Story Warz Podcast — Episode 071

Weapons
GaS Digital Network | December 12, 2025
Panel: Big Jay Oakerson, Luis J. Gomez (hosts), Ian Edwards, Nina Kharoufeh, Josh Adam Meyers
Live from The Stand Comedy Club, New York City

Overview

In this riotous and razor-sharp episode of Story Warz, Big Jay Oakerson and Luis J. Gomez welcome comedians Ian Edwards, Nina Kharoufeh, and Josh Adam Meyers for a high-stakes game of deceptive storytelling—all centered on the theme of “Weapons.” Recording live at The Stand in NYC, the group swaps insane, possibly true tales—from harrowing family pencil stabbings to wild TSA arrests, and from obsessive fans to cheating accusations—and compete to fool each other and the audience. The stakes: a (possibly cursed) copy of The Catcher in the Rye.

Episode Structure & Game Rules

• Each panelist submitted 3–5 personal stories involving weapons (loosely defined).
• Eight stories total are read at random by producer Alex.
• After each story is read, the panel guesses whose story it is. If you submitted the story, your job is to deflect suspicion.
• Points:
  • 2 points for guessing correctly
  • 1 point per person fooled if it’s your story
• Final four rounds: Points are doubled to keep things unpredictable.

Key Moments, Stories & Insights

[03:14] Introductions:

• Ian Edwards is called “the guy to beat”—his first Story Warz appearance.
• Nina Kharoufeh: Podcast host (“Friendly Talk”) makes her debut.
• Josh Adam Meyers: Only returning contestant, wants to avoid “all my stories are about drugs and drinking” giveaway.

[05:14] Tonight’s Theme: Weapons

• Luis J. Gomez, explaining the stakes:
  “Tonight’s winner takes home The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.”
  Jay: “Holy shit, holy shit. Straight from the hands of the guy who shot John Lennon.”
  Nina: “Definitely one of the whitest books I’ve ever read.”
  —[06:21–07:30]

STORY ROUNDS

Story 1 ([08:21])

"I got into an argument at a family gathering with a close relative and stabbed them in the back of the shoulder with a pencil."

• Immediate ribbing about who could have written it—Lewis: “That’s very Puerto Rican!”
• Nina: “No, I would actually blow up the entire house. Kill all of us. Killing one family member with a pencil sends no message.”
• Panel fixates on this being a classic ADHD-rage white kid move, doubts about Josh.
• Reveal (15:27): Josh Adam Meyers.
  • He stabbed his older sister during an argument around age 4. “She was older and she would bully me…so she deserved it. Well, you know, she deserved it.”
• Jay: “You’re supposed to protect the ones you love.”
• [Notable quote, Josh, 15:39]: “Not my proudest moment, but we’re a better family for it.”

Story 2 ([19:12])

"The first time I held a handgun, I was six years old. My best friend's father let me hold it and my mom flipped out on him."

• Theorizing about gun culture/parenting across panel—running joke about Nina’s “war-torn country” background.
• “My mom would not give a shit if I owned 17 guns.”—Nina, [20:06]
• Reveal (24:04): Luis J. Gomez
  • His friend Rocky’s dad let them hold his gun; Luis’s mom “screamed” at them.

Story 3 ([29:42])

"An obsessed fan said he was going to shoot up my next comedy show. I snitched, and the FBI scooped him up."

• “Nina’s got nearly 400,000 followers…that’s a psycho dude.” – Big Jay
• Nina jokes about her FBI contacts (“I just Googled the FBI.”)
• Reveal (32:13): Nina Kharoufeh
  • “Some guy kept DMing me…‘I’m gonna come and kill everyone in your comedy show the next time you perform.’…So I called the cops and…the FBI.”
  • Fan was jailed after being registered as a terrorist.
  • Nina: “I see him every now and then. But it’s OK.”
  • Jay: “Do you really? You still see him?” Nina: “Once.”
• [Memorable quote, Nina, 33:28]: “His excuse? ‘Girls like Nina never give me attention…I wanted her attention.’ The judge was like, next time, try flowers.”

Story 4 ([35:54])

"An ex accused me of cheating and threw a thick glass ashtray at my head even though we had already broken up."

• Early consensus: “This is one of those on-the-nose Lewis ones,” but debate as to whether it’s too obvious.
• Ian: “I believe him.” Jay: “Ian, you’re a big cheater.”
• Panel explores who’s been a “known cheater.”
• Reveal (41:21): Ian Edwards
  • Story: After breaking up, ex visits Ian at Edinburgh Fringe, suspects he hooked up with the only other Black woman in town: “I was like, ‘No, we didn’t do nothing!’ and she…threw the ashtray.”
  • Jay: “Was it a regular tray, but when it hit your elbow, it became ash?”

Halftime Scores ([44:09])

• 4th (tie): Nina, Josh – 3 points
• 2nd (tie): Jay, Ian – 4 points
• 1st: Lewis – 8 points
• [Running gag about “perfect games” and the pain of zero points: “We’ve never had anybody that has gotten zero points for the entire game. So that’s its own little record!”—Jay]

Plugs ([45:26])

[(skip summary per instructions)]

“Double Points” Rounds

Story 5 ([49:29])

"I once picked up an old used grenade off the floor a few hours before trying to board a flight. When TSA did the hand wipe thing, I got arrested."

• Panel convinced this is a “Nina” story—Arab stereotypes abound, but Nina fights hard to misdirect.
• Jay: “Who the fuck has an old used grenade lying around?”
• Reveal (56:14): Nina Kharoufeh
  • Picked up grenade in the West Bank hurling rocks, swabbed positive for explosives at Tel Aviv airport, arrested and deported.
  • Nina: “I was flying back to America…there was [grenade residue] all over the floor…I picked something up and it was a grenade…I got arrested in Tel Aviv.”

Story 6 ([63:41])

"I dramatically started to carve a tattoo on my hand with a knife when I was 17. The first cut hurt too much, so I quit."

• Panel suspects one of the white male comics—debating emo behavior.
• Jay: “When I was in high school, I did try to carve ‘Nine Inch Nails’ into my forearm. I quit after the ‘NIN’.” [64:45]
• Reveal (71:52): Big Jay Oakerson
  • Jay admits he started (for a girl or himself) but quit at the first cut: “As soon as I saw the blood I went, ‘Oh, I’m not about that life.’”

Story 7 ([73:56])

"In high school, I was held at gunpoint by a group of thugs for a bag of weed."

• Discussion centers on use of the word “thugs,” teasing Josh for code language.
• Josh: “I didn’t write it like that, so that’s why I didn’t think it was me.”
• Reveal (78:29): Josh Adam Meyers
  • Ninth grade, outside a friend’s apartment, five guys (multi-racial) steal Josh’s weed at gunpoint.

Story 8 ([82:40])

"I got pulled over with a guy who had a bunch of coke and machine guns in the trunk. He went to prison."

• Joking Nina has “the craziest life of anyone ever.”
• Reveal (88:19): Nina Kharoufeh
  • Riding in a friend’s blacked-out Cadillac; when police open the trunk, friend goes to prison, Nina plays the “sweet pumpkin angel” to escape.

Overtime Tiebreaker ([91:38])

Tie: Big Jay & Lewis (20 pts each)

Final Story:
"I had ten guys chasing me down the street, so I pretended to have a gun."

• Jay and Lewis agree it’s Ian.

• Reveal (93:10): Ian Edwards

  • “I went to see Rocky Horror in a white neighborhood—dudes started chasing me with bats and chains. I turned around, put my hand in my pocket, and pretended. They believed me and bailed.”

• Jay wagers 20, wins by going all-in:
  “Don’t try to put an asterisk on my win. You just lost. Sign the book. Let’s end the show.” [95:42]

Notable Quotes & Banter Highlights

• Josh (on his violent family story): "My white hyperactivity musical personality… I stabbed my sister in the back… She deserved lead poison!" [15:54]
• Nina (about handling guns in Arab culture): “I’ve held several guns. I’m Arab, what do you expect?” [21:39]
• Jay (about picking up grenades): “Who the fuck has an old used grenade lying around on the floor?” [51:44]
• Nina (after being rightfully accused): “It’s called gaslighting.” [58:28]
• Ian (on not cheating): “She accused me of cheating. She threw the ashtray partly because she’s Jamaican.” [42:28]
• Jay (on friendship with Lewis): “Sometimes we cheat with each other. If we haven’t cheated in a while, I miss the action.” [37:42]
• Lewis (on Nina): “If you do spend time with Nina, though, one of you… you’re going to prison.” [89:52]

Final Scores

• 4th: Ian Edwards
• 3rd: Josh Adam Meyers
• 2nd: Nina Kharoufeh
• Winner: Big Jay Oakerson, after tiebreaker with Lewis

Memorable Moments & Episode Tone

• Raucous, merciless roast comedy throughout—panelists constantly ribbing each other about race, religion, intelligence, and criminal behavior.
• Running themes: Cheating, stereotype flips, gaslighting, and what “type” of person would wield which weapon.
• A live crowd with strong energy, resulting in a “rowdy” late-show atmosphere, peaking during accusations and voting.
• Lewis repeatedly “explains points” amid confusion and bickering (“We’ve never had anyone get zero points for the entire game!”).
• Nina’s elaborate misdirection and wild-but-true stories about explosives and crime kept both panelists and crowd guessing.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:14 — Introductions
• 05:14 — Weapons theme/game rules
• 08:21 — Story #1 (Pencil stabbing; Josh)
• 19:12 — Story #2 (Gun at age 6; Lewis)
• 29:42 — Story #3 (Fan shooting threat/FBI; Nina)
• 35:54 — Story #4 (Ashtray/cheating; Ian)
• 49:29 — Story #5 (Grenade residue at TSA; Nina)
• 63:41 — Story #6 (Knife tattoo fail; Jay)
• 73:56 — Story #7 (Weed/armed robbery; Josh)
• 82:40 — Story #8 (Coke/guns/car stop; Nina)
• 91:38 — Overtime tiebreaker (“ten guys chased me/I pretended to have a gun"; Ian)
• 95:05 — Jay wins, final banter

Conclusion

Story Warz 071 (Weapons) delivers everything fans expect from the series: outrageous true (and maybe not-so-true) tales, relentless mockery among top comedians, and the chaos of live game-play in front of a New York crowd. Highlights include Nina’s wild brushes with the law and stalkers, Jay’s self-mutilation misadventures, and Josh’s childhood violence. With weapons both literal and metaphorical in play, this is classic podcast storytelling—no holds barred, and definitely not for the faint of heart.