The First Time is a regular storytelling and reading series benefiting CHIRP Radio. Each reader tells a personal story based on that month’s theme, and requests a song that’s played by our band, The First Time Three.

First Time First Deal - Chris Meister

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Christopher Meister is a CHIRP DJ, actor, writer, improvisor, former slam poet, and maker of fine jellies, jams, and chutneys. Recently, Chris was last seen in the New Stages production of Mother Road at the Goodman. On TV, you may have seen Chris portraying various cops, drunks, or Dads on such shows as Chicago Fire, Sirens, Chicago PD, The Chicago Code, really anything with a Chicago in the title. He may also be seen endorsing products he never actually uses. Chris also is an award winning filmmaker with films playing in Sundance, SXSW, Hamptons International film festivals among others. Chris has been the host of "The Riff Hypnotic" on CHIRPradio.org for a little over three years. He believes his best job ever was getting pigs drunk for science.

podcast produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Deal - Arish Singh

The comedy of Arish Singh, with its unique fusion of absurdist humor and political commentary, has been praised by many and described by many more as “totally not my thing.”

Singh has performed with Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show), Kamau W. Bell (Totally Biased), Barry Rothbart and Chris Thayer. He is the comedy coordinator for the Witching Hour arts festival in Iowa City, and co-produces Chicago’s Solid (Hil)arity, a storytelling and comedy show that fundraises for activist groups and labor unions.

Podcast produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Deal - Jenn Gibbons

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Jenn Gibbons - Jenn Gibbons is a rower, cyclist and coach who likes starboard side, handstands, running marathons, eating hot wings (not at the same time) and kicking cancer’s butt–one rower at a time.  She is also the founder and Executive Director of Recovery on Water (ROW) a rowing team for patients and survivors of breast cancer. In the summer of 2012, Jenn rowed the 1,500 mile perimeter of Lake Michigan raising over $150,000 to buy boats and equipment for ROW. She’s been featured Fitness Magazine, Marie Claire Magazine, Make It Better Magazine, Gapers Block, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, WGN,WCIU, Chicago Public Radio, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times and covered in media outlets across the country via the Associated Press.

Podcast produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Deal - David Franklin

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David is a law professor at DePaul and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  He makes regular appearances on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.  While studying at Yale, he was invited to perform with its improv group, the Purple Crayon. He once shook the late Vaclav Havel by one hand while the late Strom Thurmond shook him by the other. They were not late at the time.  Sometimes he runs into short celebrities (Jackie Mason, Julianne Moore, Jon Stewart) or very tall ones (entire professional basketball teams), but has very little experience running into medium-sized celebrities. He has been known to stare into the middle distance.

Podcast produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Blood - Jenna Chapman

Jenna Chapman is Co-Director of CHIRP's Annual Record Fair and erstwhile Creative Writing 101 student. Born in the UK, she grew up in the western Chicago suburbs, went to college in Minnesota, and came back to the city proper for grad school. When she was seven, she memorized the spelling of antidisestablishmentarianism from the dictionary to impress her friends, and has steadily been building an improved understanding of social dynamics ever since. Published works include numerous editions of origami-ed M*A*S*H notes, a series of escalatingly PG-13 jump rope rhymes, and three chapters of a very elaborate Twin Peaks/X-Files/Stargate SG-1 crossover fan fiction. She now lives in Andersonville with her roommate, two laptops, and an ever-expanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel collection.

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