Backfire
4/14/202639 min
Two RISK! veterans deliver stories about plans that—you guessed it—backfired. As a teenager Nate Runkel built a satirical website that sexualized cartoon characters as a parody of how guys talk online. It got a million views, landed in Complex Magazine and a Maureen Dowd book, and earned him more attention than he ever wanted. The people he respected weren't laughing. (Content note: conversion therapy) And Kelli Dunham’s story is set in the sweaty, armadillo-haunted wilds of an evangelical Florida summer camp. She was there by her own choice, fundraised her own way in, and came home proud, convinced for the next 20 years that the whole adventure was entirely her idea. It wasn't. Two stories about getting exactly what you didn't ask for. Full episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/backfire Support RISK! & Get Involved 🎟 See RISK! live on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in New York City! ✍️ Pitch your story ❤️ Support us on Patreon or make a one-time PayPal donation 📚 Shop merch or the RISK! book 🎓 Take storytelling classes with us 🎥 Hire Kevin as a coach or get personalized videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKevin Allison· Host0:01
On this episode of Risk, you'll hear- New muscles that I had from physically building God's kingdom ... and you'll hear- A lot of you really wanna fuck Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid ... and you'll hear me, Kevin Allison, on the show where people tell true stories they never thought they'd dare to share.
Speaker 30:21
Ever feel like car shopping is designed to make you second-guess yourself? Is this a good price? Am I making the right choice? I've been there. You start scrolling listings, and pretty soon you're buried in tabs, comparing numbers, trying to figure out what's real and what's not. That's why I like CarGurus. Everything you need is right there: deal ratings, price history, dealer reviews, so you're not guessing, you're actually making an informed decision. It's no wonder CarGurus is the number one rated car shopping app in Canada on the Apple app and Google Play Store. They've got hundreds of thousands of cars from top-rated dealers, and the app is incredibly easy to use. You can even set up alerts for price drops and new listings so the deals come to you. And when you're ready, CarGurus connects you with trusted dealerships, making the whole process smooth and transparent. Buy your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.ca. Go to cargurus.ca to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That's C-A-R-G-U-R-U-S dot C-A, cargurus.ca.
Ashley Johnson1:26
What happens when two people who grew up in a very strange