First released in December 2013, this live RISK! episode from Philadelphia's First Person Arts pairs two storytellers with a lot to say about losing control and getting it back.

Dawn Jewel Fraser's "Brasilado" follows a young American woman deep into an immersive year in Rio de Janeiro, learning Portuguese street by street from her chain-smoking instructor Marcy, until a late-night taxi ride home unravels spectacularly when Brazilian police find weed in her bag and mistake her for a drug trafficker.

Then Katie Samson tells "The First Time Again," the story of rebuilding a romantic and sexual life after a sledding accident left her with a spinal cord injury at 20. Her homecoming weekend story is tender, funny, and genuinely triumphant.

Two women, two very different roads back to freedom.

Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/live-from-philly-4-cre509 

Support RISK! & Get Involved

🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, June 9, 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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices