Proud Stutter

Isaiah was in third grade when his teacher called on someone else while he was still in the middle of answering a question. He had the answer. He just stuttered getting it out. That was the moment he started wondering if his stutter made him less capable than everyone else.

In this episode, Isaiah Solomon, a 21-year-old political science student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, from Boston, Massachusetts, talks about wha...

Bryan Matthews still remembers the moment everything changed — he was in ninth grade, giving an oral report in American history class, when classmates began mocking his stutter while his teacher just sat there and let it happen. From that day on, Bryan went "headlong into hiding," learning to pass as fluent and burying the truth of his stutter from nearly everyone in his life, including his own family.

In this episode, Bryan &...

As a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, Saad Al-Munajem learned how to build a wall around himself. After being laughed at while trying to read aloud in class, he spent years hiding his stutter — avoiding speaking, overthinking every interaction, and quietly carrying the fear of being heard. But what happens when someone decides to stop hiding?

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Saad shares the moments that slowly changed his re...

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Elizabeth Escobar, a person who stutters, substitute teacher, and advocate, about trauma, healing, and learning to reconnect with herself after years of silence and self-protection. Elizabeth reflects on growing up with a stutter, being bullied throughout school, and how therapy helped her begin processing memories and emotions that had long been buried. She shares how returning to ...

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Joze Piranian, a comedian, speaker, and author, about growing up with a stutter and how early experiences shaped his relationship with speaking. Joze reflects on patterns of avoidance, the role of silence, and what it took to begin shifting how he showed up in the world. He shares how humor became part of that process, along with speech therapy and intentionally stepping into uncomf...

This week, we’re doing something a little different on Proud Stutter. We’ve partnered with the podcast Down to the Struts for an episode swap, sharing each other’s work as a way to support disabled creators and build deeper, intersectional connections across our communities.

In this episode, host Qudsiya Naqui sits down with Haben Girma, a human rights lawyer, author, and disability activist who is the first Deafbl...

Maya talks with fiction writer and teacher Jennifer Dickinson about her new middle grade novel featuring a young girl who stutters. Jennifer shares how her own experiences growing up with a stutter shaped the story, including memories of bullying, lost friendships, and the loneliness she felt during middle school.

The conversation looks at how storytelling can transform difficult experiences into something meaningful. Jennifer refle...

Maya talks with Dr. Anjali Alimchandani about growing up as a covert stutterer and why stuttering was the hardest identity for her to accept. Anjali shares how she first became aware of her stutter through bullying, the loneliness of having no language or community around it, and how early experiences with speech therapy reinforced shame rather than support.

The conversation explores covert stuttering, passing, and the emotional and...

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with tech entrepreneur Kanav Hasija about growing up with a severe stutter in India, being bullied in school, and how changing cities gave him the chance to redefine himself. Kanav shares how facing fear head on through quizzes, speeches, and leadership roles helped shift his relationship with speaking, and how stuttering later shaped the way he communicates as a founder. He walks throug...

Maya revisits a listener favorite featuring choir clinicians Benedict and Talia, a husband-and-wife team who share powerful lessons about communication and empathy. Talia offers three practical tips for being a better listener to someone who stutters, starting with her first insight: “Fear is first.” She explains that fear is our natural initial response to new situations, and recognizing that helps us create calmer, mo...

Maya sits down with Jerry Slaff, a playwright and and a writer who stutters, for a conversation about voice, craft, and the lifelong arc from fear to freedom. Jerry first reached out to Proud Stutter back in December 2021, writing, “once a stutterer, always a stutterer… if people don’t like my speech, that’s their problem.” We revisit that email and trace how age, practice, and community reshaped his ...

Maya sits down with Ina Lalich, a San Francisco–raised, multilingual woman who stutters, for a conversation about language, identity, and learning to take up space. Ina describes growing up between Serbian/Croatian and English (with a later detour through French), and how her fluency shifted across languages over time -- sometimes finding relief in Belgrade, later feeling the opposite. She talks about the “different min...

Filmmaker and stuttering ally Andy Phillips joins Maya to mark the 10-year anniversary of his short film WORDS, a story born from two loves: New Orleans and spoken-word poetry. Andy shares how a friend who stutters, late-night script pages in a dreaded Shakespeare class, and a chance connection to a Lower Ninth Ward community center shaped the film’s heartbeat. A tour with neighborhood elder “Mr. Robert,” the Katr...

Dr. Dillon Pruett has lived both sides of stuttering: the anxious kid rehearsing every word and the scientist searching DNA for answers. His groundbreaking research, recently published in Nature Genetics, uncovered 57 genetic hotspots tied to stuttering -- proof that our voices carry a biological story as complex as any human trait. In our conversation, Dillon shares how his personal journey shaped his path into research, what the ...

Maya sits down with Sam Gennuso, a Bay Area-based licensed psychotherapist and person who stutters, for a conversation about vulnerability, self-acceptance, and what it means to unmask. Sam shares her journey of growing up covert, discovering her stutter, and the early therapy experiences that shaped her understanding of fluency, shame, and identity.

Now a talk therapist, Sam talks about how stuttering has become one of her greatest...

This week on Proud Stutter, we’re joined by Justin McCullough, a longtime stutterer, technologist, and founder of the upcoming mental health platform, Eight Minute Chat.

Justin opens up about growing up with a stutter after a major shift in his family dynamic, how it impacted his high school and college experiences, and the quiet persistence that shaped his career in tech. From building his first software system at a community...

This week on Proud Stutter, we’re joined by Shamez Kasam, a lifelong stutterer based in Alberta, Canada, who shares his powerful journey from shame to self-acceptance—and what he calls “recovery.” Shamez talks about growing up with severe stuttering, the impact it had on his life, and how purposeful desensitization helped shift his mindset. We explore what it means to be a “recovered stutterer,” ...

This week on Proud Stutter, we’re joined by Louise Escher, a language teacher and person who stutters. In addition to loving to play the violin, she is the host of Did They Stutter?—a podcast exploring stuttering representation in film, TV, and literature. Louise shares her journey from covert stuttering to finding her voice, and how starting a podcast helped her challenge stigma and build community. We talk about the i...

This week on Proud Stutter, Maya is joined by Ismaele Tortella, a filmmaker and cinematographer based in the Norwegian Arctic whose upcoming documentary Arctic Blue explores his personal relationship with stuttering through nature and silence. In this powerful 100th episode, Ismaele and Maya talk about using art to process shame, navigating everyday challenges as covert stutterers, and how speaking openly about stuttering can light...