Showing titles in Audio Performances & Dramatizations

[Contains explicit content] Storytelling can bring together people from many different cultures and, at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, it brought together Eugene Mirman and Gad Elmaleh for a special live recording of Hold On. Montreal was a fitting place to hear the tale of Gad's transition from the French tradition of live comedy to a more casual North American stand-up style. It's also fitting that Eugene was on hand to casually interject with thoughtful and funny questions.

[Contains explicit content] Every romance begins differently, but for the ones that last, there's always a moment when you decide to commit — we call it your commit-moment. In this episode, two storytellers share the tale of their own commit-moments, and prove that real love can come from the strangest of places. This episode features "Wet Feet" by Emma Weisfeld for The Narrators, "How Nick's Mind Works" by Lesley Jones for Bawdy Storytelling, and an anonymous secret from BedPost Confessions.

[Contains explicit content] Online dating is the grandest gamble — the reward might be a great time, but the opportunity for disappointment and deception is no joke. This episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage features two hilarious stories about online hookups that went in different directions than the storytellers imagined. First up, comedian and writer Guy Branum shares a story with us in studio about a hookup gone rogue.

[Contains explicit content] Sometimes you have to escape the nest in order to learn how to flap your wings. In this episode, Margot Leitman escapes her parents' gaze—they'd rather focus on each other—to Puerto Rico, where a handsome man in a lavender shirt awaits her. Storyteller Mike O'Connell, on the other hand, completely fails to escape the nest. Plus, Dan tells the story of the time he tried to escape to San Francisco but, unfortunately, couldn't get off (the bus).

[Contains explicit content] Everyone loves a good creepy story, and this episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage features two particularly great ones - including a creeper story with a twist by Janelle James from RISK!, and a studio story from Sean Patton about what happens when you become the creep. Plus, Dan has some advice for those who hang out with creepy people.

[Contains explicit content] Heart racing, knees wobbly, and feeling light-headed - are you head over heels in love, or is that fear creeping down your spine? In this set of spooky stories, two narrators discover that sometimes getting your adrenaline pumping can arouse other things as well. This episode features "When Things Go Bump in the Night" by Robert Ben Garant for RISK! and "Jack Skellington and Friends" by Baltazar Barnabas for Bawdy Storytelling.

[Contains explicit content] Reggie Watts (The Late Late Show) is a comedic genius and musical mastermind, but he’s not a rude dude. Stopping a person telling a story is a rude dude thing to do...unless they're a guest on an episode of Hold On and you happen to be a master story-disrupter, like Eugene Mirman. In this excellent episode of his storytelling series, Eugene cuts into Reggie's thrilling tale of mushrooms and bathrooms to politely prod for more detail.

[Contains explicit content] Two storytellers with very intense but very different body issues take some action, get some action, and discover the unexpected powers and pleasures of their own bodies. This episode of Hot Mic features "I Have a Vagina" by Buck Angel for Trantastic at Bawdy Storytelling, and "Power in It" by Carrie Wade for RISK! Plus, Dan explains the power of three simple words: "I believe you."

[Contains explicit content] Nick Thune doesn't go looking for fights, but fights seem to find him anyway. When they do, though, it's his inability to let some things slide that causes his momentary anger to boil over into small acts of passive-aggression: snarky rejoinders, anonymous notes, and the occasional sarcastic email. Find out which option Nick chose when confronted with an unprofessional doctor in his story live at SF Sketchfest for Porchlight, A Storytelling Series.

[Contains explicit content] Jonah Ray (Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail) is the exact sort of guy you would expect to find working in a record store. You might also expect that 9/11/2001 was not a great day to have to go to work, but what you might not expect is that Jonah's workday had its own unpleasant surprises. Tragedy plus time equals comedy and host Eugene Mirman brought Jonah into the studio to go over his experiences on that infamous day.

[Contains explicit content] A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence is unexpected in a way that causes the listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. Emo Philips is a master of the paraprosdokian and a comedic genius, immediately recognizable for his pageboy haircut and wandering falsetto. Eugene Mirman is the host of Hold On with Eugene Mirman and a master of turning a live storytelling event on its head with his delightful questions and interjections.

[Contains explicit content] Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live, Sasheer Zamata Party Time) went to a Christian elementary school where discipline-by-paddle was a looming threat for ill-behaved students. Reflecting upon the inconsistencies of parochial punishment from an adult's perspective, Sasheer found a lot to question about how and why paddlings were meted out, as you can hear in the story she told for RISK!

[Contains explicit content] Coming out is a huge step - so much so that we honor it with National Coming Out Day. But what about all the small steps afterwards? In this episode, two gay people try to navigate their romantic lives after coming out, and learn that finding love isn't quite as easy as just walking into a gay bar. This episode features "Sunset at Noon" from Holly Lorka for the Soundtrack Series, and "How to Be" from R. Eric Thomas for RISK!

[Contains explicit content] Mark Normand doesn't have a filter: in his stand-up he isn't afraid to dip into darker topics and shock laughter out of audiences. When Eugene Mirman brought Mark into the studio to tell a story, it came as no surprise that things went to several dark places: a bad break-up in a tiny apartment, the bottom of a bottle or two, and a homeless shelter.

[Contains explicit content] On this episode, comedian Steve Agee (The Sarah Silverman Show) opens up to Eugene Mirman about his first experience with the party drug ecstasy. Once the story gets going, the questions start flying. Learn about the good times and the bad times that can result from taking recreational drugs as Steve explains the how and why of his hilarious true tale that he originally shared at a Don't Tell My Mother show in Los Angeles.

[Contains explicit content] "Don't hesitate! Take the plunge! Put yourself out there!" Well, what's out there? You may find an open minded sexual unicorn capable of pleasuring you beyond humankind's feeble imagination, or limp home bruised and black-eyed with little more than your dignity and a story; maybe not even that much. On this episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage, two storytellers put themselves pretty far out there, to vastly different results.

[Contains explicit content] Having a comfort zone to retreat to is important. But just like a city gets rezoned in order to accommodate development, we have to rezone what we're comfortable with in order to grow. Especially when it comes to sex. On this episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage, two storytellers decide to try to make their comfort zones a little larger. This episode features "Can I Pick This Up," which David Crabb told at RISK!, and "Afterparty," which Caitlin Gill told at Don't Tell My Mother.

[Contains explicit content] Secret identities don't just cause problems for superheroes - they make trouble for normal people too. In this episode of Hot Mic, two storytellers - one of them is Dan Savage himself - describe what it's like to hide, and then reveal, sexual or gender orientation. This episode features the stories "Trans on Ice" by Elana Lancaster for The Story Collider, and "Watch and Learn" by your host Dan Savage for Bawdy Storytelling.

[Contains explicit content] When it comes to sex, nothing is harder than talking about sexually transmitted infections. Get it?! And STIs are even more difficult to make funny—look how hard we just tried! But on this episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage, a bunch of brave souls break the stigma with hilarious STI stories and scenarios. Rob Penty shares a story from RISK! about genital warts, and members of the famous improv troupe The Groundlings conjure up ridiculous STI-ridden, fully-improvised scenes.

[Contains explicit content] High school sucks for a lot of people, especially young queer kids trying to survive the blinding storm of pubescent hormones while getting bullied or beat up for things they’re just learning to like. Things like musical theater, or in Dan Bucatinsky's case, the leader of his high school's marching band. On this episode of Hot Mic with Dan Savage, guest Dan Bucatinsky talks with Dan Savage about his not-so-glorious days as an awkward, closeted clarinet player.