The Storydram

As summer 2024 winds down Kory and Chris recall summer jobs from their college years. Kory worked as a parish secretary and Chris was an achieve development consultant. Seriously.  Chris tells a story about his son getting a potty training toilette seat stuck on his neck. Chris had to cut it off his head with a hacksaw. Seriously.  The guys reflect on the idea that curiosity can be a near occasion...

Kory finds out he's an introvert from Alicia. It's an epiphany for their marriage. It turns out we all might know ourselves as well as we think we do. Thankfully God does.

Bishop Michael Izen joins the guys for a very special live recording of the Storydram Podcast.  The guys recorded in front of the Youth Ministers and Faith Formation staff in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  Have you seen someone do something so out of the ordinary that you made up a reason for it? Chris starts the conversation with a story about watching a guy wash his hands in the s...

Chris savors the joy of opening a new box of 64 crayons at the start of the school year and suggests that opening brand new crayons is an aspect of heaven.  Kory tells a story about a time he drove over 30 minutes just to get Nelson’s ice cream. Insanity. The guys reflect on how true freedom requires growing in knowledge of the truth and choosing of what is true.

Clearly Kory records without Chris’s knowledge and the guys compare base tracks of classic songs like Under Pressure and Ice Ice baby. Chris admits he doesn’t get modern rap.  Chris goes on to apologize to Iowa for claiming it is the most boring state to drive through. On a recent trip with the fam, he encountered a terrible storm which reminded him of a time that his windshield wipers didn’t seem...

Liz Kostelc, Chris’s delightful wife, joins the guys and shares the modern burden of choosing between way too many varieties of a Cheese-It’s and hot sauces. Like the newlywed game Liz quizzes Chris on which variety he would have gotten. It’s marital tension like we’ve never had before on the show.  Then Liz tells a story from their 5th anniversary trip to Napa. Liz was pregnant with their second...

The guys welcome guest Murray Wolf on The Storydram this week.  Chris asks the all important question, “What state is the most boring to drive through?” And two sons of North Dakota  try and defend their homeland.  Murray tells us about a time, as a child, he figured out his dad wasn’t telling the truth. The guys try to figure out if it is ever wrong to not tell the truth.

Chris confesses that the filter between his brain and his mouth gets pretty thin when he is tired. Kory agrees. How do you know someone competes in triathlons? They’ll tell you. But seriously, Kory shares his experience of trying his first triathlon. The guys are reminded that consistency beats intensity most of the time and there is nothing like a good coach in the spiritual life as well.  Also,...

An episode unlike any other. Chris just got back from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and couldn’t stop taking about it. As you can imagine he had too many stories to tell just one. Kory and Chris hold a great Catholic conversation about what happened and what might be the outcome of this pivotal event. 

The guys talk youth sports and Kory finds out that Chris is entering his prime, his t-ball, coach pitch, coaching prime. Chris reflects on the power and call of making sacrifices for others for the sake of their joy and this being a catalyst to a deeper union with God, “If we love somebody we should love them enough to make sure that their relationship with God is more important than their relatio...

Kory and Chris unpack the hugely controversial topic of carbonated water. Kory recalls a painful memory of saving his daughter from an oyster bed which is more scary, and bloody, than it sounds. The guys discuss obedience, love, sacrifice, and what it looks like practically to avoid those near occasions of sin.

Kory lists some the things that Chris has introduced him to over the years like oysters and Thai food. Chris responds by talking about all the North Dakota things Kory has shared. Did someone say redeye? Chris tells a story about getting a speeding ticket in a dubious section of road just outside a retreat house while he has an eight foot tall cross in the bed of his pickup truck. It’s not a count...

The guys commiserate about having uncommon and difficult to pronounce last names and Kory publicly confesses to competing in academic triathlons.   Then Chris and Kory jump into a game of Story Roulette. Kory pulls two topics for Chris to choose from: cows and being pregnant. Chris tells us all about the time his wife Liz was pregnant with their son and thought she was having contractions at 32 we...

Fr John Utecht joins the guys to talk baseball growing up and family life before he shares a scary story about encountering a grizzly bear in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  Kory, Chris and Fr.  John discuss a simple key to spiritual success - staying where God can see you. Stay close to God and do things that help you stay close to God and you will probably be alright. 

Elliut Fonseca snd Eve Anders join Chris and Kory to confess the lack of cleanliness in their cars. Elliut shares a story of a time on a mission trip he tried to be cool and needed to make a visit to the emergency room. The group discusses the tension between stretching to share the gospel and being true to the gifts God has given us. 

The guys discuss Friday night cleaning aka happy wife = happy life or maybe it is just growing up and adulting better.  Chris tells us about a time he accidentally pulled the hair of a total stranger in the middle of Mass. If you like cringe, this story is for you. The guys discuss how even the strangest moments can be an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus. 

Eve Anders and Elliut Fonseca join the guys to discuss New Orleans Eve’s homeland. Eve tells an epic story of seeking to feed a team member, sub-par customer service, and laughing so hard, well, I think you know. What message can the group discover in this adventurous tale? The necessity of accepting help. 

Chris airs his personal grievance against seemingly everyone’s obsession with a blooming corpse flower and the guys contemplate why churches burn incense.   Kory tells the story of watching a group of teens contemplate cutting in line in front of his kids while waiting in line for a ride at Mall of America. We contemplate whether it is okay to correct other people’s kids. 

The guys talk things that were amazing as kids that as adults kinda stink. Chuck-e-cheese was the example #1.  Guest Tim Lyndal shared about a time in the midst of a college philosophy class he was challenged to examine his own life for any hidden resentments. After a short examination Tim discovered the need for healing in one area his life.

Kory and Chris play everyone’s favorite Storydram game: Story Roulette. Chris pulls two bar napkin topics: “what the sesame street characters did in retirement?” and “grocery shopping.” Kory must choose which to tell a story about.  Kory responded to grocery shopping telling a story about his favorite game as a youth minister - Blender Wars. It is exactly as gross as you imagine. The guys then thi...

The guys get deep taking about one of the most important topics to all of humanity - sandwiches. Kory craps on Subway hard (sorry for cussing). Chris tells a story about a time he forgot his drivers license in Minneapolis on a 9 hour road trip. He missed out on more than driving. The guys talk about the joy of not getting what we want.

Special guest Tim Lyngdal joins the guys to tell the story of the bravest barista in the world. After a brief chat about worship fails, Tim goes on to share about his visit to India and time spent with St. Mother Teresa’s sisters serving the destitute. A conversation over a latte reveals Tim’s barista had been beaten up for the Christian faith because he proclaimed the gospel in a very unexpected...

Guest Mike Mohs is back to tell the story of his dad meeting St. Padre Pio during World War II. The guys are blown away by the story of Mike’s father Robert Mohs meeting the great Italian 20th century saint and then later returning to join him for Mass. St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, was an Italian Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic.

Story Roulette: the guys are back at it playing Story Roullette. In this story telling game, Chris or Kory picks two random topics from a stack of suggested story topics and the other guy has to tell a story and reflect on a deeper meaning of that story.  In this episode, Chris has to tell a story either about theology of female body or a story about shrimp dip. Yup. Chris tells us about a long ti...

The guys talk concerts, bands, and musical genres with guest Joe Masek before Joe goes on to explain that he used to be a professional DJ in college. That was until he met Jesus in a more profound way. He gave it all up until God surprised him with a big time show. The guys discuss what it means to trust God in the midst of our brokenness and how God can turn bad news into God news.