RISK!

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, 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when RISK! had its first live show in the city that keeps it weird: Austin, Texas. 🎤Live Story: The Redhead by Paul Normandin Every year that his wife asked, "What do you want for your birthday?" Paul would answer, "A redhead." One year, his wife finally arranged for a hotel rendezvous with a redhead... who led him into a surprise party. Keywords:  birthday story, marriage humor, Austin storytelling, sexual misunderstanding, redhead joke, surprise party, marriage comedy, public embarrassment, relationship humor 🎤Live Story: 6 Hours by Nick Scott Nick has severe pain in his testicles and reads online that he's probably only got six hours before he has to lose them. He and his parents rush to the hospital and learn that he'd misdiagnosed himself.  Keywords: testicular torsion, medical emergency, masturbation story, awkward comedy, parental embarrassment, Austin live show, hospital panic, male health humor, storytelling 🎤Live Story: The Bad Seed by Dhaya Lakshminarayanan Dhaya was the rebellious Hindu girl in Christian school forever in trouble. Seeing the bathroom graffiti “Jesus loves you motherfucker,” she realized how wit and creativity might turn a troublemaker into a successful student. Keywords: childhood misbehavior, Hindu kid in Christian school, bathroom graffiti, learning to read, culture clash, Indian American humor, education story, Austin storytelling, gifted child 🎤Live Story: Bigger Than Love by Michael Jastroch (Content warning: Death) Michael tells the bittersweet story of his first teenage crush, his envy of and rivalry with a friend, and how tragedy changed how he understood what it means to be the main character in life. Keywords: teenage love story, AIDS revelation, high school heartbreak, coming of age, rivalry story, Austin storytelling, emotional true story, friendship betrayal, 1990s nostalgia 🎤Live Story: Taxi Driver by Sam Dingman At the end of his rope in NYC, Sam is about to give up, when he decides to try being a taxi driver. One day, he is in 3 separate car accidents. It's an epic day of New York toil and trouble. Keywords:  taxi driver story, New York storytelling, car crash, cab driving, workplace anxiety, life change, near-death experience, acting career, risk show live 🌈 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our 17th annual Halloween special with scary true stories about ghosts, corpses and mortal danger.  🎤Radio Story: Do You Know My Name? by Robert Oakes Robert leads ghost tours, but unlike his father, he’s unsure he’s a believer. After his father dies, Robert’s tour of a haunted house is visited by paranormal investigators, who have him ask a question to the spirits there which reveal a family connection.  keywords: haunted house, paranormal investigation, EVP session, skeptic vs believer, Berkshire ghosts, Venford Hall, Edith Wharton, paranormal tourism 🎤Radio Story: A World of Corpses by Johanna Stein As a child Johanna faked all sorts of finding of dead bodies, until the day she discovered a very real one in the dark waters near her house.  keywords: Little kid, dead bodies, corpse, river 🎤Radio Story: Saint Andrew's Cross by Fixxy New to sex work in his late teens, Fixxy gets picked up by a guy who pays Fixxy to be tied up and tickled. Things start out as negotiated, but once Fixxy has been bound and blindfolded, things become terrifyingly nonconsensual. keywords: sex work, kink, consent, tickling fetish, fetish culture, BDSM, power dynamics 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Dec 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in August of 2013, when Mather Zickel, Jen Curran, Joel Kim Booster and Julie Threlkeld told stories of times they crossed over the edge. 🎤Live Story: Waiting for the Man by Joel Kim Booster Joel would love to find a kinky Dom to write "Bitch" around his asshole. One night, he plays with a Dom who is a huge disappointment. keywords: Asian storyteller, gay, homosexual, lgbtqia, queer 🎤Live Story: Stop Thief by Jen Curran Jen confesses that she feels no guilt about stealing. In college, she stole thousands of dollars worth of text books and got caught. She had to imagine she had murdered someone in order to muster guilty enough sounding words of apology. keywords: theft, Guilt, Stealing, Honesty, Confession, coming-of-age, crime 🎤Live Story: You’ve Made Worm’s Meat of Me by Mather Zickel Young Mather’s leather-clad skateboarding nights in New York in the mid-90s end in a brutal street fight in a small Southern town, revealing the fleeting nature of toughness. keywords: 1990s, grunge, skateboarding, street fight, masculinity, rebellion, youth culture, small-town America 🎤Live Story: Snake/Mouse by Julie Threlkeld Growing up in a neighborhood filled with legends of 60s/70s rock and roll, pre-teen Julie became friends with the girlfriend of a member of the Jefferson Airplane at the same time that the Vietnam War kept taking her journalist father away from home. keywords: rock and roll, neighborhood legends, Jefferson Airplane, Vietnam War, music history, childhood, friendship, cultural nostalgia 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NY (December 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hannah Sussman and Swapna Deshpande tell stories about coming to terms with mortality.  🎤Anecdote: Another Conversation with my Dead Mother by Hannah Sussman Hannah reflects on her relationship with her deceased mother—waking from a dream, looking in the mirror and eventually coming to peace with her own aging.  keywords: mother daughter relationships, aging, grief 🎤Live Story: Each Other's Angels by Swapna Deshpande Dr. Swapna Deshpande recounts her experiences with a patient she befriended named 'John' at a trauma center. She practically saved his life on a couple of occasions, but grieved when he passed after she’d been on a brief vacation.  keywords: Doctor, Parkinson's, ICU, Coma 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Thursday, 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in August of 2013, when Brad McMurran, Alicia Camden, and Sean Devereux told stories at the Norfolk Comedy Festival. 🎤Live Story: The Color Purple by Brad McMurran Brad’s first sexual experience goes wrong when an allergic reaction to spermicidal condoms sends him to the ER, where his mother discovers his purple-stained underwear. Keywords: teen angst, losing virginity, sex mishaps, allergies 🎤Live Story: Robble Robble by Alicia Camden After returning home broke and aimless, Alicia hopes Halloween plans with her best friend will cheer her. But a night dressed as the Hamburglar is humiliating, until Alicia finds the comedy in it.  keywords: Halloween costumes, costume parties 🎤Live Story: Train du Matin by Sean Devereux Sean dates a girl who he only sees when they are both drunk till he realizes they have nothing in common. To his bewilderment, she tries to convince him to stay by playing a French version of "Morning Train."  keywords: drunk love, mismatched couples 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC (12/11/25) • ✍️ 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mishelle tells Taj her story of a lifetime lived with an abusive mother in an environment of relentless lies, instability and unspeakable violence.  Check out all of our Conversation Stories! 🎙️Conversation Story: The Lies that Bind by Mishelle Roberts (Content Note: child abuse, child murder) Mishelle tells Taj about growing up in the shadow of hospitals, horrific medical drama, and a web of lies that defined her entire life. As an adult, she starts to uncover what was really happening and discovers that the lies were bigger and darker than she ever could’ve imagined. Mishelle’s story was also the focus of Season Six of Nobody Should Believe Me.  keywords: Munchausen by proxy, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, medical abuse, child abuse, family secrets, attention seeking, childhood trauma, gaslighting, sibling death, mother-daughter conflict, Nobody Should Believe Me, podcast journalism 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Dec 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in 2013, when the RISK! live show came to Norfolk, Virginia.   🎤Live Story: The Squatter by Billy Raim Billy is afraid to poop in public until he decides to let go of of that fear, as it was ruining a trip with friends to China, with disastrous consequences. keywords: Poop, Fear, China, Culture Shock 🎤Live Story: Sister’s Keeper by Tiffany Chilcott Tiffany impersonates her sister on the phone and gets a guy to shave his head. keywords: Siblings, Imposters, Pranks, Dating 🎤Live Story: The Last Time by Pete Roberts Pete lets a drug dealer into his motel thinking he’s going to have a Bukowski moment, only to be robbed. keywords: Bad Decisions, Drug Deals, Fear, Life Threatening 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York on Dec 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 16th anniversary of the podcast, Jill Karliner and Kevin Allison share stories from their own sixteeny days.  🎙️Radio Story: Save a Prayer for Jill by Jill Karliner When she was sixteen, Jill went to a Duran Duran concert in an attempt to fit in with her friend group and got so inside her own head about not enjoying it, she panicked.  keywords: concert, classical, duran duran, rick springfield, squeeze, high school 🎙️Radio Story: What’s in the Box?! by Kevin Allison After being slighted by his high-school crush, a young Kevin mailed the unsuspecting straight boy his poop. keywords: poop prank, mailing feces, unrequited teenage love, queer crush, revenge, poop Watch Kevin's chat with Sean Malin, author of Podcast Pantheon: 101 Podcasts That Changed How We Listen, on YouTube. 🌈 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrea Dunlop tells Kevin about the time her sister was investigated for Munchausen syndrome by proxy child abuse and how this set her off on a long path towards advocacy, outreach and the pursuit of justice, through her podcast Nobody Should Believe Me.This episode is guest-hosted by Taj Easton.You can also watch it on YouTube! Check out all of our Conversation Stories! 🎙️Conversation Story: Believe Her by Andrea Dunlop (Content note: child abuse, child murder) Andrea’s sister is prosecuted for Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) child abuse, which sets Andrea off on a long path towards advocacy, outreach and the pursuit of justice for victims of MSbP. Years later, her podcast and vigilante journalism lead her to uncover irrefutable evidence of an unprosecuted, hideous crime, as well as towards healing of her own deep, familial wounds. keywords: Munchausen by proxy, MSbP, Factitious disorder imposed on another, FDIA, medical child abuse, ethical true crime, true crime podcast, family trauma, child murder, Nobody Should Believe Me,  Special thanks to Rafter for the generous and essential musical contributions. 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York (Thursday, December 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Whitney revisits his story from 2013 about losing his faith called “Revelations” with Kevin. He has many new insights twelve years later. You can also watch this episode on YouTube! 🎤Radio Story: Revelations by Scott Whitney (Content note: cults, suicide ideation) A Jehovah’s Witness struggling with his faith, Scott knocks on the door of a traumatized recluse to attempt to convert him. The brief, troubled friendship convinces Scott to leave the church. keywords: Awake!, door-to-door, Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Watchtower 🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved • 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC (December 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our 33rd compilation of some of our favorite recent stories shared on the RISK! podcast, guest-host by Cyndi Freeman. 🎤Live Story: Hope Under the Sky (excerpt) by LP Nguyen In 1975, the North won Vietnam’s civil war, and LP's dad, high ranking in the Southern Army, was imprisoned. The children lost everything, hunted for food, swam to school, and after 7 years, got their father back. 🎤Radio Story: Black Is the Loneliest Color by Larry Dorsey Jr. Larry saves a suicidal Black man’s life on the streets of SF and examines his tendency to bridge things between people of different races and classes. keywords: Black experience in San Francisco, homeless, knife attack subway, people experiencing homelessness, public violence bystanders, racial isolation, urban survival stories 🎤Live Story: What the Blorp?! by Kerri Doherty Kerri falls in love with a guy who tricks her into helping him lie to the army while he resumes his other life with his wife and daughter.  keywords: army, cheating, lying to the army, relationship 🎤Radio Story: The Silver Dollar (excerpt) by Daryl Davis Daryl backs the Ku Klux Klan into a corner and demands that they tell him why they hate him, and he really listens.  keywords: blackness, changing minds, communication, conflict, empathy, grand dragon, ku klux klan, open minds, prejudice, racial hatred, racism, resolution, unchecked bias 🎤Live Story: Orgasmic by Yossi Rosenberg Yossi is a shy guy raised in a conservative Jewish household with intimacy issues. He gets involved with the Orgasmic Meditation Scene, a somewhat iffy tribe that practices clitoral stimulation as a meditation. keywords: clitoral stimulation, culty, Orgasmic Meditation 🎤Radio Story: Breaking Point by Heather Farley Heather has a psychotic break and leaves a Rauschenberg painting worth millions left to her in the divorce on a park bench.  keywords: divorce, Psychotic Break, Rauschenberg Painting 🎤Live Story: The Big Secret (excerpt) by Brad Lawrence (Content note: child sexual abuse, murder, suicide) In a church where guilt is weaponized and silence rewarded, teenage Brad listens to a friend's secret that echoes into adulthood, long past her violent death. keywords: abortion, childhood abuse, church youth group, evangelical guilt, murder, shame, strangulation, U2 🌈 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 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices