The Third Story podcast features long-form interviews with musicians and members of the creative class, hosted by me, Leo Sidran.
Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, improvisation, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.
Most recent episode: Ben Wikler
Leo Sidran (photo by Tom Warburton)
A conversation with Ben Sidran, from Greece on America's 250th birthday, about jazz, democracy, identity, and what remains when the scaffolding begins to shake.
Before The Irish Goodbye became one of the most acclaimed debut novels of 2025, Heather Aimee O'Neill spent years quietly writing it while building a career helping other writers tell their stories. Here she discusses the vulnerability of ambition, the challenge of living an authentic life, and the strange transition from observer to protagonist.
Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin on mentorship, perseverance, and the making of her new album, We Dream.
Ben Wikler, author of This Is the Plan, on humor, organizing, civic life, and the Wisconsin values that shaped his approach to democracy. A thoughtful discussion of community, political communication, and why, as Wikler says, "democracy is exhausting until you discover solidarity."