Episode 87 - "Higher Power" by DJ Swykert

Episode 87: (03/29/2021):

• Episode 87 features a reading of the story "Higher Power" by DJ Swykert as well as a discussion about the principles of recovery where I'm joined again by John and Rose Benton.

• You can find out more about author DJ Swykert and where to buy his books by checking out his website HERE

• Words of the author at the end of his initial email to me back in 2018 when he first sent me this story that I want to include here: “There are a lot of treatment facilities and programs for drug and alcohol abuse, most are very expensive. But the program with the greatest success percentage by far is AA, and it doesn't cost a dime. I've been straight since 2006.”

• Mr. Swykert, I want to just say here publicly - Thank You for sharing this story with me and the listeners. It has helped me, and I believe it will help others. I wouldn’t have done this show without your submission.

• Some relevant texts mentioned in the show are included below, and if you are listening and have other helpful links or texts, please send them my way and I will add them to the website:

  • The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Road-Less-Traveled-Timeless-Edition/M-Scott-Peck/9780743243155#

  • Further Along the Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Further-Along-the-Road-Less-Traveled/M-Scott-Peck/9780684847238

  • AA Big Book - https://www.aa.org/pages/en_us/alcoholics-anonymous

• If you found this helpful, or if you ever want/need someone to chat with, please reach out! Thank you for listening! 

Author DJ Swykert

Episode 86 - "The Brenker Files": Three Stories by Abby Brenker

Episode 86: (03/22/2021)

• Episode 86 features three stories written by New York author Abby Brenker who is also the host of the Lunatics Radio Hour Podcast.

• Check out the Lunatics Radio Hour and Lunatics Film Project HERE

• Abby wanted to mention support for the Marsha P Johnson Institute on her episode. The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of black transgender people. They do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting their collective power. Check out their website HERE

• Stories Timing Index:

  • “Something” - 02:50

  • “The Man with an Axe” - 12:11

  • “The Giant Eyeball” - 22:59

• Thanks for listening everyone! Don’t forget to check out the Lunatics Radio Hour Podcast anywhere podcasts can be found.

Episode 85 - Part 9 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc (Finale)

Episode 85: (03/15/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 9 of 9. 

• “Chapter 9: Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" starts at 02:37

• Shout out to my new friends Abby and Alan over at the Lunatics Radio Hour for the intro and upcoming collaboration work! Check out their works HERE

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 84 - Part 8 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 84: (0308/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 8 of 9. 

• “Chapter 8: The Black Pearl" starts at 01:53”

• Shout out to my new friends Abby and Alan over at the Lunatics Radio Hour for the intro and upcoming collaboration work! Check out their works HERE

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 83 - Part 7 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 83: (03/01/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 7 of 9. 

• “Chapter 7: Madame Imbert’s Safe" starts at 00:34

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 82 - Part 6 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 82: (02/22/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 6 of 9. 

• “Chapter 6: The Seven of Hearts" starts at 00:32

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 81 - Part 5 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 81: (02/15/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 5 of 9. 

• “Chapter 5: The Queen’s Necklace" starts at 00:59

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 80 - Part 4 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 80: (02/08/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues!

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 4 of 9. 

• "Chapter 4: The Mysterious Traveller" starts at 00:25

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 79 - Part 3 of "The Arsene Lupin" Series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 79: (02/01/2021)

• "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc continues! Recommended by and dedicated to Troy Wands.

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 3 of 9. 

• "Chapter 3: The Escape of Arsene Lupin" starts at 00:29

• Happy 2021! Thanks for listening! 

Episode 78 - Part 2 of "The Arsene Lupin" series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 78: (01/25/2021)

• Episode 78 continues with our multi-part series "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc. Recommended by and dedicated to Troy Wands.

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 2 of 9. 

• "Chapter 2: Arsene Lupin in Prison" starts at 00:33

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 77 - Part 1 of "The Arsene Lupin" series by Maurice Leblanc

Episode 77: (01/19/2021)

• Welcome to 2021 listeners!

• We are starting off the year with a multi-part series following "The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman-Burglar" by Maurice Leblanc. Recommended by and dedicated to Troy Wands.

• If you would like to download a free copy of the book through Project Gutenberg to follow along, click HERE

• This episode is part 1 of 9. 

• "Chapter 1: The Arrest of Arsene Lupin" starts at 01:53

• Happy 2021! Thanks for listening! 

Episode 76 - 5th Anniversary Special - "Distorted Blame" by Jacob Cavanah

Episode 76: (12/31/2020)

• “Distorted Blame” by Jacob Cavanah (Story starts at 06:47)

• Jake and I would both like to highlight one important part that you will see and hear about his journey - being unhappy in his job, he was always hesitant to pursue his passions and now that he has made that leap, he only wishes he had done it sooner. Live life now if you can listeners. Don’t find yourselves stuck doing something that brings you no joy and hold back on things that you truly believe could.

• Visit Jake’s website HERE

• Visit Jake’s Amazon page HERE

• Today’s book recommendation - “A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World” - by Robert Bringhurst - you can find a copy at your library, or HERE

• Thank you so much for listening everyone! I’m wishing you all a Happy New Year! See you in 2021!!!

Episode 75 - "Three Idealists Chat About Conspiracy Theories"

Rose and John Benton

Episode 75: (12/25/2020)

• In Episode 75 I sit down virtually with my friends John and Rose Benton and we chat about conspiracy theories, try to make sense of things, think of ways we can help promote truth and reality, as well as seek some positivity in it all. 

• As I mentioned in the episode Four Seasons Curling Club at Fogarty Arena, a non-profit organization has been hit hard this year due to COVID19.

  • Many of us are affected and struggling. IF you are willing and able to help them keep their doors open and continue to offer sports, community, learning, and fellowship to the area, we would all appreciate it very much. Please do not donate money if you are struggling financially yourself.

  • You can find their gofundme page HERE

• Videos to share and help kindly and gently nudge friends or family who may believe in conspiracy theories is available at thetruetruetruth.com

• Another special episode that I wanted to include on this, the week of our 5th anniversary. 

• Thank you for your 5 years of support, listeners. I appreciate you all so very much!

• I'll have a couple more episodes before the new year for you as well - I promise, we'll be back to the storytelling! 

John golfing.

My dog, Teach, who lays on the day bed behind me when I record the show.

Episode 74 - "A Chat with Ben and Kevin"

Ben Trapp (Left) and Kevin Spilker (Right)

Episode 74: (12/22/2020)

• In episode 74 I sit down virtually with my friends Ben and Kevin and we chat about stories, life, our worlds during COVID, and seek positivity in a dark world.

• It is a fun episode that doesn’t really have much of a point other than to converse and think about things. It was something I wanted to include on the week of the 5th anniversary of the show!

• Thank you for supporting us for 5 years listeners!

• I’ll have some other episodes later this week!

Ben and his three-legged dog Jaxon.

Episode 73 - "Quinny" by Anna Lynch

Episode 73: (12/02/2020)

• “Quinny” - written by Anna Lynch. (Story starts at 4:21)

• Anna would like to plug the Maritime Greyhound Adoption Program & Sighthound Placement

  • More on MGAP by clicking HERE

  • For those in other parts of the world - other greyhound adoption programs can be found HERE

• Books Recommended in this Episode:

  • “Spirits: A Collection of 15 Short Stories” written by Dennis Hughes

    • You can find Dennis’ book HERE

  • “The Rainbow of Truth” written by Roger Conlon

    • You can find Roger’s book HERE

• As always, thank you for listening everyone, and have a good night!

Anna Lynch

Tesla

Episode 72 - The Story Behind the Vince Berman Trio: A Memorial for Richard and Shawn

Episode 72: (11/24/2020)

• Episode 72 includes an interview with David Schwartz a composer and professor of sound recording and understanding music at Gulf Coast State College in Florida. Dave tells the story of the Vince Berman Trio and the tragic story of the band's last two years. 

• Index for songs played in this episode (in order) from the album R & D by the Vince Berman Trio: 

  • "Copy Paste" (Track 1) - 36:10

  • "Should Have" (Track 7) - 48:39

  • "Busy Going Dizzy" (Track 10) - 59:09

  • "Vague" (Track 3) - 1:26:59 played during the episode outro. 

• If you’d like to follow along with the songs mentioned in the show and hear them as we discuss them, hop over to Dave’s website and visit the “Vince Berman Trio” page where they can all be played in the audio player: www.dtschwartz.com 

• Thanks for listening everyone! 

Episode 71 - "A Tough Tussle" by Ambrose Bierce

Episode 71: (11/11/2020)

• "A Tough Tussle" written by Ambrose Bierce.

• Thank you to all veterans for your service to your country. 

• Recommended Books this episode:

  • "The Guns of August" - by Barbara Tuchman 

  • "The Black Count" - by Tom Reiss

  • "Hero of the Empire" - by Candice Millard

  • "Rubicon" - by Tom Holland

• "A Tough Tussle" starts at 7:40

• Thanks for listening! 

Episode 69 - 2020 Halloween Special "The Whisperer in Darkness" Part 3

Episode 69: (10/29/2020)

• Welcome, Listeners to the 2020 BSSH Halloween Special - Part III!

• This is part 3 of a 3-part series. If you missed the beginning of the story, please go back and check out episode 67! 

• When we left off in the last episode, Henry Akeley had grown more desperate and afraid of his situation, urging our narrator to give up his investigations. He persists in this belief until suddenly a letter arrives showing he has had a complete change of heart on the matter. In this letter he invites the narrator out to his house in the lonely Vermont wilderness to discuss the matter further. 

• A special thank you to Owen Swerkstrom (Hidden Oaks Podcast & Chunky Milk Productions) for his audio work on this episode!

• For a free read-along copy of the story on Project Gutenberg, click HERE

• Thank you for listening! I hope you enjoy! 

Episode 68 - 2020 Halloween Special "The Whisperer in Darkness" Part 2

Episode 68: (10/27/2020)

• Welcome, Listeners to the 2020 BSSH Halloween Special - Part II!

• This is part 2 of a 3-part series. If you missed the beginning of the story, please go back and check out episode 67! 

• When we left off in the last episode, our narrator had just begun corresponding with an intellectual recluse in the wild Vermont hills about strange sightings and evidence of otherworldly beings there. Creatures whose formerly benign aloofness, had now grown to more sinister-feeling. attention directed upon the men themselves. 

• A special thank you to Owen Swerkstrom (Hidden Oaks Podcast & Chunky Milk Productions) for his audio work on this episode!

• For a free read-along copy of the story on Project Gutenberg, click HERE

• Thank you for listening! I hope you enjoy! 

Episode 67 - 2020 Halloween Special "The Whisperer in Darkness" Part 1

Episode 67: (10/25/2020)

• Welcome, Listeners to the 2020 BSSH Halloween Special - Part I!

• This episode kicks off our 2020 Halloween feature presentation! We're sticking with Lovecraft this month, though this story is from later in Howard's career than the previous episode's tale.

• This story took Lovecraft longer to write than many of his other works. He toiled over it from February 24th to September 26th, 1930. The ideas behind it go back to at least 1927 when Lovecraft first visited Vermont. He loved the beauty of the state and its untouched wilderness so much that he felt compelled to write an essay entitled "Vermont - A First Impression". Whole passages of this work are incorporated into today's story.

• The setting of the country farmhouse is based on the abodes of two of his friends Vrest Orton and Arthur Goodenough. Lovecraft even included the discovery of Pluto into the story - something that was announced to the world one month after he began writing the story. It first appeared in Weird Tales Magazine in August 1931. 

• A special thank you to Owen Swerkstrom (Hidden Oaks Podcast & Chunky Milk Productions) for his audio work on this episode!

• For a free read-along copy of the story on Project Gutenberg, click HERE

• Thank you for listening. Enjoy!