Torg Stories Podcast

3 Stories Bill Read or Watched 3 Stories Anne Read or Watched Honorable Mention Stories:  Thanks for checking out this Torg Stories post!

We’d love to hear from you!  5 Books Bill Wants to Read  Anne’s 5 Books She Wants to Read Honorable Mentions: The Women of Troy & The Voyage Home by Pat Barker, this is continuing the series of the book I read earlier this summer – a women’s point of view in classical history. The … Continue reading "10 Books We Want to Read"

Lorne, SNL, Susan Morrison, True and False Magic, Stutz, Dickens and Prince, Hornby, Heartland, Larry Bird, Keith O'Brien, The Uncool, Cameron Crowe, American Predator, Maureen Callahan, La Belle Sauvage, Phillip Pullman, All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, Mildred Fish Harnack, Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir, Louis XIV, Josephine Wilkerson

Sure, having three offices is a blessing, but I also struggle to get them all organized and decorated. In this episode, my sister Anne and I dive into the puzzle of workspace setups and talk through the ways we fail—and occasionally succeed—at organizing our lives. Plus, Anne shares a few podcast recommendations, and we make a big decision about the future direction of the show (starting with Ted Lasso S4E3).

Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 2 titled “Curiouser and Curiouser!” inspires conversation about feminism, inequality in men’s and women’s sports, and we cover a road trip to take Izzy to college that spanned from Boone, NC to Salt Lake City, Utah. What would you say was the “big news” of this episode? Best line/s:  What … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 and College Road Trip to University of Utah"

In this post, Anne and I discuss what makes home home, role models, and if we have a responsibility to use our talents in our profession. These topics were sparked by the Ted Lasso season four premiere and the entire season of Widow’s Bay. We’re going to start with life updates, and we’d love for … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 and Widow’s Bay: Home, Role Models, and The Jobs We’re Born to Do"

Ted Lasso Season 4 is coming, when do we think we’ll retire, women and the Kalshi prediction markets, and Information Sickness with David Shields are the texts we’re using to generate conversation this week. Questions for the Reader: Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of July 27, 2026 “Information Sickness” by David Shields  “Jason … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 is Coming, When to Retire, Women and Kalshi, and Information Sickness with David Shields"

LeBron James to the 76ers, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, Writing Advice from John McPhee. Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Travis Scott, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron

“The End of Reading is Here” from The Atlantic by Rose Horowitch Quotes from the article for discussion are bolded below and in quotes. “…fewer than half of all adults reported having read a book of any kind in 2022.” This week my friend Dave Witzig texting me to ask what I’ve been reading… Going … Continue reading "Is the End of Reading Here? GenAI and the Reading Writing Classroom"

My sister Anne has travelled to Poland where she will see Bad Bunny in Warsaw and travel to Krakow and Prague. In preparation for this conversation, I read “Notes from Poland” by Kenneth Sherman. Topics for discussion from “Void and Voice: Notes from Poland.” The article was written by Kenneth Sherman and published in Creative … Continue reading "From Los Angeles to Warsaw, Poland: Anne from the PURO Warszawa State Miasto"

If you travel, why do you go where you go? I’ll bet your reasons are different from Pico Iyer’s, as explained in his essay “Why We Travel.” We pick out some lines for discussion below as well as look toward Anne’s trip to Poland that will include attending a Bad Bunny concert in Warsaw. “Why … Continue reading "“Why We Travel” by Pico Iyer and Anne is Headed for Bad Bunny in Poland"

My sister Anne spells it donuts and I use doughnuts. We both went out and ate some for this post, and we had a good time discussing Geoff Dyer’s essay “Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (with Particular Reference to Doughnut Plant Doughnuts” as the catalyst for this week’s conversion. Sometimes donuts are trash (sometimes … Continue reading "Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (with Particular Reference to Doughnut Plant Doughnuts)"

Anne and I share the stories we read or watched on this week’s Torg Stories Podcast. Check out the links to some of the stories below: Stories Anne Read or Watched the Week of June 15, 2026 “The Infamous San Antonio Love Triangle That Ended in Murder” by Katy Vine  Kylian Mbappe is Scoring All … Continue reading "Untold Epstein Story, San Antonio Love Triangle, World Cup Mbappe, Widow’s Bay, and Three Billboards"

We discuss the stories we read and watched including articles about the Knicks winning the NBA Title, the essay “Matricide,” the film Office Romance, and the Apple tv show Widow Bay. (Check out video podcast near the end of this post) Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of June 8, 2026 “The New York … Continue reading "Knicks Win NBA Finals, MVP Brunson, Wemby as a Villain, Matricide, Office Romance and Other Stories We Read or Watched"

We read or watched stories related to the NBA Finals, the billionaires who charter jets to the games, Spike Lee, University GenAI, Contagion, Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White, Castaway, The Bourne Ultimatum, Yellowstone, and the new Obama Library in Chicago. Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of June 1, 2026… NBA Story: “2026 NBA … Continue reading "Stories We Read and Watched: Knicks and Spurs, University GenAI, Caitlin Clark, Castaway and Obama Library"

The NBA Finals are set: it will be the New York Knicks vs. the San Antonio Spurs. Wemby and the Spurs vanquished the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder in an exciting game 7. Also, at the bottom of this post check out the stories I read or watched this week. At the bottom of the … Continue reading "It’s the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals"

What’s the craziest stuff that’s ever happened to you at work? Any weird interview stories? Anne and I use Thomas Beller’s piece about working at H&H Bagels at 80th and Broadway in NYC to spark our own work-themed conversation. He also inspired us to go out an have local bagels: mine in Boone, NC at … Continue reading "Best and Worst Work Stories and NYC to LA Bagel Testing: Inspired by Thomas Beller’s “Portrait of the Bagel as a Young Man”"

We dive deep into Ryan Gosling’s performance in the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi novel, Project Hail Mary. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace. He’s a molecular biologist who wakes up from a coma on a space ship. What grade do I give the film? Why?  My Expectations Leading Up seeing … Continue reading "Project Hail Mary Movie Review: Ryan Gosling and Andy Weir"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I discuss Richard Ford’s short story, “Rock Springs.” Anne, you went to Rock Springs, Wyoming with Earl, Edna, Cheryl, and Little Duke. What did you think?  Things could always be worse. You could go to the electric chair tomorrow. -Edna in “Rock Springs” Plot … Continue reading "Richard Ford’s story “Rock Springs”"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I share the principles that guide us as we make playlists for our respective runs and walks. We also hope to try and bring to life for y’all where it is that we run and walk. Anne, what walk did you choose for this … Continue reading "The Art of the Music Playlist: Bill’s for a Mountain Run and Anne’s for a Los Angeles Walk"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I are going to talk about the new Noah Kahan album. It’s titled The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs.  Noah Kahan’s album The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs was released during April of 2026. Be sure to check out my … Continue reading "Noah Kahan’s Album The Great Divide and our Favorite Musical Storytellers"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I are discussing the David Foster Wallace essay titled, “Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley.” Anne, if Wallace was a less creative writer, he could have called this “Playing Tennis in Central Illinois.”  Acceptance is its own verve -DFW Breaking down the title: Discussion questions:  … Continue reading "David Foster Wallace’s “Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley”"

Have you heard about HBO’s television show The Rooster? On this episode, Anne and I discuss episode 1 of the show that stars Steve Carell as the writer Greg Russo. He’s a bumbling, gold-hearted author who says he writes the kind of novels people like to read at the beach. The show follows Greg as … Continue reading "Steve Carell stars in HBO’s Rooster. Is it worth watching?"

In this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast, my sister Anne and I discuss the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours. It was a Big Ten takeover as both Michigan and UCLA won national titles, though the headlines were just as much about some of the coaches as they were about the games. We dive … Continue reading "NCAA Basketball Final Four Podcast"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and will talk about the second weekend of both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. But first Anne, I received some good news! My (very) short film titled The Valle Crucis Park was accepted to the Indie Vegas Film Festival. Bad news: we have … Continue reading "NCAA Basketball Tournament: From the Sweet Sixteen to Final Four"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I look back on the men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament first rounds and look ahead to the second. Anne, by my count there were 96 NCAA tournament games televised in the last five days. That’s a lot of basketball!  Where does the NCAA … Continue reading "Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament First Round Reactions"

On this episode we’re discussing Anton Chekhov’s marital affair themed short story, “The Lady with the Little Dog.” We’ve got the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments coming up and we invite you to join the Torg Stories Bracket Challenge. We’re doing that through the ESPN website, and I’ve got links on the post for this … Continue reading "A Marital Affair Story: Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Little Dog”"

Our Academy Award Best Picture Oscar picks: One Battle After Another, Sinners, Sentimental Value, Helios, Epic Universe

The high school women’s basketball team I coach in Boone, North Carolina just had their season come to an end when we lost during the third round of the state playoffs. The game also marked the end of a thirteen year run where every year but one I coached one of my daughter’s on a … Continue reading "Our High School Season Comes to an End Podcast"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I try to bring to life for you some places we know well. Bill’s Places He Knows Well  Anne’s Places She Knows Well  Honorable Mention:  Thanks for listening to this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast!

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. Today, Anne and I are talking about 5 things we know a lot about. Anne, when I pitched you this idea, you sounded like you weren’t sure there were 5 things you know a lot about. How did it go?  In my courses at App State, we do an … Continue reading "5 Things We Know A Lot About"

Welcome to the Super Bowl LX Podcast. We started this episode at 10:27 EST. I’m podcasting like I get paid to do it!   In this episode, we talk about the pregame, the Green Day Performance, some of the main plays from the Seahawks 29-13 win, the Bad Bunny halftime show, and rank our favorite commercials. … Continue reading "Super Bowl LX Podcast: Seahawks, Patriots, and Our Commercial Rankings"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. This week, Anne and I share our top 10 most meaningful athletes. We’re recording on Sun Feb 1, 2025. Here outside of Boone, North Carolina, it’s 15 degrees and we’ve got at least 6 inches of snow.  Torg’s List of Most Personally Meaningful Athletes: Some other athletes I considered: … Continue reading "Most Meaningful Athletes Podcast"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. Anne and I will talk NFL Conference Championship Games. We’ve got a big ice storm here in Boone. No school on Monday. No face to face classes on Tuesday. My wife Megan is doing a remodel on our pantry and four of Charlotte’s teammates from Lees McCrae are staying … Continue reading "Patriots and Seahawks to the Super Bowl Podcast"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. Anne and I are recording as we wait for the Hoosiers to take the field in Miami to face off vs. the Miami Hurricanes for the College Football National Championship. Anne, I checked out those Indiana Coach Cignetti cigarette pack themed shirts, and they are pretty cool.  Let’s go … Continue reading "NFL Divisional Round: Games Down to the Wire, Big Officiating Calls, and a Bronco Broken Ankle"

NFL 2026 Wild Card Weekend Mon Jan 12, 2026 Podcast.  We discuss Wild Card Weekend. North Carolina and Myers Park High School native Drake Maye advances in the playoffs with the Patriots. The Panthers went down in an exciting game. Anne’s $100 Super Bowl bet on the Packers failed. The Indiana Hoosiers will play for … Continue reading "NFL Wild Card Weekend and Indiana Hoosiers vs. Miami Hurricanes for the Title"

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and l look ahead to the NFL Playoffs, talk about the Hoosiers advancing in the college football playoffs, and give you all a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card if you win our group in the ESPN Pigskin Bracket Challenge. ENTER OUR ESPN … Continue reading "NFL Playoff Preview, Hoosiers Advance and You Can Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card"

2025 year in review, Indiana Pacers, Sinners, One Battle After Another, Tyrese Haliburton, Dodgers, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, Boone, NC

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. It’s Sun Dec 21, 2025. I’m coming off a triple overtime win with my high school women’s basketball team, the Panthers took over first place in their division with a win over the Buccaneers, and Anne and I picked 5 places we might want to go from the New … Continue reading "Triple Overtime Win, Carolina Panthers Grab First Place, and 52 Places to Go in the World"

Spotify Christmas Playlist Waitresses Wham Ed Sheeran Elton John The Pogues NSYNC Drummer Boy Bieber Band Aid Ramones Paul McCartney

Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, Our Elf Names, the Inspiration for the Ferrell Elf movie, and Christmas in NYC

Panthers Upset Rams, Colts Lose a Big One, and Lane Kiffin goes to LSU

Performance Strategies to be a Blue Head Under Pressure

Flannery O'Connor's story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" has a family road trip, a supremely annoying grandmother, and a terrifying encounter with the philosophical serial killer, The Misfit.

Rocky, Long Distance Running, Writing, Grief and Ambition

On this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast, we’re talking about the official start to high school basketball season here in North Carolina, the Dodgers winning the World Series, the Colts vs. Steelers matchup, and the Panthers upset win over the Packers. Congratulations to Anne again for another Dodgers World Series win. What a wild … Continue reading "High School Basketball Season Begins + Dodgers Win the World Series"

Weapons is more than a horror film—it's a brutal, mind-bending puzzle box of trauma. In this episode, Anne and I dive into why Weapons is so much more than a horror film. We break down its ambitious, non-linear structure, where every chapter forces us to watch the same terrifying events from a different character's perspective. We discuss the supernatural elements, like how Aunt Gladys's sinister witch magic works.

This week, we dive deep into NFL Week 7, including one of the most unbelievable upsets of the season. We break down the Denver Broncos' historic 19-point comeback to stun the Giants, examine if Joe Flacco and the Bengals are truly "back," and look at why the Rams are solidifying their place as a strong NFC contender. Plus, Anne and I will go over our NFL power rankings where there was lots of movement among teams. We also shift gears to the hardwood as the NBA season tips off, sharing some early NBA futures bets on the Sixers, Pacers, and Nuggets. And finally, Anne shares her excitement about Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's big game—because you know she always has to brag about her team!

We dive into Rico Dowdle's historic "buckle up" performance against his old team, a 40-year-old quarterback's unlikely new chapter in Cincinnati, and the salty ending to a hard-fought game in Kansas City.

NFL Week 5 was the year of the Comeback! We break down four impossible upsets and award Game Balls to Baker Mayfield, Rico Dowdle, and Emeka Egbuka. Plus: Our full review of Taylor Swift's new album, The Life of a Showgirl, and a look at Zach Cregger's 'Weapons' film. Listen now to hear the analysis recorded after the host got staples in his head!