Once Upon an Upset

“This is a story about the wickedest witch in all of the land. They didn’t even make a movie about her, that’s how wicked she was. She had so many people in her dungeon, she had to hire a big company to make her a second dungeon. That’s how wicked she was.”

— from 'Farmer John and the Wicked Witch of the Central Region'

A wicked witch falls from the sky due to a broom malfunction. After landing in a cornfield, she meets a farmer and they wind up helping each other in surprising ways.

(Suitable for all ages.)

Farmer John and the Wicked Witch of the Central Region was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Once upon a time there was an anguished cave mother who finally couldn’t take it anymore. 

Every night, she’d arrive back to her cave after hunting and gathering all day long, ready to fall asleep on her cozy boulder, but every night, without fail, her little ones would insist on a story before bed. 

And back then, without a book to close, a goodnight story could go on and on until almost dawn.  

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for poor prehistoric mothers to miss out on sleep entirely because of little ones begging and pleading for the thousandth time, “Please Mama, tell us what happened next!!! Please, Please, Please!!” 

But one day, this particular anguished mother just couldn’t think of what happened next.”

— From 'The Origins Of Happily Ever After'

(Suitable for all ages.)

This episode was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Once, there was a man who had a secret. A pretty big secret. You see, even though he looked like a regular man, inside he was really a pigeon.” — from 'A Pigeon At Heart'

A Pigeon At Heart is a story about a man who felt it was easier to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. Until someone found out the truth of who he really was…

(Suitable for all ages.)

A Pigeon At Heart was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Robert Baker had the flu, so he stayed home from work. He was told by his wife and also by his doctor to rest. But he couldn’t. He tossed and he turned and then gave up to watch TV in the living room.”

— FROM "CHANNEL 15 ½"

Channel 15 ½ is about a man who fears the whole world is against him and discovers it’s true. Sort of.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

Channel 15 ½ was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Once upon a time in a town called Thornling, sass and backtalk were taking over. Kids wouldn’t lift a finger and the moms were going gray from stress…”

— from 'The Shears of Thornling’

The Shears of Thornling is a story about a town that discovers their old-fashioned ways of solving behavior problems aren’t always the best.

(Suitable for all ages.)

The Shears of Thornling was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Flacko and his buddy Nacho were two of several teenagers in the village. But unlike the others, these two had a reputation for rarely doing as they were told. They pondered during work-time and raided the dessert cave during the village ponder.

And because they’d been born in the village as opposed to the wild, the elder members of the community were forever fed up with the both of them. “You don’t know how it used to be!” the elders would lament. “We used to have to sleep on a different boulder every night! Sometimes walk five miles just for a single berry!”

“Jeeze dad,” Flacko would roll his eyes. “It’s not my fault you guys didn’t know what you were doing.”

— from The Forgotten History Of The Human Race—Part Three

When a group of early humans discover a gift from The Great Wind, their lives are forever changed. In Part Three, the villagers begin to have more free time than ever before, which leads them to pondering for the very first time, but their pondering quickly leads to wondering why they are even alive on earth. With this uncertainty, the entire village soon begins to panic. Luckily, one teenager figures out the answer.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

This episode was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

A very short story about hiding the truth.

(Suitable for all ages.)

This piece was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com

“Days turned to months in paradise, and though no one discussed it openly, it was clear no one was planning on leaving.

People went about their days, avoiding eye contact with one another, hoping no one would breach the subject.

But one evening, as the villagers were sharpening their jagged rocks preparing for the night’s protection, the eldest member of the village took it upon himself to walk amongst the villagers, asking everyone to join him in the communal cave for what would be their very first town meeting.”

— The Forgotten History Of The Human Race—Part Two

When a group of early humans discover a gift from The Great Wind, their lives are forever changed. In Part Two, these early humans grapple with not having to survive 24-hours a day.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

This piece was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com

“Have you ever heard of the forgotten history of the human race? Probably not, being that it’s been forgotten.

Well, I’ll tell you the story the way it was told to me:

A long, long time ago, before any Christs or Buddhas or grocery stores, there lived a group of humans. No one quite agrees on how they came to be, but it was clear they arrived and they wanted to stay alive and became very busy trying to do so.”

— The Forgotten History Of The Human Race—Part One

When a group of early humans discover a gift from The Great Wind, their lives are forever changed.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

This episode was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

A conversation about what to do when you feel bad about how you look.

(Suitable for all ages.)

I Don’t Like How I Look was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.