The Odyssey Storytelling Podcast

Surviving deadly beatings or the Big C with humor and optimism. Courage to tell a long-withheld tale. A teacher’s abiding influence. Sad loss of old loves giving way to new. The surprising possibilit…

The final story from the December 2016 "Fraught" show comes courtesy of Gloria Elizalde, the first person to ever have two individual stories on this podcast. Yes, it has something to do with the fac…

Due to unexpected life complications (i.e. the producer's wife is nine months pregnant and we keep thinking she might be going into labor) this episode is a couple of days late, and for that, we ask …

The themes of Odyssey shows are always open to broad interpretation, and Ryan Malco's story from the 2015 Independence show was a unique take on the idea. In explaining his religious views (or more a…

The Natural show from October 2016 was the source of the first individual story on this podcast, and as of this episode, we have released all six stories from that show! We close out Natural with Jes…

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit,” wrote e.e. cummings. This episode, we’ll hear stories from true be…

The February 2017 Mission show was one of our editor's first live Odyssey events, and it was also an early milestone in the storytelling career of Steve Braun, one of Odyssey's most peerless voluntee…

Here at the Odyssey Storytelling Podcast, we love all our stories equally. For the most part. At the risk of breaking that objectivity, though...this is a really, really good one, y'all. Possibly one…

In times like these, it's important to remember stories about people who have fought and won against injustice (spoiler alert: they're usually women). In this story, originally told at the "Labor" sh…

We like to think we control our fate, but, as the old saying goes, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Come hear stories of debacles, fiascos, and cataclysmic misfortune. Find out ho…

Once again, we're nearly finished with another show from Odyssey's past -- this time the "Body" show from December 2015. We have two more stories from that month to share with you, and one of them wa…

The March 2016 "Strange" show was an evening full of laughter, but David Gramling's story about the final years of his father's life added some poignancy to the proceedings. Which isn't to say David'…

We're fast approaching the end of the February 2016 "Bridges" show -- almost to the end of the bridge, you might say. This is our penultimate story from that show, and it's a moving and funny story o…

Unfinished. Ill-conceived. Not thought all the way through. It seemed like a good idea at the time…though perhaps at the time, the person who came up with the idea was half-baked themselves. In any c…

The great thing about Odyssey is that you never know what kind of story you're going to hear. On this show, we've had funny stories, sexy stories, emotional stories told by people who lay bare the pa…

We've all had that friend or loved one who seemed to have a clear path laid out for them, only to suddenly diverge and begin traveling in a very different direction. For Elena Acoba, that person was …

We're nearing the end of December 2016's "Fraught" show, but Chase Matthews' story from that event focuses on a very different kind of ending -- one that he came extremely close to experiencing, but …

Bursts of light. Symbols of celebration. Fire in the sky; fire in the heart. A thing of beauty viewed from a distance, or a thing of danger viewed up close. Objects exploding above us or feelings exp…

We haven't checked in on our storytellers' archenemies yet in 2019, but every good story needs a villain, so let's hear from Robert Gonzalez, who took the Odyssey stage four years ago to talk about t…

Anna Darian was 10 years old when she abruptly moved with her mother to America. Some years later, at Odyssey's Forgiveness/Grudges show in September 2016, she told the story of that journey, and of …