Podcast Summary: RISK! – “Boys and Girls” (November 6, 2025)
Episode Overview
In this special throwback episode, host Kevin Allison revisits the 2013 "Boys and Girls" show, featuring four deeply personal, hilarious, and poignant stories about love, longing, heartbreak, and coming-of-age between men and women. The stories, told by Brad Lawrence, D.C. Pierson, Nina Davis, and Selina Coppock, offer honest reflections on romantic and emotional milestones—both triumphant and awkward. True to RISK!’s ethos, these stories are candid, uncensored, and often unexpectedly moving.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. “Let Me Sleep On It” by Brad Lawrence
[04:04-18:02]
- Setting: Brad recounts his early twenties working at a bookstore in St. Louis, where he meets Carrie through a spontaneous duet of Meat Loaf’s “Let Me Sleep On It.”
- Friendship & Tension: They become inseparable friends, developing their own private language and being insufferable to others. Underneath, mutual but unspoken romantic attraction grows.
- Complicated Relationships: Brad denies his feelings to others (including his girlfriend, Lee), while Carrie aligns almost perfectly with his romantic ideal—causing both tension and confusion.
- The Pivotal Moment: After years of friendship and near-misses, Brad and Carrie share a moment of truth in a park but, paralyzed by guilt and indecision, he backs away from acting on it.
- Reflection & Regret: Years later, Brad’s regret over losing Carrie haunts his other relationships, but eventually, love—and perspective—arrives in a different package.
- Realizations About Love: The final takeaway is that real love allows mistakes and growth together, unlike the oppressive, high-stakes “rom-com” romance he once imagined.
Notable Quotes:
- “I looked at her and I said, I cannot do this right now. I have to end things the right way with Lee...I know in this moment that this is the last opportunity I was ever gonna get at this.” (16:35)
- “The thing I didn’t understand when I was making that horrible mistake is that real love is about being allowed to make mistakes. And anything else is just a crush.” (17:55)
2. “The Boob Story” by D.C. Pierson
[18:25-36:05]
- Setting: Summer after freshman year of high school, a period marked by awkwardness, nerdy obsessions (the X-Files, Weezer), and a friendship with Kim, his older drama club friend’s girlfriend.
- Growing Closeness: Kim decides she and D.C. will be best friends, and a strange, rule-filled, semi-romantic connection develops—including driving around, inside jokes, and sharing mixtapes.
- Quasi-Cheating Repertoire: They engage in various forms of physical intimacy (stomach kissing, then boob touching), carefully skirting the definition of “cheating” on Kim’s boyfriend via a comically awkward “Treaty of Versailles.”
- Firsts & Awkwardness: The story captures the unusual and messy nature of sexual milestones, especially when filtered through guilt, teenage rationalizations, and the deliberate avoidance of “kissing on the mouth.”
- Comic Climax: The saga builds awkwardly and climaxes with an underwhelming but formative first blowjob, followed by an anticlimactic lunch at KFC.
- Aftermath: D.C. tries to make sense of the story’s emotional meaning years later, realizing sometimes what you think is your profound “Wonder Years” moment is just, as a fellow comic called it, “the boob story.”
Notable Quotes:
- “If anybody walked in on us doing that, they would just be like, they couldn’t be mad at us—they’d just be like, ‘Oh, these kids are idiots, they don’t know how it works.’” (29:20)
- “Maybe it's not the Wonder Years. Maybe it is just a boob story.” (35:54)
- “When a guy named Kevin tells you that something is your Wonder Years, you have to listen.” (36:00)
3. “Remember, You’re Like a Child” by Nina Davis
[38:07-58:03]
- Setting: Summer of 1973, the summer before high school. Nina moves from New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale but first visits the Jersey Shore, where she meets David.
- Instant, Innocent Connection: Upon meeting, there’s an immediate and intense mutual attraction—a “bubble” surrounds them, isolating them from the world.
- Day of First Love: They spend the entire Fourth of July together: talking, walking, gentle intimacy, sharing hopes and fears, and listening to music (David plays Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” for her).
- Parting & Lasting Impact: They don’t become physically intimate, but exchange meaningful tokens. Nina moves away, but the memory of David and the desire to know his fate remains powerful for decades.
- A Search Through Time: Over the years and aided by the internet, Nina persistently tries to find David, facing dead ends, misinformation, and changing surnames.
- Final Connection: She finally reaches David by phone many years later, learning about the winding, difficult path his life took—including addiction and recovery—but also that he, too, never forgot her.
- Resolution: Rather than seeking romance, Nina sought only to know David was alright. Finding him alive and well, and hearing he treasured her memory, finally brings her peace.
Notable Quotes:
- “It was as if a bubble had just come down from the sky and surrounded us.” (39:05)
- “David said, ‘Nina, no, your first time, it should be so wonderful... This is not the right time and place for you.’” (48:50)
- “I kept your jean jacket for so many years. I could still smell you.” (55:38)
- “I felt so validated. I felt like, wow, I had made this human connection...and he had too.” (55:44)
4. Selina Coppock’s College Love Story
[58:03-70:51]
- Setting: End of freshman year at a small college, where Selina meets John, a funny, affirming alum at a fraternity party.
- Intense Chemistry, Longing: They hit it off, leading to playful correspondence, New York visits, and mutual support. John validates Selina’s humor and writing in ways no one before had.
- Heartbreak: The relationship fizzles when John moves on and starts dating someone new. Selina endures heartbreak, locking herself away with Journey’s “Lights” on repeat.
- Closure (Or Not): Years later, at a bar, they reconnect. Instead of closure, old feelings flare up, only for life to move on again.
- Long-Term Impact: More years pass, and Selina gets an unexpected, movie-like chance at closure during a campus reunion. They share honest feelings, mutual gratitude, and ultimately say goodbye—Selina recognizes that her growth was rooted in the affirmation John offered years before.
Notable Quotes:
- “He told me I was so funny and he…‘yes, and’-ed everything I did.” (59:18)
- “I listened to our song, which was ‘Lights’ by Journey. I listened to it on a fucking loop… So you think you’re lonely? Well, my friend, I’m lonely too.” (61:15)
- “You told me that I was funny and you told me that I was a good writer and you told me that I should love myself. And now I’m a comedian and I’m a writer and I finally love myself.” (69:36)
- “Maybe we get to say goodbye and this is how the story ends.” (70:20)
Memorable Moments & Quotes
- The spontaneous Meat Loaf duet in the bookstore (04:12)
- “Real love is about being allowed to make mistakes. Anything else is just a crush.” – Brad Lawrence (17:55)
- The “Treaty of Versailles” of sexual rules (28:45)
- “If anybody walked in on us doing that...‘These kids are idiots, they don’t know how it works.’” – D.C. Pierson (29:20)
- Nina’s exquisite description of young love’s “bubble” (39:05)
- “I kept your jean jacket for so many years. I could still smell you.” (55:38)
- Selina’s journey from heartbreak to self-love, with John’s affirmation as a pivotal turning point (69:36)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Brad Lawrence – “Let Me Sleep On It”: 04:04–18:02
- D.C. Pierson – “The Boob Story”: 18:25–36:05
- Nina Davis – “Remember, You’re Like a Child”: 38:07–58:03
- Selina Coppock – College Love Story: 58:03–70:51
Tone & Style
The stories balance humor, nostalgia, and sometimes heartbreak, with a tone that’s self-deprecating, sincere, and often unfiltered. Storytellers are candid about their hopes, failings, and the sometimes ridiculous circumstances of young love—creating a bittersweet, universally relatable episode.
For listeners new and old, “Boys and Girls” delivers the classic RISK! mix: tales that make you laugh, cringe, reflect, and maybe even reach out to your own “what might have been.”