The Odyssey Storytelling Podcast

Worlds turned upside down. Unexpected, unexplained, or under-explained experiences. Familiar face or complete stranger? Things that give you goosebumps or make the hair on your neck stand at attention. Quirky or creepy? A little bit off...or completely off the charts? Get weird, eerie, and/or perplexed with Odyssey as we ponder and attempt to make sense of life's stranger things. Storytellers incl...

For the first time ever, Miles Schneiderman is featuring one of his own stories on the Odyssey Storytelling Podcast...with a twist! After returning the October 2017 Haunted show, where Miles told "The Story of the Haunted Pizza Hut," Miles' mom crashes the podcast studio to talk about how she doesn't remember the Pizza Hut being haunted, and speculates on what might really have happened that night...

We have another story from the December 2019 Chill show for you this week, as newcomer Tanu Vyas takes us along for the ride on her physical and spiritual journey. From Tanu's Odyssey bio: Tanu Vyas was born in Jaipur, India and is an elementary school teacher by profession. She's also an intuitive healer, does reiki, and holds meditation classes. This story was performed and recorded in front of...

Two versus one, twice as much- or perhaps- just invisible. Bilingual, bicultural and on the border- maybe unwanted, unseen and uncomfortable. However, also proud. "Speak English," but why not something else? One world, two cultures, three languages in some cases. Invisible or unmistakable? Storytellers include: Czarina Nafarrate Albrecht Classen Alma Rosa Montañez Diego Piña Lopez Consuelo Hernand...

Cam Juarez returns to the Odyssey Storytelling Podcast, with his December 2019 story about the concept of "chilling," or "being/staying chill," particularly when life is throwing you weird curveballs and doctors and nurses are glancing warily between you and the tests they've just performed on you with ominously confused looks on their faces. From Cam's Odyssey bio: Cam Juárez was born to migrant...

At the November 2019 Second Chances show, the Odyssey crowd was treated to an appearance from Riley, whose unique storytelling style underpins her retelling of events that made her who she is today. From Riley's Odyssey bio: I'm Seminole-Creek from Oklahoma. I was raised by my Grandmother and her sister and spoke only Seminole till I had to go to school at age 6. I'm an artist, head injury survivo...

"Spirits" was a theme that could have been (and was) interpreted in any number of ways. However, it was also the October 2019 show, and Sergio Gonzalez went straight for the Halloween angle. Of course, it helped that Sergio attended one of the most haunted schools in America, and he has the stories to prove it! From his Odyssey bio: Sergio M. Gonzalez has been a Tucson resident for about 4 years....

The essence of our organization is to create community one story at a time. We hold space for people to tell their stories and, share their lived experiences and, more importantly, for others to simply listen. Time and again this has created connections and strengthened our Tucson community. Odyssey Storytelling is proud to present a special event to honor and enhance Black voices. Many storytelli...

It's only been eleven months since Karla Campillo-Soto told her story at the September 2019 Disaster show, but trust us, it's worth hearing again. Using her experience with the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, she tells a gripping tale of family, resilience, and being okay when disaster strikes. From Karla's Odyssey bio: Born in Mexico in 1973, Karla Campillo-Soto came to the U.S. in her early twentie...

When Troy Larkin returned to the Odyssey stage for the December 2018 "Mortified" show, anyone who had seen him tell stories before knew that he was probably going to be talking about his balls. But that knowledge did not prepare the audience for what came next. Suffice it to say that you'll have to listen to the episode to discover the specific type of fruit that was, at one point, the same size a...

It was nearly two years ago that Manny Mejias stepped onto the Odyssey stage for his public service announcement, which, to paraphrase the man himself, blew our hair back. One of the most singularly powerful stories in Odyssey history, Manny spoke to us about his journey, advised us to listen to kids and give them what they need, and reminded us to love one another. From Manny's Odyssey bio: Manue...

Award-winning author Nooshie Motaref showed up to the May 2018 Fake show with an interesting interpretation of the theme: the idea of a "fake door." In explaning this idea, she told the story of her departure from her native Iran after the ascension of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the difficult journey that ultimately took her to the United States. From Nooshie's Odyssey bio: Nooshie Motaref, author of...

A vagabond is a person who wanders from place to place without a home or job. Right now we find ourselves confined and unable to wander to escape the summer swelter like years past. While the idea of being footloose and fancy free and living on the road is appealing, so are the comforts of stable housing and employment/income during this time of economic upheaval. For Odyssey Storytelling's third...

Sometimes you trip over obstacles you make yourself, sometimes over obstacles other people make for you. Sometimes the obstacles are things you're just born with. In December 2017, Kuvaal Patel told the story obstacles from all three categories, and how he overcame them and proved everybody wrong. From Kuvaal's Odyssey bio: Kuvaal Patel is a student at the University of Arizona. Born in Chicago, K...

In September 2017, the Tucson YWCA hosted Odyssey for the first time, and while the podcast audio suffered from some sound issues, the stories themselves were absolutely incredible. One of the stories came by way of Juan Bayardo, whose "Gigs Across America" would eventually take him to all fifty states...but that kicked off with a startling story of transformation. From Juan's Odyssey bio: Juan Ba...

About a year ago, at Odyssey's Dissent show, Barbara Lewis introduced the concept of "unintentional dissent." It's what happens when you succeed despite living in a system designed to help you fail -- also known as being Black in America. From Barbara's Odyssey bio: Barbara Lewis– not the singer- arrived in Tucson at the age of 18 months and grew up in a loving but strict Roman Catholic household...

Shelter in place, lock down, quarantine. As the world seemed to hit the pause button on regular life activities, our stories continued unabated. Join us for our second  ever  virtual show as we provide an opportunity for our storytellers to share their challenges and triumphs from the age of COVID-19.   Storytellers include: Jana Segal-Stormont Troy Larkin Brett Kramer Lisa Cardenas Steve Braun Et...

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Odyssey has featured a lot of voices over the years, and we love all our storytellers and our community, but the fact of the matter is that a whole lot of those storytellers have been White. And considering everything happening in our country right now in the aftermath of the lynching of George Floyd, the murders of Breanna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and all the other people who h...

Hey everyone, look! We found the "Lost" show! And as a special treat during these difficult times, we present it to you here in full! Well, admittedly it's been reconstructed -- we don't know the original order of the stories. And the sound quality isn't the best. The stories, however, are wonderful, and we very much hope you enjoy them. Storytellers include: Steven Braun Jerry Diaz Crystal Melara...

Fierce, ferocious, untamed. Savage can incite feelings of fear and brutality. The attack of a wild animal. A remorseless assault. But also, the word oozes strength and power. Something you did that was so positively fierce it changed your life forever! Maybe it was the ferocious will to live, or an untamed passion for something (or someone) you love. We all have a savage within us, just waiting to...

The final twist in the winding road that was the August 2015 Detours show features none other than longtime Odyssey curator and volunteer Molly McCloy, whose hopes for a turnaround in the relationships within her family came from a somewhat unusual source. From Molly's most recent Odyssey bio: Molly McCloy is a four-time Moth StorySLAM winner whose work was recently profiled in O Magazine. She hol...

They say quarantine is a great opportunity to get all your chores done, so at long last, Odyssey Storytelling is finally cleaning up its Dirty Laundry. This is the final story from that fateful show - the last Odyssey show of the pre-Trump world - and it appropriately features a man who many in the Tucson community call Satan! In November 2016, Brian Taraz had a couple of drinks and took the stage...

Way back in June 2015, Edie Jarolim came to the Taboo show with the most taboo subject of all: money. "I think me and my friends are more comfortable talking about sex than money," she quips. But she's not just talking about it -  she's asking for it! Sadly, we don't have Edie's Odyssey bio, and her Kickstarter has long since completed its work. But we can tell you that the book she wrote with tha...

Well folks, our mission (to bring you all six stories from the February 2017 Mission show, in this case) has come to an end. This final story from that event features Jordan Wilson, who provides an exciting, possibly even educational, window into his experiences in Afghanistan as part of the Air Force. Not going into combat or anything, just...hacking the mish. From Jordan's Odyssey bio: Jordan Wi...

When John Muller was asked to come up with a story for the March 2016 Strange show, he responded with not one strange story, but several! From childhood schizophrenia to alien abductions, John infuses our final Strange episode with weirdness and humor alike. From his Odyssey bio: John Muller is a man of many talents. When not tending his flock of giraffes at his downtown ranch, he is an author of...