EPISODES SEASON 2
"I've learned more from your podcasts than I've learned about writing anywhere else."
Julie Farman, author of the blog, thegrayishcarpet.com
EPISODE 20: Where Do I Go From Here?
This episode is about being lost. Those moments in life when you have no idea how you got here, whether to stay or go, or where to go from here.
Allison Langer speaks with Diego Saldana-Rojas about why, at 24 yrs old, he's lost. Diego reads his story What Next. Students Nicki Post, Missy Hernandez and Karen Collazo also share their stories about how their career and life dreams have not worked out and left them unhappy, ready to give up and lost.
This episode is about obsessions. Andrea Askowitz speaks to Allison Langer about what she learned from the Tim Ferriss podcast when he interviewed Tony Robbins: Rejection breeds obsession.
Andrea interviews author and Dear Sugar Radio host Steve Almond on how our obsessions effect storytelling. Allison reads her story Spinning about her obsession with her spin instructor.
Episode 18: Who is Jahn Dope? From High School Football Star to Homeless Man to the Great Philip Sylverin.
This episode is about self destruction. Jahn Dope reads his story Dark Matter. Jahn’s story begins after he overdoses on LSD then backtracks to childhood. Producers Diego and Misha met Jahn at work to find out what happened after the story ends.
Jahn tells us why he dropped out of college, got deeper and deeper into drugs and eventually ended up homeless. For ten years, Jahn lived on the streets of Miami doing whatever it took to stay alive. You'll hear how Andrea's writing class helped save his life.
Episode 17: Circuit Boys, Gym Rats, Papi Chulos, Bears, Fashion Queens...Which One Are You?
This episode explores perspective, how sometimes it takes years to figure out that something you did or thought was totally fucked up. Bo tells his story about getting blocked from a 1-900 gay hotline.
But the story is really about how it took him years to become comfortable enough with his homosexuality to stop judging the gay people he met on Miami Beach 24 years ago.
Episode 16: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone...Where the Magic Happens
This episode explores the different zones we live in: comfort zone, stretch zone and panic zone. Allison Langer shares her story about dinner with new friends and why she panics.
Misha Mehrel gets really uncomfortable when he tells his Hairy Ass story. Andrea Askowitz wants to give birth to her first child on stage, but then panics. Karen Collazo, reveals her struggle with drug addiction and why staying in her comfort zone is dangerous.
This episode explores the epistolary form, which is just a snobby way to say stories written in the form of a letter. Andrea Askowitz shares letters written to and from her high school best friend, Robin.
Misha Mehrel tells his story as a letter to his old roommate. In it, he tells us what it’s like to lose his best friend to marriage. Bo uses the letter form to ramp up intimacy with a stranger he meets at a truck stop. Chaplin's story is about Chaplin’s struggle with gender identity. “Ask yourself this, how do you envision yourself growing old, as a woman or as a man?”
What is taboo? Is it a word, a topic? Is it the same for everyone? We learn why we need to talk about taboos.
Inessa Freylekhman's mom tells her what not to say on a date. Nicki Post feels that abortion is more taboo in the United States than in Korea. Community workshop students, Sallye Zilberstein and Mary Parker share their taboos.
And in honor of International Masturbation Month, Allison reveals her masturbation story. Andrea offers insight into when it’s ok to use words like fuck and pussy in a story and when saying taboo words is just distracting.
Allison Langer puts herself out there in writing and in love. She reads a story she submitted to Modern Love, a column in the New York Times. Allison's second story reveals how it felt to get rejected from Modern Love. Her motto for dealing with rejection: Get rejected like a motherfucker. A motto she borrowed from author Cheryl Strayed.
Nicki Post tells her story about the time she was raped.
We talk to Nicki the next day about how it felt to tell her story for the first time. Andrea discusses the class rules after someone tells a story. Italome Ohokihare tell her story from our community class called, A Time I F’d Up. The story is about a time she shoplifted.
