Steeped in Storytelling

Come for the tea shop vibes. Stay for the laughs, tears and deep thoughts. Today I’m sipping wildflower tea and wrapping up the season by talking about endings. 
The endings I crave in stories, full of reflection and integration, that give me space to digest. 
The endings I didn’t expect. Like this season. Although, I didn’t know what to expect this season. And it certainly didn’t turn out as I expected it, whatever that was. 
The endings we’re handed, and the endings we write on our own terms. 
This podcast has been an adventure: a journey without a set destination. This episode felt like a moment to look at myself, look back, look at the present, and share what I’ve learned on this audible adventure. 
Thank you for spending time with me. Cups up & cheers! 
Show Notes
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 15 “To adventures, endings & new stories.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 10 November 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

I’m sipping coffee with oat milk and pumpkin spice today. (Shoutout to Diaspora and their pumpkin spice blend, www.diasporaco.com.) And looking up at the stars. Here in the northern hemisphere it’s getter darker more, and I gaze upward. And think about microwaves. Because science fiction. 
Kitchen rhumbas. Pop-out appliances. I get distracted talking about sci-fi B movies. And Star Trek Strange New Worlds and the Monk and Robot books by Becky Chambers. And to naysayers of cozy sci-fi? I think you’re just jealous. (Laughter) I think you’re just jealous that you can’t sit in a tea shop with a cup of something, with a good friend, and just have a conversation about anything that comes into your head… 
There are people out there that will want to wreck your peace… All they know is pain and heartache and hard times and disruption and chaos, and so that’s all they know how to create… They don’t have other options. And one thing that I think is so beautiful about the stories we tell as humans is that we can tell stories that give people new options.  
I talk about all the things science fiction is or could be. I muse its connections to magic and alchemy, change, growth, communities. I wish upon that star that everyone finds their hearth fires.  
Come for the tea shop vibes. Stay for the laughs and the deep thoughts. Thanks for spending time with me. 
Safety note 
Do not put metal in microwaves. It sparks, catches fire, and/or explodes. Instead, watch videos of other people doing it, either unknowingly or taking stupid risks. It’ll save you a lot of time and money. 
Show Notes
If you’re interested in the sci-fi meditations I mentioned check out my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@DeLongVoiceover/.  
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 14 “The sci-fi stories we steep in.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 3 November 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

My first memory of a horror story involves a mormon church basement haunted house and a disassembled teenage boy on an old, old, old kitchen stove. (Heads up–there will be dark humor!)  
As a kid you don’t differentiate between what’s “real” and what’s “pretend.” There’s so much overlap. It’s only as we mature into adulthood that we start–at least consciously–to separate the two.  
I joke about the horror we give children (often just veiled in cuteness) and the stories we steep in from childhood. Micro narratives, macro narratives, our memories, and horror are all expressions of being human. 
Rated ‘E’ because I cuss.
Show Notes
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 13 “My first horror” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 27 October 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

It’s horror season, and today I’m talking about “The Woman in Red.” Archetype, stories and symbolism. Humans, being the magical-thinking, superstitious beings that we are… There’s women in red through history. I love looking back through history for all the transgressors. There’s really difficult stories. We continue to see this in modern events; we see whole groups of men who gang up on the singular woman… And then they put the scarlet letter on her. They put shame. There’s connections between Halloween and horror and Valentine’s Day and romance.
I also talk about flipping the script and reclamation narratives. What happens if women are writing these stories about women wearing red? …  As we take these stories from the past that have to do with red, and we project them into the future, we are the alchemists. I also share red things I wear (when I spill lol): my favorite red fruits and vegetables. 
It’s another meandering chat in a cozy tea shop with a deep, weird voice actor. Welcome. Come take a seat at the table. 
Today’s Notes: 
There’s mention of some very heavy topics today. I discuss men harming women. I discuss menstruation. Please take care of yourself.
The black variety of tomato I mentioned is the Indigo Rose. Gorgeous. (There’s also the Black Krim, Black Cherry, Black Beauty, Cherokee Chocolate, Purple Calabash, Black Prince, Black Sea Man…)  
I didn’t mention the REDress Project, started in 2010 by Métis artist Jaime Black, but go look it up. Beautiful necessary justice-seeking for indigenous women and girls.
Rated ‘E’ because I cuss. And heavy topics today.
Show Notes
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 12 “Horror and women in red” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 20 October 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

Grass tea. Anger. “Nice girl.” Art as exorcism. Speakeasies. Pattern recognition. Physics homework. Shadow work. Dirt versus Tea. Caves. The 90’s. Dr Kathleen Martinez Berry and Cleopatra’s tomb. Survival instincts. Zombies. 
What on earth are we talking about at our cozy tea shop table? 
This crazy world, of course. And all the stories that are hidden or buried (by choice or compulsion) for survival. Aaand the resurgence of personal and cultural stories when the danger passes. There are multiple right answers. And there can be beautiful, adventurous things that come from uncovering. 
Shout out to my October YouTube channel “exorcisms” @DeLongVoiceover. 
Rated ‘E’ because I cuss ;). 
Show Notes
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 11 “Who taught us to fear zombies?” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 13 October 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

This October started off with me standing in my cozy kitchen thinking ridiculous, dark, tender thoughts about chicken shit. Well, chicken shit on green and speckled fresh eggs. (Whole side conversation about “chicken nest glory.”) Said eggs went into a soufflé to feed my offspring. It’s all kinds of dark, weird cycles as we sip our sweet and salty lattes and muse what it means to be human. Lots of laughs, too. What else can you do with the absurdity sometimes but laugh?  
Rated 'E' because I cuss ;). 
 
Show Notes
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 10 “Octobers & eggs (nest to fridge).” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 6 October 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

Tea. Brains. Nervous systems. Tossing out scripts. Join me at my cozy tea (and coffee) shop table with whatever you’re sipping. 
We live as humans with nervous systems that layer binary functions: stillness and movement, conscious and subconscious, unknown and known. “We need things that are new and existing and spark interest or curiosity. And we need the things that are routine, familiar, mundane, ordinary, repetitive. We are creatures of all the Yes-Ands.”
We are biologically unique beings navigating layers of systems, both inside and outside of us. But what happens when we realize just how saturated we are in streamlined, standardized stories? In rehearsed lines and scripted interactions? “It can just result in this way of engaging with the world that is incredibly rehearsed, that can feel empty and superficial, because everyone is just playing by the script.” I share a bit about my childhood, my uncle Dick, my mainstream Mormon upbringing, and how those experiences impacted my perspective. 
I’ve been in an in-between space as a human and an actor lately, and I don’t have answers. But I’m musing on self-agency, exploration, improv and being open to what’s new. 
 
Show Notes
If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating and review, or share the link with a friend.
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 9 “We’re beings with unscripted lives.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 29 September 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

I’m back in a tea & coffee shop corner, talking about autumn liminality and comfort pockets. 
It’s giving cozy. It’s giving whimsy. It’s giving engaging in rebellion against inherited phrases like ‘don’t get comfortable’ (ew). 
“I am damn well gonna get comfortable.”
We are creating pockets of joy, and I have 13 ideas for mundane rituals that open, close, or reset with movement, intention, and presence. From sipping to touching to cackling to thanking, we’re exploring a range of simple moments. “Mother Earth has a gratitude kink. Don’t we all? We all take after our Mother.” 
Grab a cup! Join me at my table. 
Rated E cuz I cuss ;-). 
 
Show Notes
If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating and review, or share the link with a friend.
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 8 “13 autumn sensory rituals.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 22 September 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

September is the perfect time for listening to old stories, sequels or remakes. Today in our cozy tea & coffee shop, we’re talking about stories lost and re-found, uncovered and up-cycled. And one particular family recipe… 
My in-laws were in town last week for a family funeral (fuck cancer). And we made a favorite dish together: a rolled pasta soup. The written recipe has been passed down for five generations. Kind of like an antique. They’ve always insisted it represented their heritage, but I’ve had unanswered questions. 
A year ago, the previous time we made this dish together, my mother-in-law shared something new. What?! Great-grandma went to culinary school!? That detail, modern tech (*waggles fingers* time to utilize my 2-year programming side-quest) and some gastronomical historical analysis unlocked the recipe’s origin story.   
We can care deeply about the past while making it work for the present. Antiques are gorgeous but they can border on relics. I’d rather have everyday heirlooms. 
Spot my “authoritative executive chef” voice in this episode!  
 
Show Notes
If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating and review, or share the link with a friend.
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 7 “Uncovered food and family stories.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 15 September 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay 

So there’s this local tea & coffee shop where a weird reflective voice actor tends to hang out. Grab a cup! Everyone's welcome at this table. 
Today we’re talking bodies and connection. “You know your body best. I trust your body.” How do we find ways to choose, change, and create environments where we want to steep? We are the authorities of our own bodies! That includes anatomy (sound, air, vibration, breath) and giving ourselves grace on low-capacity days (especially when we’re the household cook). 
Sarah also talks you through their/her physicality process while voicing characters:
Alien
Doll
Henchwoman 
Mom you love to hate
Muppet
Meditation guide
Girl who loves ponies 
Additional stuff:
Breath exercise options ~ in • out | in • out • pause | in • pause • out | in • pause • out • pause
Song mention ~ “Unbecome” I am the Imperatrix
Roz in Monsters Inc was voiced by Bob Peterson
The 8 senses (because even though I let the memory lapse go I HAD to go look it up later) ~ visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), proprioception, interoception, vestibular 
My episodes tend to be rated E because I cuss ;-)
Show Notes
If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating and review, or share the link with a friend.
Steeped in Storytelling, Season 2, Episode 6 “We're bodies steeping in stories.” Hosted and Produced by DeLong Voiceover. Released 8 September 2026 via Podbean.
Sound Credits
Sound effects by freesound_community from Pixabay
Music by folk_acoustic from Pixabay