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Sense making. It's one of the deepest human drives. We desperately want to make sense of our world and our role in it. Host Chauncey Zalkin delves into this topic in the episode before this (Ep 14) and reads her own story as a writer using allegory to see truth and heal.

We are all makers and consumer of stories of characters we invest deeply in. Now, in episode 15, she sits down a long time executive of the fascinating storytelling platform, The Moth, to talk about the power of telling personal stories in order to connect more deeply. The Moth a unique success story of universal storytelling based on the ancient oral tradition.

Chauncey says, "my first time I heard what turned into Orange is the New Black was on the Moth Radio Hour on a road trip to see a close friend with Cancer". Stories from all walks of life have been writ large through their storytelling platform.

In this episode she muses on the loss of organic culture before getting into the interview.

Kate Tellers co-authored the 2022 New York Times best seller, How to Tell a Story. (affiliate link)

Enjoy!

Written, directed, and executive produced by Chauncey Zalkin. Sound engineered by Eric Aaron. Photography by Alonza Mitchell with Design Consulting by Paper + Screen.

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We want to hear from YOU so if you want to be a guest, have a pithy but kind retort, or for business inquiries, drop me a line.

Actual People, a Podcast
www.chaunceyzalkin.com

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We're pushing lots of buttons. We're clicking and liking and commenting. We're beeping and booping, scrolling and scheduling. We're drinking from a fire hose of advice, opinions and external standards for how we should live our lives. Where's it all getting us?

Welcome to episode 14. This might be the most vulnerable episode yet of Actual People. Today's episode is a monologue that discusses an over reliance on self help patter for facing our personal challenges and considers the value of rich metaphor and letting things lie in order to find clarity.

Host Chauncey Zalkin ends by sharing a draft of her allegorical novel in progress called "Claw" which starts around the 23 minute mark. Listen if you dare.

Topics:

• Writer's Block and Deep Work
• Efforting and Letting Go
• Advice Bros
• Metaphor
• Self Help as Distraction
• Her favorite self help book ever with her own interpretation of the tool it offers.

Written, directed, and executive produced by Chauncey Zalkin. Sound engineered by Eric Aaron. Photography by Alonza Mitchell with Design Consulting by Paper + Screen.

Want to go deeper? Follow my Substack and don't forget to pledge subscription. (;

Want to see the episode? Subscribe to the Actual People YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates and behind the scenes.

We want to hear from YOU so if you want to be a guest, have a pithy but kind retort, or for business inquiries, drop me a line.

Actual People, a Podcast
www.chaunceyzalkin.com

Send us a Text Message.

Today host Chauncey Zalkin sits down with the author of "The Life Brief ".

Her guest, Bonnie Wan, has been the head of brand strategy at famed agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners for over 13 years - and she took that talent for zeroing in on making meaning for major brands and parlayed it into writing briefs for people's lives starting with her own.

Take a listen.

Written, directed, and executive produced by Chauncey Zalkin. Sound engineered by Eric Aaron. Photography by Alonza Mitchell with Design Consulting by Paper + Screen.

Want to go deeper? Follow my Substack and don't forget to pledge subscription. (;

Want to see the episode? Subscribe to the Actual People YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates and behind the scenes.

We want to hear from YOU so if you want to be a guest, have a pithy but kind retort, or for business inquiries, drop me a line.

Actual People, a Podcast
www.chaunceyzalkin.com