Podcast Summary: RISK! – The Best of School Stories #1

Host: Kevin Allison
Date: September 4, 2025
Theme: A special "Best of" episode featuring two memorable, true-life school stories originally shared during the 2020 COVID lockdown virtual shows. Both tales explore profound moments of learning, vulnerability, and the pursuit of change through school experiences.

Episode Overview

This episode revisits two standout school stories from the RISK! virtual era, told by Angie Chapman and Ellie Reiter. The stories explore formative childhood and college experiences, focusing on themes of race, authority, resilience, friendship, and cross-cultural connection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Angie Chapman – “Taking a Long Time”

• Segment Start: [02:31]

School Uniforms, Authority, and Visitor Days

• Angie reflects on strict Catholic school norms: uniforms, nuns, and the rare excitement of visitor days when students could wear their own clothes.
• Memorable detail: Angie's love for her "taupe" (not just brown) dress and prized black patent leather shoes, underscoring the economic constraints and small joys of childhood.

The Visit from “Officer Friendly”

• A Chicago policeman, introduced as "Officer Friendly," visits Angie's classroom holding a demonstration about police work.

• The students express internal skepticism about Officer Friendly's message to "serve and protect Americans," referencing contemporary and historical events of police injustice—particularly towards Black Americans, e.g., Dr. King’s march and the attack in Marquette Park.

  “We had all seen that Dr. King had marched in Chicago's Marquette Park the summer before, and the policemen were there, but they didn’t protect the people who were marching... and it just seems like change isn’t coming. It’s the same. Things are repeating themselves.” – Angie Chapman [08:52]

The Handcuff Incident

• Angie's volunteering to be handcuffed quickly turns distressing as she becomes trapped, frightened, and ultimately urinates herself, feeling both humiliated and unsupported.

• Her teacher, Mrs. Scott, intervenes, but Angie notes her mother’s muted response later—a letdown for someone she considered “Wonder Woman.”

  “And I was disappointed, though, that’s all she said... I thought my mother was Wonder Woman... So I was surprised when she couldn’t do anything.” – Angie Chapman [09:56]

Enduring Lessons and Legacy of Injustice

• Angie connects her childhood encounter with systemic racism to later experiences: being profiled, unfairly ticketed, and observing violence towards Black Americans.

• Despite everything, Angie ends with a note of hard-earned hope, channeling her mother’s words—“Change is coming. It’s just taking a long time.” – [12:19]

  “When I see George Floyd and... Breonna Taylor, I can’t help but think about the same people who lost their lives when I was a kid... I’m gonna try to hold on and still believe because my mother never lied to me.” – Angie Chapman [12:34]

2. Ellie Reiter – [Untitled College Story]

• Segment Start: [15:34]

Feeling Out of Place in College

• Ellie describes entering Hunter College as a 22-year-old Orthodox Jewish former seminary student and feeling lost in the large, diverse, and secular environment.
• Recalls his old school’s uniformity and struggle to adapt (“I bought my first pair of blue jeans... or as my 10th grade rebbe called them, the pants of the Gentiles.” [17:31]) and feeling culturally and religiously out of sync.

Unlikely Academic Partnership

• Ellie proposes original research on "Orthodox Jewish English," and after a cold classroom reception, is approached by Abdul, a devout Palestinian student, who wants to partner up.

  “It’s not like anyone studies Semitic languages to get women, you know, like, it’s not like engineering.” – Ellie Reiter [18:25]

• Finds kinship in shared dietary restrictions (halal and kosher) and mutual outsider status.

Navigating Friendship Across Divides

• Shared frustrations and humor over their unique positions (“For them, being Jewish is watching Fiddler on the Roof. For me, being Jewish is being Fiddler on the Roof.” [17:58])
• Anxieties about bridging the political and historical chasm between their backgrounds.
• Relatability through anecdotes, e.g., Abdul's isolation on a summer trip for religious reasons mirrors Ellie's feelings in secular Jewish circles.

Research, Recognition, and Delicate Joking

• The pair’s project faces academic competition from cancer and HIV studies at a research conference, which makes their own topic feel less “serious.”

• While reviewing survey data, Abdul breaks the ice on the Israeli-Palestinian issue with humor:

  “You know, I always thought you guys would win. Now I’m not so concerned.” – Abdul [21:35]

• The gentle joke signals trust and friendship.

• Their work wins the conference, sparking Ellie’s pride and confidence (“Fuck yeah.” [23:38])

• Friendship deepens with family dinners and ongoing collaborations.

Trials of War and True Friendship

• When violence erupts in the Middle East, Ellie worries for Abdul’s safety and whether their friendship will survive political tensions.

• Abdul ultimately writes expressing concern for Ellie and his family, initiating a rare moment of cross-cultural empathy and solidarity:

  “He’s like, I’m praying that your family and friends stay safe. He told me that luckily he was safe and he just wants the fighting to end. But his main concern is me and my family. That could have gone a trillion different ways. But his main concern was me.” – Ellie Reiter [24:30]

Reflection, Empathy, and Patience

• The episode closes with Ellie fasting on a holy day, tempted to break the fast early, but holding back after asking himself, “What would Abdul do?”—a quiet testament to the influence of this friendship. [25:10]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Visitor day, we got to wear our own clothes, and it was always a surprise who was coming to visitor day.” – Angie Chapman [02:58]
• “The policeman came in, and he was a big guy, and his name tag said Stanislauski or something like that... he was so big... it was kind of like his belly hung over his belt and his buttons were about to pop.” – Angie Chapman [03:35]
• “I could feel the urine come out of my pants and down my legs and into my beautiful black patent leather shoes.” – Angie Chapman [08:57]
• “For me, being Jewish is being Fiddler on the Roof.” – Ellie Reiter [17:58]
• “He told me his name was Abdul, he was Palestinian. I’m not, but I figured, why not?” – Ellie Reiter [18:20]
• “You know, I always thought you guys would win. Now I’m not so concerned.” – Abdul [21:35]
• “But his main concern was me. And it was a very close, touching moment.” – Ellie Reiter [24:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:31] Angie Chapman’s “Taking a Long Time” begins
• [08:52] Reflection on police, racism, and childhood trauma
• [12:34] Angie’s closing statement on hope and perseverance
• [15:34] Ellie Reiter’s story begins
• [17:31] Ellie describes college adjustment and identity
• [18:25] Forming an unlikely partnership with Abdul
• [21:35] Abdul’s disarming joke about the conflict
• [23:38] Research success and friendship deepening
• [24:30] War, emails, and cross-cultural empathy
• [25:10] The “What would Abdul do?” reflection

Tone & Language

• Both stories are narrated with deep vulnerability, rich humor, cultural specificity, and unvarnished honesty—the signature hallmarks of RISK!
• The storytellers’ candid voices, nuanced self-reflection, and willingness to discuss difficult issues (racism, conflict, identity) are maintained throughout the episode.

Conclusion

The Best of School Stories #1 delivers evocative, nuanced tales of school-age adversity and college-age transformation. Both stories underscore the slow but persistent hope for social change and the possibility of bridges across deep divides, rooting RISK! in its promise to deliver “stories they never thought they’d dare to share in public.”

For more from the storytellers: Angie’s story powerfully echoes ongoing struggles against racial injustice, while Ellie's narrative glimmers with hard-won connection and humor.