Everything Is Stories

They say stealing cattle in Texas can get a man hung by the neck until dead. From a young age Roddy Pippin was ready to take that risk, as he and his crew would take home close to a million dollars rustling cattle over the course of 3 years.

In this episode Pippin speaks of his idyllic childhood and love for the ways of the old west, the precarious choices he made while chasing the steal that would lead to brushes with death, and how those few years on the run pushed him and his lifelong friendships to the limit. 

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Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Sound Design by George Drake Jr.

Music by Mike Etten and Dominic Palermo

Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder

For more about this story, including photos by Justin Hollar, visit everythingisstories.com.

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Death, life’s ultimate closure, often casts a long shadow over the funeral that follows. These ceremonies rarely spark protest or public outcry, but in the spring of 2013 Lonewolf Smith was thrust into a national dilemma when he and his colleagues at Graham, Putney, & Mahoney Funeral Parlors were asked to tend to the body of one of America’s most reviled terrorists.

In this story we hear from former mortician Lonewolf on his dedication to his often-misunderstood work, a personal moral dilemma following his own experience with a horrific act of terrorism, and how he answers the question of who deserves a proper burial.

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Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Sound Design by George Drake Jr.

Music by Mike Etten.

Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder

For more about this story, including photos by Robert Johansson, visit everythingisstories.com.

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In part two of our episode we pick up with Jerry as he returns to New York City from Saudi Arabia. With money in his pocket he decides to indulge in a free lifestyle, immersing himself in the gay community at various bath houses and night clubs on a regular basis. After running a successful business and ultimately losing a loved one to the AIDS epidemic, he struggles with addiction in the rough and tumble 1980s East Village. From there we follow as he drives his taxi cab through a rapidly changing landscape, watching old haunts and the character of the city he once knew slowly disappear

Produced by Bart Barshaw, Paulus Van Horn, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Music by Total Control, Cocoa Leaf, and Dan Svizeny.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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Part one of this two-part episode follows Jerry Torre – well known for his appearance in the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens. As a child he ran from his home in Brooklyn and began working as a gardener for the wealthy in East Hampton, NY. While there he stumbles upon the now-famous Grey Gardens property and begins regularly staying with the Beales, helping maintain the property and becoming friends with the two women. At the same time he begins to discover his own sexuality, traveling back to Manhattan and immersing himself in the gay community at various bath houses and late night clubs. Following the passing of the Edith Beale, Jerry is given an opportunity to travel overseas – becomingthe gardener for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

Produced by Bart Barshaw, Paulus Van Horn, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Music by Total Control, Cocoa Leaf, and Dan Svizeny.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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At age 60, Jay Byrd lives by himself off the grid in northern Arizona where he often meditates and reads theology. However, his past tells a different story of biker clubs, violence, prison, and heroin addiction. In this episode, Jay Byrd recounts his experience with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and gun-toting girlfriends. Yet after escaping personal chaos, he’s now eager to describe his philosophies concerning beauty and nothingness.

Produced by Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Music by Jon Martinez.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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Abraham Bolden was the first black Secret Service agent on the White House detail. Serving under John F. Kennedy, Bolden cracked counterfeiting cases and provided security for the President. However, the segregated 60s led Bolden from the White House to prison. In this story, EIS finds Bolden inside his Chicago home as he recounts his experiences of racial tension and why he considers himself a tool of fate.

Produced by Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Music by Zachary Reid.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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Charles Farrell could be labeled a number of things: pianist, writer, boxing manager, and hustler. As a teenager, Farrell lived in the streets of Boston, playing piano in mafia-owned clubs. With a love for boxing, he started gambling on high-profile matches while also managing fighters. He fixed an array of professional fights by using code-talk with trainers, foolproof matchmaking, and buying referees and judges. In this story, the highs and lows of gangster culture are explored as Charles Farrell describes the ease of taking advantage of society’s vulnerable parts.

Sesquipedalian is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio.

Produced by Brendan Baker, Nick Van Der Kolk, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Music by Dan Svizeny.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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In the final part of La Retirada, Rocío Gómez and her family enter the United States Federal Witness Security Program. The family must create new identities, while moving from state to state. But they soon realize that fabricated identities do not change their personal history.

La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio.

Produced by Brendan Baker, Nick Van Der Kolk, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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The story continues as Rocío Gómez divorces her husband Rodrigo, a master drug trafficker in Colombia. Rocío and her children move to Miami where she begins a relationship with a new man, Carlos, whose dangerous past with the mafia catches up with Rocío’s family

La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio.

Produced by Brendan Baker, Nick Van Der Kolk, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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In Colombia, Rocío Gómez marries into an empire of wealth and power. She is told the family operates a low-profile import/export business and finds comfort in her role as wife and mother. However, she soon learns the family business is not what it seems as Rocío becomes entangled with drugs, money, and mafioso.

La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio.

Produced by Brendan Baker, Nick Van Der Kolk, Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.

Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com

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