Shelby Plummer first heard of Slaughterhouse-Five from an internet boyfriend. After being grounded for having an internet boyfriend, she got to actually read the book as an AP English assignment and has been a Vonnegut devotee ever since. She devoured his novels and short stories in a way she had never really engaged with reading. He made a fellow …

Stephanie Anderson cut her teeth as a group leader working in an acute psychiatric inpatient facility at a children's hospital. The taxing environment led her to explore improv as a way to unwind outside of work. After some experience bringing improv exercises into her work environment with patients and coworkers alike, she set off to Chicago to pu…

Casey has put his general health and wellbeing on the line as he works up to 30 hours editing each episode of NeoScum, an actual-play podcast in which five Chicago improvisers (including Casey himself as well as past MBSing guest Mike Migdall) play the tabletop RPG Shadowrun. A longtime lover and performer of musicals, Casey's level of perfectionis…

Tom Dyke has known the original 151 by heart since he was a preschooler, his pure fandom being born along with the Pokémon franchise itself. He has played the video games since he could hold a Game Boy, and his dad was the only adult in the neighborhood who would help he and his friends play the trading card game. So one can imagine his delight at …

One of Yazmin's earliest memories is her family watching one of their favorite movies: Killer Clowns from Outer Space. From Michael Myers to the Redfields of Resident Evil, her family came together to experience horror, for better or worse (too many zombies have been known to keep kids from sleeping well). She even enjoyed when they would gather ar…

Alyssa was born a rebel, as evidenced by her refusal to accept an "Indian" name in place of her own as a kindergartener on Columbus Day. This small rebellion opened the door to an interest in eking out the truth about colonialism, imperialism, and revolutions throughout her schooling. In college, she declared a Middle-Eastern Studies and Political …

Gary Pascal grew up in a home operated like an engineering firm thanks to his ME father. This nature and nurture led to all four of the family's kids also becoming mechanical engineers. After choosing BEST Robotics to fulfill a graduation requirement for his STEM high school, Gary was well on his way to serving as an engineer for Mars Chocolate rig…

Box Brown has been a pro wrestling fan since his first PPV experience: Hulk Hogan lost at Wrestlemania VI, and the friend he was watching with cried. He was hooked by the characters and the facade of it all, so it's no wonder that he became attracted to two huge cults of personality in André and Andy. André left a bevy of stories in his wake, one o…

Meredith discovered the world of Jane Austen's novels in college and has since reread them many times over in addition to listening to them as audiobooks and rewatching the film/TV adaptations (at least the ones she likes). There is something to the simplicity of daily life, the rules that governed socializing, and the fashion and furnishings of th…

Chels studied WB shows like Felicity and Gilmore Girls like they were homework, at one point in life staying up until 11 PM to watch a rerun of Gilmore Girls only to watch it again at 3 AM. They also began to mentally catalog the writers and actors from each show, faithfully seeking out trivia from DVD commentaries and social media accounts to feel…

Financial coach Dan Wood and his creative, funny friends Elizabeth Seidt and Damon Taylor love exploring the actual finances of fictional worlds on their podcast Make-Believe Money (e.g. - Ron Swanson's net worth, the value of the company Willy Wonka passes on to Charlie Bucket, how much all that sensory deprivation chamber salt would've cost in th…

Jando's parents immigrated to the US from Iraq and Syria in their early 20s, making the first two decades of their lives vastly different from his even though he's only ever known them as quiet suburb-dwellers. He ruminates on how this has shaped his family and their Assyrian community via food, ceremony, language, religion, and a plethora of other…

Tiffany discovered the possibilities of LARPing via putting on immersion theatre as the Artistic Director of Otherworld Theatre Company. After their own production of Gone Dark and attending Sleep No More in New York, she was inspired to take the interest even further by producing a series of 2-day LARPs in the Midwest called Chronicles of the Real…

Carley Moseley loved to read so much as a kid she thought one of the coolest things about Matilda was that she had a wagon for her library books. One of her greatest loves is A Wrinkle in Time, and she's revisiting the novel now and unpacking all of these feelings about whimsy, family, and the upcoming film adaptation along the way. Expect emotions…

Henry figured out how to use the internet to chat with friends and strangers alike at a young, desktop dial-up age. He's remained at the forefront of users for new platforms, networks, and apps due to some combo of an innate desire to connect online, a genuine curiosity at what the internet can do, and a relatively-innocent streak of trolling and s…

In her youth, Eunji was very into reading stories about girls with spunk, and Anne of Green Gables was always the prime example. She screamed through all eight of L. M. Montgomery's books and now returns to them often to access their surprisingly forward-thinking ideas about women, satisfying female friendships and other emotional relationships, an…

Charles Clark Pettitt was born and raised “where cowboy meets Cajun” and still has a deep love for the region in spite of knowing he had to escape its rampant pick up truck and Coors Light lifestyle. His Pettitt ancestors settled in Askansas seeking oil, his grandfather Arkansas (...for real...there’s a Jr and a Sr...) ate a raw onion from their Lo…

Andrew Knox has been a Giants fan since his mom's side of the family adopted the team while they had a training camp in their home state, Vermont. He's lived for the building of the team and the fight to the finish every season, even when the Super Bowl victories have felt admittedly anticlimactic. He loves getting a sense of who the players are an…

Joe took his aspirations of comedy filmmaking all the way to a passion for photography. He discusses how a more serious interest in photography came into his life (along with a new DSLR camera and a broken ankle), what he's learned from working with models, friends who are performers, and other photographers, and how his passion has changed what ki…

The tables turn once again in a holiday hangover edition of eMBSing. This time Eric “EMB” Braband unpacks MBS’s love of Irish indie movie musical Once. After 10 years of expounding her love of her favorite film, there are now a plethora of cultural and personal reasons the story and her love of it endures. Hear their thoughts on the Broadway musica…

Some time in or shortly after college, Lisa Beasley binge-watched the first few seasons of Grey's Anatomy in a matter of days. She hasn't stopped rewatching the series since. The show has become her background sounds, and she cites the comfort level a diverse cast of characters who only discuss their jobs brings her. Meredith Grey's progression as …

Maria Ranahan was named after her Italian grandmother, Mary (whose name was Anglicanized at Ellis Island). She has recently been cataloging her Italian mom's recipes for the first time, but she's had trouble translating things like "between these lines on my hand" into teaspoons and "up to here on your grandmother's pot" into cups. Food culture, re…

Andy Kushnir started his Chicago journey as an improviser and sketch comedian, but he slowly realized that the anxiety he felt was not worth the performing, especially when he found himself so much happier at a keyboard writing scripts for others to perform. He still loves being a part of the process on set and in editing film and has done plenty o…

Stanley is a self-proclaimed Reacher Creature. Having read most of the Lee Child novels with intentions of continuing (he recently took a break to read about the history of the FBI, so there's a bit of a theme), he can recognize how gripping the stories become and how ready-made they are for film thrillers (even if the second installment fell short…

Caroline fell for traveling from the first time she flew on an airplane to big NYC from South Carolina as a high schooler. Between traveling abroad as an undergraduate and returning to Europe as a grad student, she has [inflicted] some battle scars, had her fair share of TSA troubles, and accrued an impressive list of places she's peed in public. H…

In the studio with Abraham Lincoln AGAIN and this time with fellow former president Thomas Jefferson?! For the unfamiliar, last year past guest of MBSing Timothy Dunn took a trip to Springfield, IL, and Abraham Lincoln appeared before him. They've been making a podcast together ever since. Tim's even producing a rap album Thomas and Abe are making …

After years of loving pro wrestling and knowing it's what he wanted to do with his life, a 14-year-old Colt Cabana found a way to get dirt sheets - all the insider info on what was happening behind the scenes and on smaller stages than what he could watch on TV. From there he quit being a bad Division I-A football player to focus on wrestling in co…

Frank Spiro fell in love with the Saints, the Pelicans (née Hornets), and the atmosphere surrounding them when he landed in New Orleans for college. Forever loyal to Drew Brees and Anthony Davis, the New Orleans fan base seems unwavering to Frank in spite of their recent struggles and general lack of media coverage. As a frequent contributor to The…

Symphony Sanders has been interested in the personal stories behind her favorite performers since she was a kid. She likes being informed on what goes on in artists lives at least partially because she feels it brings important interpersonal and sociopolitical realities into public conversations, but also because she has a good time with it and lik…

Once Matt had wrestled with the big Qs of "Where do we go after this?" and "Why do we do what we do?" in his youth, he found himself more focused on the even bigger picture as as adult: "Where did this all come from?" Now, oscillating between all three and folding these big questions into being a psychiatric nurse, writer, and improviser, he finds …

Ready for a dense chat about embarrassment, purpose, and fear of death? Good, because it’s coming for you! Shay went from being an artist and coproducer of Mortified Chicago to adding a more recent passion for being a death doula and funeral celebrant. Throughout those projects, she's asked others how they want to be perceived and remembered by aud…

Dive in to this inception of a podcast: MBS was on Blank Cassette to talk to Eric Garneau about U Talkin' U2 To Me. On a week by week basis, Eric uses Blank Cassette to interview a guest about a mixtape or playlist they've made in the past and what went into its construction. MBS has been recommending the podcast UTU2TM to him for a while, and afte…

Melzer has been mesmerized by Wes Anderson's style since he saw The Royal Tenanbaums in high school, but it was his ability to relate to Rushmore's Max Fischer that cemented Anderson in his pile of people to intake, praise, and emulate. Wander through Wes's filmography with an aspiring filmmaker and learn about how important storyboarding is for An…

Ever since Ben learned to ace Jungle King and Fireball in his family's basement as a kid, he's been a pinball fiend, seeking out machines on boardwalks and at bars so enthusiastically that he eventually founded Pinball Chicago, a league of competitive gamers and compendium of spots in the city that offer pinball. He starts by unpacking the older el…

Ever since he saw Jackie Chan's First Strike at the age of 7, Eli has been a huge fan of Chan. Seeking out every film of his, starting from his vast catalog in China and his American-made films as he became more of a domestic success, Eli is in awe of Chan's martial arts abilities as a performer, stunt choreographer, and director. All of Eli's favo…

Maria Randazzo starts her week by perusing a couple of horoscope sources, so this conversation starts with signs (sun and rising) and continues through how these messages permeate her day-to-day life and thoughts on spirituality and the world beyond the physical Earth. Just like being a cafeteria Catholic, Maria has learned to pick and choose the t…

Clint Worthington developed a love for film as an Illinois farm boy who was admittedly more of an inside, MST3K boy than anything else. Since those days of pirated satellite, he's spent years watching film with a critical eye producing reviews for his own podcasting network at Alcohollywood.com and for Consequence of Sound as well as becoming a mem…

Jamison Webb started watching Marx Brothers movies as an ill-sleeping 7-year-old. Since then he's written sketches in their style (The Inappropriate ReMarx Brothers) and spotted their influence in other acts he loves (Stella) as well as becoming aware that they're like The Beatles of comedy: Their influence flows under everything thanks to some of …

Ever since a "Hiking and Haikus" elective course took her to Japan for a month in college, Becca Levine has been enamored with the landscapes and culture of the island nation. She returned post college to teach English to high school students in a small town outside Nagano, and has done everything from traverse a mountain in a monsoon to keep her t…

Since she spawned the nickname "Miss Ann" as a child thanks to her behavior beyond her years, Angela Oliver has known she was an old soul. Passing time with her grandmothers watching TCM and church gossiping, she never stood a chance and only had her perception as an older woman exacerbated by fancy attire from her mother's dress shop. Now, she use…

Post law school, Ed wasn't sure how he was supposed to make and maintain adult friendships without the benefit of forced socialization with other lawyers. So, he decided to organize a(n unfortunately large) 12" softball team to add an activity to at least one night of his week (even though he didn't really know much about softball). Now, he's been …

Claire Linic has never been calmer than when she is watching middle-aged women foster friendships, fight, host events, and try to sell things on the shows in the Real Housewives franchise. She tells MBS about all of the best and worst wives, the plethora of series and spinoffs, and how she found Keeping Up With the Kardashians to be a gateway into …

Ever since she witnessed the aura surrounding Tilda while sitting across the aisle from her on a plane, Erin McGathy has not been able to shake her fascination with Swinton's presence, lifestyle, and approach to art. Admittedly a fairly casual fan of Tilda's film work, Erin still cites the way Swinton discusses acting as a collaborative effort and …

If you're looking for a DM, send a DM to Alan Linic. He's only gotten into D&D in the last few years, but his childhood knack of adding environmental elements to every playground game has paid off in spades both as an improviser and a dungeon master. After unloading how the structure of gameplay unfolds, Alan speaks to how he and his friends make D…

Brad Pike finds a morbid curiosity in exploring books and documentaries about cults at least in part because he believes he's a part of one. After spending a lot of time discussing Jonestown and the Order of the Solar Temple, Brad and MBS dig into the cult of improv comedy, Chicago style. Get ready to give up your possessions, pledge your loyalty t…

Thanks to model home furnishings in the house she grew up in, Susan Glynn has rebelled against the status quo of design from a young age. After accomplishing her Limited Too-fueled dream of having a room with bright orange walls, yellow trim, and a blue clouded sky ceiling, she was set off on a journey of thrifty vision and bold choices. Having gra…

Nicole may not be a lifelong, generations of season tickets Cubs fan, but she is a lifelong baseball fan and she does cite the first time she turned the corner in Wrigleyville to stumble upon Wrigley Field as the moment that cemented her move to Chicago and kick-started her journey to being a Cubs devotee. She swaps dads who love baseball stories w…

Savannah Million has put in so much time farming, harvesting, and upgrading you'd think she'd have some fields to show for it. WHICH SHE DOES, but they're all of the digital variety. A longtime fan of the admittedly-flawed Harvest Moon franchise and newer convert to the Animal Crossing games, Savannah unpacks what it is that makes these game mechan…

Tawny Newsome has left behind the world of relaxers and weaves in favor of her naturally curly black hair, and she's here to extoll the virtues (and explain the difficulties) of a natural hair life. From how it's affected the roles she's called in to audition for to how strangers interact with her, Tawny's cosmetic choice to assimilate less to the …

Due to a background of study ranging from psychology to physical theater, Mary Cait Walthall has become incredibly mindful of how people communicate with one another. She actively works to impliment nonviolent communication and restorative practices in Chicago Public Schools, and she is always using the wisdom she gleaned from LISPA to be aware of …