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Ariel Van Cleave is the Managing Director of Audio at Chicago Public Media. She also founded and runs her own non profit called HostCon. She has experience as a reporter, producer, host and editor. Ariel had her first brush with public radio while working at WCBU as a student at Bradley University. Since then she’s reported or edited stories on just about everything, including the Illinois statehouse, education issues, Alaska fisheries, tribes in western Washington and the history of soap operas. - The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Hillary Stone is a musician living in Chicago. She is the co-creator of “Pet Cemetery with a C: the Musical!,” and plays in local bands Otter Petter, Shrimp Forks, and Rosemary's Baby Carrots. Find her on Instagram at @thrillarytcat. - The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Dr. Faiz Jiwani is a primary care doctor and spoken word poet who enjoys finding new ways to witness how our lives are changed by our bodies (medicine) and how our bodies help carry out life (poetry). Alongside his medical work and teaching, he is also a committed medical advocate, delivering health education talks and carrying forward the spirit of patients’ stories into legislative advocacy. He has performed Spoken Word poetry at venues in New York City, Houston, and Lisbon, Portugal, and also recently performed at Chicago City Hall during Mayor Johnson's Navroz Celebration. - The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Jess DeBakey is an East Coast raised, Chicago based podcaster, marketer, and sometimes-comedian. She co-hosts Not For Everyone, a comedy-meets-self-help podcast about the things we all feel but rarely say out loud, and hosts Peaking, where she interviews women entrepreneurs about the low moments that sparked their best ideas. Trained in standup at The DC Improv and Chicago’s Lincoln Lodge, Jess brings sharp humor and candid perspective to every story she tells. - The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Eunji Kim is a comedian, actor and writer based in Chicago. She was a Senior Writer for Cards Against Humanity and can be seen performing stand-up all over the country (Laugh Factory, Zanies) and has opened up for national headliners like Fortune Feimster and Dave Attell. Her sold-out solo shows entitled, OUT OF CONTEXT and IN BAD TASTE, were part of Steppenwolf Theater's 2024 and 2022 LookOut Series. She was a 2017 Bob Curry Fellow at Second City and a featured performer in the Netflix Is A Joke Festival and the 2017 NBCUniversal Break Out Festival. Some of her on-screen credits include: Chicago Fire (NBC), Chicago Med (NBC), Work In Progress (Showtime) and Best In Dough (Hulu).  Eunji unsurprisingly, has a podcast with fellow Korean-American, Peter Kim called, 2 Kims 1 Pod. She is currently an Adjunct Faculty member in DePaul University’s Comedy Arts Program.   The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Kat Sachs is the co-managing editor of Cine-File Chicago and a columnist on moviegoing for the Chicago Reader.   The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

This week, Features contributor Bobby Evers speaks with Minneapolis-based singer, rapper, musician, and writer Dessa. They discuss her newest self-produced singles, the early days of the winter 2025 ICE invasion in Minnesota, her experiences collaborating with the Minnesota Orchestra, and her upcoming work on writing her first novel.  "Remember to react with a proportionate degree of surprise and indignity, and hopefully to step up and do something to help your neighbors and the people who are affected." - Dessa Editor's Note: this interview was recorded before the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota. Please check Dessa's Instagram account for her statements on the current situation in Minnesota and updates on her fundraising efforts for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. Produced by Jessi D. Photo Credit: Athel Rogers

Stand up comedian Audrey Jonas has been drawing audiences all over the Midwest since 2014. She has performed at clubs and festivals all over the country, participated in the Stand Up NBC 2018, and in 2016, she was a Finalist in the Stand Up Siam International Comedy Competition in Thailand. Audrey also teaches Fem Com, Chicago's only all-female stand up comedy class and the Wedding Toast Warm Up, where she teaches people how to write the perfect wedding toast.    The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Boston-raised, Chicago-braised drummer/singer/songwriter Gerald Dowd has been described as “the hardest working drummer in Chicago” (Richard Milne, WXRT), playing on over 100 albums, while averaging 150 live dates a year around the world. He has spent the last 30+ years playing drums for Grammy™-nominated artists Robbie Fulks and Justin Roberts, Nora O'Connor, Chris Mills, and has helmed the drum chair in the First Time Three™ since its inception. He's also played and/or recorded with Eddie Vedder, Mavis Staples, Rich Little, Norah Jones, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas (of Los Lobos), and A Prairie Home Companion, among many others. Over the last decade or so, he's released several albums of his original material to muted acclaim.  www.geralddowd.com The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

Amy is a writer, performer, director and arts educator. Her work has been published in The Coachella Review, Mulberry Literary and Hippocampus Magazine. Amy is a Ragdale alum and the 2nd runner up of the Daisy Pettles Women’s writing contest. She’s been seen onstage at Write Club Chicago, Louder Than a Mom, Tuesday Funk, the Stoop and Movie Club among others.  She currently co-hosts the Lady Live Lit show MissSpoken with Jasmine Davila on the last Monday of the month at Cole’s Bar. She is the founder of Mudlark Theater Company.   The First Time is a live lit and music series recorded at Martyrs’ in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each reader tells a true first tale, followed by a cover of the storyteller’s choosing, performed by our house band: The First Time Three. The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney.

This week, Features director Jessi D spoke with Jannese Espino, Christian Ovalle, Yeshi Regalado, and Zach Riedler of Chicago's own La Rosa Noir at Riot Fest in September 2025. La Rosa Noir was one of three up-and-coming local artists from the Little Village and North Lawndale neighborhoods selected to be added to the Riot Fest lineup by community submission. They discuss the emotional process from submission to acceptance to finally playing the stage at the festival, their self-made genre "midwest surf," and their cultural heritages shining through in their art.  "Being Hispanic, Latino, Latin American, Chicano - we're such a prideful people naturally. And I feel like it's always going to bleed through whatever we create." - Yeshi Regalado Produced by Jessi D. Photo Credit: Jessi D

Veronica I. Arreola is a professional feminist, women’s sports evangelist, retired 16” softball player, former soccer mom, and writer. She serves as the chair of the 24th district council, Chicago’s effort to bring community voices to public safety policy and police accountability. Veronica is also a children’s book author, her book “J is for Justice: An Activism Alphabet” was published in 2023. You can keep up on what she’s doing by subscribing to her newsletter Peace, Love, and.... Or find her on Bluesky and Instagram @veronicaeye.   The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney. Show recorded by Tony Baker.

Meg has been a fixture in the local Chicago art and music scene for the past 20 years, playing her first show at 16 years old at the iconic Fireside Bowl with her all-female punk band, The Groodies. After a failed attempt to make it "big" in Los Angeles after highschool graduation, she returned home band-less and heartbroken and decided to attend art school. After obtaining a BFA in graphic design, she began her career as a designer and is currently working as a Senior Art Director at an experiential ad agency. Outside of her "day job", she continues to play in the local rock/punk bands Bleach Party and Vang! In her spare time, she writes and illustrates short stories (nutmegsays.com), rough-houses with her cats Rick and Steve, and most recently has been dabbling with animation. You may also recognize her from the infamous "People of the CTA" website, where she was featured not once, but twice by strangers who posted candid photos of her on the internet. It's surely the hair, right? Right. IG: @bleachpartyband    The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney. Show recorded by Tony Baker.

Lucia’s clever, feminist perspective paired with a shameless storytelling style has made her a favorite comedian to audiences in Chicago and all over the country. She has opened for some of the biggest comics working today, including Dave Attell, Janeane Garofalo, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Langston Kerman among others. Lucia is a cast member of the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago, has contributed to The New Yorker, and is a cohost of the environmental history podcast What a Waste.   The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney. Show recorded by Tony Baker.

Liz Mason publishes zines with names like Caboose and Cul-de-sac. Her work has been in places like Punk Planet, The Zine Yearbook and the back of the toilet at her friends’ houses. She has worked at Quimby’s Bookstore since 2001 and is currently in the Master of Science in Library & Information Science program at Chicago State University. She once made an appearance on a reality show on NBC where executives called zines "pamphlets" like they were Marxist propaganda. Catch her on CHIRP Radio Wednesday mornings 6-9AM CT and find her on the internet @caboosezine and at LizMasonIsAwesome.com.   The First Time is hosted by Jenn Sodini. Executive producer is Bobby Evers. Assistant producer is Celina Dietzel. Podcast produced by Jim Mulvaney. Show recorded by Tony Baker.