show episodes
 
has recorded two CDs of Robert Benchley's monologues, Benchley on Benchley, Volumes 1 & 2. He also Nat does narration work for commercials and television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Channel. His films include Diner, Broadcast News, and Home for the Holidays. He also had a continuing character role as Det. Augustus Polk in HBO's The Wire.
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Sixty-three essays on a variety of topics as wide apart as Family Life in America, Opera Synopses, Bigamy, International Finance and many more, Love Conquers All by Robert Benchley strangely enough does not touch upon romance at all! However, these delightful notes provide hours of browsing pleasure for young and old readers alike. Robert Benchley was a well-known humorist and newspaper columnist, radio and television presenter, actor, scriptwriter and broadcaster. He is also credited with c ...
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If you find yourself with nothing particular to do in an airport, train or bus or you've got a quiet evening to yourself in a hotel room or you're facing the delicious prospect of an extended lunch or tea break, why not pick up Coffee Break Collection 001 and enjoy the experience? This anthology has a selection of humorous pieces guaranteed to keep you entertained. Opening with a master of the genre, PG Wodehouse, the first story is a pseudo-scholarly treatise on football captains! A delight ...
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Hi! I am Michelle Kennedy and I am an author, a mom of many, a lover of knits and a devoted reader of the essay. Real Quick features a new essay every day written by writers both new and well, not so new anymore. Some of us are emerging. Some are re-emerging. Every voice brings something to the table. Here are a few. We cover all sorts of topics from "What's wrong with my kid..." to "What's wrong with the world..." and everything in between. Read the essays at my website: mishkennedy.com Sen ...
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Happy Leon Day! (A day late - sorry about that...) Today I share a couple of Christmas book recommendations, and read you a cozy Christmas story called Christmas in the Alley by Olive Thorne Miller. Ann is a poor old washer woman with a heart of gold. Her husband is curmudgeon who just wants his tea and pipe. Like many people during the early 1900s…
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Send us a Text Message. Robert Benchley, James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, E.B. White. All names I associate with old school writing - but also breakthrough humor. I don't know that ascerbic wit was ever more prevalent than in NYC in the 1920's. Please enjoy, on this rainy Friday in Vermont, this essay by Robert Benchley. My recent outing to the Algon…
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Send us a Text Message. A little humor for a Thursday evening...Episode 15 is out! "I was God. I fixed it all. I rearranged payments. I moved around due dates. I promised to put notations in their file saying "don't call at 5 p.m." I didn't, but I promised I would.I racked up the most numbers sold on the hardest lists. I got three promotions in thr…
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Send us a Text Message. This is a tough topic for me to talk about but it is my own abortion story. I have had miscarriages before, including one where I lost a 20 week old baby that I wanted very much. But this occurred many years later when my body was no longer able to handle the stresses of pregnancy and another pregnancy almost cost me my life…
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Send us a Text Message. This is the essay that really began my writing career and tells the foundational story of how became, I guess, who I am now and who I was then. Reading this essay again, after so long (It's been 23 years since I wrote it and 27 or so since I lived it) made me laugh in a few places. The prices are insane! $550 for an apartmen…
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Send us a Text Message. BONUS episode. No essay today. I opted for a ramble through garden instead. I've been worried about the heat wave coming and with the dry week or two previously, I'm trying to prepare the plants a bit. This episode includes a little story about my time in Hawaii and the cacao plants we grew. So listen in, if you like...I'll …
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Send us a Text Message. Fathers. It's a tough topic in my house. But this Father's Day, I wanted to spend a little time remembering my own dad - the king dadisms and plenty of bad jokes. Today's essay is an Ode to My Own Father. He was kick - that's for sure. I miss him sometimes. Have a dad story or essay you'd like to share - please do! Email me …
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Send us a Text Message. We made our 10th episode! Apparently, that's a big deal in the podcasting world. Today's essay is a light one - some humor for this gorgeous (at least here in Vermont) day! "I love my seed catalogs. Even though you will often find me scrolling my phone through seed catalogs, too, and I will likely even order them online, I s…
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Send us a Text Message. Exploring my unmotivation as I journey through midlife and menopause. My last kids are leaving the nest and it's feeling more empty than ever before. This episode's intro also features some info about the Algonquin Hotel. Check out the history of the Round Table at http://algonquinroundtable.org or algonquinhotel.com Picture…
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Happy June everyone! In today's episode I share a few quick life updates on why I've been gone so long, and then we get right into the Christmas goodness. In today's episode I explore a little bit of my Norwegian heritage by talking about some of my favorite Christmas coffee, some treats and cookies you might get at a Norwegian Christmas Party, and…
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Send us a Text Message. Can you make a living as a freelancer writer? Well...maybe. Today's essay is by me, Michelle, and is about just that. Is freelance writing really the easiest job there is? Maybe. But for me it's been a long road...full of other jobs that often support my writing habit. If you would like to contribute, comment, or ask a quest…
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Send us a Text Message. Today we contrast yesterday's episode by Joan Didion with the anti-personal essay, essay, "The Decay of the Essay," by Virginia Woolf. Thank you to AnOther Magazine for the background and quotes about Virginia Woolf and thank you to Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Coffee Jazz by DogisReal https://tunetank.com/tra…
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Send us a Text Message. The next two episodes are about the personal essay. Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf both had something to say about the nature of exploding one's life on paper (or screen, as it were). The essay begins around minute 3 and really does have some of the best thoughts on being a writer I've ever read. I love reading why writers w…
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Send us a Text Message. My great-grandmother was named Esther Salafia and she came to America on a boat from Sicily with her husband James Capone and their son Nicholas. I tell you this because first of all their names are fabulous and I love that I have this Italian heritage somewhere in my DNA. Thank you for joining me today! Please contact me th…
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Send us a Text Message. This is a tough topic to talk about. Please dial 988 if you are having suicidal thoughts, or are in crisis. For a long time, my backwards brain (ND if we're being technical) was comforted by the idea of suicide. I thought that made me really broken. What I've found, is that I'm not broken, and I'm not alone. If you have an e…
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Send us a Text Message. This episode includes the shortcast introduction. If you'd like to skip ahead to the essay, go to minute 2:35. This essay is titled Crone. I wrote it because I have come to love what the word is supposed to mean, but it took me a long time fighting with my aging to get there. Enjoy. And please - let me know what you think! I…
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Send us a Text Message. lessons learned from mothering many… Being a mother is often a disappointing endeavor. I don’t mean that the kids are disappointing — definitely not. They amaze me all the time. But the job of mother itself can be fairly disappointing overall.I think, it’s in part, due to the expectations we have as mothers and the expectati…
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Send us a Text Message. Welcome to Real Quick! Real Quick is a "shortcast" and lasts about 10 minutes, featuring an essay each day. Sometimes I write and read my own essays and sometimes I read essays written by others. I hope to soon have other writers who would like to read their own essays on the show and chat about them with me a bit after. I a…
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In today's episode I read a shorter short story by humorist Robert Benchley entitled "Christmas Afternoon (Done in the Manner, if not the Spirit, of Dickens)". It's a funny little vignette describing a chaotic Christmas Afternoon in the style of Charles Dickens. I hope you enjoy the story today! Cozy Christmas Bookclub: https://www.facebook.com/gro…
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Welcome to the start of Season 5! Today I kick off the new season by reading Christmas traditions and memories from one of my listeners who lives in Australia. I really enjoyed what Shelly sent me, so I thought this would be a great thing to share with all of you. She talks about her families traditions, Christmas foods, how they maintain the spiri…
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Merry Christmas! This is my Christmas episode, out a few days late I know - but Christmas is a season, not just a day, right? Today I wrap up season 4 and Christmas 2023 with the kindness guru himself - Robert Peterpaul, host of the Art of Kindness Podcast, returns to talk about Christmas, the importance of showing kindness (love over fear for the …
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It's Christmas Eve! The best day of the year. To help you celebrate, here is the final parts to our story this month, "Christmas at Thompson Hall" by Anthony Trollope. I rearranged my publication schedule a little bit and decided to combine the last two parts into one episode. I've had a lot of episodes come out this week, and didn't want to clog u…
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In today's episode I interview Katie Wilbert. She is the screenwriter of the new Christmas movie "A Vineyard Christmas". According to imdb: "Heather, host of 'Read Between the Vines', is determined to create the perfect Christmas episode by featuring a unique winery from her hometown. The only thing standing in her way? Rudy, the attractive, stubbo…
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Christmas is practically here! To help you get in the mood, we're going to continue out story today, Christmas at Thompson Hall, by Anthony Trollope. Will Mrs. Brown be able to get out of the mess she finds herself in? Will Mr. Brown ever stop complaining about being sick? Will they get to Thompson Hall in time for Christmas? Take a listen today an…
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