
Advertise on podcast: Proud Stutter
Rating
4.9from
This podcast has
120 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Maya ChupkovExplicit
No
Date created
2021/10/01
Latest episode
2026/10/09
Average duration
38 min.
Release period
28 days
Description
A podcast about changing how we understand and talk about stuttering, one conversation at a time.
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Check latest episodes from Proud Stutter podcast
Alan Spent Years Outsmarting His Stutter. Now He’s a Speech Therapist
2026/10/09
In fifth grade, Alan Mendoza’s teacher quietly pulled him aside right before recess and told him there was a woman in the library who wanted to talk to him. He walked in, sat down, and she showed him pictures and a passage to read aloud. Alan figured out what was happening fast. He had spent years coming up with his own tricks to get through moments like this, and he used every one of them. When he was done, the woman sent him back to recess and he never saw her again. It was not until years later, after he became a speech pathologist himself, that he realized she had probably been screening him for a fluency disorder all along.
In this episode, Alan, a speech-language pathologist and person who stutters from Long Beach, California, shares what it was like growing up with a stutter that nobody around him really understood. He talks about the strategies he invented on his own as a kid, how a linguistics professor at UCLA pointed him toward speech pathology as a career, and how the pandemic became the moment he finally started accepting his stutter. He also shares what led him to start a stuttering advocacy club at Cal State Los Angeles, what it feels like to work with kids who stutter now that he is a school-based speech pathologist, and why he thinks the most important thing he can teach those kids is how to relax.
In this episode
Boston University Center for Stuttering Therapy Adult Stuttering Support GroupSupport Proud Stutter
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
This Model and Stuttering Advocate Auditioned for Victoria's Secret
2026/08/23
When Lisbeth Peguero was a little girl, her mom took her to speech therapy once. Inside the office, she did not stutter at all. The therapist told her mom she was fine and did not need help. Walking out, Lisbeth felt relieved. Not because she was actually fine, but because she did not want to be the girl who went to speech therapy. She did not want to disappoint her mom. That moment shaped how she felt about her stutter for years.
In this episode, Lisbeth, a model, paralegal, and stuttering advocate from Austin, Texas, talks about growing up with a stutter she tried to hide. She shares what it is like to walk into a casting room and have to say your name out loud when you stutter, and the night she got on stage at a mall in Houston, microphone in hand, to audition for Victoria's Secret in front of Ashley Graham. She also talks about starting a podcast, getting her Pilates certification, and the speech therapy that finally helped her stop trying to get rid of her stutter and start learning to accept it.
In this episode
Lisbeth's auditionLisbeth's podcastFollow Lisbeth on IG & TikTokSupport Proud Stutter
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Growing Up, Stuttering, and Finding Your Place
2026/07/26
Isaiah was in third grade when his teacher called on someone else while he was still in the middle of answering a question. He had the answer. He just stuttered getting it out. That was the moment he started wondering if his stutter made him less capable than everyone else.
In this episode, Isaiah Solomon, a 21-year-old political science student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, from Boston, Massachusetts, talks about what it has been like growing up with a stutter. He shares the eighth grade presentation that went terribly wrong, how acting in school plays was the one place he felt totally fluent, and what it was like starting college and meeting hundreds of new people on orientation day. He also talks about stuttering in French class, the internship he did with his state senator, and what he is thinking about as he heads into his senior year with a career in politics on his mind.
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The Story Behind The Stuttering Journal
2026/06/27
Bryan Matthews still remembers the moment everything changed — he was in ninth grade, giving an oral report in American history class, when classmates began mocking his stutter while his teacher just sat there and let it happen. From that day on, Bryan went "headlong into hiding," learning to pass as fluent and burying the truth of his stutter from nearly everyone in his life, including his own family.
In this episode, Bryan — director of training for the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, Local Union 625 in Charleston, West Virginia — opens up about growing up with an undiagnosed stutter in rural Appalachia, the three-hour drive he used to make to find community at a National Stuttering Association chapter, and the unlikely path that led him to a job built entirely around public speaking. He also shares the story behind his self-published Stuttering Journal, a tool born from years of silence that he now hopes can help others put their own experience into words.
Plus, a special clip from California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who shares his own stuttering story at an event with Proud Stutter, at the CA State Capitol.
In this episode
The Stuttering Journal (Amazon) Marshall University Speech & Language CenterCA Capitol Event with Speaker Rivas Press Release
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Breaking the Walls of a Stutter with Mutalaathem Founder Saad Al-Munajem
2026/05/26
As a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, Saad Al-Munajem learned how to build a wall around himself. After being laughed at while trying to read aloud in class, he spent years hiding his stutter — avoiding speaking, overthinking every interaction, and quietly carrying the fear of being heard. But what happens when someone decides to stop hiding?
In this episode of Proud Stutter, Saad shares the moments that slowly changed his relationship to his voice and led him to found Mutalaathem, a nonprofit creating community for Arabic-speaking people who stutter across the Middle East and North Africa. This is a conversation about fear, identity, disclosure, and the long process of tearing down the walls we build to protect ourselves.
In this episode
Article in Arab News
Proud Stutter (Short Film on YouTube)
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Healing, Advocacy, and Reclaiming Your Stutter
2026/05/15
In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Elizabeth Escobar, a person who stutters, substitute teacher, and advocate, about trauma, healing, and learning to reconnect with herself after years of silence and self-protection. Elizabeth reflects on growing up with a stutter, being bullied throughout school, and how therapy helped her begin processing memories and emotions that had long been buried. She shares how returning to her former schools as a substitute teacher became an unexpected turning point, allowing her to support students while also healing parts of her younger self.
The conversation explores the lasting emotional impact of stuttering, the importance of being seen beyond speech differences, and how community and advocacy can create space for transformation. Elizabeth also opens up about losing her mother, volunteering after a difficult period in her life, and eventually speaking before county council to advocate for adults who stutter.
Links and resources
Apr 8, 2026 - Council Public Hearing
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Stuttering, Comedy, and Embracing Uncomfortable Situations
2026/04/20
In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Joze Piranian, a comedian, speaker, and author, about growing up with a stutter and how early experiences shaped his relationship with speaking. Joze reflects on patterns of avoidance, the role of silence, and what it took to begin shifting how he showed up in the world. He shares how humor became part of that process, along with speech therapy and intentionally stepping into uncomfortable situations. The conversation explores the connection between stuttering and mental health, including anxiety and depression, and how internal and external pressures can influence both. Joze also talks about how his experiences have shaped his work and daily life, and what it has meant to build a career that brings him into constant interaction with others.
Links & Resources
Joze's website
Joze's book - STOP HOLDING BACK
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Episode Swap: Down To The Struts
2026/03/23
This week, we’re doing something a little different on Proud Stutter. We’ve partnered with the podcast Down to the Struts for an episode swap, sharing each other’s work as a way to support disabled creators and build deeper, intersectional connections across our communities.
In this episode, host Qudsiya Naqui sits down with Haben Girma, a human rights lawyer, author, and disability activist who is the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. They explore what it means to center access and how it can lead to “empowered interdependence,” a powerful framework for challenging ableist systems and reimagining how we support one another.
Episode page: https://www.downtothestruts.com/episodes/season-6-haben-girma
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The Story She Needed as a Kid: Jennifer Dickinson on Writing a Young Girl Who Stutters
2026/03/11
Maya talks with fiction writer and teacher Jennifer Dickinson about her new middle grade novel featuring a young girl who stutters. Jennifer shares how her own experiences growing up with a stutter shaped the story, including memories of bullying, lost friendships, and the loneliness she felt during middle school.
The conversation looks at how storytelling can transform difficult experiences into something meaningful. Jennifer reflects on how writing the book allowed her to revisit a painful time in her life and create a story where a young girl who stutters is supported by friends, teachers, and community. Maya and Jennifer also discuss the need for more representation of people who stutter in books, television, and film, and how visibility can help shift public understanding.
Jennifer also talks about discovering writing at a young age, working in theater, and building a career as a fiction writer and book coach. She shares how long it took to bring the book to life and why she stayed committed to the story. At the center of the episode is Jennifer’s hope that young readers who stutter will see themselves in the book and feel encouraged to take risks, express themselves creatively, and pursue what they love.
Links & Resources
March 17 SXSW event
You can add that MAGGIE'S BIG BREAK by Jennifer Dickinson will be released on April 30, 2026, and listeners can pre-order it now on Amazon or Bookshop.org.
Amazon: amazon.com/Maggies-Big-Break-Jennifer-Dickinson/dp/1949983234/Bookshop.org: bookshop.org/p/books/maggie-s-big-break-jennifer-dickinson/6c6924a4a5fe7305
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Anjali Hid Her Covert Stutter for Years. Then Acceptance Became a Spiritual Practice.
2026/02/07
Maya talks with Dr. Anjali Alimchandani about growing up as a covert stutterer and why stuttering was the hardest identity for her to accept. Anjali shares how she first became aware of her stutter through bullying, the loneliness of having no language or community around it, and how early experiences with speech therapy reinforced shame rather than support.
The conversation explores covert stuttering, passing, and the emotional and spiritual labor that often goes unseen. Maya and Anjali reflect on navigating stuttering alongside other identities, the pressure to accept oneself, and how healing often requires being witnessed in community. Together, they discuss belonging, enoughness, and the importance of creating spaces where people who stutter can show up as they are, without needing to perform fluency or prove their identity.
Links
Maya's SubstackParticipate in this stuttering research survey and get a gift card!Anjali's website
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
From Delhi to Data and Back to the Stutter That Shaped Him
2025/12/26
In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with tech entrepreneur Kanav Hasija about growing up with a severe stutter in India, being bullied in school, and how changing cities gave him the chance to redefine himself. Kanav shares how facing fear head on through quizzes, speeches, and leadership roles helped shift his relationship with speaking, and how stuttering later shaped the way he communicates as a founder. He walks through his journey from early engineering experiments to building healthcare and construction tech companies, and reflects on how stuttering pushed him to be more precise, patient, and resilient. The conversation also digs into how bullying can make you guarded while also fueling ambition, and how people who stutter often move between structure and creativity. Kanav closes by sharing his current project, a free, game based app designed to help kids who stutter through early intervention, better diagnostics, and accessible technology.
In this episode
Speech Quest
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
From The Vault: The Psychology Behind Our Responses To Stuttering
2025/11/07
Maya revisits a listener favorite featuring choir clinicians Benedict and Talia, a husband-and-wife team who share powerful lessons about communication and empathy. Talia offers three practical tips for being a better listener to someone who stutters, starting with her first insight: “Fear is first.” She explains that fear is our natural initial response to new situations, and recognizing that helps us create calmer, more compassionate conversations.
Listen to the full interview to hear Talia’s other two insights, and how she and Benedict model true partnership, humor, and presence in every interaction.
In this episode
Make a one-time or recurring donation here to help keep Proud Stutter goingExplore the recap of the film & art fundraiser sponsored by Proud Stutter-----
Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Matt Didisheim, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
This Playwright Who Stutters Found His Voice on the Page, and the Stage
2025/10/18
Maya sits down with Jerry Slaff, a playwright and and a writer who stutters, for a conversation about voice, craft, and the lifelong arc from fear to freedom. Jerry first reached out to Proud Stutter back in December 2021, writing, “once a stutterer, always a stutterer… if people don’t like my speech, that’s their problem.” We revisit that email and trace how age, practice, and community reshaped his relationship to speaking, onstage, at work, and in everyday life.
Jerry reflects on building a career that demanded communication, from press briefings, talkbacks, to cold reads, and how stuttering shows up differently across contexts (ease during prepared talkbacks vs. blocks in table reads). We explore his love of radio storytelling, the writers who formed his ear for dialogue, and his new creative chapters: a two-hander play set in 1950s America and a novel that includes a 12-year-old character who stutters. Along the way, we talk representation (what lands, what harms), allyship across disability communities, and the simple rule that guides him now: “Not caring is a great freedom.”
Mentioned
A recent documentary about Marlee Matlin that sparked a cross-disability allyship convoLies (Jerry's play)Film IG: @saintstephenfilm - following helps us show funders there’s a community behind the story.Event recap & donation links
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Matt Didisheim, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Ina Found Her Voice Across Three Languages. And Learned to Lean Into the Good Pain of Stuttering
2025/09/26
Maya sits down with Ina Lalich, a San Francisco–raised, multilingual woman who stutters, for a conversation about language, identity, and learning to take up space. Ina describes growing up between Serbian/Croatian and English (with a later detour through French), and how her fluency shifted across languages over time -- sometimes finding relief in Belgrade, later feeling the opposite. She talks about the “different mind” each language gives her, and how writing her college essay on stuttering helped her claim it as strength: creativity, precision, and deep empathy.
Now a user researcher at Quizlet who records herself for work, Ina shares what it’s like to interview strangers daily, rewind the tapes, and still choose presence over perfection. We hear candid stories --from a CEO mistaking a block for a bad internet connection to educating someone who mimicked her speech -- and the simple rule that guides her: if she stays calm, others learn to, too. The episode explores womanhood and stuttering, resisting infantilization, the “good pain vs. injury pain” metaphor she borrows from gymnastics, and a curiosity about ASL as another doorway into voice and belonging.
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🎟 Get tickets for a community art and film event sponsored by Proud Stutter on October 9 in San Francisco
Read about our latest film update here.
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Matt Didisheim, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Giving Stuttering the Mic in New Orleans: 20 Years After Katrina
2025/09/12
Filmmaker and stuttering ally Andy Phillips joins Maya to mark the 10-year anniversary of his short film WORDS, a story born from two loves: New Orleans and spoken-word poetry. Andy shares how a friend who stutters, late-night script pages in a dreaded Shakespeare class, and a chance connection to a Lower Ninth Ward community center shaped the film’s heartbeat. A tour with neighborhood elder “Mr. Robert,” the Katrina watermark still visible on walls, inspired the opening poem and grounded the story in place and resilience. Andy also talks about researching stuttering to avoid tired stereotypes and building an indie crew through tiny miracles that kept showing up, sometimes literally with a Steadicam. A decade later, WORDS still ripples through his life, even guiding his path into podcast producing.
You can watch WORDS here.
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🎟 Get tickets for a community art and film event sponsored by Proud Stutter on October 9 in San Francisco
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U.S.-based writer with a finished script/pilot/play featuring disabled characters? Apply to 1IN4 Writers by Oct 20, 2025 for mentorship, industry relationships, and a $20K unrestricted grant.
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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Matt Didisheim, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Jason Smith, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.
Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact
If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift here.
Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.
Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Podcast reviews
Read Proud Stutter podcast reviews
Grumpyhistory 2023/10/14
I’m a Stealth Stutterer
I had some teachers kind of sneak me into some random sessions with a speech therapist in elementary school, because I was in another program they did...
Dr. pepper12 2023/07/24
Amazing
This podcast is very informative and important today.I have never heard anyone talk about people who have trouble talking before. Really helps for peo...
✨the cool shoeshine✨ 2023/07/20
Keep it up!
It’s a great show and it is very inspiring to hear about all these people who are all proud of themselves and their stutters! I love all the episodes ...
UriSchneider 2022/05/15
Uri Schneider
Maya, your episodes shed new light on stuttering and lived experience. I have no doubt you will continue to open the ears and hearts of listeners one...
Okmom4 2022/03/25
So Important
Thank you for the time and care you put into producing this podcast! Not only is it an important resource for Persons Who Stutter, but also for those ...
smelted 2021/12/14
So important!
Thank you for sharing your story Maya! I’m excited to follow this podcast! I’m currently in school to become a speech-language pathologist, and it’s i...
debfit13 2021/12/07
Great!!
Wow!! I just want to say how blessed I am to have discovered your podcast. I am to a stutter. From growing up to being a collegiate I went through the...
levigoldman 2021/12/03
Such important conversations!!!!
Thanks so much for this project.
Jennli123 2021/10/06
Excited
Maya is such a sweet compassionate person and fierce advocate I’m excited to listen to this podcast. I didn’t know she had a stutter and as women we r...
KC363 2021/10/05
Excited!!!
Can’t wait. Need more discourse around this topic.
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Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
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4.79026375
Life is Short with Justin Long
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4.714126350
Bad Friends
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4.7129972
10 to Life
Annie Elise

4.76754464
Criminology
Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford

4.87525982
The Dr. John Delony Show
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4.512634670
RedHanded
RedHanded