Earth Monster

Alexia Michitti was born without her right hand — and for most of her childhood, she hid it behind her back, terrified of the stares and the bullying that came with being different. When she was cut from her middle-school basketball team because of her hand, something in her shifted. Instead of giving up, she turned to soccer — and that choice changed everything. Years later, Alexia became the bes...

Meg grew up between two extremes — scarcity and sudden wealth. Her parents went from steel mills in Pittsburgh to automotive success in Detroit, and she watched them buy rugs, lamps, and shop vacs in bulk, only to fight over them endlessly. For Meg, money never equaled happiness, and the material things that came with it felt empty. Now in her 40s and going through a divorce, she’s still wrestling...

Jeremy grew up moving from place to place, sleeping on floors, and living with constant instability. By the time he was 17, his mother had overdosed, his family had splintered, and he had already learned to survive more than most adults ever face. Now 24, he works the night shift as a medic in a chaotic emergency room, seeing life and death unfold every day — all while chasing the dream of becomin...

He grew up caught between two worlds, never feeling like he truly belonged. By 14, he had left home. By 17, he was hooked on heroin, overdosing, and waking up in rehab on his 18th birthday. Violence, gangs, and addiction followed him everywhere, and at his lowest point, he walked out the door ready to end it all. But life had other plans. A chance encounter, what he calls “the sign that kept him a...

Asher has lived through the kind of instability most of us can’t imagine: sleeping on the streets of Las Vegas, struggling with bipolar disorder, and fighting through the chaos of addiction. Yet in the middle of it all, one thing kept her alive: music. In this episode, Asher shares the raw truth about survival with no safety net: what it feels like to hit rock bottom, the daily battle of mental il...

Joslynn’s journey began with a profound lesson from her mother’s courage, a choice to speak up that broke a legacy of silence and shaped a lifetime of advocacy. Starting as an 11-year-old volunteer in an adaptive soccer program, Joslynn's found community and purpose that ignited her career dedicated to disability services, challenging systems, and helping others find their voice. From navigati...

Adrian’s path to faith wasn’t marked by a dramatic conversion or a break from belief, it’s been steady, personal, and rooted in his own life experiences. Growing up, his understanding of God and spirituality formed quietly but deeply, shaping how he sees the world today. In this episode, the conversation takes an unexpected turn when Adrian begins asking host Matt about his own beliefs. What follo...

Born into a life where stability was a luxury and survival was an art form, this week’s guest grew up in constant motion—14 moves before the age of nine, a childhood spent in the shadow of volatile parents, and a home where hard truths were served without filter. With no safety net and no family wealth to fall back on, she learned early that the only way forward was to create her own path from wha...

Raised by athletes and shaped by a worldview that prized “winning at all costs,” Tristan never imagined his greatest challenge would come not on the ice, but in his grandfather’s bedroom. When a sudden stroke left his grandpa bedbound, Tristan dropped everything—his business, his ambitions, his sanity at times—to become his caregiver. What began as an act of love turned into two years of daily sac...

Raised inside a strict religious home with a mother potentially battling undiagnosed mental illness, Kloee learned early how to hide. She believed deeply in love and goodness but found herself pulled into a world of drugs, toxic relationships, and spiraling self-destruction. Torn between purity and recklessness, belief and rebellion, Kloee’s life became a collision of extremes. In this fearless an...

Dan spent his life building things—spacecraft, sound systems, self-belief—but what he never quite built was a place where he truly fit in. From working on aerospace projects to playing drums in LA clubs, his story is less about finding a role and more about creating one. In this episode, Dan opens up about the quiet power of self-awareness, the “necessary delusions” that shaped his path, and what...

Lu'kas’ story is a raw, unfiltered look at what it means to survive (and eventually thrive) when life deals you a tough hand. Growing up with a mother struggling with addiction, Lu'kas spent parts of childhood homeless, searching for security in motel rooms and borrowed spaces. To cope, Lu'kas became a master of reinvention, spinning stories, adopting new identities, and hiding painful...

Sia’s story is a powerful exploration of what it means to grow up under the gaze of family, community, and self. From childhood, Sia learned to navigate a world where being watched—and judged—was constant, shaping her choices and sense of self. She reveals how she turned the pressure of always being observed into a tool for self-reflection, imagining her life as a story she could edit, rewrite, an...

Born into a world where justice feels like an illusion, this week’s guest has spent a lifetime questioning the stories we’re told—and the systems that shape our lives. Raised by a mother who filled their home with books and hard truths, he grew up seeing firsthand how the odds are stacked against Indigenous and Black communities, and how the so-called “American Dream” often leaves the most vulnera...

Amy’s story is a raw look at the double-edged sword of early success and the realities behind the spotlight. From a childhood spent performing on national stages to becoming an XFL cheerleader at 20, Amy chased fame and found herself on top of the world—until it all came crashing down. When the applause faded, addiction took hold, forcing Amy to rebuild her life from the ground up. In this episode...

FD Brisco III’s childhood was a study in contrasts—carrying a real gun for protection at age 11, but still finding peace and escape in GI Joes and Hot Wheels. In this episode, he shares how he balanced survival in a dangerous world with a powerful belief that “the world is good,” a mindset that shaped his journey through adversity. From becoming a father at 15 to becoming a leader in his high scho...

Raised in a blue-collar family and expected to follow the safe path of factory work, our guest spent years wrestling with the weight of other people’s stories—until everything fell apart. At 32, facing heartbreak and depression, and considering ending it all, he made a bold decision to leave behind the life he’d settled for and chased his true passion: broadcasting. In this deeply honest conversat...

What happens when you marry a stranger for money — and end up mourning them as a widow? This week on Earth Monster Jen tells a raw, haunting (and surprisingly funny) tale about how she married a complete stranger for a good story... and some cash of course. A legally binding, secret-filled friendship that ended in a real life tragedy. From a catfished Tinder date to a wedding officiated at a strip...

Born with spina bifida and told he’d never walk, talk, or live independently. Against every expectation, Peter Rico has forged his own path—drawing strength from his family, his love of storytelling, and a relentless determination to overcome both physical and environmental obstacles. Peter opens up about growing up in a neighborhood surrounded by drugs and gang violence while navigating the chall...

In this episode of the Earth Monster podcast, we connect with Jacob, a man who has escaped the digital world through living in his van without a smart phone for nearly 5 years. Jacob shares the realizations that led to him changing his life and how ditching his smartphone and stepping away from the internet has led to profound personal growth, deeper relationships, and a renewed sense of self. But...

In the premiere episode of the Earth Monster podcast, we dive deep into the story of Shannon Kringen, an artist and storyteller who discovers the impact that one song had on shaping her identity and helping her to heal after her parent's divorce. As a child caught between two worlds, Shannon found solace and identity in Tom Petty’s “Refugee,” a track that became her anthem of survival and self-dis...

Welcome to Earth Monster, the storytelling show that celebrates vulnerability and speaks to the darkest messiest little parts of your heart about the lies that we tell ourselves every day. The stories that we used to get out of bed, the fantasies that we let propel our lives. I called these things necessary delusions, and I am really interested in talking about the biggest ideas that we have had a...

**Season Two Finale** The complicated delusions of parenthood unpacked by 10 storytellers who have lived it. Featuring my very pregnant wife, my mom, my dad, my unborn child, my best friend the shrink and many more.

Regrets. We all have them and we all use a delusion to live with them. We speak with 8 storytellers about the regrets that haunt them.

Patterns don’t change in a day, Bobby returns to discuss the baby steps he has taken towards being upfront with women and Matt shares a time when he turned a marriage into a divorce in just 3 short months.