This episode is about self destruction . Jahn Dope, one of the students in our class, reads his story, Dark Matter. Jahn’s story begins after he overdoses on LSD after a crazy night of drinking and drugs, then backtracks to childhood. After Jahn’s story ends, the class was left with questions. So, producers Diego and Misha met Jahn at work to get the whole story. Listeners will hear why Jahn dropped out of college and what happened next. Jahn tells us how he got deeper and deeper into drugs and ...
Aug 03, 2016•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores perspective, how sometimes it takes years to figure out that something you did or thought was totally fucked up. Bo tells his story about getting blocked from a 1-900 gay hotline. But the story is really about how it took him years to become comfortable enough with himself to stop judging the free expression he witnessed among the gay people he first encountered on Miami Beach 24 years ago. Bo came from the deep South in search of freedom from oppression. He wanted gay book...
Jul 19, 2016•20 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores the different zones we live in: comfort zone, stretch zone and panic zone. Allison talks about her experience at dinner with new friends and how she complained the entire night. She realizes she ventured too far into her stretch zone and panicked. Misha Mehrel tells his story on the stage at Lip Service, a live storytelling event in Miami. The story is about his hairy ass. The story was written in his very first writing class in response to a prompt. Misha worked on the sto...
Jun 30, 2016•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores the epistolary form, which is just a snobby way to say stories written in the form of a letter. Andrea Askowitz starts with a letter written to her from her best friend in high school. Robin and Andrea wrote hundreds of letters back and forth to each other throughout their friendship. The letters in this episode were written 30 years ago, when Andrea spent a summer at camp away from Robin. She also has the letters she wrote to Robin, because Robin died when they were both 3...
Jun 14, 2016•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we discuss what is taboo. Is it a word, a topic? Is it the same for everyone? We learn why we need to talk about things considered taboo, and when to actually write taboo words instead of referring to them. You’ll hear from Inessa Freylekhman who’s mom tells her what not to say on a date. You’ll also hear from Nicki Post, who feels that abortion is more taboo in the United States than in Korea. We’ll also take you into our community workshop where several new students write afte...
May 29, 2016•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, student and co-producer Allison Langer puts herself out there in writing and in love. The first story she tells was submitted to Modern Love, a column in the New York Times. Allison’s story got rejected, which is the subject of the second story she tells. Also in the second story, Allison compares the Modern Love rejection to rejection in love. Allison shares her motto for dealing with rejection. A motto she borrowed from author Cheryl Strayed. You’ll also hear Andrea discuss he...
May 17, 2016•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever told a story or shared a secret and regretted it? Like you wake up the next morning and you’re like ew, why’d I say that? And then you want to vomit? Today we’re talking about telling stories that give us emotional hangovers. Those times when you feel you told too much. In this episode, Nicki Post tells her story about the time she was raped. Andrea discusses the class rules after someone tells a story. We pretend the person who just told the story isn’t in the room. We address tha...
May 01, 2016•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The words we say to each other and ourselves shape our lives. One of Andrea’s favorite writing tenets is: Make every word count. In today’s episode we learn that every word counts in life also. This is the first episode of our second semester and we have some new students. You’ll hear Missy Hernandez tell her story called Words. Her story is about sharing words with her hero Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love. Missy ended up on Gilbert’s Podcast, Magic Lessons. Hear how Lizzy’s words brought Mis...
Apr 25, 2016•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we’re talking about writing stories meant to be told out loud . Jahn Dope tells his story, Tackled, about the time he was raped. Andrea Askowitz tells her story Thank You For Listening, about the time she went 24 hours without talking about herself. Both stories were told on stage at Lip Service in front of 600 people. You’ll hear how a performance can change the gravity of a subject. Allison Langer is the host and substitute teacher for this episode. Andrea, our regular host and teacher ...
Feb 25, 2016•34 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we are stepping out of order because it’s February and we’re in the U.S. and we can’t avoid thinking about love. So, we’re bringing you a Valentine’s Day episode. This episode is a little different. Slightly less teachy, thought not without this lesson: A good way to approach a story is to ask a question and then to try to answer it. You’ll meet students from season two and you’ll hear from some of regulars that you already know. You’ll hear their questions about love. Miriam Herman, a ne...
Feb 11, 2016•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re talking about stakes. And we don’t mean those slabs of meat you eat if you’re not a vegetarian, but what makes a listener or a reader care about a story. And we’re talking about what we have to lose as storytellers when we tell our stories. One thing we know about memoir writing is that the narrator lived to tell the tale. So if we know the narrator lived, why do we care? The job of storytellers is to make us care. Andrea talks about a writing webinar with Lea Thau, host and producer of St...
Feb 01, 2016•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is about writing humor . Andrea tells a joke only she thinks is funny, then calls our humor expert, Jay Wexler, who confirms just how funny her joke is. Jay is an attorney and the author of five books. Later in the show, Jay shares his ten suggestions for writing humor. Andrea adds four. Together, they have 14 suggestions for writing humor. Terry DeMeo introduces herself before telling a story in front of a live audience, at Lip Service. In her own words, Terry wonders about who she...
Jan 15, 2016•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re interrupting our first semester to give you a taste of who’s to come in our second semester. You’ll meet Frenchy, who took Andrea’s writing class years ago and is now back. Does she get a kiss on New Year’s Eve? You’ll also meet Tobi Ash and hear why she’s been avoiding New Year’s celebrations for 30 years. Cynthia Castillo who wished for a tragic life to write about until tragedy hit. Nicki Post takes us on a trip to Korea, one of her many adventures out of the country. You’ll hear from S...
Dec 30, 2015•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast How should a story be structured? Start from the very beginning by using the concept of story spine . Story spine, a technique articulated by the playwright Ken Adams, is the backbone of every traditional story. In this episode, Allison uses the story spine to write about her return to dating after having children on her own. Inessa writes about a date that goes wrong and Jahn uses this structure to tell stories about the first time he got a boner. In each story, the story spine structure brings...
Dec 14, 2015•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today we give you Wendi Adelson the way she revealed herself in the first semester. Andrea talks about hot topic, cold prose, a writing technique where the narrator pares down the writing in a difficult moment. The story is told without sentiment. It’s just reported. Two weeks into the semester, Wendi came back with some of the answers to students’ questions. In her first story she hinted at not feeling like she can publicly express how she really feels, a theme she repeated in the next story. I...
Dec 03, 2015•22 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Danny and Bo reveal the lies they've told, especially to themselves. And then the fallout. Danny falls in love with two women but neither knows about the other. Everyone is happy, until he hears a knock at the door. Bo admits to his many sexual encounters with women, sometimes in the same day; all an attempt to cure himself from being gay. Andrea talks about the importance of feedback and encourages the listener to find a writing group. She says feedback can be delicate, especially with any new ...
Nov 11, 2015•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Andrea follows Inessa to the fertility clinic early one morning as she goes through the process of harvesting her eggs, an undertaking not entirely of her doing. We heard in the second episode that Mama put down $10,000 toward the procedure. Inessa paid the remaining $2,000. Turns out Inessa is not the only one in class who has or is currently going about having children without getting knocked up. Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little ...
Oct 13, 2015•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hear what Inessa, Danny, Bo, Jahn, Allison and Andrea confess about their relationships with their moms and how those relationships have shaped their lives. We all tell stories, including to ourselves. The truth is, you never know how the people you love will respond to what you write about them. You may be surprised. Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little about how to write your own stories. Writing Class Radio is equal parts heart and ...
Oct 11, 2015•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast In our first class of the semester, we got the writing prompt, "How are you? Really?" Danny and Inessa are two students in the class who share exactly how they are. Danny's story involves underwear. Inessa's involves stabbing hormones into her belly to create eggs that may become her future children. Both stories are about how they are influenced by their parents. Aren't we all? Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little about how to write y...
Oct 10, 2015•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz created a podcast of their writing class. On this episode you'll hear what qualifies Andrea to be the teacher. And why Allison insisted the world needs this podcast. We believe that once you write about the thing you don't want to write about, that thing has less emotional power over you. Allison reveals the hardest thing in the world to write about. Content warning: this episode contains a story about the loss of a child. Writing Class Radio is a podcast...
Oct 09, 2015•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
