We all know them… those people who are positive and happy all the time and just seem to have it all figured out. Perhaps you’re one of them? Or perhaps, like me, you find yourself wishing that those moments of pure joy were a little less fleeting.

My summer vacation has commenced, and my sabbatical will start immediately after. Max and I came up to the cottage this week for a long stint… he’s been talking about a treehouse for some time, so it looks like that will be my first summer project. In other words, lots to feel good about. Right?

This episode was recorded over three separate days. One was on the dock, so apologies for a bit of wind.

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

In the last episode on fatherhood and parenting, I’d mentioned my biological father, who I’ve never met. There have been opportunities to know him through the years, but I’ve just never had an interest.

I also have some half-siblings, and while I have met them, the experience has not been without complications. This episode is for anyone who’s gone on to ancestry.com hoping to discover long-lost family members. Be careful what you wish for.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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Music by SergeQuadrado and Olexy from Pixabay

I’ve been thinking a lot about fathering, and being fathered, leading up to Father’s Day this year. My wife and I make a big deal about Mother’s/Father’s Day in our little family orbit, in large part because we both recognize the challenges and sacrifice that parenting entails. In this episode, I speak to these challenges and provide some of my own insights on how I try to lean in to the role while preserving my own individuality. I also reflect on my own father and how the choices my parents made impact the kind of parent I am today.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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Music by madIRFAN from Pixabay

Last month we had to put down one of our two beloved Siamese cats. His absence has left a gap in our family, and the whole thing has really taken the wind out of me these last few weeks.

I grew up with cats, and in this episode I tell the story of another significant cat from my past and how his death coincided with some major life changes. 

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Ok, he didn’t really try to kill me, but he could have. It was an act of utter irresponsibility as my guardian—and yet, it represents one of the last real moments of closeness that I had with my grandfather.

I also speak about his experience in World War II, as well as my grandmother’s on the home front. They were both complicated people, but I miss them very much. I’ll be adding some photographs of them to Instagram.

This episode is a little different than the others in that it is fully scripted… it’s actually adapted from a contained piece of non-fiction that I wrote while thinking through my approach to Storied. Let me know what you think.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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Music by Lesfm and madIRFAN from Pixabay

I want to do one episode on the pandemic and leave it at that. At the time of this recording, no one in my immediate or extended family has contracted COVID. Is this due to luck? Immunity? Extreme precaution? Privilege? I suspect a bit of all of that. What I do know is that this pandemic, in its relentless ubiquity, is starting to seem a bit too normal for my liking.

In this episode, I talk about the differing ways in which my family has responded to the pandemic, as well as some struggles I’ve had reintegrating myself into society. Among other things.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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I’ve been having these chats with my son as I drive him to and from school. He knows there’s something terrible happening in Ukraine, and I can see him trying to make some sense of it. So am I, frankly—or rather, how can we even begin to process something so upsetting and also so outside of our control? 

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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The Telegraph article referenced in the episode was behind a subscription wall, but here is another covering the same story: 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10781393/Alien-civilisations-grow-large-miss-chance-set-new-worlds-study-claims.html?ito=email_share_article-top

Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

In this episode, Morgan reflects on memory—how we remember even the most seemingly insignificant details—and the ways in which Storied has impacted his journal writing. He talks about the writer Shelia Heti and her podcast, which is similar in a way to his own. He wonders why life writing hasn’t made a greater breakthrough within podcasts. 

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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I learned today that the first girl I ever kissed just passed away. I can't lay claim to any proper grief for her, but this news has rattled me all the same. I try to remember what I can of her, then tell the story of someone else once close to me who also died young.

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Morgan returns from his cottage and back to the bustle of city life. He recalls some delinquent behavior from his youth and wonders how his life might have turned out had he been caught.

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With his son out of school for the week, Morgan and his family head up north to their cottage. He shares a pivotal story from his early twenties, moving across the country and realizing that he wanted to write. He also talks about cottage country culture in Ontario and takes a walk in the woods, not far from where he encountered a bear the previous summer.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

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Morgan discusses the impetus behind this podcast, as well as his hesitancy about finally recording his first episode. He speaks about journaling, an upcoming sabbatical, and fiction writing. He also discusses his discomfort with nostalgia and outlines some of his plans for the podcast, such as piecing together parts of his past to better understand who he is now.

You can support this episode, or the entire podcast, with a few clicks. One-time or monthly options available: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storied

Contact Morgan at: thestoriedpodcast@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storiedpodcast/