Brutal Authority

RISK!

Personal Journals, Arts, Society & Culture, Comedy, Performing Arts

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Guest-host Taj Easton is in the chair this week, presenting these two stories on the long shadow of patriarchy with a particular attentiveness, repeatedly asking the same leading question: Are straight men okay? Cassidy Krug arrives at Stanford a diver of moderate ambition, then spends nine years being screamed at by a coach whose legendarily ruthless style drives her to the Olympics. Fifteen years after retiring, she still isn't sure whether what got her there was abuse, or maybe exactly what she needed. (Content note: domestic violence) Thomas Brazzle grows up desperate for his ex-Marine father's approval, but the man abandons his family after Thomas intervenes on his mother's behalf during a vicious assault by his father. Thirty years later, at his mother's funeral, his father reappears, and Thomas is stunned to find he's still desperate for the approval of a man who brutalized his mother, abandoned them all, and is now a stranger to him. Leave your reactions and find episode details and music credits at risk-show.com/podcast/brutal-authority Be Part of RISK! 🎟 See RISK! live⁠ in New York City on June 9, 2026 ✍️ Pitch your story⁠ ❤️ Support us on Patreon⁠ 💵 Make a one-time donation⁠⁠ via PayPal or Zelle to kevin@risk-show.com 📚 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

Transcript

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0:00.0	On this week's episode of Risk, you'll hear Cassidy Kroog.
0:04.7	Why are you even here?
0:06.1	And you'll hear Thomas Brazel.
0:08.4	Call 911, baby.
0:09.9	Call 911.
0:11.0	On the show where people tell true stories they never thought they dare to share. Hey, everybody, this is risk.
0:31.6	The show where people tell true stories they never thought they dare to share.
0:38.9	I'm Taj Easton, and I'm sitting in this week for Kevin.
0:42.5	This episode is called fucking brutal authority.
0:46.6	It's just called brutal authority, but I wanted to get the energy in there.
0:50.6	It's about brutal fucking man shit, okay?
0:54.5	It's gonna fuck you up
0:55.9	if you're not ready to hear about
0:57.5	man stuff. It's
0:59.8	men being men, you know? We're flawed,
1:02.1	we're complicated, we're fucked up.
1:04.6	God damn it. Get off
1:06.1	our back already. I'm just
1:08.0	kidding. It's the full
1:10.0	range. Really, we're just fucking scared. But also beautiful.
1:14.7	I love men. Kevin loves men so much that he only wants to sleep with men and live with men.
1:22.1	Is that misogynist? I don't think so. It's just the way that he was born and how much he likes guys' butts.
	...

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