Podcast Summary: The Moth Radio Hour – "You Gone Learn"

Date: March 20, 2026
Host: John Good

Episode Overview

This episode, titled "You Gone Learn," is a curated collection of five powerful, funny, and moving live stories about confronting the unknown, making leaps, persevering through adversity, and the lifelong process of learning—sometimes the hard way. Storytellers span the globe, tackling everything from awkward village immersion and bold marriage proposals to parenting a resilient child and rebuilding a community. Throughout, listeners are invited to reflect on the lessons life throws at us and the ways we find wisdom, community, and, sometimes, laughter in the process.

Key Segments & Story Summaries

1. Hungary for Belonging

Storyteller: Dan Souza
Location: Boston Story Slam
Timestamps: 03:24 – 10:19

Story Highlights:

• Dan, freshly graduated and avoiding the workforce, moves to a small Hungarian village to teach English.
  • He's the only foreigner in a town of 1,500 Hungarians and is instantly the subject of curiosity.
  • Isolated, he struggles with homesickness, loud teachers, and language barriers.
• Invited as “guest of honor” at a school fundraiser, he faces endless rounds of shots and a challenge: to sing for the crowd.
  • He chooses "What a Wonderful World" but only vaguely remembers the lyrics.
  • Courage (from drinking) and improvisation take over—his lyrics include Ninja Turtles and family inside jokes.
• Revelation:
  • "I'm not a stranger in this land. I am a celebrity. And two, no one here speaks English at all." (08:08)
  • The villagers give him a standing ovation, confirming that spirit, not perfection (or even accuracy!), matters most.

Memorable Quotes:

• Dan Souza: "I see Ninja Turtles fight with nunchucks and bows. They'll kill the foot, as I already know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world." (09:03)
• Reflecting: "In that instance, I realized two things. One, I'm not a stranger in this land. I am a celebrity. And two, no one here speaks English at all." (08:08)

2. Planning for Spontaneity

Storyteller: Jen Rubin
Location: Madison Story Slam
Timestamps: 11:29 – 17:59

Story Highlights:

• A glacial epiphany pushes Jen to try living more boldly and spontaneously—except she immediately starts planning her next move.
• Relationship inertia:
  • At a friend's urging, she decides to propose to her boyfriend, Matt.
  • Ironically, obsessive preparation follows: selecting the perfect outfit, buying a leather jacket, constructing fail-proof index cards (“Burma Shave” style) listing her reasons for loving him—and a plan for every possible answer he could give.
• The proposal night:
  • Dinner ends with an over-the-top birthday dessert (though it's not Matt's birthday).
  • Overcome by nerves, she hands him the index cards, then asks, “Are you sure? Don’t you need a little time to think about it?” (17:48)
  • Matt is certain, and says yes.

Notable Moments:

• Jen Rubin: “You can’t actually plan to be spontaneous. Do you misunderstand the word?” — Jen’s friends (12:12)
• On prepping: "I made like a Burma Shave on index cards. And on each index card I wrote one thing I loved about him, color coded. And then on the last one it said therefore. And that would be my cue to propose." (14:49)
• On self-doubt: “But I can’t really leave it there because the problem is that I hadn’t told my instinct about my new perspective, and my instinct has screwed me my whole life.” (17:52)

3. Sliding into Resilience

Storyteller: Matty Strusky
Location: Los Angeles Story Slam
Timestamps: 22:21 – 28:05

Story Highlights:

• Matty tells of parenting his daughter Rain, a joyful, determined three-year-old who was born four months premature and lives with cerebral palsy.
• Rain navigates the world differently—using a gait trainer and “commando crawling”—but does so with spirit and happiness, unfazed by stares or challenges.
• A trip to Boston reminds Matty of the battle his daughter has fought and makes him painfully aware of others’ pity.
  • “Please don’t look at this kid with pity because she doesn’t need it. She’s already stronger than all of us.” (26:19)
• Back at their playground, Rain chooses to go down the slide face-first, ending up in a heap—but laughing with pure joy:
  • “Dad, I toppled over. I’ll get back up.” (27:29)
• Lesson: "Her journey is her own journey and our journey together as a family...might not be a typical one, but that's a good thing." (27:41)

Memorable Quotes:

• Matty Strusky: "She looks up at me and she says, dad, I toppled over. I'll get back up." (27:29)
• Reflection: "I just need to stop focusing on the looks that people are giving her, and I need to focus on the things that she can achieve." (27:56)

4. Piano Lessons & Self-Compassion

Storyteller: Dionne Harari
Location: Sydney Story Slam
Timestamps: 29:40 – 35:23

Story Highlights:

• After 30 years away, Dionne resumes piano lessons, encouraged by her laid-back young teacher, Tim, who invites her to perform at a student recital.
• She’s surrounded by five- and six-year-olds playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb”; nerves and a lack of practice catch up to her.
• She freezes mid-piece, restarts, and plays so slowly it’s painful—twice, since she prepared two pieces!
  • “I pulled out the music and put it in front and start again, like an old person who has no embarrassment gene.” (31:58)
• Her son reassures her, but Dionne recognizes the “kind voice” she uses for her own kids.
• The painful memory keeps her from playing for five years—but eventually, she returns to the piano for her own joy.
  • "I've never wanted to perform. I just want to do it for me. ... And that's it." (35:00)

Notable Quotes:

• On the awkward audience: "...by now I knew that they were a really unreliable audience because they had clapped little Johnny and Johnny was shit ass. Let's go be honest." (33:41)
• On rediscovery: "I've never wanted to perform. I just want to do it for me. I just want to do it as the background to what my kids are doing." (35:00)

5. Rebuilding Hope in a Food Desert

Storyteller: Burnell Cotland
Location: The Moth Main Stage, New Orleans
Timestamps: 38:47 – 54:21

Story Highlights:

• Burnell’s childhood in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward was forever altered when his father was killed for testifying against a murderer—an act of courage that shaped Burnell's values.
• After serving as a military police officer in Germany, Burnell returns home, rebuilds his house post-Katrina, and discovers his neighborhood is now a “food desert.”
  • “I called up all the big box stores...they all told me they’re not coming back because the Lower Ninth Ward is a food desert.” (43:29)
• Undaunted by a derelict building and the skepticism of friends and family (“When someone tell me no, that's not a limitation on me. That's a limitation on them.” (46:24)), he and his wife Keisha set out to open the first and only grocery store since the storm.
• He fights red tape (a $17,000 fine) and, after directly appealing to the mayor, wins the right to finish his store.
• Grand opening is a community celebration—an elderly customer, Ms. Williamson, stays three hours, moved by the return of a vital service.
• Burnell now operates multiple businesses (market, barbershop, laundromat, snowball stand) and urges listeners to value what they have, find their purpose, and serve their community.

Memorable Quotes:

• On adversity: “...when someone tell me no, that's not a limitation on me. That's a limitation on them. I decide to do it anyway.” (46:24)
• Life lessons: “Don't take nothing for granted. Appreciate and value everything that you have, because having to lose everything, I don't wish that on anybody. ... My purpose is service.” (50:49)
• On New Orleans: “You should not have to catch three city buses to get to the closest grocery store.” (53:41)

Notable Quotes – By Storyteller and Timestamp

• Dan Souza (09:03):
  “I see Ninja Turtles fight with nunchucks and bows. They’ll kill the foot, as I already know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
• Jen Rubin (14:49):
  “I made like a Burma Shave on index cards. And on each index card I wrote one thing I loved about him, color coded. And then on the last one it said therefore. And that would be my cue to propose.”
• Matty Strusky (27:29):
  “She looks up at me and she says, dad, I toppled over. I’ll get back up.”
• Dionne Harari (33:41):
  “...by now I knew that they were a really unreliable audience because they had clapped little Johnny and Johnny was shit ass. Let’s go be honest.”
• Burnell Cotland (46:24):
  “...when someone tell me no, that's not a limitation on me. That's a limitation on them. I decide to do it anyway.”
• Burnell Cotland (50:49): “Don't take nothing for granted. Appreciate and value everything that you have, because having to lose everything, I don't wish that on anybody. ... My purpose is service.”

Thematic Takeaways

• Learning is Universal: Whether awkwardly improvising before strangers, trying to be spontaneous in matters of love, or maintaining joy despite life’s challenges, each story orbits around that central truth: we're all students in life’s unpredictable classroom.
• Resilience and Purpose: The most enduring lessons come from adversity—whether rebuilding a life, nurturing a child, or a whole community.
• Finding Joy Amid Imperfection: From piano flubs to face-first slides, it’s often the messy, unplanned, or even embarrassing moments that teach us most.
• Importance of Community: The episode closes with a ringing affirmation that supporting—and being supported by—community is what gives life its meaning and possibility.

Episode Flow & Tone

The tone throughout is intimate, candid, often humorous, and deeply compassionate. Each storyteller’s distinct voice shines, amplified by moments of laughter and vulnerability. John Good, as host, grounds the hour with wit and warmth, relating personal takeaways from each story and gently prompting listeners to reflect on their own lessons learned.

Timestamps: Key Segments

• [02:22] John Good opens the hour on lessons learned
• [03:24] Dan Souza: Teaching in Hungary
• [10:19] Host Reflection, segue to next storyteller
• [11:29] Jen Rubin: Proposal gone spontaneous
• [17:59] Host epilogue and additional background
• [21:59] Host reopens with lesson-focused summary
• [22:21] Matty Strusky: Daughter’s resilience
• [28:05] Host follow-up about Rain
• [29:40] Dionne Harari: Recital disasters
• [35:23] Host reflection on rediscovery
• [38:47] Burnell Cotland: Rebuilding New Orleans
• [54:21] Burnell’s Interview: Lessons from Katrina & Ida, ongoing challenges
• [55:12] Host final lessons and close

For Further Listening & Engagement

To see related photos and learn more about the storytellers, listeners are directed to themoth.org. The episode closes with encouragement for listeners to share their own stories and the announcement of upcoming Moth mainstage events.