Pratfalls Of Parenting

“I don’t think any of us thought we were going to do kids music. It was one of those rare opportunities.” Dave Olson talks about writing and producing a rap song to help a young girl with autism and how that led spending a year in Madison writing a rap record for kids. He shares […]

“I didn’t want to have children. I fought like hell against it.” Trent Gilliss, Chief Content Officer and Executive Editor of On Being, talks about transitioning the show from an American Public Media produced radio program to an independent radio show, podcast, and Webby Award-winning website. Trent also shares stories of times his scientist wife […]

“I feel cracked open and vulnerable in a way that I’m not comfortable with and did not know actually existed.” Guthrie actor and Torch Theater Artistic Director Stacia Rice shares stories of growing up the youngest of 7 kids. Stacia talks about aspiring to be the kind of mother to her kids that he mother was […]

“Whoever is dealing with stress, that has to be their stress. You can’t take it with you.” Courtney Gerber is a museum professional, doula, and human connection maker. In this episode, Courtney talks about working with organizations to develop ideas and connect with people to help make them stronger. She talks about her nearly 13 […]

“You wouldn’t have a plumber come to your house and tell them you only want to pay them half.” Camille Scheel talks about coming home as a young person to discover her mother had purchased a Harp and how that led to a college Harp scholarship. She talks about selling ads for commercial and non-profit […]

“I have wanted to be a parent since I knew that was a thing you could be.” Dawn Mikkelson is an independent filmmaker, a television producer, an educator, and a mother to two young girls. In this episode of the podcast, Dawn talks about the art of interviewing people for both clients and for her […]

“It is nice to write a story and actually write something that’s more than seven words.” Novelist, comic, and head monologue writer for the late night show Conan, Brian Kiley tells us how a joke writer ended up writing a novel. Brian talks about his path from writing jokes as a teenager to becoming a […]

“I’m not very commercially motivated.” Photographer, musician and all around creative person Hannah Lynch chats with Levi about where she first developed her interest in taking photos. Hannah also talks about songwriting and her love of performing music but also very physical stage fright. Hannah talks abouut her struggles with addiction and how that informs […]

“Anytime you can have someone that’s in front of you making fun of themselves, it takes the attention off the person getting their pictures taken.” Photographer Dennis Zerwas joins us to talk about his start at a young age taking family portraits for a very high volume studio. He talks about working in photo development […]

“Right now it’s a struggle to make art and parent.” Potter and visual artist Wade Scheel talks about making work for himself and making work for others. Wade talks about running his own art gallery with his wife, Camille, and having to recover after losing the gallery. He also talks very openly about being a […]

“When I’m afraid of something it means something big. It means I find something fascinating.” Kenny Blumenfeld’s bio starts “There once was a boy who was terrified of thunderstorms…” Kenny is a weather expert, a weather researcher, a science communicator, a documentarian, storyteller, and writer. Kenny talks about unschooling, parenting after divorce, and sharing his […]

“Ever since I was young I wanted to be a mom and I sort of knew whatever else I would do would probably come later.” Writer of the Sister Serendip blog and performer Gina Sampaio talks about being a stay-at-home mother of five. She talks about how she and her husband started out adopting one […]

“I would hate for people to think of it as a ‘mommy’ podcast.” The Longest, Shortest Time podcast creator and host Hillary Frank joins via the magic of Skype to chat about how she first recorded audio pieces into a cassette recorder with the help of Radio Shack and how that led to her producing work for […]

This is a special rerelease of the very first episode! Shanan Custer talks about being a comedy writer, actor, director and mom. Childhood adventures are revisited, confessions are made, and creative parenting secrets are revealed. Like the Pratfalls of Parenting on Facebook!   Special thanks to Anna Weggel for Pratfalls of Parenting theme music

“There is the parent that I want to be and there is the parent that I am.” Musician Elizabeth McQueen talks about taking new babies on the road as a touring musician and what it’s like to transition to staying in one place. She shares great stories about trying to entertain young children while traveling […]

“I don’t think parenting get’s in the way of being an artist at all. It’s the having to earn a living that becomes challenging.”  Musician Chris Lynch of the band the Shiny Lights talks about playing strange accordion gigs and how they can pay off in surprising ways. He shares why he always keeps a […]

“Having kids has really forced me to be thoughtful about what I want to do and where I want to go.” Writer and comedy maker Diana Saez talks about never really feeling like an official, professional grown up and the strange feeling of actually reaching grown-up status and finding it actually gratifying. She talks about […]

“I don’t turn down a gig unless I’m already booked on another show.” Matt Allex is a comedy writer and performer, a podcast co-host and producer, and a founding member of Fearless Comedy productions. In this episode Matt talks about figuring out that performing comedy was a thing that a person could do as a […]

“I don’t think either of us thought about what it meant to start an ice cream business in our mid-30s with kids.” Benny Solberg of FrozBroz craft ice cream sits down to chat about trying to decide whether or not to turn a fun project into a new, full-on career. He also talks about the […]

Comic and writer Jon Stark talks about not inviting co-workers to come watch his early years at stand-up comedy and about trying to separate his comedy life from his professional corporate life. He also talks about the open and supportiveness of the Twin Cities comedy community. Plus, Jon talks about his journey from playwright to […]