Shows
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryDancing in the nitty gritty with SukieKatherine Dunham is a name that should be well known - a legendary figure in dance, she was a choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, humanitarian and more. Here’s more on her at the Library of Congress.But this is Sukie’s story. In this installment of Tell Me a Story, Sukie takes us on her journey as a dance instructor navigating social issues and dance within the Dunham Technique in order to become a better teacher to all of her students.Dunham’s work and her example is the driving force through Sukie’s experien...2025-04-1516 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryChestnuts exploding in an open fire with ChadChad owns a restaurant and has a long, varied career working and leading in restaurants. He’s quick to say any day working in a restaurant could lead to anything - chaos being a frequent experience.In this installment of Tell Me a Story, Chad talks about one of this favorite days in the restaurant which became an annual event that only grew in size and evolved to become something even more magical every year.Listen in for a taste of what it’s like working a special day in the year of a restaurant, keep...2025-04-0108 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryWatching the bicentennial in D.C. from a lawn chair in the back of a cargo van with BeckyBecky spent summers traveling with her sisters, following their mother for her work. One of those summers provided the opportunity to see Washington D.C. at a most opportune time - the 1976 bicentennial celebrations.In this installment of Tell Me a Story, Becky shares the adventure of arriving to D.C. and how her mother solved the problem of the rental car company not having the car they reserved. Her mother’s ingenuity led to one of the most memorable sightseeing trips in the back of a cargo van with aluminum folding chairs.Like any go...2025-03-1806 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryThe mystery of the stolen painting with Doug“I think I have something you may be interested in,” said the man calling the University of Arizona Museum of Art.He did have something. A something that had experienced a renewed level of interest after a writer on the University of Arizona internal communications team wrote a story about the 30th anniversary of a painting stolen (cut right out of its frame) at the UofA museum in 1985.Woman-Ochre by Willem de Kooning disappeared in plain day and remained an unsolved mystery for 30 years until the owners of a Silver City, NM, antique store realized the...2025-03-0412 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StorySkating from the PC to the hockey rink with JohnThe science hasn’t been done yet, but it’s likely 98% of teenage boys in the ‘90s discovered sports via EA Sports video games. This is particularly true of hockey - not the most accessible game to get involved in if you lived in Arizona.John was one of those kids. In this installment of Tell Me a Story, John shares his path from the PC to the hockey rink. As one of those Arizona kids, he was off to a later start than most hockey players. He began ice skating lessons at 29.It might be slo...2025-02-1813 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryTaking a step back to take a leap forward with ElisabethThe housing industry went bust in 2008. Banking went insane. For so many, it became a time of survival and putting the pieces back together. Elisabeth was one of the many who lost her job as companies were struggling and began laying off employees en masse. In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Elisabeth shares how, while the setback was humbling, she found a surprising and rewarding new path in a job she didn’t even want.Call it a growth mindset if you will, Elisabeth’s curiosity and “the glass isn’t half full, it’s ove...2025-02-0406 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryPack up the house and move the newborn across the country with KevinThere’s something to be said for putting your head down and charging through a big life change. Or in Kevin’s case, charging through all the big life changes at the same time.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Kevin talks about uprooting his family, with a newborn in tow, and moving to a new state without a job. It’s the epitome of taking a leap of faith in a new adventure.Now, 18 years later, the daughter he moved across the country is ready to make her own big move to colleg...2025-01-2109 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryPlaying the cards with PinakiIn college, not all the important lessons are learned in the classrooms. Sometimes the best lessons come in late night card games with trash-talking roommates. At least that’s what happened for Pinaki.In this installment of Tell Me a Story, Pinaki shares about a lesson he learned while on the losing end of a card game against his college roommate, and how that lesson has shaped his approach to…pretty much everything in life.I don’t want to give away the soundbite, because he says it so well and it’s likely going to stick...2025-01-0705 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryPoke 'n smoke 'n boxing with Jason and his dadI promise this will be the most wholesome and charming story you’ll hear today that includes drinking, smoking, all night gambling and men punching each other in the face repeatedly.Coming home on holiday weekends while in college, Jason and his friends congregated to his family barn where Jason’s dad hosted what came to be known as a Poke ‘n Smoke.An old fashioned poke ‘n smoke included boxing matches on the barn’s big screen TV, drinks and cigars, as well as a poker game that lasted until the sun came up.In th...2024-10-2214 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryAt the height of Duranaticism: following Duran Duran on tour with DebraLong before Swifties terrorized their enemies on the internet, the only way to show true devotion to a band was to start a fanzine with your friends and follow the band on the road.That’s exactly what Debra did in the 1980s as a teenage Duranie. A Duranie being those devoted to one of those huge ‘80s bands that continues to endure and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Duran Duran.Some healthy teenage rebellion led Debra to the band, and in turn she wrote a popu...2024-10-0915 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryBrindi talks about the privilege of being with a loved one as they dieFor those of us who have reached a certain age, there are some inevitable events that are bound to occur. Our parents passing away is one of them.It’s a heavy experience, but it’s also illuminating, heartbreaking, darkly humorous, exhausting and heartening.In this Tell Me a Story, Brindi shares her experience supporting her dad in his last few months, the triumphs and the frustrations, what she learned and the message he wanted to leave behind for his family.As she says, the last few weeks of his father’s life was th...2024-09-1135 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryBest day ever with the TerrydactylTell Me a Story is an audio series of folks sharing moments from their lives - the big and small, fun or heavy. It’s a privilege to have someone share their story with me and to in turn share it with you.Are clowns a key to reclaiming a little joy and humanity in our lives?Maybe.When Terry and his clown troupe visited the Phoenix Children’s Museum a few weeks ago for International Clown Week he went right into entertainment mode - connecting with kids through magic tricks, silly gags, face...2024-08-2011 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StorySeeing the light in the dark with CharlieTell Me a Story is an audio series of folks sharing moments from their lives - the big and small, fun or heavy. It’s a privilege to have someone share their story with me and to in turn share it with you.We often need to get some space between us and the big events in our lives to be able to tell the story.That’s true for Charlie, who across the last decade has, to put it indelicately… been through some s**t.A drunk driver running a red light hit Ch...2024-08-0609 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryConstantly surprised and delighted with Ashley"We allowed it to be whatever it was that day."In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Ashley shares her story learning about the power of connection and finding your people through the power of shared experience. She led an event at her company about year into COVID for the women’s employee resource group. It was an opportunity to (virtually) bring together folks for International Women’s Day, but also to turn the release valve on a year of insular living.That event (including a name drop: Ali Wong), and subsequent expe...2024-02-2111 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryLearning grief and new family roles when our loved ones pass with Zane L.I probably need to clear up that the Zane telling this story is a different Zane than the one who writes this newsletter. If you can believe it, there is another Zane who works in employee communications and is active on LinkedIn. That’s how I “met” Zane.As he was sharing his work and community activities he supports, I knew he’d have a good story to share. I asked and he shared.There are so many different ways we process grief at the death of someone we love. In this episode of Tell...2024-01-3011 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryFinding common ground in love and reading with WindeeRecommending Infinite Jest* to your date might not be the key to romantic success, but Windee was willing to overlook it with the man who would become her husband.Among finding literary common ground with your significant other, Windee’s story includes some great questions and even a little advice, such as:* You don’t have to like what each other are reading, but it does help to find audiobooks you can both agree on for those long road trips* Reading and buying books are separate and often unrelated hobbies* Recommending book...2023-10-1812 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryOlha finds her inner warrior taking her young family out of the war in UkraineOlha was enjoying maternity leave with her new baby and her young son. And then one morning she woke up to the sound of bombs and messages from friends and family that said, “We’re at war.”In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Olha shares about her path out of Ukraine (packing her small car with as many diapers as would fit), trying to keep two kids safe and comfortable (as she often waited until they were asleep before she would cry) and going through the difficult (at best) process of applying for work in her fi...2023-10-0416 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryBackpacking Europe with Priya at 25Imagine all the books you’ve read or the movies you’ve seen about the picturesque adventures of young people backpacking across Europe. Meeting strangers who become new friends. The food, museums and the culture of places that many others will never experience.Got it in your mind?Priya did all that. And she did it by herself after her travel partners bailed at the last minute.In this Tell Me a Story, Priya shares her story about backpacking across Europe as a solo female at 25 years old and how taking some thoughtful risk...2023-09-2013 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryDavid returned home and inherited a personDavid grew up in small town America. He swore he’d never return. The only thing that was going to bring him back was a funeral. That’s exactly what brought him back.In this story, David talks about returning home to take care of family and how it reshaped what he thought his life would be.It all centers around his four-year-old niece who experienced a lot of loss very quickly.Death and losing loved ones changes things in ways we can’t always anticipate, which could be a good thing...2023-09-0609 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryAnd for his next trick, Tony will reinvent himself yet againTony has lived several lives and survived challenges that really should have been the end.It’s through chasing after what brings him joy that’s kept him going. And he’s finding it in an unusual place, at least it is unusual for a 60-year-old beginner.I don’t want to give too much away because Tony gets deep and vulnerable in his story. I first met Tony when he was working as a photojournalist. A multi-award winning, accomplished photojournalist who was gracious enough to visit the college photography club where I was an a...2023-08-2317 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRachel charts the ocean between vocalist and bandRachel is no stranger to the music stage. She’s also no stranger to taking on challenges that are beyond her comfort zone or thinking deeply on how those challenges can take her new places.Here her talk about attending a summer music camp with her family as well as how her experience singing with bands has influenced her day job and how she views leadership.It’s an interesting glimpse into some of the details of what happens when a vocalist sits in with a band they’ve never performed with, gives minimum instructions and aw...2023-08-0910 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRenee looks back on Christmas with her MamawIt’s bloody hot outside. How about a story about Christmas?This isn’t so much a story about Christmas than a story my mom is telling about her grandmother, set at Christmas.I’ve always loved stories about my great grandmother. Her daughter and granddaughter always set her on a pedestal as possibly the most-giving, hardest-working, best-cooking, sweet and patient human being they’ve known.And, here she is on a horse, modeling for a western wear shop in New Mexico.Not only a good person but a badass as well.2023-07-2512 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryAmy saves lives by getting the band to the gigAs a teenager, Amy went to rock shows and saw someone at the side of the stage with a clipboard. “I want to do that,” she thought. And that’s exactly what she’s done.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Amy shares some experiences of what it’s like working backstage in the music business as the PR connection between the band and pretty much everyone else in the world. It’s a job that means getting things done. Often strange things like smuggling a shot behind the back of one...2023-06-2108 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryMoving through the dark seasons of depression with Erica*Quick Warning: This episode talks about depression, suicide and sexual assault. Less of an anecdote and more of a journey, in this episode of Tell Me a Story, Erica talks about her experience with clinical depression. Including overcoming sexual assault, deconstructing and unlearning ingrained messages from family and church, as well as remaining intentional about working on her mental health.For those of us of a certain vintage, we’re just now learning the language to express our mental health concerns and we’re trying to get comfortable with the idea that it’s okay to ask...2023-06-1412 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRide along on the Picnic Table Time Machine with RicRic launched an Instagram page to share his artwork. It’s bright and fun and charming as heck.It’s also sparking collaboration with his three young children.Ric’s drawing and animating and creating voiceovers to share stories from his childhood. The stories his kids keep asking to hear again and again.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Ric shares some of the behind the scenes details like which of his kids encouraged him to pick up his pencils and brushes again, which kid seems to be a natural voice over a...2023-06-0710 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryAnya on having her first baby during COVIDThis episode of Tell Me a Story is a little different as almost immediately Anya turned the tables with a question of her own, and this story became more a conversation about being a new parent, enduring the rough first few months with a new baby, our desire to take care of this new life on our own (when we really should be asking for all the help we can get) and more.Anya became a new mother in November 2021, in the midst of COVID and all the weirdness. An extra level of weirdness on top of...2023-05-3116 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryWhat's the story happening right now with Jacob?What does today require? Like any thoughtful artist, Jacob asks and works through the big questions. In the last few months of working with a chronic illness, those big questions have been ever more relevant.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Jacob talks about navigating his health, challenges with ulcerative colitis, by being more present in his body by connecting with the earth, the sun, his breath. “I love being tuned into being human,” he said. It’s helped him get into a space where he is more focused and present within...2023-05-2108 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryChip shares the story he wishes he would have told his friend's teenage daughterYou’re most interesting stories from when you were a teenager are likely not the stories you would freely share with your own children.Heaven forbid they get any ideas.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Chip shares the story he wishes he would have told his friend’s teenagers.“What was dad or mom like at my age?” could be its own story genre. We’re curious what our parents were like and our children are curious about what we were like. And on it will go through the generations.You k...2023-05-1011 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryTerry grew up as a small town Indiana clownAdd some enthusiasm and a willingness to do whatever (coupled with some talented mentors) and you may find yourself on some unique and uniquely rewarding adventures - like decades of performing in the circus, on stages or really anywhere a crowd might gather.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Terry shares his start as a performing clown, connecting with Happy Kellems (who would become a friend and mentor) and being backstage with clowns and magicians.It was a different time when the magic wasn’t on a screen, it was within the performer st...2023-05-0312 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryOn air with Susan and your favorite classical hitsSusan was a volunteer, reading news at a radio station for the benefit of the blind and disabled, when someone from the radio station asked if she’d ever considered becoming a radio DJ. And, oh yeah, there’s an opening on the classical radio station.Susan shares her story of becoming the Saturday night DJ on KBACH for seven years, making classical music more accessible and sneaking her kids onto the New Year’s Eve broadcast.Sometimes the best opportunities come out of nowhere when we think we’re the least ready to take them on...2023-04-2610 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryFinding perspective despite traumatic times with AdolfoIt’s a privilege to have someone share their story with you. An honor to be present with someone offering vulnerability. A blessing for them to share a hard-earned lesson learned with you.That’s exactly what Adolfo offers with his story about growing up in gangs, losing his father at a young age and how it fractured his family, being the first of his family to attend and graduate college and how he’s worked to come out the other side a better human and father.If the circumstances were slightly different, it’s possible...2023-04-1910 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryKristin finds herself in the stars“You better check yo' self before you wreck yo' self.” - Ice Cube -Much like Ice Cube, we’re big fans of self awareness and personal development. In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Kristin shares a unique path to self awareness and personal discovery that you might have overlooked - astrology. Kristin’s experience with astrology stemmed from a difficult time in her life when she was searching for direction. She took a chance (and a flight) to meet with an astrologer for a reading of her birt...2023-03-2215 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryDaniel flips his life, and his car, upside down for loveIt’s a turn-of-the-century love story started in a Yahoo chat room. There’s drama, intrigue, interstate travel, car crashes, wicker furniture, Beatles records and more.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Daniel recounts growing up with a highly-involved mother, falling in love with a girl on the internet, moving away to be with that girl and flipping his life upside down, both metaphorically and literally.In case you’re wondering who the “Britt” is that Daniel is so taken with, you can go back and hear her in the Tell Me a Story arch...2023-03-0316 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryKeiona revisits her tribute to her great-grandmotherTo have time with a grandmother, and certainly a great-grandmother, can be a tremendous blessing. Keiona was able to have 21 important, formative years with her great-grandmother. In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Keiona reflects back on the tribute she gave following her great-grandmother’s passing in 2011. She was known by many names, but it’s clear Sister Viola left an imprint on her community and her family that will be felt for generations.Listening in as Keiona shared a typical day in the life of her grandma sparked a lot of memories about my o...2023-02-2416 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRebecca takes the comedy stage for the first timeRebecca is an accomplished professional communicator and public speaker. Long-time toastmaster. Frequent conference presenter. Multilingual.She knows how to put words together, so to speak.There was one stage she hadn’t appeared on yet.After gifting a comedy workshop to a coworker, Rebecca was inspired to try it out for herself.The workshop was six weeks, three hours every Sunday and included a showcase performance to wrap it all up.She stepped off the stage at her first comedy show thinking, “well, I’ve done that, now where’s my pin...2023-01-2013 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryLaniece raises the bar on gift giving for her husband's 40thWhen Laniece mentioned she wrote a book as a gift for her husband on his 40th birthday, my ears perked up and I had to learn more.In this episode of Tell Me a Story, Laniece talks about the inspiration, the process and the outcome of writing a book of 40 affirmations (plus extras) for her husband……in the middle of COVID……while pregnant with their second child.Her husband had a unique childhood compared to the kids today who live on TikTok. He doesn’t have any photos from the first 18 years of h...2023-01-1314 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryBonus episode: Where's My Wario?I introduced Nigel in the first episode of Tell Me a Story - I hope you listened to it and enjoyed his laughter as much as I do. Because here he is again. In this special bonus episode, Nigel shares a story that can only happen in Tokyo while riding a go kart and dressed as villainous Wario with the gas pedal mashed all the way down. Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/subscribe2022-12-2311 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRiding the rattan couch in Brittany's Dad's vanFor Brittany, her dad’s stories are peculiar and sometimes unbelievable – in a “you didn’t really get away with that, did you?” way. So much so, she’s been working on a book about him and his life before he had kids.But for our purposes today, she’s sharing a story of when he definitely had kids,And a vanAnd a freewheeling spirit.It was the ‘80s. Have your ever tried to install seatbelts in a couch? Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/sub2022-12-1707 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryEileen and Craig meet cute Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/subscribe2022-12-1217 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StorySantamania running wild Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/subscribe2022-12-0306 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryRachel's Tales from the Paramount Lot Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/subscribe2022-11-1910 min
Title TBD: Tell Me a StoryNigel in BarcelonaThis is the start of the Tell Me a Story series. I ask folks to share with me the big and small, but always significant, stories in their lives. In this episode, Nigel shares some details from his trip with friends to Barcelona, Spain, and how unexpected and wonderful things can happen to us when we go somewhere we've never been before. Get full access to Title TBD at zaneewton.substack.com/subscribe2022-11-1409 min