Annette John Hall, Christopher Wink, Michaela Winberg and Juliana Reyes at the fifth annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival. Today we close out the final episode of the weekly Story Shuffle podcast, a special one-hour, live-recording at the fifth annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival. Fittingly enough, we’re going out with the theme of Closure, featur…

For the last six months, you’ve been hearing the Story Shuffle theme song, as produced by Tony Abraham, credited in each episode’s close. Now hear the full song, which was first produced in 2011, and hear the story behind the song. First hear the full song: Download here. Then hear Tony explain the story behind the song: Download here.…

For the final regular episode of Story Shuffle, we share some stories about becoming the real you. First, El Sawyer tells a story about growing up in what he calls the hood. Then Patrick McNeil shares a fictional story about a girl who could swallow scars. Come back next week, when we’ll release our live recording of Story Shuffle at the 5th annual…

Sometimes, love feels a lot like some of our favorite things. In this episode of Story Shuffle, two storytellers will share the parallels they’ve drawn between love and other objects. First, Christopher Wink will compare love with Philly’s favorite summertime dessert: water ice. Then Adam Teterus will explain why the song he shared with his first l…

If you look hard enough, you can find joy in some strange places. This week on Story Shuffle, hear about some less common places that felt like paradise for our storytellers. First, Kim Quick will tell us about when she spent some time in a place that sorta felt like a cult. Then Patrick McNeil will share an experience he had while couch-surfing.…

Even in the middle of the summer, you can’t escape grades! This week on Story Shuffle, hear about a couple times our storytellers either received or gave grades. First, Malik — a friend of a storyteller who visited from Senegal — will tell us about the time he pranked a teacher. Then Jared Levy will share a fiction story about dishing out grades fo…

Episode 25 is about family. Many of our first and most important lessons come from family members — and it seems those are the lessons we rarely forget. This week on Story Shuffle, you’ll hear two lessons our storytellers learned from their family members. First, Eric Smith will tell us about a childhood lesson that helped him realize the value of …

Intimacy is an important step in connecting with new people — but it’s impossible to fake. We’re going to hear all about intimacy, and the times people tried to force it, in Episode 21 of Story Shuffle. First, Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela will explain how she thinks mix tapes express intimacy. Then, Isaiah Thompson will tell a story about searching f…

Sometimes, you just outgrow your surroundings. When we try to come back to a familiar place that we’ve already outgrown, we feel washed up. In Episode 20, two storytellers share the times they experienced just that. First, Kathryn Bezella will tell us what it felt like to star in a children’s musical. Then, Christopher Illuminati will share a story…