This Podcast Will Change Your Life.

Untrammeled was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Untrammeled is read by Gerald Brennan (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Gerald Brennan earned a B.S. in European History from West Point and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. He's the author of Resistance, which Kirkus called “an extremely impressive debut,” and four space books including the forthcoming Alone on the Moon, which prompted one blurbist to dub him "the poet laureate of the desolation of space." His writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune and Newcity, and he was on the latter's 2019 Lit 50 list of notable literary Chicagoans; he's also the founder of Tortoise Books, a Chicago-based independent p

This episode stars Shannon Downey (Badass Cross Stitch). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Downey's current home in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in February 2023.

God's Work was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). God's Work is read by Barry Graham (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Barry Graham is a writer and a gambler from Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Barely Breathing was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Barely Breathing is read by Tim Walikis (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Tim Walikis aka [OMIT], Timo, Slick Wilson, etc…is an artist, sculptor, musician, and Art Dept. Scenic artist for films. Member of local 829. He has exhibited his art in New York and California. Tim has played guitar bass and sang in multiple bands in New York and California. He has been in the Buffalo band Monkey Wrench since 1989. Tim is from Upstate NY, but has lived in San Diego, Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe and Buffalo. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Stabbed In The Back was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Stabbed In The Back is read by Leesa Cross-Smith (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of half a dozen books: Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, This Close To Okay, Half-Blown Rose, and the forthcoming Goodbye Earl. She lives in Kentucky with her high school sweetheart husband and their two teenagers. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Paul Lamb (One-Match Fire). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lamb's home (albeit, and sadly, not his cabin) somewhere in the greater Kansas City area (which is yes, home to the recent Super Bowl winning Chiefs) in December 2022.

How It Works was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). How It Works is read by Leland Cheuk (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Leland Cheuk is an award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN. Cheuk’s work has appeared in publications such as NPR, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets. He’s been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Hawthornden Castle, Djerassi, and elsewhere. He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books and lives in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Twitter @lcheuk and at lelandcheuk.com.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Daniel Nester (Harsh Realm: My 1990s, Shader, The Incredible Sestina Anthology). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Nester's home in New York state's greater Capital Region in December 2022.

No Nothing was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). No Nothing is read by Ryan W. Bradley (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Ryan W. Bradley is a sometimes writer/artist and a full-time Marketing Manager for a 15-branch library system. He has written too many books and abandoned just the right amount.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Goddess was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Goddess is read by Glen Binger (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Glen Binger is an author, teacher, and coach from by-the-beach, New Jersey. He hosts the podcast Betterism and his most recent books are Head Games: The Novel and Darren's Journal.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Never Said was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Never Said is read by Joseph G. Peterson (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Joseph G. Peterson is the author of the novel Memorandum from the Iowa Cloud Appreciation Society. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Sari Botton (And You May Find Yourself..., Oldster Magazine, Memoir Monday, Adventures in Journalism). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Botton's home somewhere outside of New York City in November 2022.

Just Like That was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Just Like That is read by Giano Cromley (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Giano Cromley's latest novel is The Prince of Infinite Space. He's twice been a finalist for the High Plains Book Award. He is the recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council, and recently completed a BookEnds Fellowship with Stony Brook University. He's an English professor at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, where he is chair of the Communications Department, and sits on the committee for the Center of Equity for Creative Arts. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Mike DeCapite (Jacket Weather, Creamsicle Blue, Through the Windshield). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and DeCapite's home in... where else, the New York City in November 2022.

This episode stars Erika T. Wurth (White Horse, Crazy Horse's Girlfriend, Buckskin Cocaine). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Wurth's home in greater Denverland in December 2022.

Panties was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Panties is read by Debra Pritzker Tanzer (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Debra Pritzker Tanzer worked in advertising for 20+ years in New York and Chicago and has been married to the author for much longer than that. She somewhat grudgingly agreed to read this story, and is bemused by the author's claims that it was inspired by a date they went on to the long demolished Airport Drive-In in Johnson City, NY way back in the 1980s. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Cool, Not Removed was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Cool, Not Removed is read by Patrick Wensink (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Patrick Wensink is the bestselling author of several books, including his last novel, "Fake Fruit Factory" which was named one of the best books of 2015 by NPR. His nonfiction appears in Esquire, New York Times, Oxford American and others. He has also penned two acclaimed children's books. He currently teaches creative writing in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This most excellent 300th episode stars the most excellent Sara Lippmann (LECH, JERKS, Doll Palace). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lippmann's home office in the New York City borough known as Brooklyn in December 2022.

Stevey was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). Stevey is read by David Masciotra (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO David Masciotra is the author of several books, including I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters (Bloomsbury, 2020), Mellencamp: American Troubadour (University Press of Kentucky, 2015), and a forthcoming examination of the politics of exurbia and suburbia for Melville House Publishing. He has written for the New Republic, the Progressive, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and many other publications on politics, music, and literature. He lives in Indiana, and teaches at Indiana University Northwest.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

In A Single Bound was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). In A Single Bound is read by Seth Berg (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIO Seth Berg is a hatchet-wielding forest-dweller who digs tasty hallucinatory literature. A hot-sauce-addicted pyromaniac with an MFA from Bowling Green State University, Berg fantasizes about flight without mechanisms, alien glyph systems, and snowshoeing through your nocturnal dreamscapes. He is a professor, poet, artifact-maker, and amateur astrophysicist whose mathematically coded collections of poetry will haunt, invigorate, provoke, and inspire you. Berg's first book, Muted Lines From Someone Else’s Memory won the Dark Sky Books 2009 bo