Meg Bowles
Appearances
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Meg Bowles, and I'll be your host this time. Expectations. We set them, manage them, and try to live up to them. Sometimes our expectations of what will happen next are spot on, and other times we miss the mark. All of the stories in this hour deal with the goals we set for ourselves and how we hope things might unfold. Our first story comes from Benji Waterhouse.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
Dr. Benji Waterhouse is an NHS psychiatrist and an award-winning comedian and author of the bestselling book, You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here. He's also a resident host of our open mic story slams in London, and not just because he lives five minutes away. You can find out more about Benji on our website, themoth.org.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
If you've ever been to a main stage event, you'll know that we bring people to the stage by sharing their answer to a question that we pose to all the storytellers. It's an icebreaker that introduces us to the teller as they make their way to the stage. So borrowing from that, when I asked Benji, when was a time your expectations did not meet up with reality?
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Meg Bowles. In this technological age, people have expectations of those in the spotlight, and social media platforms allow them to easily share their opinions. Everything people do and say is scrutinized, interpreted, and sometimes wielded like a baseball bat to make a point. But even those with the best intentions sometimes miss the mark.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
When I asked our next storyteller, Jamie McDonald, when was a time that your expectations did not meet up with reality, he said, being asked to be on the panel for the television show, have I got news for you. It was even more fun and nerve-wracking than I ever imagined.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
And just a note, we know that the social media platform that's referenced has had a name change, but it was Twitter when the events in the story took place. Live from London, here's Jamie McDonald's
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
He said, when I was working as a doctor for the National Health Service and realized it was nothing like the TV show Scrubs. Live from the Union Chapel in London, here's Benji Waterhouse.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
That was Jamie McDonald. The day after Jamie told this story in London, he got a call from the people at Have I Got News For You, asking him to be on the show again. He told me that, like before, they didn't change the format, and this time, there was no Twitter backlash. Recently, he took part in another popular television show in the UK called Celebrity MasterChef.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
And though he couldn't tell me the outcome when we spoke, he did assure me that he had all his fingers. In the bio he has on his website, he says he doesn't believe disabled people triumph over their adversities. They triumph with them and get to have some fun along the way. You can find out more about Jamie and all the storytellers you hear in this hour on our website, themoth.org.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Meg Bowles. The expectations we set for ourselves are often based on what we've seen or heard around us, our family's hopes and dreams, our successful friends, the people we see on Instagram or TV living glorious and happy lives. What happens when you manage to meet those expectations but then find they aren't the key to happiness you hoped?
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
When I asked our final storyteller, Salima Saxton, when was a time that your expectations did not meet up with reality, she said, usually when I improvise mealtimes. Here's Salima Saxton, live at the Moth.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
Selima Saxton is an actress, writer, and podcaster. She co-hosts the Women Are Mad podcast, where she interviews extraordinary women and finds out where and when anger has been a positive power in their lives. Selima says, my husband and the rest of my family continue to bloom and look back on this transformational moment as a gift. It truly was the beginning of us becoming ourselves.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
She's still working on not being a catastrophist and daring to believe that everything actually could work out. She says she now reminds herself to look for daily, unexpected moments of joy, even in the midst of the mundane. You can find out more about Salima and her podcast on our website, themoth.org.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Great Expectations
to pitch us your story you can go to our website and look for tell a story or you can call 877-799-MOTH that's 877-799-MOTH the best stories are developed for moth shows all around the world That's it for this episode of the Moth Radio Hour. We hope it met all your expectations.