Episode #542
Date August 04, 2014
Run Time 1:12:00
Four knock-out stories from our latest trip to the town that Billy Sunday couldn’t shut down.
Song: RISK! Theme by Wormburner and John Sondericker
Song: AGEO by Glass Boy
Live Story: The Best Friend Secret by Darren Bodecker
Live Story: I and Eye by Mindy Bilderback
Live Story: Home for the Holidays by Jen Bosworth-Ramirez
Live Story: The Evangelist by Shannon Cason
Song: Start Again by Bishop Allen
Song: RISK! Theme by Wormburner and John Sondericker
Song: AGEO by Glass Boy
Live Story: The Best Friend Secret by Darren Bodecker
Live Story: I and Eye by Mindy Bilderback
Live Story: Home for the Holidays by Jen Bosworth-Ramirez
Live Story: The Evangelist by Shannon Cason
Song: Start Again by Bishop Allen
Stories 1–3 were good, but story 4 was not what I expect or hope to hear when I listen to Risk. There are (too) many other outlets for one to turn to if they want to hear bible scripture quoted to them by an admitted hypocrite. Risk ought to be an alternative to that kind of bullshit. Otherwise, weird audience—it sounded like they were more phased by the climax of “Eye and I” than they were by “The Best Friend Secret.”
[SPOILERS BELOW]
Sorry, but someone’s eye popping out and then being put back in is—or at least ought to be—less provocative than a hung grown-ass man sodomizing and pissing on an adolescent boy. Granted, Darren Bodecker’s delivery was curiously and inappropriately glib and manic, which made his story less effective and less affecting—and in a way more awkward—than it could and should have been. He was also remiss in not explicitly stating that what was done to him was wrong. Yeah, he sort of implied as much at the end, but the way that he expressed it was less than graceful. It was alarming to hear at the end that he is responsible for a child given how immature he sounded while telling his story of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation like it was a comic tale of zany hijinks.
I just discovered your podcast recently and really like the mix of stories and the fact, that you include stories that wouldn’t be told anywhere else. Great idea, great job. I must admit, though, that the eye-story on this episode was a little too much for little-squeamish-me, so I had to skip that one… Could I possibly make a suggestion for the host of the program? Please don’t over-modulate. Just talk to your listeners like you’d talk to a friend you meet on the street. Thank you.
Liked all 4 stories … i loved Shannon Casons story, his delivery is spot on … im a straight guy and Catholic, im never offended by any homosexual stories, etc… just find it curious Jack Napis comment … theres a lot of things I hear on RISK that are not my lifestyle and are frankly weird … but what I enjoy is the delivery of the story, the passion and emotion of the people who tell them …. I find Mr Napis’s comment frankly the most offensive thing thus far
@Jack Napis; I find it asinine that you expected Darren’s story to be told in any other way than the way he chose to tell it. It’s his story to tell, and I think it’s incredibly brave of him to tell it. And do you really think it’s necessary to explicitly state child abuse is wrong? Isn’t that completely fucking obvious? And then you judge his worthiness as a parent based on near zero information. You’re an odd duck.
On another note, I want to know more about the fake story.
@Jack Napis; thank you for your comment. David Boecker’s closing remarks were particularly confusing; how he figured what happened to him (i.e. molested and raped) was one of the things that opened his eyes to gay rights. What!? Right David, there shouldn’t be laws against gay people. But there are and should always be laws against molesting and raping children.
I really found all of the stories interesting. The first one was disturbing… Regarding Shannon Cason’s story: I think it’s valuable to hear from MANY viewpoints. If a story with some bible verses makes it in, so be it. As someone who grew up attending a quite conservative church, I can relate to the themes he presented, even though I no longer believe, and he does. A great story Shannon, thank you for sharing.
I discovered RISK not that long ago and my first few experiences with the show were amazing. Great stories so diverse and interesting, then all the sudden the donation requests became aggressive and all the stories start to become a LGT soap box. I am inherently open minded and non judgmental but I liked this podcast due to its diversity and unpredictability. I don’t want to listen to back to back to back stories of controversial sex stories. Even if it was not overly descriptive and shocking it’s just becoming uninteresting unless you’re only listening for perverse reasons.
I loved Darren Bodecker’s story. I loved how he described such horrific abuse with the child-like innocence he must have had then. He was experiencing molestation and rape before he knew those words. I see why some people might be uncomfortable with it, but as a sexual abuse survivor myself, I thought it was was refreshing to hear him tell it like this. He didn’t know he was being taken advantage of. He thought he was being chosen as a best friend and had a special secret. I loved it.
@jon, I was also curious about the made up story, and how it came to be exposed! If it is possible, I would love to hear Kevin Allison tell that story on RISK some time.