『Born to Ramble Podcast』のカバーアート

Born to Ramble Podcast

Born to Ramble Podcast

著者： I'm here to ramble and make you laugh.
無料で聴く

【Amazonプライム会員限定】今ならプレミアムプランが4か月 月額99円。

10月19日まで。※適用条件あり
Born to Ramble is a storytelling podcast featuring stories by me, Nikki Settelmeyer, and by other writers I love. I write mostly creative fiction based on everything I see, do, and experience as a 45 year old creator, mommy, and corporate burnout embarking on a new chapter of embracing creativity and community over emails and corporate circle jerks. My favorite writers are Augusten Burroughs, Raymond Carver, Charles Bukowski, Judy Blume and Jenny Lawson.

borntoramble.substack.comNikki Settelmeyer アート エンターテインメント・舞台芸術 社会科学
エピソード
  • The Airplane Approach, Ron Popeil & Why You Should Start Writing RIGHT NOW

    The Airplane Approach, Ron Popeil & Why You Should Start Writing RIGHT NOW
    2026/09/30
    This week, Nikki takes a nostalgic trip back to the early 1990s, when late-night television meant infomercials: Ron Popeil was selling everything from food dehydrators to spray-on hair, and people were willing to spend hundreds of dollars on kitchen appliances they might use twice. Shipping and handling was not an issue, and you could still select “cash on delivery!”Then things get even weirder.Nikki shares the absolutely horrifying—and somehow hilarious—story of how her dad’s bestie used his Ronco food dehydrator for …welp, you’ll just have to listen and find out.Nikki has officially launched NikkiSettelmeyer.com and is opening enrollment for her six-week online creative writing class, Write NOW! designed for people who have always wanted to write but keep telling themselves they don’t have the time, consistency, confidence, or accountability to actually do it.And then comes this week’s story:✈️ “The Airplane Approach” by Aparna SangamNikki continues her reading of Aparna Sangam’s hilarious surreal fiction with “The Airplane Approach,” the second installment in the Shitshow Universe Trilogy.If you missed Part One, Everything We Left Behind, Oliver was a corporate employee who got laid off by his boss, Gary Vance, after a soul-crushing day at work. He eventually finds himself in a bizarre alternate universe featuring a purple sky, two moons, and a frog named Dennis wearing a tiny necktie.In Part Two, things get even stranger.Oliver encounters floating fences, talking mailboxes, a soup-and-sandwich counter, and—because apparently this universe has absolutely no respect for the laws of physics—a flying spoon that behaves like an airplane.He also meets Milo, who seems considerably less concerned about the flying silverware than Oliver is.And then Oliver learns about something called the 11½-minute rule.Naturally, Nikki has questions.✍️ The Bigger Story: Why Are You Still Waiting to Write?Beneath all the ridiculousness, this episode comes back to one of Nikki’s favorite subjects: writing.So many aspiring writers say the same thing:I don’t have time.I’m not consistent.I keep putting it off.I don’t know where to start.Nikki’s six-week creative writing class is designed to provide something many writers desperately need: community, accountability, encouragement, and dedicated time to actually write.The class begins October 16, 2026, meets for 90 minutes every Friday on Zoom, and is intentionally limited to 10 participants so writers can build a supportive, meaningful community.Because sometimes you don’t need another book about writing.You just need to sit down and write.🖊️ We’re Writing. When?Write NOW!If you’ve been saying you’re going to write someday, consider this your invitation to stop waiting for someday.Start the story.Write the essay.Begin the memoir.Finish the book.Tell the weird story you’ve been carrying around for 20 years.You never know what’s buried inside you until you start putting words on the page.🎧 LISTEN / WATCHBorn to Ramble is a humorous storytelling podcast about people, places, things, writing, memoir, midlife, motherhood, creativity, work, and all the weird little moments that become stories.New episodes weekly. Daily-ish shorts, because apparently Nikki has things to say.Subscribe, follow, listen, watch—and please tell your friends.✍️ CREATIVE WRITING CLASSNikki’s six-week online creative writing class begins October 16, 2026.* Six weeks* 90-minute Zoom sessions* Every Friday* Small group of 10 writers* Community + accountability* Designed for people who want to actually make time to writeWe’re writing. When? Write NOW!Visit NikkiSettelmeyer.com for class information and registration.📚 ABOUT THE STORY“The Airplane Approach”Part Two of the Shitshow Universe TrilogyWritten by Aparna SangamPublished through Kramm Session / Justin Kramm’s SubstackBe sure to read or listen to Part One, “Everything We Left Behind,” before diving into this installment. Get full access to Born to Ramble at borntoramble.substack.com/subscribe
    続きを読む 一部表示
    21 分
  • Existential Dread, Sobriety, and the Next Right Thing

    Existential Dread, Sobriety, and the Next Right Thing
    2026/09/23
    Existential Dread, Sobriety, and the Next Right ThingIt’s late September, it’s 100 degrees, my four-year-old is playing T-ball, and my brain has decided this is the perfect time to contemplate death by artificial intelligence, sobriety, money, motherhood, and the meaning of life. All at once. Last week, I went back to Arizona to visit my 82-year-old aunt and some friends. While I was there, I made the brilliant decision to go hiking alone at 1 p.m. in 97-degree heat.My phone overheated and died. I was alone. I was a mile from the road. And suddenly all those warnings I had spent years dismissing started sounding considerably less ridiculous.Then I came home and started reading about the possibility that increasingly powerful AI could pose an existential threat to humanity.But underneath all of that fear was something more familiar: my brain doing what it does when I let it run too far ahead.That’s why I went to a meeting.I’ve been sober for 23 years, and I still go to meetings because sobriety isn't just about not drinking. It’s about learning what to do with your own mind. Sometimes the most important lesson is simply to stop trying to solve the next five years and figure out what the next right thing is.In this episode, I read “Three Years Later” by Brian Smith, a personal essay about waking up in the woods after a devastating period of alcohol addiction, hospitalization, detox, mental-health treatment, outpatient rehab, and the long process of rebuilding a life.Brian's story reminded me that recovery doesn't really have an ending. Just like I talked about last week, we’re all just iterating. You just have to keep moving forward.One day at a time. One week at a time. One story at a time.In this episodeA terrifying solo hike in the Arizona heatWhat happens when your phone dies in the middle of nowhereExistential dread and catastrophic thinkingMotherhood and realizing how much you have to live for23 years of sobrietyWhy I still go to recovery meetingsThe difference between surviving and actually livingBrian Smith's “Three Years Later”Addiction, detox, hospitalization, and outpatient treatmentRebuilding trust after addictionWhy structure can save youWriting as a way to untangle your thoughtsThe power of doing the next right thingWhat recovery looks like at one day, one month, one year, and beyond.About Brian Smith's storyBrian Smith writes Between Detox and Daylight, where he documents his recovery journey and what happens after the crisis is over.His essay “Three Years Later” takes us back to the woods where his story began—and then walks through the hospital, detox, mental-health treatment, rehab, meetings, work, and the first fragile months of rebuilding his life.I’m grateful he shared it.The takeawayYou don't have to solve everything today.You don't have to know what the next three years look like.Sometimes you just need to breathe, count to 500, go to the meeting, hug your kid, write the thing down, and do the next right thing.That's enough.Follow Born to RambleNew episodes, personal essays, stories from Substack writers, writing inspiration, sobriety, motherhood, creativity, and whatever else I can't stop thinking about.Subscribe, follow, and come ramble with me.And if you’re feeling tres generous! Buy me a coffee or check out my creative writing inspiration packs! Get full access to Born to Ramble at borntoramble.substack.com/subscribe
    続きを読む 一部表示
    35 分
  • I’m not “failing fast,” I’m iterating. And “The World’s First Invisible Battery-Powered Car” by ScaryLarryPants

    I’m not “failing fast,” I’m iterating. And “The World’s First Invisible Battery-Powered Car” by ScaryLarryPants
    2026/09/16

    🎙️ Born to Ramble

    Buy me a coffee!

    I’m just iterating: All the things we call “finding ourselves.”

    Sometimes a life reset isn't a failure. It's just another iteration.

    In this episode of Born to Ramble, Nikki talks about the surprisingly useful concept of iteration—a word borrowed from her years working in software development—and how it applies to real life, career changes, creativity, writing, and figuring out what the hell you're doing next.

    In my period of self-discovery and mid-life pivot, I have tried so many things, but not everything has stuck. I keep hearing people say “fail fast,” but honestly I don’t see them as failures! They can’t all be winners! This leads me to my IDEA of the day: iterations: small versions of a bigger life that is still being built.

    Now, onto this week’s short story:

    “The World's First Invisible Battery-Powered Car” by Substack writer ScaryLarryPants, from The Comedy Corner in the Round Room of Substack. The story involves Burning Man, an invisible electric car, a billionaire inventor, questionable technology, and approximately zero responsible product testing.

    In other words: it's perfect.

    I’m so excited about reading other writers' work on the podcast, building relationships within the Substack writing community, and creating an audience around my own writing.

    The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman.

    In this episode:

    Why “iteration” might be a better way to think about starting over

    What losing a job can teach you about reinvention

    Building a creative career one experiment at a time

    Why not everything you try has to work

    The importance of building an audience before pitching a book

    Reading and supporting other writers on Substack

    “The World's First Invisible Battery-Powered Car”

    Burning Man, invisible technology, and spectacularly bad product launches

    Why Nikki loves weird, funny, believable-but-not-actually-true stories

    A recommendation for The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

    If you're in the middle of a career change, mid-life reset, creative reinvention, or just wondering why you haven't “figured it out” yet, this one's for you.

    you're not failing! You might just be in your XP era 🙂

    Or maybe you're just on version 7.

    Wanna buy me a coffee? Pretty please?



    Get full access to Born to Ramble at borntoramble.substack.com/subscribe
    続きを読む 一部表示
    19 分
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
まだレビューはありません