Episodes

An entrepreneurial podcast takes a turn for the worst…and then just keeps going… Content Advisory: Swearing, poverty, eating disorders, and arguing. Oh, and smarmy entrepreneurial podcast tropes…ugh! * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and April Moon. Story: Christopher Gronlund. Voice Actors: Cynthia Griffith and Christopher Gronlund. Episode Transcript >>

A two and a half minute update about the November anniversary episode. Short version: I’ve been sick… Transcript >>

I will freely admit that I indulged my inner twelve-year-old with the sound design for “Booger.” In this look behind the story, I discuss its inspiration and…its rather vile sounds… Episode Transcript >>

A kid makes a monster in his bathtub for a very specific reason… (What could go wrong?) Content Advisory: Swearing, bullying. Mention of masturbation. A father who cheats on his wife. Overbearing mother. Violence: young boys fighting. Gross sound effects. (Seriously, I received more feedback about “Booger” than any other story…all about how disgusting the sound design is. It is a story about a vile monster, after all.) * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Yung Kartz. Additional song: Whip...

“Alone in HQ” is a satire, but maybe just barely. Some thoughts about the illness permeating many corporations and those working for them…and the effect that had on this story. (Also, a bit about Ayn Rand and the framing device of Anthem as it pertains to “Alone in HQ.”) Episode Transcript >>

Femurs were wielded, and CEOs fell… After the apocalypse, a lowly office worker is alive and alone in headquarters…keeping an old way of life going in the hope that things will one day return to normal… Content Advisory: Death of a rabbit from blunt-force trauma. Violence (mention of a CEO bludgeoning someone with a cow femur). Suspense (the general creepiness of living in an empty corporate headquarters). Overtime and the stresses of work coming before life. Loneliness. * * * Credits: Musi...

“Taller than the Moon” is the first serious short story I ever wrote. It is roughly thirty years old. Some thoughts about those early writing days — and literary fiction in general. Episode Transcript >>

A trip home to visit his parents brings with it a flood of memories for Michael Stokowski. [Random side notes: I believe this is the first true short story I ever wrote. Also, it is the only story I can think of inspired by one of my dreams…] Content Advisory: A family deals with the fallout of a suicide. Mention of drug addiction following serving in the Vietnam War. Episode Transcript >> * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel. Story: Christopher Gronlund. Moon Image: Luca Hute...

Most stories you’ve listened to, here, are polished first drafts. Especially where short stories are concerned, I do not subscribe to the notion that the first draft of everything is shit. Some thoughts about that, and how it worked with the recent Christmas episode. * * * Episode Transcript >>

Last year’s holiday-ish 7-Stories episode, featuring a handful of micro-fiction, was well received. So this year, it’s another handful of stories: “The Crock,” narrated by Cynthia Griffith. A woman’s battles with her mother-in-law take an unexpected turn. “Greetings,” narrated by Patrick K. Walsh. An out-of-work special effects makeup artist gets a job as a big-box store greeter. “Naughty,” narrated by me, Christopher Gronlund. A naughty little boy gets what he deserves and learns about the t...

Waking the Lumberjack is the first one-shot audiodrama I’ve done with multiple voice actors for Not About Lumberjacks. Anchoring the story is Tim Czarnecki, starring as the Narrator. I sat down with Tim and chatted about what it was like narrating this story… * * * Episode Transcript >>

In honor of another year of Not About Lumberjacks, it’s a wrasslin’ story I swear has nothing to do with lumberjacks! The funeral service of “Big Papa” Howe, the Ontario Lumberjack, does not go as planned. It’s up to his two sons, Big Mike and Little Mike, to put an old rivalry to rest. Content Advisory: Swearing. Cartoonish violence (professional wrestling). Death of a parent and a funeral. * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Power and Beauty. Story: Christopher Gronlund Starring: Tim ...

Howdy, howdy, howdy. Christopher here with a random update. This is mostly being recorded and released in support of this episode of the ScreamQueenz Podcast. ScreamQueenz is a fun look at cheesy horror films, but in October it gets a bit more serious. Not the show, because the show is always light-hearted fun! But in October, show host Patrick Walsh does a pod-o-rama to raise funds for New Alternatives NYC. New Alternatives helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth. It’s a cool thing, and very dear to Pat...

“Dear God” is not the first story I wrote featuring gods; in fact, it’s not the first story I’ve written for Not About Lumberjacks featuring gods. Gods are strange things to me. I’m a life-long atheist, but I love the storytelling opportunities gods of all kinds offer. Also, I might just talk about how the Marvel Thor movies influenced this episode…and how they didn’t. (In many ways, an old Dungeons and Dragons rule book should probably get the most credit for the story.) * * * Also, I menti...

A panhandler is given a magical postage stamp. Content Advisory: Swearing. Scam artists. Mention of parental death. Homelessness. Misogyny. * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund Episode Transcript >>

If one desires, they can have a story end in so many different ways. Some stories just have a feel from the start for a certain kind of ending, but others are shaped by a writer’s environment — sometimes even being affected by other stories written around the time a particular story is done. That’s what I talk about with “A Race to the End.”

The 100-year-old son of the oldest man to ever live plots to kill a 123-year-old man about to break his father’s record. Content Advisory: Swearing and cartoonish violence. Stress of aging and mortality. A son trying to live up to his father’s expectations. Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund

The last episode was a bit of a departure, with seven bits of micro-fiction. The most fascinating thing was hearing which stories people loved most (“Vlad Stovepipe” won). So…for this episode of Behind the Cut, a bit about each of the stories…

A bit of a departure this holiday season: seven stories instead of one! (Think of it as micro-fiction stocking stuffers.) “Not About Lumberjacks” – As it says in the name, this story is not about lumberjacks! “Be a Man” – Sometimes kids grow up faster than they should. “Fucking Asshole” – It’s a story about a guy named Fucking Asshole. “The Intersection” – Life in a tightly wound world… “Vlad Stovepipe” – Yeah, it’s about a vampire snowman! “Hardcore” – Tell this guy wrestling’s fake… “A...

Something a little different this time… Because “The Hidebehind” was the first episode of Not About Lumberjacks with a male narrator other than me, I chat with Defender Radio’s Michael Howie about what it was like to work together on the story’s production. It’s a glorious tale of friendship, creativity…and majestic beards! (Also, you should totally follow Michael on Twitter and Instagram.)

Something lurks in the woods outside a lumber camp in this story I SWEAR is NOT about lumberjacks… Content Advisory: Swearing. Violence (involving fights and knives). Alcohol use. Mass poisoning. Horror (monster in the woods). Dementia brought on by environmental factors. Implied cannibalism. * * * Credits: Story: Christopher Gronlund Narration: Michael Howie, of the Defender Radio Podcast. (Follow Michael on Twitter!) Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel

There really is a Memorial Park where after-school fights took place when I was in junior high school. And I was involved in one myself; in fact, some reality creeped into “Memorial Park.” If you’re interested in what’s real and not in the story, look no further than this…

An after-school fight pits the meanest kid in Walt Whitman Junior High School against one of its shyest geeks. Content Advisory: Swearing. Bullying. Violence (bullying and an after-school fight). Humiliation. * * * Credits: Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund

I was never the punk that Bobby McGarvey or Stevie Saturn were in “Cubicle Punks,” but I do have something in common with them: I have always struggled with certain things that come with a “responsible” job. The pull between a day job that pays the bills and pursuing one’s dreams is a recurring theme in several of my stories. I talk about it on this episode of Behind the Cut…