This Podcast Will Change Your Life.

Things Start 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). Things Start is the final chapter of UPSTATE: The Podcast. Things Start is read by Sara Lippmann (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOSara Lippmann is the author of the novel Lech (Tortoise Books) and the story collections Doll Palace (re-released by 7.13 Books) and Jerks (Mason Jar Press.) Her fiction has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and her essays have appeared in The Millions, The Washington Post, Catapult, The Lit Hub and elsewhere. With Seth Rogoff, she is co-editing the anthology Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible for SUNY Press. She is a founding member of the Writing Co-

This episode stars Laura Carney (My Father's List). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Carney's home in the great state of New Jersey in June 2023.

Something Like This 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). Something Like This is read by Clayton Smith (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOClayton Smith is an award-winning author, a professor, and a podcaster whose work includes the novels Apocalypticon, Na Akua, and Anomaly Flats, and the comedy podcast Is This a Ghost? He is head of the Marketing program at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches courses in digital media strategy and emerging platforms. He currently lives with his wife and two daughters just outside of Chicago, and he is very good at whiskey. You can find his work at StateOfClayton.com. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Night Swimming 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). Night Swimming is read by Mike Smolarek (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOMike Smolarek writes from Riverside, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. He has been published in Train River Short Stories, Two With Water, and Daddy Cool, an anthology of writing by and for dads edited by Ben Tanzer. He has been part of several reading series, including Two With Water/Curbside Splendor and Essay Fiesta. His favorite color is green and he can be found at http://msmolarek.blogspot.com//. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Longing 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). Longing is read by Paula Bomer (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOPaula Bomer is the author of the novels Tante Eva and Nine Months, the story collections Inside Madeleine and Baby and other Stories, and the essay collection, Mystery and Mortality. She grew up in South Bend, Indiana and has lived for over 30 years in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in The Cut, Bomb Magazine, The Mississippi Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, TalkSpace and elsewhere. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Suzanne Clores (The Extraordinary Project Podcast, Memoirs of a Spiritual Outsider). It was recorded in-person, and outdoors, yes, in-person and outdoors, at Berger Park on the north side of Chicago, IL in May 2023, not 2024.

A Different Story 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). A Different Story is read by Dr. Mike McClelland (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOLike Sharon Stone and the zipper, Dr. Mike McClelland is originally from Meadville, Pennsylvania. He has lived on five different continents but now resides in Illinois with his husband, two sons, and a menagerie of rescue dogs. He is the author of the short fiction collection Gay Zoo Day and teaches creative writing at Eastern Illinois University. His fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, WIRED, Boston Review, Vox, The Baffler, Fairy Tale Review, and a number of literary magazine

We Were All Here 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). We Were All Here is read by Mallory Smart (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOMallory Smart is a Chicago-based writer and the Editor-in-Chief of the publishing house, Maudlin House. She also talks about music and literature on the podcast, Textual Healing. Her first novel, The Only Living Girl in Chicago, was released from Trident Press. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Gogo Germaine, a.k.a. Erin K. Barnes (Glory Guitars). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Germaine's home in the wilds of Colorado in April 2023.

What We Talk About When We Talk About The Flood 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). What We Talk About When We Talk About The Flood is read by Christian Winn (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOChristian Winn is a fiction writer, poet, teacher of creative writing, and literary event producer living and working in Boise, Idaho. He is the author of the story collections NAKED ME and What's Wrong With You is What's Wrong With Me, and has two novel manuscripts and a collection ready to roll out into the world in 2023. He is the cofounder and Director of Storyfort and Story Forward and served as the State of Idaho's Writer in Residence from 2016 - 2019. His work has appeared in Mc

Vision 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). Vision is read by Adam Lawrence (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOResiding in New York City’s Lower East Side, Adam Lawrence works for brands, documentary filmmakers, and anyone else who stumbles across his Music Supervision, Footage Research, and related Licensing/Clearance services. Classically Gen-X. Informal post-formalist. Recent enthusiastic convert to planking. Husband, Father. Doer of photos and assorted multidisciplinary art stuffs. Adam can be found on Twitter (@madaecnerwal) & Flickr (flickr.com/photos/adamlawrence/). https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Freddie's Dead 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). Watching And Waiting is read by Robert James Russell (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIORobert James Russell is the author of the forthcoming graphic memoir Hard Body: A Personal History of My Form on Display (Simon & Schuster, 2024). He is the founding editor of the literary journal CHEAP POP. His illustrations and writing have appeared in print and online at NPR, The Rumpus, The Offing, Shenandoah, Gulf Coast, New South, and Passages North, among others. A native of Michigan, Robert lives and works in Lincoln, Nebraska. You can find his art and writing at robertjamesrussell.com, or on Twitter/Instagram at @robhollywoo

This episode stars Noah Michelson (HuffPost Personal). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Michelson's home in the borough of Brooklyn in March 2023.

This episode stars Timothy Gager (Best of Timothy Gager: Poems, Essays, and Stories,  The Thursday Appointments of Bill Sloan, Short Street, and as you will learn, much, much more). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Gager's home in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the second episode in a row originating from the Commonwealth might I add) in March 2023.

Watching And Waiting 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). Watching And Waiting is read by Pete Anderson (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOPete Anderson is the author of the novel Wheatyard and the short story collection Where the Marshland Came to Flower. He has lunched and drank with Ben Tanzer for fifteen great years. He once drove through Binghamton on a long road trip, but, unable to find a diner for breakfast, kept going without stopping, and finally settled for Hardee’s along the interstate.  https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

The Runner 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). The Runner is read by Ray Charbonneau (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIORay Charbonneau is the author of a number of books on running. That number is currently five. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, Marathon & Beyond, and other publications. He's also the host of Tardis Jukebox on WMFO-FM, a show that's been called "the best hour of radio in the Boston area." Ray has run more than thirty marathons and ultramarathons, including one and a half 100 mile races, without winning a single one. But there's always tomorrow. Find out more at y42k.com. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-th

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