Just one of the best podcasts out there for real life in society. I’m so glad it came back to life, the pause was too long. I just hope the team takes its time and doesn’t rush season 5. As a fan of the band Tool, I have learned to be patient if the quality of the product remains superb, and so it has….

I’m a huge fan of this podcast for so many reasons. It’s incredibly immersive with the narrator telling their own story with no interviewer with added music or sound effects. The perfectly timed breaks in the story add moments of pause giving you time to reflect what was just said. I just finished Mark’s story and can’t stop thinking about it. His voice matched the highs and lows of his story which made it flow perfectly along with his weaving the past and present together. The profound love for his family was evident which felt like a running current through all his dark times. His recollections of the days before aids and after could be in a history book for gay culture. He never plays the victim and is humbled by the people he meets. This is the type of person I admire the most. To tell the worst part of his story with honesty and a bit of humor is what makes Mark someone you want to keep listening to. Thank you Mark for telling your story and thank you for this podcast bringing us incredible true storytelling.

it seems antithetical to the spirit of this series to include the interviewer questioning the actions and motives of someone telling their story. is that a virtue signal? it's also disrespectful to the listener in that it seems to assume they need instruction on what is "unacceptable" or "problematic". Please, we're not college freshmen.

Mark is a survivor of the newly liberated proud days of Greenwich Village, a spirited era not unlike bohemian Paris in the 1920s and 30s. His story is one that ties together the story of brothers, and mothers and sons with gentle ribbons of love and pain. Most incredible for me was how despite making horrific and unethical choices that in most social circles would make him unlikeable, Mark’s story brings the listener along for the small steps that get bigger. The listener knows exactly how Mark ended up where he did and hearing his voice narrate the tale is both powerful and personal.

I was so taken with the narrator’s weaving together of so many threads- the AIDS crisis, grappling with homosexuality, the pass given to adult predators, addiction, prison life- all in a way that is so relatable and somehow the best of who we can be shines through.

I just finished the extraordinary 3-episode story The Disorientation of Survival, which is everything podcast stories should be: insightful, inspiring, funny, emotional, and true. An amazing life story, well told and well produced. Highly recommend listening to the full 3 parts. More of this please.

Quite recently someone recommended the podcast series Everything is Stories to me as an antidote to my boredom with series television and a dearth of good movies. I have to say, the story telling in this podcast series so far is superb. I just listened to the latest one by Mark Olmsted titled The Disorientation of Survival. It’s in three parts and a very long, comprehensive tale, but well worth the time investment. Indeed waiting for the third episode to drop was excruciating. Don’t be put off by the scary warnings of graphic material. Parts ARE graphic but not gratuitous and never lurid. Olmsted’s journey is nothing short of miraculous and “survival” is both literal and complicated. His insight about his life is absolutely remarkable and it is rendered as a “story” in such a charmingly candid and self-aware manner that you feel an immediacy and affection for him both as the subject of his story and as the story’s narrator. You wish this guy lived next door. Hats off to the producers, too. With this much material it must have been no easy task to edit the story down to such a brilliant gem of prose. Not an extraneous word in the many hours of storytelling along with great subtle sfx that reminded me a little of old timey radio dramas. I will of course go back to Everything Is Stories now and become their most avid fan. Thank you. Amazing work.

I’m about halfway through part 1 of the podcast. Mark is such an excellent narrator/storyteller. I quickly got swept up in the narrative. The characters in his story/memoir are each so sensitively detailed..his older brother, his mother, his father, himself…they all just come alive in the telling. Everything is so vivid including the descriptions of how the specific times influenced him and his interactions with others. This is really excellent and needs to be published as a book.

I was riveted by the latest episodes, The Disorientation of Survival, and spent some time exploring this and other seasons. I was amazed at the high quality and singular approach to storytelling. EIS is quite a find.

(All 3 episodes) Just finished the podcast, and have to say I was quite blown (no pun intended!) away by it. The story unspools so deftly, with that best sense of someone sitting you down close and leaning in, saying "you're not going to believe this, but I have to tell you" then hypnotizing you -- and before you know it hours have passed. And about how bad choices made, make such logical sense in the moment. Some of it was foreign to me, like the time in prison, other parts quite familiar, like the PTSD all gay men who lived through the plague years share, to the unique "incomprehensible demoralization" in West Hollywood--viscerally felt, smelled, seen. Most people don't have this ability at self-examination and reflection. Congratulations - it really is whatever the word is in podcast-land for "page turner" -- I could not turn it off once started.

This podcast is one of the few in an overcrowded field in which the product reflects a total commitment to the name chosen for it. EIS is of course skillfully curated, but the hands of the producers are unseen, their voices almost entirely unheard.(Reminds me a little of field-umpires who get out of the way in baseball so skillfully that they never get hit!) Their found storytellers just tell their story with no fingerprints evident on the process. The result is something a bit magical in almost every case -often poignant and funny, but never straining for either. One of the few podcasts that, for me, competes with the best scripted TV.

I have been an avid podcast enthusiast for over 10 years, and I mean it when I say that everything is stories is really something special. The emotional depths of the storytelling, and the unique perspectives that they bring to attention are truly unique. It’s a very well crafted show, but still holds an endearing humility that connects you with the subject and doesn’t distract. I recommend it to every podcast enthusiast along with Love and Radio, which is perhaps the only show like this that I’ve heard. Keep making it guys, it is such a joy in my life.

How does this work of art podcast or perhaps a better description - a portfolio of intricate, nuanced personal experiences and memories - not have more exposure on mainstream sites that produce updated lists of notable/highly esteemed podcasts to check out? Mind = blown. What an insult to this podcast is my point. This show is a gem, a diamond, amongst the unpolished silver out there in the podcast world. I feel privileged to listen to and contemplate each episode’s featured story and look forward to new episodes, whether once a month or a few times a year - it’s worth it, it’s worth being a follower and avid listener I promise you

In terms of storytelling, nobody is better than these fine gents. Nothing like hittin the bog at the turn and cranking up a new ep.

I’m stoked it’s back, so many mind expanding stories here

This is my 2nd time randomly coming up on this baby. Idk y the 1st didn’t take but this time, I’m all in. Reminds me a lot of Love & Radio & Here Be Monsters (check them both out if u love raw, personal testimony told by the person) Weird, unflinching, in yr face, I am who I am, very cool.

Amazing interviews with fascinating people. So glad I found it - food for the soul!

I feel so lucky to have found this. Beautifully edited. Deeply atmospheric. Profound sense of place. Thank you!

I’m not sure how I found this podcast! I usually listen to My Favorite Murder and Morbid - anyhow the stories are amazing and I’m passing a recommendation to listen on to friends- the forensic artist story was absolutely riveting- thank you!!!

A door into eye opening perspectives. Thanks Mike and everyone at Everything is Stories, as well as all the storytellers, for keeping storytelling alive.

Loved it!

Wonderful show, a first hand look at others lives.

Being able to listen to these stories and connect with so many lives outside of our own is such a valuable thing. Especially in this day and age, we so often lose touch with the understanding of situations of other. Helps brings people closer and resurface a feeling of connectedness. Whether the story hits close to home or is something new to you all together, rings true that you never know what some people have gone through. Offers space for some empathy which I think we all need. Well done.

I started from the first episode and I’m so glad I did. These stories range from transformative to heartbreaking and everything in between. I’m going to be so bummed when I’m finally caught up. Thank you for sharing these pieces with us.

These stories are something you don’t find everywhere. I love how they let the people tell the story. These are real stories and real people telling them and the producers do an amazing job finding unique stories to share.

One of the best podcasts out there right now. I recommend it to everyone.

Brilliant podcast, don’t sleep on it. I’m not even a huge podcast listener, but this is my fav. Stories, real stories. Click that play button and you won’t regret it.

This is by far the best podcast I have ever heard. The stories are told by people who have had fascinating and profound experiences. Being immersed in their stories and perspective of it, is like traveling to a different place in every podcast, while sitting completely still.

I’m afraid of listening to this podcast too much because I don't want to run out of stories to hear for the first time. This show is very immersive so make sure you have the time to enjoy the entire experience in one sitting. Season 4 Episode 1 was my first listening experience weeks ago. To this day I still think about the narrator, their story, and wonder….. I found this podcast after Benging through Love and Radio. This show will quench the thirst.

relatable. honest.

This show offers listeners so much connection to the human condition, it is one of the best and I am so glad that they are finally back for a new season

Every episode is a world unto itself. Only podcast whose episodes I’ve listened to 2 or 3 times.

So glad EIS has returned! The stories will leave you with a better understanding of those whose lives may not be typical, yet they are worth listening to for countless reasons. The podcasts get better with each episode.

Mike Martinez and Tyler Wray are some bad motorscooters! Each story draws you in through a perfect combination of storytelling, score and sound design. In my experience, never has an audio podcast been so visual. Nice work guys!

Fantastically produced shows with thought provoking narratives.

Love every episode and recommend to all my friends

LOVE THIS SHOW

Truly one of the best out there. They find find the most compelling stories hands down - can’t wait to hear the rest of the new season.

So happy to have these guys back for new season!! One of the best storytelling podcasts out there. Worth a listen for sure!

Love EIS and so happy its back with some new episodes! Hands down one of my favorite podcasts!

Loved this story! What an interesting perspective to this side of the story. An eye opener.

SO stoked this is back - can’t wait for the new eps Having a blast listening back to the old stories in preparation. 5/5 stars

What’s the deal with the false update? I hope it’s a tease, and you have new stories in the cannon. Don’t tease.

This is quality story telling. I love the way they produce this show and the people that they find to tell interesting stories full of substance.

This show guys finds these unexpected, fascinating sources, then let them talk. Minimal moderation, just the right amount of editing to get to the best stories. Awesome journey every episode. Start with 030 After Innocence to get the feel, then go into the back episodes. Pumped for the next season.

So psyched. This show is well wrought, in turns harrowing and fascinating. Voices are mediated in a documentary way, mostly without narration. Hard to pull off, but Mike and Tyler gain trust the old fashioned way, by listening and caring about their subjects.

EIS is one of the best story telling podcasts to this day. All these famous, Johnny come lately, cash infused, me too, agent suggested podcasters haven’t had an original thought. That’s what they’re selling and I ain’t buying. EIS you rocked…how about another season!?

There is only the trailer. This series is not accessible.

Favorite podcast!!

My favorite podcast from years past...please make more!