When Umid is trapped behind enemy lines, he gets help... from two of the world’s most dangerous men. And a glitch in time brings mayhem to a man’s life day after day… no matter how many times he resets his clocks.

This episode contains some strong language. Sensitive listeners, please be advised.

STORIES

The League of Impersonators

When Umid Isabaev is trapped behind enemy lines, he gets help… from two of the world’s most dangerous men.

Thank you, Umid, for sharing your story with Snap!

Thanks to Ethan Herschenfeld who voiced Umid’s words, and to, Mars Lipowski, who was the voice of Steve Poland. BIG thanks as well to our translators for this piece, Muhitdin Ahunhodjaev and Magdalena Balz.

The three fake heads of state reunited recently in Poland for a magazine photo shoot! This photo will also be on our social media accounts.

Want more from the Kim Jong Un Look-alike? Check out his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Trying to hear from the Putin Look-alike? Visit his website.

Produced by John Fecile & Anne Ford, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Time Glitch

Joel Gheen is out of the military, newly married, and in college. His new life is going great… if he could just catch the damn bus.

Thank you, Joel, for sharing your story with us!

If you’re hungry for more details about Joel’s experience with a real-life glitch in the matrix, check out his website. Joel also has a fun podcast that covers weird topics from a Biblical perspective. Listen to hear all the paranormal stuff that never gets discussed from a traditional church pulpit or Bible study.

Produced by Anne Ford, original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff.

Season 15 – Episode 43

Four comics score a sweet gig in the Deep South. It’s champagne, a Benz, and maybe even a Kevin Hart appearance. But their dream of life behind the velvet rope is about to get a rude awakening. Plus, do we take the Honolulu ghost tour with Lopaka, or the big time wresting match with Johnny All Black? You only get one double life on the latest Snap.

STORIES

We Have A Problem

Comics, Lamarr Todd, Matt Black, and Ken Jones, score a sweet gig in the Deep South. It’s champagne, a Benz, and maybe even a Kevin Hart appearance. But their dream of life behind the velvet rope is about to get a rude awakening. 

BIG thanks to, Lamarr Todd, for sharing his story with Snap! Lamarr is a standup comedian and a featured judge at First Person Arts in Philadelphia. Find out about his tour dates and current exploits on Instagram and X.

Matt Black and Ken Jones are also lighting up comedy stages around the country! Find Matt on Instagram. Find Ken on Instagram and X. 

Produced by Justin Kramon, original score by Clay Xavier.

Double Booked

Do we take the Honolulu ghost tour with Lopaka, or the big time wresting match with Johnny All Black? You only get one double life on the latest Snap.

Thank you, Lopaka, for sharing your story! Lopaka still leads ghost tours in Honolulu today. 

Want to hear some of Lopaka’s stories from the dark side? Head on over to our evil twin sister show, Spooked... you can listen on any podcast platform.

Produced by Zoë Ferrigno, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Season 15 - Episode 42

Snap Studios introduces an epic collaboration years in the making... "Mind Your Own." A new storytelling show hosted and produced by Lupita Nyong'o, that navigates what it means to belong all from an African perspective.

Lupita Nyong’o knows what home feels like. But where exactly is it? In Mexico, where she was born? Kenya, where she grew up? Or the States, where she’s spent the past 20 years?

Like Lupita, millions of Africans are spread out across the globe following family, searching for love, building futures and creating stories. It's these stories – wild and messy, intimate and joyous – that she wants to hear. 

Join Lupita as she shares tales of her own and dives into the lives of real people finding their way in new worlds of every kind.

Episode 1: The Sound of Home

Sound travels in all directions, but your feet can only follow in one.

“Losing My Accent”: Lupita takes on an American accent when she becomes an actor-in-training at Yale.

Original score by Ian Hughes Pelton AKA Tofu Jack.

“Obaa Sima”: How long can a song stay in your heart? A musical journey from Ghana to Germany to Canada transports Yaw Atta-Owusu from the toy store to the dance floor.

Big thanks to Yaw for sharing his story with us! Check out the Obaa Sima album featured in this episode. Thanks as well to Awesome Tapes From Africa for sharing Yaw’s music with us.

Produced by Marisa Dodge and Regina Bediako with assistance from Bo Walsh. Original score by Clay Xavier, with additional music from Marla Kether and Ata Kak.

Original Mind Your Own theme song by Sandra Lawson-Ndu AKA Sandu Ndu x Peachcurls ft. Ehiorobo. This episode also featured the song Show My Side by CKay ft. Amaarae.

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich

Managing Editor: Regina Bediako

Director of Production: Marisa Dodge

Series Producers: David Exumé and Priscilla Alabi

Music Supervisor: Sandra Lawson-Ndu

Story Scouts: Ashley Okwuosa, Fiona Nyong’o, Jessica Kariisa, Lesedi Oluko Moche

Editors: Nancy López and Anna Sussman

Engineering: Miles Lassi

Operations Manager: Florene Wiley

Story Consultant: John Fecile

Graphic Design: Jemimah Ekeh

Original Artwork: Mateus Sithole

Special Thanks: Allan Coye, Jake Kleinberg, Samara Still, Sarah Yoo, Warner Music Group, and Afripods.

Episode transcripts can be found here.

Mind Your Own is a production of KQED’s Snap Studios, with sales and distribution by Lemonada Media. Hosted and produced by Lupita Nyong’o. 

Two boys hunting for crystals in the forest learn something out there is also on the hunt for them. And one wrong turn out on the road leads a group of friends to the most sinister encounter of their lives. 

Snap presents a ritual as old as our treachery, “Campfire Tales: Season of the Wolf.” Journey into the void while you still can... before this gate slams shut. This Spooked Spectacular features supernatural stories told by people who can barely believe it happened themselves. 

Spooked has a new season starting Friday the 13th of September! Brand new episodes will drop each and every week until All Hallows' Eve. Be afraid. Cross over and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and podcast platforms everywhere 9/13/24.

STORIES

The Woods Have Eyes

Nate and Keith love to explore the forests in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, hunting for stones and crystals to add to their collection. But something out there is also on the hunt… for them. 

Thank you, Nate, for sharing your story with Spooked!

Produced by Erick Yáñez, original score by Doug Stuart.

Buffer Night 

One wrong turn leads Kyan and his friends to the most sinister encounter of their lives.

Thanks to Kyan Bond for sharing his story. If you know what’s up with Buffer Night, drop us a line.

Produced by Anne Ford, original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff.

Season 15 - Episode 40

Cheyenne Brady knew next to nothing about the US census when she was given the job of counting everyone on her reservation. Writer Julian Brave Noisecat follows her through the ups and downs of the 2020 census, culminating in the first-ever Census Powwow.

This story features descriptions of genocide and historical trauma, sensitive listeners please be advised.

A big, big thank you to everyone on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Especially Cheyenne Brady and her family: Novi Runs Above, Holy Rope, Tayvin, Poncho, Tookie, Uncle Thomas, and Grandma Florence.

Thank you also to Charlie Moran, Tavares Fimbres, Gabrielle Wilkinson, and Braedyn Taft, and Jazz Bearstail. Thanks to our friends at KMHA radio: Anne Morsette, Will Maguire, Ricky Raine, and Shelley Krueger for administering a rapid COVID test.

And big thanks to the whole Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.

Sincerest thanks to Dr. Cheryl Ann Kary, Cheryl Keepseagle, Logan Davis, Barb Anguino, D’Vera Cohn,  Byard Duncan, David Rodriguez, and Lycia Ortega Maddocks.

This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations.

The original score was by Cheflee and Pat Mesiti-Miller

This story was produced and reported by Julian Brave NoiseCat and John Fecile

It was written by Julian Brave NoiseCat

Snap Classic - Season 15 – Episode 39

Chase the storm until it chases you. Tornadoes! They don’t look like they do in the movies. When you’re in the path of one, all you’ll see is a wall of black wind. This week, Snap is heading directly into the monster’s maw to chase storms that should be left alone.

Big thanks to Craig Wolter! Thank you, Windom High School... especially Sarah, Benny, and Danielle. Crystal Frank, another student on the trip, shared her home video with us. This story would not have been possible without her.

Many thanks also to Sue, for sharing your story with us. Sue’s memoir is titled The Lake Turned Upside Down. 

Produced by John Fecile, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot.

If you listened to our radio broadcast and want to find out what happened to the 24 people that shut themselves in a beer cooler to wait out one of the strongest tornadoes in recorded history, you can listen to the full length version of the "Eye of the Storm" story here. 

Season 15 - Episode 38

Amateur treasure hunters race to uncover $100,000 in gold and silver after a man buries his entire jewelry store around the state of Michigan. Hunters are given clues and left to explore the woods.

This episode contains strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised.

BIG thanks to Johnny & everyone out on the hunt for sharing your story with us! Learn more about Johnny and his treasure quest on his website and Facebook.

Produced by Will McCarthy, original score by Derek Barber, artwork by Teo Ducot

Snap Classic Season 15 – Episode 37

When Dr. Ayaz Virji first set foot in Dawson, Minnesota, he didn’t know what to expect. He was a brown Muslim man walking into a predominantly white rural town. But much to his surprise Ayaz and his family fit right in. Dawson quickly became home and his neighbors became like his extended family. Then came the presidential election of 2016.

A very big thank you to Ayaz and Mussarat Virji, and to Mandy France and Doug Peterson for sharing their story with Snap!

For more, please make sure to check out Ayaz Virji’s book, Love Thy Neighbor: A Muslim Doctor’s Struggle for Home in Rural America.

Produced by Nancy Lopez, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

Snap Classic - Season 15 – Episode 36

A rock climber hits the jackpot in Yosemite and Moss Hills saves the day with his music on a sea cruise. Two stories… double the trouble.

STORIES

Lake Chronicopia

Dale Bard was a young rock climber in Yosemite in the ’70s. Back then, rock climbing was an obscure, expensive passion. And he came across the most unbelievable cash cow you’ve ever heard of.

Thank you, Cisco DeVries, Papa Tom DeVries, all the climbers that helped us, and a big huge thanks to the filmmakers Greg Laut and Nicholas Rosen from Sender Films. Check out our link to their amazing documentary on this very story, “Valley Uprising.”

Produced by Anna Sussman & Julia Dewitt, original score by Leon Morimoto

The Sinking of the Cruise Ship Oceanos

Moss Hills takes us on a sea cruise and saves the day with his music.

Thanks, Moss, for sharing your story with us! Love this story? Learn more about the sinking of the Oceanos or watch a video of the ship’s final moments!

Produced by Joe Rosenberg, original score by Renzo Gorrio

Snap Classic – Season 15 – Episode 35

A severed head turns up in a small rural town. While police investigate this as a crime, they look at disturbed graves, search for missing people — suspect a killer. But the forensic artist on the case has a very different theory for how the head ended up in the woods.

This story contains references to forensic material, sensitive listeners please be advised.

Thank you to Michelle Vitali & Mike O’Brien for sharing this story with Snap.

Produced by Nancy López, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

Snap Classic - Season 15 – Episode 34

Hold onto your mullets! British drummer Nick Murphy and his band are overjoyed after signing a record deal with THE Quincy Jones in 1984. That is, until a chance encounter with one of the biggest stars in the world changes everything. And the story of a talented luchador who has an uphill battle to get the crowd and the press on his side.

STORIES 

Feelabeelia: One-Hit Wonder?

Hold onto your mullets! British drummer Nick Murphy and his band are overjoyed after signing a record deal with THE Quincy Jones in 1984. That is, until a chance encounter with one of the biggest stars in the world changes everything. 

Major thanks to Nick Murphy for sharing your story with Snap. Nick still lives in Leicester today and he’s continuing to make his dreams come true as one of the oldest students at De Montfort University, where he studies music technology. 

Produced by Regina Bediako, original score by Clay Xavier.

Cassandro El Exotico

Cassandro is an up-and-coming luchador, a professional Mexican wrestler. He wants to get to the big arenas. He’s got the talent, no doubt. But because he’s also one of the only openly gay fighters, he’s got an uphill battle to get the crowd and the press on his side.

This story contains graphic imagery regarding suicide. Please take care while listening. 

Thank you for sharing your story, Cassandro!

Produced by Eliza Smith, sound design by Leon Morimoto

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 15 - Episode 33