There's so much good stuff happenning with Your Stories these days that it's impossible to highlight every amazing piece on our year-end podcast episodes. So, just like last year, we thought it would be cool to throw the spotlight on a few others we and our listeners really liked!
If you missed them, here are the actual podcast episodes with our favs: Producer's Picks / Audience Picks.
STORIES
Andrew Bentley: Oatmeal - We get it, Andrew. You're good at stories.
Brandon Kirkman: Shrooms/Flamethrowers for Hands - Brandon is a great new friend we made this year, and this hilarious and vivid story exemplifies his skills in both comedy and imagery.
Claire Friedman: Helpful Hints for a Spritely Young Girl - Even though Claire's got a great sense of humor about herself throughout, this seems like a tough story to tell in front of a live audience. She kills it.
DC Pierson: Life Keeps Revising - An incredible piece from a professional storyteller; honestly, the only reason this didn't make one of the year-end podcasts is because it's almost 20 minutes long. But it's so wonderful.
Eric Garneau: Portland Is Magic - Lots of people liked this one, a story which is obviously important to me. Guys, thank you. I didn't want to take space away from other people on the year-end podcasts but I figured I could toss this in here.
Jamison Webb: The Weezer.com Message Boards - Sean Kelley sez: "I'm not sure I laughed at anything harder this year."
Jane Beachy: Mixtape - Jane's really funny, insightful, and intelligent. Plus, she's got great taste in music. What a memorable piece!
Katie Johnston-Smith: Like a Teenage Boy - I feel the same comment made about Claire's story applies to Katie's. It's awesome that Katie has such a great perspective on this really challenging thing.
Kyle Talley: Nate/Kyle - A Christmas Fanfiction Fantasy - People love to hear about Kyle fuckin' stuff.
Lauren Rodriguez: Blanket Fort - This is a really touching, heartfelt story from one of the coolest episodes of the year, and it's about our boy Dwight!
Logan Dean: Fat Orson Welles IN The Case of the Gilded Goblet - Another standout from this year's fanfiction night, Logan paints a vivid, morbid(ly obese) picture of a jetsetting adventurer.
Maggie Wagner: Holodorks; or, VISOR Envy - Eileen Tull sez: "I love Maggie's voice in this piece, like David Sedaris trapped in a Judy Blume book."
Mike Gifford: Piglet Races - Mary Beth Smith sez: "Mike Gifford's pig story made me laugh more than anything this year. Dude killed in front of an audience at a PLANETARIUM. Silly, personal, well-crafted. Made me take "sidebars" in my last story without stealing his "SIDEBAR" declarations."
Mike Gifford: (Press Start on) Pubic Grooming - His second story on this list (obviously)! Mike Gifford's a storytelling champ. So funny, so real.
Stephanie Spence: The Manatee Story - This piece is ridiculously funny and infinitely repeatable.
Won Kim: Butthroat Kitchen - Brandon Kirkman sez: "[This story] really highlights how funny and honest people can be on this show." Agreed, Brandon!
SONGS
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - Some incredible work from Jim and Claire here. Haunting.
The Ghost of Tom Joad - Andrew Bentley sez: "I honestly think this is one of the best songs I've ever heard at Your Stories. Heartfelt, technically on point, and just a beautiful number to end the night with. I still remember Eric's introduction of this song, and after that night it made its way onto my regular Spotify playlist. Good shit."
Lavender Precipitation - For a minute, Your Stories got sexy. Mary Beth Smith sez: "The women in front of me filmed it."
Teenagers - I had a lot of fun doing this, and the crowd got surprisingly into it for a band most people pretend not to like.