Believable Podcast, Episode 3: The Dare

Mike is an aspiring writer feeling lost and confused, when his therapist makes a shocking proposition.

Illustration by Zoe van Dijk

In episode 3 of Narratively's debut podcast, Believable, we profile Narratively's very own Mike Stahl, a longtime writer and editor of ours. Mike tells us about the time he had just left his tenure-track teaching job in New York to follow his dream of becoming a writer. But, as many aspiring scribes can attest, breaking into the freelance business can be brutal. And the perceived failure started weighing on Mike, bringing back an avalanche of self-confidence issues he'd battled his whole life. So he went to a therapist. He had no clue what was coming. Believable is a podcast that explores how our stories define who we are. In each episode, we dive into a personal, eye-opening story where narratives conflict, and different perspectives about the truth collide. Listen to Believable below or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can find the transcript for this episode here.