In this week's story, teller RJ Silva shares how the milestone moment of his 30th birthday revealed unexpected understandings of his family dynamic.

ShurePlus MOTIV

Episode 256: RJ Silva - My Father's Stroke

In this week's story, teller Jeff Bakkensen shares the memory of one particularly strong friendship, and how the loss of that friend stayed with him as the world expected him to move on.

Episode 264: Jeff Bakkensen - Labor Day

In this week's story, teller Courtney Kotloski shares the shock of her cancer diagnosis and how humor - along with the support of her family - helped keep her pushing through treatment.

Episode 289: Courtney Kotloski - Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

In this week's story, tellers Gregory and Vince Pagán-Hill share a dual story of sexual awakening and finding a partner to explore with.

Episode 296: Gregory and Vince Pagán-Hill - Gay As Sh*t

In this week's story, teller Martinique Haller reflects on an act of rebellion from her youth and the understanding - if not forgiveness - that time has brought her.

Episode 303: Martinique Haller - The Egging

In this week's story, our teller shares the lead up to - and follow up of - her marriage's end, and how she found her path forward through the grief of the transition.

Episode 304: Making A Whole From Broken Pieces

In this week's story, teller RJ Silva shares his experience being pulled between two worlds when he brought his husband to visit his home country for the very first time.

Episode 306: RJ Silva - Mangoes In Manila

In this week's story, teller Abra Millman shares her frantic search for proper documentation before her wedding, and the unexpected place that showed her mercy.

Episode 307: Finding Humanity At The DMV - Abra Millman

In this week's story, tellers McKenzie Chinn and Mykele Deville look back at the way they found each other through the chaos and violence of the world around them.

Episode 310: McKenzie Chinn & Mykele Deville - Spark & Shine

In this week's story, teller Courtney Kotloski shares how she, along with her kids, developed a way to find strength and positivity in the face of fear.

Episode 311: Courtney Kotloski - Look For The Good Guys

In this week's story, teller Matthew Braun recalls his struggle with financial and personal stagnation and the way he found satisfaction and community in movement.

Episode 316: Matthew Braun - I Needed To Move

In this week's story, teller LaTanya Lane shares how she found, then learned to love, the fighter inside of her.

Episode 317: LaTanya Lane - Fighting

In this week's story, teller Dana Black looks back on her relationship with her grandmother, celebrating the little traditions they found together and how she honored her loss.

Episode 318: Dana Black - My Nana, My Mom's Mom, My Best Friend

In this week's story, teller Connie Shirakawa recalls her experience on a pilgrimage to the former internment camp site where her parents met and the community she found among the generations of Japanese Americans she traveled with.

Episode 319: Connie Shirakawa - Journey To Jerome

In this week's story, teller Karla Estela Rivera recalls her experience learning to love her sexuality and the way she built a home for her child that would make their own experience open, loving, and joyous.

Episode 320: Karla Estela Rivera - Kids Like Us

In this week's story, teller Madeline Bourdenko recalls the pressure of raising two young children and the trip she took that helped her find herself amongst the chaos.

Episode 321: Madeline Bourdenko - The World Is Waiting For You

In this week's story, teller Kimberly Acosta reflects on the depth of her Mexican-American identity and the way it's evolved throughout her life, both as she's gotten older and as the world around her changes.

Episode 322: Kimberly Acosta - One Of The Good Ones

In this week's story, teller Jenan Mohajir shares the path she followed to finding her name and the pride she's learned to have in representing herself and her legacy.

Episode 323: Jenan Mohajir - One Face, Many Names

In this week's story, teller Jess Kadish shares the before, during, and ongoing process of healing from a broken hip, reflecting on the help she learned to ask for.

Episode 324: Jess Kadish - Break

In this week's story, teller Kirsten Baity recalls the ups and downs of their relationship with their sister and the way they grew together through shared yet separate work.

Episode 325: Kirsten Baity - We Never Go Alone

In this week's story, teller CP Chang shares the many varying emotions and memories of weeks that led up to the loss of father and what we see when those around us grieve.

Episode 326: CP Chang - The Blessing Of His Memory

Originally released on December 11, 2011.

Episode 34: Julie Ganey - Cat Shit

Episode 47: Ric Walker - Ripples

Originally released on November 15, 2012.

Episode 70: Dion Walton - Dead

Originally released on September 15, 2014.

Episode 109: Khanisha Foster

Kicking off the relaunch of 2nd Story's podcast, Heart of Nowhere is a story about Star Wars, Dave’s time as a soldier in Afghanistan, and how those two very different wars collided in an example of the transformative power of storytelling

Episode 139:  David Wagener - Heart of Nowhere

In this story, Connie Shirakawa goes into battle mode when her Muslim friend seems in danger of being targeted by the Trump administration's travel ban.

Episode 153: Connie Shirakawa - Saving Mo, Saving Me

In this story, teller LaTanya Lane shares a story about her time working at Camp Desoto.

Episode 161: LaTanya Lane - The Clearing

“Buying in Bulk" is an ode to teller Lara Garay’s father, the children of immigrant parents everywhere, and Costco.

Episode 163: Lara Garay - Buying In Bulk

In this week's story, teller Vince Pagán shares how his image of his father has changed and evolved as he learned to question where that image came from.

Episode 195: Vince Pagán - Good Old Dad

2nd Story is dedicated to creating and crafting story-sharing experiences that foster meaningful connections between individuals and communities. We believe that well-crafted, well-told stories can be a catalyst for change for artist and audience alike.

We believe that stories are what bind us to each other.
We want to live in a world driven by empathy.

We host events in and around Chicago that elevate the storyteller’s words to deliver a unique, live, literary/theatrical experience unlike any other in the city. From small bars in Rogers Park and North Center, to big venues in Lakeview and the West Loop, to restaurants in Lincoln Park and Evanston, we produce over 30 events every season and facilitates over 145 artistic collaborations. 

We craft story-sharing experiences in the form of both performances and workshops and classes. A typical show or event consists of several stories dispersed throughout the evening like courses of a meal. The stories range from the earnest and serious to the light-hearted and humorous, and can simultaneously provoke and entertain.

Our venues are as varied as our stories, and run the gamut from intimate wine bars and pubs to spacious performance halls, conference rooms, and open-office environments. Our storytellers are equally diverse, and come from all walks of life: a pastor, a bartender, a child psychiatrist, and a lawyer…their individual stories help to bridge the gap between the personal and the universal, and break down the walls between and unite artists and audiences in and among different communities.

2nd Story

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