Falling Uphill: A Podcast

Sometimes you get a phone call that changes your life. Mina Liccione got that call while living in San Francisco and wondering what the next step in her career would be. She was already a Broadway veteran and was ready for something brand new. Not long after she hung up the phone, she was on a plane to a country she had never heard of–Dubai–for a gig that a well-intentioned friend had signed her up for, without bothering to get her permission first. It would not be her last trip to the Middle East, and not only would she end up opening a pioneering  comedy school there–she would meet the man who would become her husband, comedian Ali Al Sayed. But how would it all sit with her traditional Italian, Catholic, New York family? A dowry, a boxing promoter, a stuffed turkey, tap shoes, and macaroni and cheese will all play a part. Produced by Matt Elzweig Story told by Mina Liccione (http://www.minaliccione.com, http://www.dubomedy.com, @minaliccione on Twitter)  Illustration by Richard Chance Music “Maccary Bay”

It’s hard to know where to start when you try to encapsulate Augustus’s* story in just a few pithy lines, so let’s try the beginning: born in the Phillippines to a Filipina mother and an American father, Augustus grew up in a privileged but dysfunctional home. Shortly after graduating college with a degree in philosophy in the US, he finds himself called back to the Philippines, a country to which he never wanted to return, managing a crayon factory for father’s company and being forced to entertain foreign business associates by taking them to brothels. To make things worse, Augustus, the closeted-gay son of an openly-homophobic dad, suffers from social anxiety and feels obligated to participate in everything that takes place in those brothels. At his wit’s end, he makes a last ditch effort at escape by landing himself in another place he doesn’t belong–business school. His father is thrilled of course, but the truth will come out. *Not his real name. Produced by Matt Elzweig Story told by Anonymous Illustr

Curiosity can lead in all sorts of directions. John Dennehy’s passions for history and travel led him to a place called Transnistria. This would prove to be a disaster. In between Moldova and Ukraine, it doesn’t officially exist. It reveres the former Soviet Union and runs its institutions accordingly. When John stepped off the train in Tiraspol, its capital city, he was hoping to experience the closest thing to time travel. By the next day, he was in a police station just hoping he wouldn’t be locked up for a murder he didn’t commit. Produced by Matt Elzweig Story told by John Dennehy Illustration by Richard Chance Music “CatTerrogation (how they stay so relaxed)” Matt Burnett “Desert City” Kevin MacLeod  “Maccary Bay” (ft. Brett VanDonsel) Kevin MacLeod “Monsoon Circus Dub” Hayvanlar Alemi “Ruins of Soviets” Technology of Silence “Under Suspicion” Lee Rosevere “Walking Blind in New York” A Paranoid Android Looperman.com: Davidgotskill, Decus Sounds Freesound.org: nikitralala, zulut,varm,mlteenie, di