry revisits her story from 2016 called “Making the Chain” with Kevin Allison. She has many new insights, nine years later. 🎤Live Story: Making the Chain by Christine Gentry Christine’s friend needs a kidney donor or she will die. Christine is not a match for her friend, but she is able to join a chain of people donating, created by Be The Match. The experience transforms her life.  keywords: Be The Match, dialysis, donation, donation chain, kidney, nephrology 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mira Rivera and Rachelle Anne Warren tell stories about opening up & leaning into insecurities.  💻Workshop Story: Sexual Healing by Mira Rivera After her partner breaks up with her, Mira's confidence plummets. She goes on a series of dates in public with a hot guy who seems uninterested.One day, they have a date in private with weed and Mira discovers a whole new level of sexual and emotional chemistry. 🎙️Radio Story: Stranded by Rachel Anne Warren Rachel spent years hiding her hair loss. When she finally stops running and faces what she’s been avoiding, she discovers the craft of wigmaking helps her rebuild her confidence and her sense of purpose.  🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on December 11th and March 17th • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Satori Shakoor and Paul Cibis share stories of thanksgiving. A part of our series called Gratitude Stories. 🎤Live Story: Thank You by Satori Shakoor Satori’s loss of her mother and son is devastating. Later, she dates a man who gets a kick out of Satori being “too much,” and she is grateful to remember to live life over-the-top, and fully alive. keywords: none 🎤Live Story: My Lifeline by Paul Cibis Paul's kidneys began to fail him. He was stuck in the tragic position of hoping someone would die soon, so that he could have their kidney. When it finally happened, he felt deep grief for the donor and gratitude. keywords: none 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC March 17 and June 9, 2026 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin hears Danielle Meinert’s “The Day I Met ARFID” story from The Story Collider for the first time and gives you his hot takes. You can also watch this episode on YouTube! This is part of our RISK! Reacts series, where we listen to a story told on another show and give our first reactions. Here’s the Spotify Playlist mentioned in the episode. And here is an article about the playlist from hopkinsmedicine.org. 🎙️ Story: The Day I Met ARFID by Danielle Meinert After a lifetime of avoiding nearly all foods due to ARFID, Danielle tries psilocybin mushrooms in hopes of rewiring her brain, and discovers the joy, wonder, and liberation of truly tasting food for the first time as an adult.  keywords: arfid, eating disorder, psychedelics, psilocybin 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on December 11, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen Nails and Sandi Marx share stories about being who you are even, when it’s a pain in the ass.  🎤Radio Story: Permission to Be Myself by Jen Nails Jen struggles to fit in at her college acting program, which attempts to remove her from the class roster. Finally, her fellow students write to the administration appealing on her behalf and the school changes its mind.  keywords: acting school, rejection, left out,  🎤 Live Story: Fake It 'Til You Make It by Sandi Marx In high school, Sandi dates a nice guy named Larry from a wealthy family, but he's boring. The night she plans to break up with him, he proposes marriage. She says no, but agrees to pretend she said yes, for the engagement party Larry’s parents planned for that night.  keywords: Fake engagement, hockey game, rich boyfriend 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live!⁠ • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan revisits her story from 2012 called “Always A Woman” with Kevin Allison and considers how much has changed for trans folks in the 13 years since.  🎙️Radio Story: Always A Woman by Morgan A biker and ironworker has a lifelong secret. After a nearly life-ending accident, Morgan finally decides to transition from man to woman. The people in her life are amazed, but they adjust. keywords: LGBTQIA+ storyteller, Trans storyteller, transgender 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on December 11, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inky Montaine tells Taj Easton about how, before he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, he truly felt like he might have come from another planet.  Check out all of our Conversation Stories! 🎙️Conversation Story: Pretending to Be Human by Inky Montaine Inky spent a lifetime switching masks but felt a certainty of unbelonging. Later in life, an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis didn't lead to yet another identity, but gave a name to the one he’s always had. keywords: ASD, autism, neurodivergent, youth gender identity, punk rock, outsider, alienated, superman obsession 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC ([November 11th) • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Veteran’s Day, guest-host Ray Christian from What’s Ray Saying? hears Brian Simpson’s “Fresh Air” story from So Say We All for the first time and gives you his hot takes. You can also watch this episode on YouTube! This is part of our RISK! Reacts series, where we listen to a story told on another show and give our first reactions. 🎙️ Story: Fresh Air by Brian Simpson (Content note: suicidal ideation) In 2003, Brian is a Marine stationed in Kuwait, and his battalion drills for potential biological attacks. A Trivial Pursuit game reveals a shocking statistic: 50% of their gas masks are defective. Later, facing a missile attack, Brian is haunted by this.  keywords: Marines, Kuwait, Iraq, gas mask, Second Gulf War 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on the 11th of December, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in August of 2013, when DC Pierson, Selena Coppock, Brad Lawrence and Nina Davis shared stories of love and loss. 🎙️Radio Story: Let Me Sleep On It by Brad Lawrence In his youth, Brad finds and loses love with a fellow bookstore employee. Later, after marrying someone else, he sees his feelings for his fellow employee were just a crush, and that real love allows for making mistakes.keywords: crushes, love, marriage, relationships, youth 🎤Live Story: In the Belly by DC Pierson As a nerdy virgin in high school, DC and his friend’s girlfriend become friends and have an affair in which he only kisses her stomach until eventually she goes down on him spontaneously and breaks up with her boyfriend.  keywords: teenage, high school, affair, sexual exploration, cheating, relationships, youth, virgins 🎙️Radio Story: Remember You Like a Child by Nina Davis At 14, Nina fell in love with a boy while on vacation. Decades later, she finally found him again. He’d been through homelessness and heroin addiction. Now, he was married with a child. keywords: long lost love, lost and found, reuniting, young love 🎤Live Story: Complete by Selena Coppock In her freshman year of college, Selena fell head over heels in love with a young man who had already graduated. It was never meant to be, but years later Selena got to share with him how much he’d meant to her. keywords: love, dating, college, recent graduate, reconnection, closure, support, self love, self belief, confidence, unrequited love 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on December 11, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin hears Diane Weipert’s “The Living Room” story from Love and Radio for the first time and gives you his instant reactions. You can also watch this episode on YouTube! This is part of our RISK! Reacts series, where we listen to a story told on another show and give our first reactions. 🎙️ Story: The Living Room by Diane Weipert Through an unobstructed window, Diane observes the lives of a young couple in the apartment across the street, becoming a silent witness to their private moments, which become more and more profound.  keywords: voyeurism, neighbors, rear window, death 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on December 11, 2025 • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three of our favorite scary stories from Halloween specials of our past.  🎤Radio Story: The Thing by Thomas McKean When Thomas was a kid, he and a friend saw a shadowy oblong shape following them on a beach. Years later, he feels chained to his bed in the middle of the night when the same figure, then two more hover over him.  keywords: Paranormal encounter, Shadow figure,Beach sighting,Sleep paralysis,Night terrors,Childhood mystery,UFO-like entity,Supernatural experience 🎤Radio Story: Your Health and Your Soul by Erika Steigerwald As a psychiatric nurse, it’s out of Erika’s wheelhouse to accept that a patient is possessed by a demon, and yet… the series of inexplicable and terrifying phenomena she experienced with one patient made her a believer. keywords: Possession phenomenon,Haunted patient,Paranormal psychiatry,Demonic influence,Psychological horror,Supernatural events,Spiritual awakening,Mental health, spirits 🎤Radio Story: The Man in the Top Hat by Alan Weber Alan and his little brother saw a growling man in a top hat one night in their bedroom. Alan's brother was so haunted by the figure that he stabbed himself, and later at church, was hurled toward the altar against his volition.    keywords: Haunted figure,Top hat ghost,Nighttime apparition,Childhood trauma,Psychic disturbance,Spiritual haunting,Nightmares and visions,Supernatural horror 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC at Caveat on 12/11! • ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ • ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ or ⁠make a one-time PayPal donation⁠ • 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠ • 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us⁠ • 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices