RISK!

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 

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🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on Tuesday, June 9, 2026

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(Content note: child sexual abuse)

In 2016, Ed G. got on stage at RISK! and told a story he'd never told anyone. Now, ten years later, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with him to go places that story couldn't: the FBI, the Pope, the survivors who found each other decades later, and the hard-won question of where shame really belongs.

Ed's story begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where a boy abandoned by his violent father and drowning in poverty finds an unlikely lifeline in the local Catholic church. What the bishop who runs it asks for in return will take Ed the better part of a lifetime to fully reckon with.

🎶For more info and music featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/quid-pro-quo-revisited 

Support RISK! & Get Involved

• 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17th, 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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In this crossover episode with The Story Collider, Karen McCaffrey and Mary Cyn share stories that illustrate the importance of compassion in healthcare.

🎤Live Story: More than Survival by Karen McCaffrey

(Content note: sexual assault, rape) After surviving rape and a traumatic hospital experience afterward, Karen transformed her pain into purpose. Decades later, she directed a sexual assault forensic examiner program, advocating for victims' rights and ensuring survivors receive trauma-informed care.

🎤Live Story: My Vagina Job by Mary Cyn

Drawing on her own traumatic experiences with dismissive care, Mary transforms vulnerability into a tool for empathy, helping future doctors treat patients with compassion and helping women feel less fear and isolation about their bodies

🎶For more info and songs featured in this episode, visit risk-show.com/podcast/where-it-hurts

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on March 16th, 2026

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Michael McFadden and Adrianne Frost share stories about evolving feelings about their bodies over time. 

🎙️Radio Story: Growth by Michael McFadden

Michael is a child swimming prodigy trapped in a grown man’s body who fails a humiliating puberty test, loses his athletic destiny, and ultimately redefines masculinity and self-worth beyond the pool and beyond his penis size.

🎤Live Story: Smoochin' and Fiddlin' by Adrianne Frost

(Content note: child sexual abuse, self-harm) After surviving childhood sexual abuse and years of debilitating endometriosis, Adrianne equates beauty with value and spirals through painful sex and self-harm before discovering lasting love on new terms.

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in NYC on March 17th

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Byron Bowers and Amy Salloway share experiences from their formative years. A part of The Best of Coming of Age Stories series.

🎤🎙️💻Live Story: My Father's Son by Byron Bowers

At 10, Byron goes to visit his dad's crack-addicted father near the projects. Four years later, Byron is selling crack, and he breaks down, wondering how he let his life become like his father’s.

🎤Live Story: Sister Act by Amy Salloway

Amy understands as a child that her relationship with her mother isn’t loving. When her half-sister is born, her mom casts Abbie as the angel to Amy’s devil. Even the cleaning lady says Abbie is the reincarnation of Anne Frank. 

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, March 17, 2026

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Ria Spencer, Mindy Myers and Josh Connors share stories about learning to feel at home in your body.

🎤Live Story: The Only Girl by Ria Spencer

Six-year-old Ria is diagnosed with severe cradle cap and must enter an all-male Arkansas barbershop to have her beloved locks shaved. It might have been traumatic, but the men were supportive and encouraging. 

🎙️Radio Story: Ample Package by Mindy Myers

Mindy orders therapeutic vaginal stretching dildos. When the package goes missing, she discovers one—nicknamed "The Rock"—was mistakenly delivered to a children's cooking class, where a student innocently used it as a mixing tool and taste-tested the sauce.

🎤Live Story: Butt Plug Inferno by Josh Connors

Josh falls for Damien, an HIV-positive guy. After a panicked butt-plug-burning incident forces honesty about his fears and desires, they eventually build a trusting, loving relationship that lasts a decade.

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

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

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A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in November of 2013, when Kitty Hailey, Christine Lee and Josh Healey share stories of surprising family situations.

🎤🎙️💻Live Story: Rollin’ With Grandma by Josh Healey

Josh's Grandma-in-law gets a pinched nerve and requires medical marijuana. The hilarity ensues of him buying pot for this little old lady and helping her to smoke it.

🎤🎙️💻Radio Story: Two Bowls by Christine Lee

Christine gets the rare and risky opportunity to visit her family in North Korea. When she sees the poverty, the graciousness and the extremely sheltered worldview that her family members live with, it breaks her heart. 

🎤🎙️💻Live Story: It’s All Happening at the Zoo by Kitty Hailey

Kitty falls in love with a brilliant man who is overcome by a neurological disorder that renders him something more like a 7-year old. When visiting the zoo, he yells out that the gorillas are fucking, causing a scene.

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on Tuesday, March 17, 2026

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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

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📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠

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A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in November of 2013, when students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design shared true stories at a RISK! live show on campus.

🎤Live Story: Over the Limit by David Jacobs

As a kid, it took David a while to realize he had anger management problems. After a few unfortunate outbursts, a therapist helped him get a hold of himself.

🎤Live Story: Street Smarts by Hania Ansari

Hania is held at gunpoint during a robbery attempt in Pakistan. She offers her TI-89 calculator. The robber asks her to teach him how to use it, revealing his educational background. He leaves without taking anything.

🎤Live Story: As Three by D.H.

In college, D.H. found herself in a happy three-person relationship. But like so many college relationships, it had to end.

🌈 Support RISK! & Get Involved

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

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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!

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📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book⁠

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