Everything Is Stories

*This episode contains strong descriptions of sexual situations and abuse, listener discretion is advised. As a closeted gay teenager, lying was familiar to Mark Olmsted. Concealing parts of his identity was just part of the deal–and he was good at it. But when the AIDS crisis threatened his life and left him with little to lose, the lying would turn so grandiose that no one who knew him could quite believe it.  In our previous two episodes Mark Olmsted spoke on his upbringing and the complicated history with his brother–and how an unexpected transformation in their relationship would eventually lead to a life of debauchery, all culminating in a dramatic encounter with law enforcement. For our third and final part of the story, Mark describes the chaotic months he would spend being shuffled throughout the California detention system. As a gay inmate concerned for his safety, lying would initially become a means for survival as he struggled to gain footing in a tense environment. Eventually finding common g