RISK! — The Best of Adventure Stories #3
Host: Kevin Allison
Guests/Storytellers: Winter Tashlin, Marshall York
Episode Date: April 23, 2026
Episode Overview
This "Best of Adventure Stories #3" episode from RISK! delivers two vivid, intense true-life tales where the stakes are high—one recounting a traumatic, formative day confronted by stigma and misunderstanding, and the other venturing into the territory of the uncanny and terrifying. Host Kevin Allison introduces the stories and provides occasional commentary, maintaining the podcast’s signature unfiltered, emotional style.
Key Stories and Themes
1. "Miserable" by Winter Tashlin
[02:26 – 19:28]
Story Summary
Winter Tashlin shares a raw recounting of the worst day of his life as a Jewish teenager with severe Tourette Syndrome at a New York summer camp in 1996. The adventure trip to New York City—dreamed of for the chance to see Les Misérables—turns into an escalating ordeal of public humiliation, physical abuse, and heartbreak, ultimately becoming a profound realization about the challenges of living with a misunderstood condition.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
-
Living with Tourette Syndrome
- Winter details the involuntary symptoms of Tourette, including both vocal and physical tics, and shares the impact of heavy medication and public perception.
- Notable quote:
"Tourette Syndrome is a neurological condition that causes involuntary movements and sounds. I experience Tourette every waking moment of every day."
(Winter, 02:52)
- Humor as coping:
"My family decided early on that you sort of had a choice. You could laugh or cry. And we made a real effort...to err on the side of laughing whenever we could."
(Winter, 06:22)
-
The Rare Sanctuary of Summer Camp
- Describes camp as a haven of acceptance—especially profound as a "300 pound, barking, flaming faggot" (Winter's words), where difference was embraced.
- Memorable quote:
"There aren't that many environments where a 300 pound, barking, flaming faggot could fit in. But I did."
(Winter, 07:13)
-
The Day Unravels (A Series of Humiliations)
- A profoundly stressful effort to suppress tics during a NYC trip.
- In the Empire State Building elevator, a fellow passenger (a French tourist) is startled by a bark and physically strikes Winter, then berates him—leaving the young camper frozen in fear and shame.
- Dramatic moment:
"Next thing I know, something hard hits the back of my head and I freeze up."
(Winter, 09:06)
-
Soon after, a security guard threatens him on the escalator:
> "Hey, you. Why don't you shut up, or I'm gonna put you in a cage where you belong."
**(Security guard via Winter, 12:27)**
-
The harassment culminates as a camp counselor physically intervenes, defending Winter:
> "...stepped out and just clotheslined the security guard...and said, 'The kid can't help it. We're waiting for other campers to gather, and then we're leaving, and you need to leave him alone.'"
**(Winter, 14:17)**
-
Winter's reaction:
> "At that moment, my masturbation fantasies for the next six months were fixed in my mind. Cause that was the hottest thing I'd ever encountered. This gorgeous man standing up for me. So that sort of redeemed the moment a little bit."
**(Winter, 14:18)**
-
The Crushing Realization
- Exhausted and overwhelmed, Winter flees the show he loves, breaks down, and calls his mother sobbing—realizing the acceptance and safety of camp is not the reality he'll find in the wider world.
-
Heart-wrenching reflection:
> "It was about the realization that this is my life, that my life isn't and wasn't gonna be about the world of the summer camp...it was gonna be this."
**(Winter, 16:15)**
-
Enduring impact:
> "I've never told anyone that. I still feel like that 16 year old boy realizing he's not going to see Les Mis. And in the 20 years since, I've just had to learn to be okay with that."
**(Winter, 19:11)**
Timestamps for Significant Moments
- [02:52] — Tourette Syndrome explained in Winter’s words
- [05:41] — Flying Penis Man tic story (humor in adversity)
- [09:06] — Assault in the Empire State Building elevator
- [12:27] — Security guard’s dehumanizing threat
- [14:17] — Counselor’s intervention, pivotal moment of protection
- [16:15] — Emotional collapse and realization in the theater lobby
- [19:11] — Conclusion: the lifelong shadow of that adventure
2. "Whisper to a Scream" by Marshall York
[21:50 – 26:44]
Story Summary
Marshall York recounts a solo camping adventure in Grand Teton National Park that turns chilling when he begins to hear a relentless, disembodied voice: “Kill the camper. Kill the camper.” The suspense ratchets up as he struggles to determine if the threat is supernatural, psychological, or real—and ultimately how fear can become its own haunting presence.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Timestamps for Significant Moments
- [22:56] — The first appearance of the menacing voice, “Kill the camper.”
- [24:08] — Realization of fear and isolation
- [25:47–26:01] — The back-and-forth: “Kill the camper” / “Kill the ghost”, and the abrupt silence that follows
Notable Quotes & Moments (with Attribution and Timestamps)
- On the trauma of innocence lost (Winter Tashlin):
"It was about the realization that this is my life, that my life isn't and wasn't gonna be about the world of the summer camp...it was gonna be this."
(16:15)
- Humor amid difficulty (Winter Tashlin):
"The thing people most remember was I had a tic about flying penis man where I would shout, 'look in the sky, it's flying penis man.' Because my brain is very strange. Apparently my doctor thought it was fucking hysterical."
(05:42)
- A moment of protection and desire (Winter Tashlin):
"At that moment, my masturbation fantasies for the next six months were fixed in my mind. Cause that was the hottest thing I'd ever encountered. This gorgeous man standing up for me. So that sort of redeemed the moment a little bit."
(14:18)
- Sheer fear in isolation (Marshall York):
"I am freaked out. I've never been this scared in my life because I couldn't explain why this was happening to me."
(24:08)
- Banishing fear, or trying to (Marshall York):
"Had I killed the ghost, scared it away? All I had to do was behave like a five year old. I braced myself for its return. Its absence was as terrifying as its presence."
(26:01)
Episode Takeaways
- The Endurance of Vulnerability: Both stories place the protagonists into raw, exposed positions—one physically and socially vulnerable, the other existentially and psychologically so.
- Confronting the Unknown: Whether facing cruelty and misunderstanding or a possibly supernatural threat, the storytellers must grapple with forces they cannot control, illustrating the lingering effects of traumatic adventure.
- Bravery in Storytelling: The episode showcases how sharing such experiences—however painful or bizarre—can be cathartic both for the teller and those who hear them.
For More Inspiring Adventure Stories and Themed Compilations:
Visit risk-show.com/specialseries
Find the storytellers:
