RISK!

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

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🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17, 2026

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A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in October of 2013, when Janine Latus, Scott Whitney and Dan Telfer told stories about brushes with madness that left scars.

🎙️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.

Check out our “Revelations, Revisited” episode, where Scott talked to Kevin about his then 12-year-old story.

🎤Live Story: Boots on the Ground by Dan Telfer

(Content note: suicide, suicidal ideation) After his brother’s suicide, a grieving young man channels despair into obsessive protest attendance until a police kettle triggers a panic-driven flight that forces him to confront his own paralysis and fear.

🎙️Radio Story: If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

(Content note: murder, domestic violence) Janine's sister is murdered by an abusive boyfriend. In retrospect, there were too many signs witnessed by too many people who knew the victim and her killer, but no one was sharing the story.

🌈 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

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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

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in October of 2013, when Stephanie Douglass, Shannon Cason, Lily Be and Jim Padar were at our very first show in that toddlin’ town.

🎤Live Story: You Don’t Know Jack? by Stephanie Douglass

A high school erupts in laughter over a mysterious name on the morning announcements, sending a well-meaning teacher on a frantic mission to protect a bullied student who, disastrously, does not exist.

🎤Live Story: I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got by Shannon CasonAfter obsessing over penis size and attempting a risky DIY “enhancement,” a man temporarily loses sexual function, panics through days of humiliation, and learns the terrifying medical reason behind his self-inflicted scare.

🎤Live Story: The Great Detective by Lily Be

Lily learns the reason her mom threw her dad out was that her mom once took on the role of private detective and hid in a car while her husband and his mistress had sex in it.

🎤Live Story: Dressing the Wound by Jim Padar

(Content note: fatal injury) A homicide detective in the ‘70s, Jim saved a dying boy by keeping his hand on the neck wound. The boy’s parents thanked him for giving them a chance to say goodbye.

🌈 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

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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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

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