If you like The Moth, This American Life or Snap Judgment, take a walk on the wilder side with RISK! Your colorful host Kevin Allison (of the legendary comedy group The State) helms this surprisingly uncensored show where people tell jaw-dropping true stories they never thought they'd dare to share in public. RISK! is hilarious, heart-wrenching and remarkably real. Think you've heard it all? Fasten your seatbelt.
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Sep 29, 2026 · 1:50:33
Twice a year we gather the best of the best from the last six months. This round holds three. (Content note: suicide) At fifteen, Richard Velazquez steps onto a 1986 Lower East…
Sep 24, 2026 · 1:03:13
"Stung" is a set of four live stories from June 2014 back in the feed, each about someone caught off guard. Matt Kirshen, 18 and backpacking through France with two sisters from…
Sep 22, 2026 · 40:16
Three people come within reach of what they want and are nearly undone grabbing for it. Karen Ibarra brings a self-described nerd's devotion to a heated Los Angeles delegate…
Sep 17, 2026 · 40:09
This episode first surfaced back in June 2014, presenting two people who’d run out of road and somehow had to find more. Joe Mulligan, a stand-up whose marriage and career have…
Sep 17, 2026 · 40:39
Three stories about laughing at exactly the wrong moment, and finding out it was the right one all along. Three ways of getting through it sideways. Be Part of RISK! 🎟 See RISK!…
Sep 10, 2026 · 1:09:17
Three wildly different stories from a night RISK! recorded live in Boston at the Nameless Coffeehouse back in May of 2014, pulled from the archive and dropped back into the feed.…
Sep 8, 2026 · 36:36
At twenty-four, Allen Fetters is blindsided by the worst gallstone attack of his life. Too stubborn to call 911 or even a friend, he decides to drive himself to the ER, floors it…
Sep 3, 2026 · 1:02:33
Back from November 2021, this episode is just bonkers: original songs, sound collages, audio easter eggs, and other inanities stacked one on top of another. We’ve got stamps.com…
Sep 2, 2026 · 47:27
Two classic RISK! stories about walking into a room that codes you as wrong from the second you open your mouth. Tara Clancy commuted from working-class Queens to a Manhattan…
Sep 1, 2026 · 1:05:59
Kevin Allison sits down with Jeff Barr, RISK!'s longtime editor, for a farewell conversation almost two decades in the making. At its center is a story they've never told on the…
Aug 27, 2026 · 1:04:23
Back in May of 2014, RISK! hit Pittsburgh for the first time, and this classic episode brings the whole strange, sharp-edged night home. (Content note: sexual assault) As a…
Aug 25, 2026 · 40:21
Two New York men take the long way through heartbreak. Brad Lawrence arrives in the city to become an actor while his girlfriend starts Columbia Law School, and their seven-year…
Aug 20, 2026 · 1:04:09
An episode from May 2014 with more comedy than the alliterative title would suggest. Dave Hill wanted to frighten himself on purpose, so he flew to northern Mexico to stay with…
Aug 18, 2026 · 32:02
Two comedians with two very different things to stop hiding, expose themselves in turn: Calvin S. Cato is queer, twenty pounds lighter than he used to be, and willing to do…
Aug 13, 2026 · 48:04
This one comes back from April of 2014, the second night of a RISK! live run in Reno, Nevada, and it swings hard between the filthy and the tender. Josie Spadoni is working an…
Aug 12, 2026 · 45:35
Let's dig into two people’s lives where physical desire set off completely unplanned-for chain reactions. Ceara Lynch is a teenager when a stranger online suggests she bottle and…
Aug 11, 2026 · 55:20
Fox Emerson moves to Milan with his husband for a fresh start, then lets a charismatic man he met in Atlanta follow him there. The man settles into the apartment, grows colder…
Aug 6, 2026 · 1:00:18
Live from Reno in April 2014, three first-time RISK! storytellers turn a single night into a run of proposition, prophecy, and psychedelic reckoning. Virginia Munsterman is a…
Aug 4, 2026 · 49:13
Kenice Mobley grew up on a 1999 movie fantasy of the woman who travels the world, says yes to everything, and never flinches. As an adult she follows that ideal into a Paris sex…
Jul 30, 2026 · 1:13:35
From April 2014, five people finding a way out. Sean Crespo signs up for a sleep deprivation study to escape the worst summer job in Boston, then spends ten days plotting one act…
Jul 28, 2026 · 37:51
Two people confront what it means to stay bound to someone who keeps letting them down. Tuesday Thomas, a trans woman in LA with a lifelong pull toward unavailable men, meets a…
Jul 23, 2026 · 1:03:00
Marilyn Gilchrist is a professional dog trainer, and "Who Am I Now" is her conversation with Michael Shikashio, lifted from his podcast The Bitey End of the Dog. Kevin Allison…
Jul 21, 2026 · 44:17
For the first of two Still Dog People episodes this week, John LaSala guest-hosts with his wife Kate LaSala, a professional dog behavior consultant. (Content note: graphic dog…
Jul 16, 2026 · 57:56
A classic RISK! episode from March 2014. Three live storytellers, three very different voices in the head. Vicki Tollemache spent her teens as the careful kid orbiting a wilder…
Jul 15, 2026 · 49:26
Kevin launches a new classic RISK! series for Disability Pride Month, revisiting stories about life with a disability from episodes past. Amy Salloway takes a job as guest…
Jul 14, 2026 · 39:34
Two people learn something about protecting and being protected, one at a mall in lockdown, one on a plane full of strangers. (Content note: gun violence) Jon Rappoport is on a…
Jul 9, 2026 · 1:17:35
This classic RISK! episode first aired in March 2014, and the four San Diego storytellers behind it cover a remarkable range, from white-knuckle confession to gleeful filth.…
Jul 7, 2026 · 42:52
Radio producer Jon Nelson curates and guest-hosts an episode built from three listener submissions RISK! never quite knew where to file, all circling childhood faith and the…
Jul 2, 2026 · 1:01:09
Back in March 2014, RISK! tripled down on a single subject, and this classic episode was the result. Josh Healey is 17 and smitten with his drama club co-president when she casts…
Jun 30, 2026 · 39:38
Two people who look fine on the outside, and the very different storms going on underneath. Ande Jackson is years into rebuilding after ovarian cancer. But one afternoon…
Jun 25, 2026 · 38:52
Long shots don't always pan out the way you hoped. Sometimes they catch fire. Sometimes they mug you. Shauna McGarry, a TV writer who can't shake her mother's thrift-store…
Jun 23, 2026 · 34:57
Brittany Ross and Sam Feirstein are both hungry for it in this episode: the moment someone finally looks your way and says, yes, you. For Brittany, that moment arrives in the…
Jun 18, 2026 · 1:08:52
This one originally aired in August 2013, and the fathers in it tend toward the unexpectedly generous. And heck, this episode may as well be part of our Fathers Day Stories…
Jun 16, 2026 · 37:19
Kambri and Evan arrive on the same episode from opposite ends of the spectrum, which turns out to be exactly right. Kambri Crews grew up poor in rural Texas with a deaf family,…
Jun 11, 2026 · 1:07:33
In San Francisco, 2014, four great storytellers took the RISK! stage at SF Sketch Fest: Stephen Tobolowsky was directing the New York premiere of The Miss Firecracker Contest…
Jun 9, 2026 · 45:50
Two stories from people who found themselves in situations they didn't choose and had to figure out what to do from inside them. Guest-hosted by the captivating Cyndi Freeman.…
Jun 4, 2026 · 1:13:00
One chilly Seattle night in February 2014, four storytellers on the RISK! stage said some things they probably wouldn’t have otherwise said out loud. Dan Savage told the story of…
Jun 2, 2026 · 43:58
It's summer 2014, and Bailey Swilley has a boyfriend she's been trying to leave for months and a father who is about to make that the least of her problems. When her dad goes…
May 28, 2026 · 46:53
This one goes deep. "Into the Mystic" first aired in February 2014, and it brings together three accounts of the uncanny from three storytellers who had no map for what they were…
May 26, 2026 · 1:01:35
Guest-host Taj Easton is in the chair this week, presenting these two stories on the long shadow of patriarchy with a particular attentiveness, repeatedly asking the same leading…
May 21, 2026 · 1:07:05
This one goes back to February 2014: a live RISK! episode built around the theme of fascination, meaning the things that get under your skin and won't let go. Ryan Britt was a…
May 19, 2026 · 37:48
Two storytellers, two very different ways of inheriting the past. Shauna McGarry throws a Halloween party with her newly single roommate, hoping for a fresh start after a…
May 14, 2026 · 1:10:17
Originally recorded live at NYC Podfest in January 2014, this is one of those classic RISK! episodes where the theme, confession, actually delivers on its promise. Kevin Allison…
May 12, 2026 · 37:13
Two stories about what the body holds onto and what it eventually gives back. Ali Mac took a job in crypto after two years of Nazi death threats courtesy of Fox News. At the…
May 7, 2026 · 40:56
Two mothers' days that look nothing alike, but hit just as hard. Jobim Santos grew up watching his mother Linda lose her battle with ALS piece by piece, from cane to wheelchair…
May 5, 2026 · 1:41:49
This episode brings together two of the most gripping conversations in the show's recent run: a man who survived an extended stint in a Philippine jail on fabricated charges, and…
Apr 30, 2026 · 46:06
From the RISK! archives, this January 2014 episode gathers three storytellers around a theme that sounds simple and turns out not to be: actually being okay with yourself. Joel…
Apr 28, 2026 · 51:51
Guest-hosted this week by Taj Easton, stepping in for Kevin to present a story by LeCount Holmes Jr., now Taj’s surrogate pops. (Content note: explicit sexual activity involving…
Apr 23, 2026 · 30:59
Two RISK! stories pulled from the archive, and both are worth your time. "The Best of Adventure Stories #3" is funny and unsettling in equal measure, sometimes within the same…
Apr 21, 2026 · 50:47
This episode is a love letter to people who are magnificently, irrepressibly, sometimes accidentally weird. Larry Dorsey Jr. opens with the true account of his first day teaching…
Apr 17, 2026 · 1:00
Think you've heard it all? You haven't. People pull over because they're laughing too hard to drive. People cry on treadmills. People share episodes with new friends thinking: if…
Apr 16, 2026 · 1:33:56
JP Michael first told "A Hard Landing" on RISK! in the summer of 2016, and it became one of the most talked-about episodes in the show's history. Now, a decade later, he's back…
Apr 15, 2026 · 49:21
Bad Medicine brings together three storytellers whose bodies, doctors, and circumstances all conspire against them in very different ways. Pam Stepansky throws out her back on a…
Apr 14, 2026 · 39:19
Two RISK! veterans deliver stories about plans that—you guessed it—backfired. As a teenager Nate Runkel built a satirical website that sexualized cartoon characters as a parody…
Apr 9, 2026 · 2:27:17
For the first time, we’re putting a Best of RISK! episode back on the feed. Originally released in July 2017, #12 remains one of the most epic compilations of RISK! stories ever:…
Apr 7, 2026 · 1:16:48
(Content note: sexual assault, justifiable homicide) Annie Carnrike spent years close to her cousin Michael, a man of fierce loyalty and an equally fierce temper. When he showed…
Apr 2, 2026 · 44:58
This is a classic RISK! episode from January 2014, and it holds up with a particular kind of ferocity. (Content note: sexual assault) Ellie Jackson spent 12 years convincing…
Mar 31, 2026 · 1:41:01
Three stories so worth your time, from darkly funny to devastating. Our 34th compilation of some of our favorite recent stories shared on the podcast. (Content note: sexual…
Mar 26, 2026 · 1:00:35
Three stories about snap decisions and what happens next: a classic RISK! episode from December 2013 that still hits hard. Lauren Cook found her date for a stranger's New Jersey…
Mar 24, 2026 · 29:21
Kevin hears Timothy Vaux's "Males of the City," a story from So Say We All, for the first time. In RISK! Reacts episodes, there's no preview, no prep, just Kevin listening along…
Mar 20, 2026 · 1:00:46
True Crime News: The Podcast is your weekly dose of real-time updates on the most gripping true crime stories, current cases, investigations, scams, and schemes. Host Ana Garcia…
Mar 19, 2026 · 44:02
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.…
Mar 17, 2026 · 53:04
(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…
Mar 13, 2026 · 36:02
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…
Mar 10, 2026 · 39:55
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…
Mar 5, 2026 · 48:41
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…
Mar 3, 2026 · 38:56
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…
Feb 26, 2026 · 53:54
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.…
Feb 24, 2026 · 44:32
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…
Feb 19, 2026 · 50:19
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…
Feb 17, 2026 · 52:45
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!…
Feb 12, 2026 · 39:48
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…
Feb 10, 2026 · 48:11
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,…
Feb 5, 2026 · 49:08
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.…
Feb 3, 2026 · 38:30
Ezra Holmlund and Sarah Adelman tell stories about things involving coming... and going. 🎤Live Story: Things Are Going South by Ezra Holmlund Ezra and his brother are at home…
Jan 30, 2026 · 49:26
In memory of Jan Scott-Frazier, we revisit her 2011 story called “The Riverside” and, until now unreleased, her conversation about the story in 2021 with narrative therapist…
Jan 27, 2026 · 56:38
Stella Mayerhoff and Rebecca Heron tell stories about the unbearable weight of truth. 🎙️Radio Story: In Ways I Never Could Have Imagined by Stella Mayerhoff In the Democratic…
Jan 22, 2026 · 57:04
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in October of 2013, when Janine Latus, Scott Whitney and Dan Telfer told stories about brushes with madness that left…
Jan 20, 2026 · 51:24
Shem, Nonye Brown-West and JC Cassis share stories of sexual discoveries. 🎤Live Story: Shem's Guide to Sexuality by Shem As a joke, young Shem's frenemy gives him a sexy book,…
Jan 15, 2026 · 1:12:49
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in October of 2013, when Stephanie Douglass, Shannon Cason, Lily Be and Jim Padar were at our very first show in that…
Jan 13, 2026 · 1:02:53
Ms. Aishia tells Cyndi Freeman about the time she navigated a complex, emotionally abusive relationship, and ultimately found the strength to prioritize her own happiness and…
Jan 8, 2026 · 35:46
There’s nothing but laughs in our Funny Stuff compilations of classic RISK! stories on the lighter side. This week, Kumail Nanjiani and Alecia Altstaetter share about penile…
Jan 6, 2026 · 38:27
Michael J Bennett and Jessica Piscitelli Robinson tell holiday stories that are new, true and kinda blue. 🎙️Radio Story: Santa's Revenge by Michael J Bennett Michael is a…
Jan 5, 2026 · 7:28
Kevin announces RISK!’s goal this year -- helping listeners connect. More social events, more online fun, and Kevin’s latest online storytelling workshops. One starts on Jan 14,…
Jan 1, 2026 · 1:03:22
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when Kevin Allison, Jen Bosworth, Donna Steele and Dare Campbell all shared stories of…
Dec 30, 2025 · 50:31
JC Cassis, David Crabb and Cyndi Freeman share stories at RISK! live shows when they were hosting 🎤Live Story: Not That Casual by JC Cassis As a young woman, JC is excited to go…
Dec 25, 2025 · 1:07:49
Every holiday season, RISK! fans ask about this small handful of yuletide perennial favorites. Well here they all are, wrapped up in one neat package with a bow. Unwrap and enjoy…
Dec 23, 2025 · 36:48
Ty Gentile, James Rana, and David Hu share yuletide tales about Christmas carols, unorthodox Santas, and of course, excretory health in our annual winter holidays special for…
Dec 18, 2025 · 48:45
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in December of 2013, when Alex Edelman, Jude Treder-Wolff and Danielle Kramer all shared Yuletide tales. 🎤Live Story:…
Dec 16, 2025 · 37:38
Nikki Bailey and Hana Nobel share stories about how messy things can get with food and sex, with guest host, Taj Easton. 🎤Live Story: That's Not Sexy, Baby by Nikki Bailey For…
Dec 11, 2025 · 38:55
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when Amanda Egge and Nayland Blake shared stories about reconciling their own desires with the…
Dec 9, 2025 · 51:21
Jillian Markowitz and David Joseph share stories about the secrets that haunt families. 🎤Live Story: Uncomfortably Close by Jillian Markowitz Jillian’s relationship with her…
Dec 4, 2025 · 43:30
Christine Gentry revisits her story from 2016 called “Making the Chain” with Kevin Allison. She has many new insights, nine years later. 🎤Live Story: Making the Chain by…
Dec 2, 2025 · 50:57
Mira Rivera and Rachelle Anne Warren tell stories about opening up & leaning into insecurities. 💻Workshop Story: Sexual Healing by Mira Rivera After her partner breaks up with…
Nov 27, 2025 · 35:30
Satori Shakoor and Paul Cibis share stories of thanksgiving. A part of our series called Gratitude Stories. 🎤Live Story: Thank You by Satori Shakoor Satori’s loss of her mother…
Nov 25, 2025 · 32:21
Kevin hears Danielle Meinert’s “The Day I Met ARFID” story from The Story Collider for the first time and gives you his hot takes. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!…
Nov 20, 2025 · 1:14:03
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in September of 2013, when RISK! had its first live show in the city that keeps it weird: Austin, Texas. 🎤Live Story:…
Nov 18, 2025 · 42:18
Jen Nails and Sandi Marx share stories about being who you are even, when it’s a pain in the ass. 🎤Radio Story: Permission to Be Myself by Jen Nails Jen struggles to fit in at…
Nov 13, 2025 · 49:15
Morgan revisits her story from 2012 called “Always A Woman” with Kevin Allison and considers how much has changed for trans folks in the 13 years since. 🎙️Radio Story: Always A…
Nov 12, 2025 · 1:06:56
Inky Montaine tells Taj Easton about how, before he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, he truly felt like he might have come from another planet. Check out all of our…
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