Live from Brown/RISD

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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 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 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