First Day Back

Stitcher and Tally Abecassis

First Day Back is a documentary podcast series about people facing and trying to overcome life’s most challenging moments.  Each season, host and creator Tally Abecassis tells the story of someone attempting their own personal comeback.In 2019, First Day Back is back. On May 3rd 2017, comedian Jason Weems collapsed on stage from an asthma attack. His heart stopped beating for a full 5 minutes. Jason was lucky enough to be revived by a member of the audience.  Now the Baltimore comedian is dealing with his death the only way he knows how: by making jokes about it. Jason wants to turn these jokes into a 1 hour special that he hopes will make him a household name. For the past year, Tally Abecassis and the First Day back team have been following the life and career of Jason Weems, a man who lives and died for comedy.

  • 29 minutes 21 seconds
    S3E6: Unknown

    We follow Jason in the hours leading up to the taping of his much-anticipated special. The excitement builds as his friends and family all gather at the theater. When Jason steps onto that stage, will he have transformed his near death experience into something meaningful?

    27 February 2019, 5:01 am
  • 25 minutes 23 seconds
    S3E5: The Countdown

    There’s one month to go before Jason is set to perform his new special and the pressure is on. It’s a mad dash to sell tickets, finalize his set, and get everything in order to film and shoot the special. Will Jason make it to the special or will the pressure of putting on the show derail him?

    20 February 2019, 5:01 am
  • 26 minutes 38 seconds
    S3E4: Pulling for Every Breath

    It seems like asthma is always with Jason Weems. In this episode, Jason's constantly being confronted by health scares - on stage, at home, even with his family. But at every turn, he surprises Tally with his resiliency.

    13 February 2019, 5:01 am
  • 29 minutes 24 seconds
    S3E3: Absolute Certainty

    Twelve years into his comedy career, what keeps Jason hopeful that his big break will still happen? We get a peek inside his creative process and find out what family drama pushed him to stay in a city that isn’t great for his national career ambitions

    6 February 2019, 5:01 am
  • 21 minutes 10 seconds
    S3E2: Almost Famous

    How do you build a career in comedy? Jason takes us through his journey and how a childhood filled with health issues drove his desire to be the funniest man in the room.

    30 January 2019, 5:01 am
  • 19 minutes 39 seconds
    S3E1: The Attack

    What happens on stage to set in motion comedian Jason’s Weem’s first day back story? On May 3, 2017, Jason collapsed at a Philadelphia comedy club after suffering a near fatal asthma attack. We hear a blow-by-blow account of Jason’s night as it shifts from raucous to downright terrifying.

    23 January 2019, 5:01 am
  • 2 minutes 47 seconds
    Introducing First Day Back Season 3

    First Day Back returns this season with the story of Jason Weems, one of Baltimore’s biggest comedians. Jason’s life changed on May 3, 2017 when just minutes into a set, he had a severe asthma attack.

    It was so bad, his heart stopped. Sixteen hours later, he was barely alive, recovering in a Philadelphia hospital.

    This season on First Day Back, host Tally Abecassis follows Jason as he tries to come back…from death. He wants to keep doing comedy— the stage is where he’s always felt the most alive. But now it’s a place of real trauma.

    Can Jason Weems transform the worst thing that ever happened to him in to the event that changes his life?

    Listen to the trailer now and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. New episodes drop every Wednesday beginning January 23, 2019.

    9 January 2019, 5:01 am
  • 3 minutes 33 seconds
    Season 3 Update, and Introducing Dear Franklin Jones

    We are hard at work on season 3 and are following another story that is unfolding as we speak. In the meantime, if you like First Day Back, check out Dear Franklin Jones by my friend Jonathan Hirsch. Growing up, Jonathan’s family was a little different. They followed a controversial spiritual leader named Franklin Jones. Join Jonathan on a journey to find out what really happened. Subscribe to Dear Franklin Jones, a new documentary podcast from Stitcher.


    Subscribe to Dear Franklin Jones in your favorite podcast app:

    Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dear-franklin-jones/id1348032695?mt=2

    Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=172342


    28 February 2018, 8:01 am
  • 22 minutes 37 seconds
    S2E6: The Refuge

    Lucie obsesses over Gerry’s death, her regret about what she did and her inability to remember what happened the night she killed him. How will she find some sliver of peace? Her search for forgiveness leads her to an unlikely source.

    16 May 2017, 10:00 am
  • 20 minutes 23 seconds
    S2E5: The Doubters

    Six years after Gerry’s death, close friends from Lucie’s past make a startling accusation. How will Lucie cope?

    9 May 2017, 10:00 am
  • 25 minutes 38 seconds
    S2E4: Lucie Island

    Even as Lucie reconnects with family and spends more time outside the transition house, she finds herself increasingly isolated.

    2 May 2017, 10:00 am
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