The Neighborhood Listen – Episode: “Free Shredding Event? with Annie Sertich”

Release Date: November 11, 2025
Guests: Annie Sertich as “Sharon”
Hosts: Burnt Millipede (Paul F. Tompkins), Joan Pedestrian (Nicole Parker), Doug (Brett Morris)

Episode Overview

In this lively installment, hosts Burnt, Joan, and Doug dive into the peculiarities and personalities of Dignity Falls via local social networking app posts. The episode centers on their guest, Sharon (Annie Sertich), whose persistent search for a “free shredding event” opens up a deep and hilarious conversation about trust, creativity, trauma, and the struggle to let go of one’s past ideas. Along the way, the hosts discuss local oddities, community events, and their ever-expanding collection of themed rooms, with the usual blend of warmth, improvisation, and off-the-wall tangents.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mystery of Dignity Falls’ Population

• The episode opens with a classic Dignity Falls dilemma: the town’s undecipherable population count due to failed censuses, “shrug emoji” results, and residents’ indifference or active efforts to avoid being counted.
  • “The first ever Dignity Falls census…they cut to the screen to unveil the number, and it was the shrug emoji.” (04:02, Burnt)
  • The hosts reminisce about creative census evasion, including “hidefromthecensus,” referencing “Home Alone” tactics and debates about how many people actually live in town.

2. Chipmunk Venom & The Expanding Tron Room

• Doug’s swollen, “cartoon”-like hand (possibly from a chipmunk bite) becomes a repeated punchline and evidence of Dignity Falls’ strange wildlife.
  • “I think it was a chipmunk…They are poisonous. People don’t realize that.” (09:55, Doug & Burnt)
  • A new “Tron Room” in the house is introduced, inspired by nostalgia for the ‘Tron’ film and Doug’s dreams of living inside a digital landscape.
  • Hilarity ensues as Doug’s chipmunk venom swelling “spreads to his biceps,” creating an arms-as-floaties visual.
  • Local cosmetic trends: Joan observes women injecting chipmunk venom to plump their lips, expressing curiosity but ethical concerns:
    • “I would love to try doing it for like, for my lips. I wouldn’t mind it. Plumpy. A chipmunk venom lip.” (20:20, Joan)

3. Ongoing Search for Gabby

• Burnt updates on his missing girlfriend Gabby, recounts her scavenger-hunt style clues, and reflects on investing more effort in the relationship.
  • “She wants to be found and she wants to make you work for it…The lesson here is I have to put in work on this relationship.” (33:29, Burnt)

4. Featured Guest: Sharon's (Annie Sertich) Free Shredding Event Quest

Begins ~44:18

Sharon’s Backstory

• Sharon has been seeking a "free shredding event" for over a year to safely dispose of her many personal documents—primarily screenplays, plays, and journal entries.
  • “I’m an avid journaler. Lot of ideas. Lot of plays, lot of screenplay ideas. A lot of things that I just don’t think I can just throw out.” (49:47, Sharon)
• She is haunted by a childhood trauma: her writing was once stolen and publicly performed by classmates, embedding a deep mistrust in sharing or discarding ideas.
  • “They took the story, they reenacted it as a play...and they made fun of my shoes…They did a song called Flat Feet.” (64:06, Sharon)
• Unable to trust personal shredders (“the pieces aren’t small enough, someone could piece it back together…”) and resistant to burning (“a piece could fly off and someone could still find it”), Sharon’s anxiety leads her to hoard four storage lockers’ worth of writing—while being behind on taxes and offering out her Social Security number freely.

Philosophical and Comedic Explorations

• The group dissects the psychology of trust, paranoia, and the challenge of moving past personal creative history (“birthing and destroying” old ideas).
• Doug suggests she use her scripts as “decoupage” for decoration—prompting a comical debate over what that actually means.
  • “Why don’t you put them up on the wall for decoration, which you said you were bad at.” (83:15, Doug)
• Burnt and Joan urge Sharon to confront her past and “tell the truth” in writing as a means to heal and potentially let go.
• The conversation repeatedly circles around various forms of community, self-expression, and overcoming psychological hurdles to sharing one’s work.

5. Community Posts & Eccentric Residents

• “In Search of a Walking Companion:” Dwayne, aged 82, seeks a male walking buddy. He insists on a male companion for unexplained, “very important” reasons—a deadpan Dignity Falls classic. (41:57)
• “Nuns’ Puffs:” Discussion of a neighbor selling “nuns’ puffs,” leading to speculation on religious baked goods and the sinister “nun bun.”
  • “When Tron came out, felt familiar…but isn’t it a suffix of something else? I don’t think it was a standalone word, Tron.” (96:28, group discussion on names and movies)

6. Swelling Benadryl Side Story

• Subplot: Doug’s reaction to Benadryl for chipmunk venom becomes increasingly absurd, culminating in him passing out and waking in the Tron Room, only to continue ballooning in various body parts.
• Joan repeatedly insists Doug should be taken to urgent care; he resists in favor of continued hijinks.

Notable Quotes

• On Trust and Trauma:
  • “They took the story, they reenacted it as a play...and they made fun of my shoes. It's like sort of that thing in Euphoria where they do a whole play and somehow has a budget of like $30,000.” (64:06-64:38, Sharon & Joan)
• On Self-Help:
  • “I want you to go in and...look in the mirror that I know you have in your apartment...write about those women. I want you to tell the truth, and you know what? Once you tell the truth, they say it sets you free.” (87:31, Joan)
• On Dignity Falls’ Wishing Culture:
  • “If you go to a birthday party in Dignity Falls…before the person blows out the candles, there’s always a big eye roll. Even for children. And sometimes the children do the eye roll. They learn it young.” (11:08-11:21, Joan)
• On Shredding & Community Events:
  • “A free shredding event implies the existence of a paid shredding event!” (73:14, Burnt – exasperated over Sharon’s search)
• On Perspective:
  • “If I were to die tomorrow and my death went unmourned, fine.” (67:20, Burnt)

Memorable Moments & Running Jokes

• Timestamps:
  • Census/Census Evasion: 02:35–06:11
  • Doug’s Chipmunk Bite: 08:43–10:12, recurring
  • Free Shredding Quest (Sharon interview): 44:18–91:54
  • Themed Rooms/Florida Room Debate: 63:00–63:34
  • Sharon’s Playground Trauma: 63:46–65:15
  • Trust Issues – The Decoupage Solution/Doug’s Decoupage Guess: 83:14–85:34

Episode Flow

Light banter and local color –> mythos of Dignity Falls (population, census, “wishing situations”) –> Doug’s cartoon hand/chipmunk venom subplot –> Update on Gabby’s “hide and seek” –> Guest segment with Sharon, exploring paranoia, creativity, and the mythos of the shredding event –> Advice and comedic interventions –> Community post readings –> Benadryl/decorating misadventures & wrap-up.

Useful for New Listeners

This episode is a showcase of “The Neighborhood Listen”’s signature blend: long-form improvised character work, surreal small-town life, and comedic empathy for even the quirkiest neighbor. Annie Sertich’s performance as Sharon anchors a hilarious but resonant exploration of creative fear, trust, and the lengths we go to protect our ideas (or avoid our own progress).

Listeners will enjoy:

• The spontaneous world-building
• The intersection of heartfelt advice and absurd comedy
• Running thematic jokes (Dignity Falls’ folkways, endless themed rooms, unique medical scenarios)
• The supportive, collaborative energy between the performers

Episode Takeaways

• Creative vulnerability is hard, but sharing your story—warts and all—is healing.
• You’re not alone in your quirks; sometimes, all it takes is one listener who gets it.
• In Dignity Falls, even the simplest neighbor request can unveil a lifetime of nuance and eccentricity.

Next Steps:
If you’ve ever wondered whether to throw away that old notebook, or if you just want a neighborly laugh about the foibles of small-town life, this episode is for you.
And if you need a free shredding event—keep listening. Maybe someday Dignity Falls will host one…