RISK! – Holiday Stories #18 (December 23, 2025)

Overview

This special episode of RISK! continues the tradition of the annual "Holiday Stories" theme, presenting true, wild, and touching tales centered on the winter holidays. Host Kevin Allison invites listeners to celebrate the art of risk-taking in storytelling and highlights stories brimming with emotion, humor, and the unexpected. The episode spotlights three memorable stories: David Hu’s bittersweet and hilarious family memory, Ty Gentile’s moving encounter with holiday homesickness, and James Rana’s surreal Christmas Eve as “Alternative Santa Claus.”

Key Segments & Discussion Points

Host Introduction & Reflections (03:44)

• Kevin opens with gratitude for twelve years of RISK! and acknowledges the show’s perseverance amid personal and global challenges.
• Shares the significance of artistic persistence and announces this episode as a celebration of community storytelling.
• Notable moment: Kevin reflects on his personal “biggest risk” in moving to Thailand, underlining the show’s themes of vulnerability and boldness.

Story #1: David Hu – "A Very Moving Christmas"

(Begins at 05:54)

• Challenge of Connection: David recalls the difficulty of finding the perfect Christmas gift for his hard-working, quiet, Chinese-immigrant father. Due to a language barrier (“I felt like I was raised by two spies”), their communication was muted and indirect.
• Acts of Love: Childhood memories reveal how his father showed affection: lost toys rescued from restaurant tables, placed on young David’s bed one Christmas.
• Bittersweet Aging: Fast-forwarding to 2018, David’s father experiences memory issues and possible dementia, exacerbated by severe constipation. The search for laxatives becomes a strange but urgent mission.
• The Perfect Gift: David buys $200 worth of Miralax, presenting it on Christmas. It becomes a hilariously heartwarming exchange as his father’s joy mirrors David’s own childhood delight with the rescued toys.
• Meaningful Rituals: They revisit an old routine—McDonald's lunch and watching Columbo—solidifying their unconventional but deep father-son bond.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “I felt like I was raised by two spies.” (06:13)
  • “My dad always loved me. He just showed his love in a different way.” (07:50)
  • “When I opened that box in front of my dad, the expression on his face, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.” (10:22)
  • “We both dropped a couple hits of laxatives. Oh my God, I never felt so light in my life.” (11:27)

Interstitial: “Hornigay Hornigay Christmas” (11:49 – 13:31)

• A comically risqué, poetic parody of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” filled with irreverent sexual innuendo.
• Demonstrates RISK!’s signature blend of earnestness and outrageous humor.

Story #2: Ty Gentile – "The Widow’s Song"

(Begins at 20:38)

• Homesickness & Longing: Ty, transplanted from upstate New York to Tennessee, describes missing home during the holidays while working as a mascot at a tourist attraction.
• Unexpected Comfort: During a slow shift, he’s serenaded with “White Christmas” by the “cookie lady,” an older coworker whose singing evokes flashbacks of family celebrations and childhood in the snowy north.
• Emotional Resonance: Ty breaks down inside his mascot suit, comforted by the cookie lady’s simple gesture, only to learn the next day that she herself was newly widowed and returning to work for the first time.
• Profound Impact: The moment reflects mutual, silent support and connection during a time of loss and longing.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “It almost feels like my grandmother is singing to me. It just kind of brought me back to my home in New York.” (22:10)
  • “There was so much I was missing, and this old woman was bringing me back there, and I was helpless.” (23:03)
  • “[S]he had touched me and made that winter and that Christmas feel like home.” (24:18)

Interstitial: “Tiny Little Tots” (24:36 – 25:21)

• A comic musical break about the importance of potatoes (especially tater tots!) at Christmas, further adding to the quirky, heartwarming tone.

Story #3: James Rana – "Alternative Santa Claus"

(Begins at 25:21)

• Taking on Santa: James, a seasoned actor and a man of color with a Muslim name, recounts being a professional Santa Claus after helping a friend in need.
• The Acting Challenge: Committed to performance, he perfects his Santa act—white makeup, baritone voice, balloon candy canes—even though agents repeatedly say “people want their Santas white like Jesus.”
• Christmas Eve 2016: On a turbulent post-election night, James is asked at the last minute to visit the neighbor’s kids—only to realize the home is owned by Kellyanne Conway.
• Moment of Truth: Torn between personal beliefs and Santa’s spirit, he accepts, entering a high-tension scenario (“I started shaking…I can’t believe this is happening” 29:45).
• Irony & Reflection: The act is surreal—the sweat washes off his white makeup (“I look like the Maharishi” 32:35)—and the experience pushes him to contemplate the power and limits of empathy in divided times.
• Triumphant Subversion: The story closes with James’s pride at subverting expectations: “Underneath that costume and that beard and that wig and that makeup, was a dark skinned liberal man with a Muslim name. Because that night, I wasn’t Santa Claus. I was alternative Santa Claus.” (34:45)
• Notable Quotes:
  • “People want their Santas white like Jesus.” (26:46)
  • “No one deserves a death threat. At that moment, the door opened and out came Kellyanne Conway.” (30:27)
  • “How did this happen? How did I get myself into this?... I am sweated so much that the white face has completely washed off. I look like the Maharishi.” (32:25)
  • “I'd like to think that maybe I brought a little kindness into that house.” (34:15)
  • “Because that night, I wasn’t Santa Claus. I was alternative Santa Claus.” (34:45)

Closing Thoughts & Announcements

• Kevin Allison celebrates the guests’ vulnerability and creativity, inviting listeners to join upcoming storytelling workshops and to support RISK! via Patreon or PayPal.
• Praises the power of shared stories to foster empathy and resilience, especially in uncertain times.
• Teases the next episode (“Holiday Fan Favorites”) and shares warm holiday wishes with the audience.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On unconventional father-son love:
  • “My dad always loved me. He just showed his love in a different way.” —David Hu, (07:50)
• On mutual holiday compassion:
  • “She had touched me and made that winter and that Christmas feel like home.” —Ty Gentile, (24:18)
• On subverting expectations as Santa:
  • “Underneath that costume and that beard and that wig and that makeup, was a dark skinned liberal man with a Muslim name...I was alternative Santa Claus.” —James Rana, (34:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|-------------| | Show introduction & reflections | 03:44 | | Story #1: David Hu – "A Very Moving Christmas"| 05:54 | | Hornigay Christmas interstitial | 11:49 | | Story #2: Ty Gentile – "The Widow’s Song" | 20:38 | | Tiny Tots Musical Interlude | 24:36 | | Story #3: James Rana – "Alternative Santa Claus"| 25:21 | | Show wrap-up & story reflections | 35:01 |

Tone & Style

True to RISK!’s signature, this episode oscillates between honest-hearted storytelling and audacious, irreverent humor. Stories are offered in the storytellers’ voices, with vulnerability, comic timing, and sharp observational wit. The host and contributors maintain a conversational, confessional, and inclusive tone, welcoming listeners into an intimate community of experience.

Summary

“Holiday Stories #18” delivers laughter, catharsis, surprising tenderness, and the edge-of-your-seat unpredictability that RISK! is known for, making it a perfect listen for holiday revelers and anyone craving tales of real human connection.