Convergence – Book One: Incarnation author Katherine E. Lewis recalls visiting her hometown library at midnight, which became much more than photo opportunity.
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After discussing her epic season 2 performance on HBO Max’s South Side, actor and writer Alisha Cowan returns to ask everyone to decide if she was once almost kidnapped.
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In high school, Universal Animation Program Writer Shari Coleman took her first trip to Berlin where she got stuck with confusing toilets, bird poop, and much more.
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Universal Animation Program Writer Kianna Johnson is a determined person. And when it comes to fried okra, Kianna will do whatever it takes.
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For Universal Animation Program Writer Senibo Myers, pie isn’t his dessert of choice. Find out what happens when Senibo competes in a pie eating contest for his kid — against a rival celebrity.
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Honesty is the best policy for writer Tracy Held, even when people think she’s lying. Tracy comes clean about the facts that some insist are total fiction.
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From releasing her feature I’ll Meet You There during a pandemic to a curious moment at Caltech as a student, writer/director Iram Parveen Bilal jumps into life headfirst. Or in some cases, feet first.
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Writer/Director Liz Singh (The Lower Plateau) never completed her film school thesis project. There’s a reason for that. And it runs deep. But now, she’s finally ready to reveal why.
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Before she stood on the edge of Lake Michigan in the psychological drama Up On The Glass, or opposed The Flash as Black Bison, actress Chelsea Kurtz was once a student trying to make the right decision about college. But the forces that impacted her choice went beyond the Arrowverse.
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When writer/director/actor/singer Nathan Ramos-Park first moved to New York, he made a special list. And to check off the boxes, Nathan would dive into a world of silver foxes, Asian American male identity, sexual taboos, burritos, and making the rent.
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Before his funny words graced the screen on such TV series as Will & Grace, Angie Tribeca, Selfie, and Go On, writer/producer Mathew Harawitz was an assistant on a late night talk show. And he had a crappy day that changed his entire life.
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With grace and vulnerability, Lynn Chen, actress and director of I Will Make You Mine, candidly shares the two defining moments in her attempt to have a child.
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What do Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas, and Sylvester Stallone have in common? Perhaps nothing, but they will be discussed by documentary filmmaker Jin Yoo-Kim and David as they both reveal the best movies they never talk about.
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Is there a song you love but never talk about? Maybe it’s a guilty pleasure, or a track with a profound meaning to you? Cinematographer Ruben Contreras joins David to reveal the one song he never talks about and explains why. And David does the same.
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In a follow-up to crowd-favorite episode #3, writer/producer Bernie Duran, Jr. details what happened AFTER he revealed an elaborate 20-year secret for the first time to his friends, family, and the public. Later, Bernie shares an amusing story involving Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón.
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From a tarot reading to an important visitor from his own past, the best untold story from the world of this very podcast gets revealed by host David Ngo. TV writer Lindsay Villareal joins David for this personally meaningful episode.
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Hip hop. The Bronx. A journal. Before he wrote on shows such as Empire and The Leftovers, and edited at The Source, writer/producer Carlito Rodriguez enrolled in college to resume his education after some time away. But two people would teach him much more about himself in just one day.
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Movies are works of fiction, but its truth often lies with the voice of its creator. Writer/Director Ringo Le discusses the evolution of his voice as a filmmaker, the Vietnamese American community, and the real inspiration behind his next movie.
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Many people have had an unusual interview. For author Marina Mularz (“Welcome to Freedom Point”), she had a quirky job interview that she’s never shared until now, and it deals with morbid feelings and signs of the universe.
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Hawaii is a breezy getaway. But for comedy writer Robert Woo (“The Kelly Clarkson Show”), he surfed the waves of the immigrant experience, childhood angst, and a Korean dad that would say the darndest things.
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The Matrix. Incubus. Andre 3000. These are the fashion inspirations of writer/director Justin Warren (Then There Was Joe) in high school. But when a new and exciting student moves into town, his sense of style is put to the test.
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For writer/director Ben Cresciman (Sun Choke), his untold tale was supposed to be about a teen Hollywood party filled with trippy drugs, red-eyed Russians, and fashion-forward sandals. But upon further review, the party is only the midpoint of a deeper story about dealing with life’s realities.
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Faced with choosing between bystander or participant, screenwriter Jeanie Bergen reveals some untold moments where making that decision led to unexpected memories, connections, and outcomes.
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“I just got a new car.” “Don’t crash it.” Filmmaker Milton Liu’s mama is a no filter force of nature that parents him the only way she knows how – bluntly. Matter of fact, Milton’s birth story is unexpectedly straight forward, which he only learned about a few years ago.
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What does a musician do with an unfinished song that was buried in the creative trenches for years? He finally finishes it and performs it on a podcast for the very first time. Musician Jared Hernandez sings “My Love, My Love,” and then discusses its meaning, writing process, and baseball analogies with David.
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After learning she had Jewish heritage, writer and filmmaker Nikki Brown (Up on the Glass) recalls the time she took a birthright trip to Jerusalem, where she found herself exploring the city on her last night. Alone. And on that night, Nikki reveals an untold encounter she had with a local, and why she wants to share this story with all of the solo travelers out there.
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Navigating one’s way around different social groups can be tough, especially in middle school. Layout animator and cinematographer Gloses Gorbaldi tackles this notion when he shares a vivid untold moment from his childhood in Washington D.C., where his middle-school friendship with a student with intellectual disabilities tests the line between affection and aggression.
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TV Writer and podcast host Stephanie Coggins (Trinkets, The Magicians, Cinema Craptaculus) discusses her successful transition from comedy to drama (very hard to do in TV) before launching into her untold story of the time her comedic stay at an Italian hostel turned into a mysterious drama. Also, David reveals his true feelings about sitting next to Stephanie during a writing program.
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From anonymous Xanga posts, to passing notes in class, to the real reason she applied for USC film school, writer and illustrator Annie Nishida reveals the personally cringe-worthy details of her mad high school crush, a Japanese American boy that never spoke. This is the real-life Japanese American version of To All The Boys I Loved Before, except the guy doesn’t ever speak.
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Actress and filmmaker Michelle Krusiec has never publicly talked about her adoption in-depth until now. Michelle reveals some hidden details that take her from a fortune teller in Taiwan to the silver screen in Hollywood with all the key family members and signs in the universe involved in between. Also, David and Michelle discuss her beloved role in Saving Face, a cult classic film particularly appreciated by the Asian American LGBTQ community and why it still matters today.
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Sometimes, a person just needs to take clown lessons and never tell anyone about it until they go on their friend’s podcast. This is what playwright Zury Ruiz (Senorita Monthly Juice) has done, as she shares her glorious untold tale that begins with pole dancing, transforms into clowning, and then evolves into a poignant conversation about personal expectations with a full-circle ending.
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Filmmaker Paloma Martinez confesses her untold high school story about studying abroad in Spain and meeting a stranger in a world with no parental supervision, the perils of nightlife, and precarious chance encounters. This episode is all about assessing, anticipating, and acting on intuition.
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Actor Mark McClain Wilson shares his untold story about his life as an anguished teen in Pittsburgh, when he realized that he undervalued himself, and how he stopped doing this decades later. Mark and David discuss knowing your worth, knowing when to compromise, and knowing when to stand up for yourself.
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**This episode is dedicated in loving memory of Maria Ochoa and will be available for listening as a tribute to her spirit.**
David tries to process the tarot card reading he receives from Community Organizer Maria Ochoa before she shares her untold story about the Los Angeles apartment nightmare from hell.
From Maria: Know your rights as a tenant. Call or visit the Housing Department of your local city. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, visit HCID at https://hcidla.lacity.org/fair-housing or call 1-866-557-7368. And be sure to utter the words, “I want to file a complaint because…” For general fair housing advice in Los Angeles, you can visit SAJE (http://www.saje.net) or call 213-745-9961. You can also obtain free legal advice from the Inner City Law Center. (http://www.innercitylaw.org)
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Stand-Up Comedian and TV Writer Julian Kiani (Marlon, I Feel Bad) chats with David about their mutual love of John Stamos, delicious food, interning at Saturday Night Live, and his reveal of an untold chain of events that led Julian to discover a celebrity burrito that would change the course of his entire life.
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David’s son, a preschool kid, interviews his dad and winds up experiencing an existential crisis on-air as he tries to make sense of the fact that his dad had a life of his own before the little prince was born.
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Television drama writer and filmmaker Lindsey Villarreal (Sacred Lies) digs up a story from her high school days in Texas that involve the supernatural and the collapse of a friendship.
“Lindsey pulls no punches and brings it every time. She tells a story that involves Texas, cholas, the supernatural, screenwriting, and a friendship she truly cherishes that no longer exists. This story is raw, real, and ready for your ears, my friends. There’s also a great tangent on dating via Tinder which is hilarious and sobering at the same time.”
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The release of her book, G.I. Hollywood, is a celebratory moment for author/screenwriter Lila McLaughlin, but it’s also a time to make sense of her unique relationship with the subject of her book, a war veteran, and a period in her life where she couldn’t write for several years. (Lila’s novel: G.I. Hollywood)
“As a writer, I know that a finished work is the result of a series of work-in-progress versions. But sometimes, I forget that the author herself is the result of a life-in-progress. Lila’s conversation was a refreshing reminder of this. Though we were both celebrating the release of Lila’s first novel, Lila takes the conversation into a deeper space and examines her writing career from the time she couldn’t write for years until now. It was a fantastic talk about writing and writers. Also, we mention Suge Knight twice.”
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Television drama writer Leah Benavides (The Arrangement) unveils her past life as a singer and the most important yet unexplainable vocal performance of her life, a song for her grandma.
“To me, and I don’t think she’ll be embarrassed by me saying this publicly, but Leah is a boss. She’s that gritty coach that goes for the 2-point conversation at the end of the fourth quarter to win a game instead of just tying it. So, to catch Leah in a vulnerable moment, when talking about a song for her grandma, caught me off-guard. It was one of those moments in a conversation when you realize, “Oh snap, this is getting very personal,” and it made me appreciate Leah’s candor with her story even more. Even in that moment though, Leah powered through the story like a pro. This is a great conversation for anyone that loves their grandmothers and the unexplainable.”
(Leah’s handles: Twitter @leahbenavides, Instagram @leahbenavides)
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Pitching a feature movie to an executive is tough enough, but what if you had to do it to a Catholic Priest in rural Michigan? I Animal author and filmmaker Kevin Del Principe explains.
“Kevin is a long-time creative collaborator and friend of mine. We both know the throes of being in and out of Hollywood at the same time. It’s like that for a lot of creatives. The stars in the all the magazines are really just a small minority in the huge pool of those making content. Kevin is one of those dudes that just works to make things happen for himself, regardless of whether he is “in” or “out”. One day, he was like, “I’m making my first feature film.” And then roughly a year later, he’s on a plane to Michigan to shoot his film. It’s cool for me to hear that he had quite a memorable experience during his shoot of Up On The Glass, one that involved an unexpected Catholic priest. Kevin goes deeper into the significance of that priest in this episode. We also joke about our old web series that forecasted Putin before the 2016 election happened. We used to do a lot of Putin jokes, but now we’re scared to do more.”
(Kevin’s handles: Twitter @kevdelprincipe, Facebook @kevindelprincipe, IG: @kevdel22, www.kevindelprincipe.com)
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Our host David Ngo steps into the valley of the wolves with special guest Kevin Del Principe and discusses the first and last time he will stay in a Bolivian hotel 13,000 feet above sea level.
“I had done a few interviews prior to being interviewed myself by special guest Kevin Del Principe, so I kind of knew how the conservation would run to a degree. That said, Kevin asked some really great questions and gave wonderful insight into an experience I was trying to make sense of. Also, it’s one thing to know why you don’t tell a certain story publicly, but to actually then say it out loud definitely puts you in a vulnerable space. I didn’t want to tell this story because it freaks me out, but I felt like I owed it to my guests because they were so open with me. I will probably never listen to my own episode though. It gives me goosebumps.”
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Screenwriter, television development executive, and pizza enthusiast Dan McCarthy mirrors his triple threat identity by talking about his mysterious last name, the origin of Santa Claus, and TRL era Carson Daly.
“My buddy Dan McCarthy is gonna do what Dan McCarthy is gonna do. That’s how he rolls. That said, Dan is quite a generous guy. For the taping of this episode, he gave me a really expensive ice cream sandwich to eat as a snack. He didn’t care about the price. He just wanted me to have the experience of eating a pricy ice cream sandwich. Dan is generous. So generous, in fact, that he is the only guest thus far to tell three separate untold stories back-to-back-to-back. He three-peated like the Lakers during the Shaq/Kobe era. Swish.”
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In this episode, television comedy writer Alisha Cowan (South Side) delves into her childhood in Chicago to explain her mother’s unique love of attending funerals and how it has unexpectedly defined her own adult life.
“Alisha and I joke around a lot when we hang out, so I was going into this conversation thinking that there would be a lot of riffing. However, once Alisha gets into her story and tries to make sense of her mother’s love of attending funerals, the conversation gets introspective and personal. It was a surprising, but enriching experience to see Alisha determine for herself that her mother’s love of funerals was a turning point in her own life. There is revelation, death, Chicago, and dry jokes in this episode. It was truly American.”
(Alisha’s Instagram @alishawiththegoodhair)
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Volume One features some of the best storytellers I have the privilege of knowing, so for them to share a story that they’ve kept locked in their vaults is a treasure. What are they holding back? And why? It is a true honor that this podcast is the chosen platform for these storytellers to share their untold tales. You, the audience, is hearing the unveiling of these hidden experiences as I am for the very first time in these episodes. The results, as you might discover, are surprising, cathartic, hilarious, scary, bittersweet, somber, heartwarming, unexplainable, relatable, and real.
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