RISK! – The Best of RISK! #33 (September 30, 2025)

Episode Overview

This “Best Of” compilation presents some of the most memorable stories featured on RISK! over the past six months. Guest host Cindy Freeman and audio guru John La Sala fill in for regular host Kevin Allison (who has just moved to Thailand) to showcase tales ranging from hilarious and outrageous to deeply moving and thought-provoking. The episode dives into themes of vulnerability, identity, love gone wrong, and the life-changing power of telling your truth. Listeners are also treated to excerpts from longer-form stories and reflections on the evolving landscape of storytelling itself.

Main Stories & Key Insights

1. Immigrant Stories: “Hope Under the Sky” by L.P. Nguyen

[06:20–07:16]

• Context: After the 2024 U.S. presidential election, RISK! amplified voices of immigrants, launching a dedicated series.
• Story Excerpt: As a young girl in Communist Vietnam, LP defends her family’s fragile crop field from floodwaters, symbolizing overwhelming hardship.
• Emotional Core: The moment L.P. breaks down while literally and metaphorically holding back a tide—her anger at God, the exhaustion from relentless adversity.
• Host Reflection: “That moment, it broke me. I was angry at God…like why he throw so much difficulty into my life?” (L.P., [07:05])
• Takeaway: Themes of endurance, trauma, and hope under impossible conditions.

2. Larry Dorsey Jr.: “Black Is the Loneliest Color”

[08:46–25:19]

• Setting: San Francisco, late night. Larry, a Black man, navigates urban isolation.
• Subway Incident:
  • Witnesses a white businessman forcibly move a group of Black and Latino youths, who then jump him.
  • Larry intervenes as one pulls a knife: "You already beat his ass. You don't want to go to jail, bruh. You're a young kid…A lot of my friends are dead or in jail. I don't want to see that happen to y'all." ([13:50])
  • The youths rob, but don’t mortally wound, the businessman.
  • Reflects: “I didn’t do that for you. I did that for them.” ([15:40])
• Shift to Nike Women’s Marathon Job:
  • Navigates isolation among mostly white event workers.
  • Prevents possible violence when an older Black unhoused man blocks a race: "Take my hand, black man, rise with me." ([20:40])
  • Emotional connection—and anticlimax when the man asks for a dollar.
• Memorable Quote: “Black is the loneliest color.” ([24:15])
• Themes: Racial identity, urban invisibility, reluctant heroism, generational trauma, fleeting human connection.
• Host Reflection: "The world needs a little more Larry Dorsey Jr." (Cindy, [26:11])

3. Kerry Doherty: “Blorpy”

[27:01–37:35]

• Romantic Comedy Turns Cautionary Tale:
  • College-aged waitress Kerry meets “Blorpy,” an Army man.
  • A year-long arc of love, deployment, moving in together, and learning Blorpy’s tangled truths.
  • Key bombshells: He's secretively not divorced, faked being gay to leave the Army, and ultimately goes back to his wife.
• Explosive Meltdown: Kerry's rage-filled voicemail barrage at work inspires a workplace-wide ban on cellphone use ([34:30])
• Puppy Revenge: Uses the money he left with her to adopt a rescue dog, Lou. "She is now eight years old. And to this day she is the best love I've ever had.” ([37:26])
• Themes: Deception, heartbreak, finding agency, pet therapy as redemption.
• Vivid Moment: “Why do you need money? … You know what? I am not going to give you your money back. I’m going to take your money. I’m going to buy a fucking puppy.” (Kerry, [36:45])

4. Yossi Rosenberg: “Orgasmic”

[46:48–62:36]

• Backstory: His public dating failures earn him the tabloid label “New York’s Most Desperate Single Man.”
• Therapist's Advice: Addresses intimacy issues, lands in an "OM" (Orgasmic Meditation) intro session—a practice blending meditation and explicit clitoral stimulation.
• Awkward Education: Details the intricate (and clinical) etiquette of OM, from “the noticing step” to strict rules on session conduct.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “You’re not going to click with every clit.” (Josh Lunier, advice to Yossi, [55:24])
  • "It helped me get over my superficial fear of intimacy...but when it came to deeper intimacy, you know, getting close to somebody on an emotional level, this was kind of like bullshit." (Yossi, [59:52])
• Resolution: True emotional vulnerability with a later date (and future wife) trumps all techniques.
• Host Side Note: Parallels to the recent Netflix documentary on OM and the legal trouble of its founder. “Maybe the NXIVM doubts were legit, Yossi…” (Cindy, [79:15])
• Themes: Intimacy, vulnerability, sex-positive fads, authenticity versus surface-level connection.

5. Heather Farley: “Breaking Point”

[62:37–77:38]

• Social Ascent & Art as Status:
  • From humble beginnings (“pizza was a luxury”), marriage brings Heather into a world of wealth and social snobbery.
  • Divorce negotiations center around a valuable Robert Rauschenberg painting—emblem of aspiration and later, excess.
• Epiphany: After her second divorce, she replaces the artwork with her NYU diploma; symbolically reclaims her identity.
• Manic Grand Gesture: Decides to gift the painting to the world, leaving it on a park bench while listening to Yoko Ono's "Walking on Thin Ice."
• Aftermath: Regret dawns; the painting is lost forever—echoes of shame, loss, and self-acceptance.
• Memorable Lines:
  • “Does she know what she’s giving up?” (her ex-mother-in-law, repeating in her mind, [74:54])
  • “Pizza is a luxury.” ([75:49])
  • “When our hearts return to ashes, it’ll be just a story. And that’s all it is to me.” (Heather, referencing Yoko Ono, [77:31])
• Host Note: Heather reflects on how both her featured stories came from “a time when I was significantly unwell…wildly pleased and grateful…to state that I have been entirely stable in that regard for a decade.” (Heather, [79:07])

Notable Honorable Mentions & Segments

Risk Reacts: “The Silver Dollar” (from Love & Radio)

[41:36–44:31]

• Synopsis: Darryl Davis, a Black musician, befriends KKK members to understand their beliefs.
• Host Insight: Kevin reflects on “the power of allowing someone with lived experience to tell their own story in their own voice,” emphasizing empathy through listening.

The Big Secret by Brad Lawrence (Story Excerpt)

[81:36–82:30]

• Theme: The corrosive weight of secrets and inherited shame within a religious setting.
• Memorable Quote: “Just being curious about these things, that is as damning as actually doing them…” (Brad)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Black is the loneliest color.” — Larry Dorsey Jr. ([24:15])
• “I didn’t do that for you. I did that for them.” — Larry Dorsey Jr. ([15:40]), on intervening in a potential murder.
• "You're not going to click with every clit." — Josh Lunier, to Yossi ([55:24])
• "When our hearts return to ashes, it'll be just a story." — Heather Farley, channeling Yoko Ono ([77:31])
• “Pizza is a luxury.” — Heather Farley’s father, echoed as a motif for gratitude and scarcity ([75:49])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [06:20] – "Hope Under the Sky" excerpt (LP Nguyen)
• [08:46] – Larry Dorsey Jr.: “Black Is the Loneliest Color”
• [27:01] – Kerry Doherty: “Blorpy”
• [46:48] – Yossi Rosenberg: “Orgasmic”
• [62:37] – Heather Farley: “Breaking Point”
• [41:36] – Risk Reacts: “The Silver Dollar”
• [81:36] – Excerpt: “The Big Secret” by Brad Lawrence

Episode Tone and Takeaways

The episode masterfully balances humor and heartbreak, underscoring RISK!'s credo: true stories you never thought you’d dare to share. The episode celebrates courage, identity, and reflection—encouraging listeners to embrace vulnerability and, above all, to “Take a Risk.”

Further Exploration

• Full stories & transcripts: risk-show.com
• Pitch your own stories: risk-show.com/submissions
• Immigrant Stories series & Risk Reacts: Findable on the podcast website.
• Support on Patreon: Access to bonus content, digital events, and shout-outs.

Final Note

As the hosts wrap up Season 16, listeners are invited to RISK!’s Sweet Sixteen party—and reminded to “Take a Risk” in their own lives.