State of the Human

What would you do for the sake of a story? In this live story, recorded at the 2024 Senior Story Slam, Alina Wilson shares the story that spawned this series on Nakedness for State of the Human.

Growing up with Indian immigrant parents in a Wyoming college town, Aru was used to the tension of what her parents expected her to be and the person she was actually becoming. In this story, recorded at First Person Story in April of 2024, Aru takes the risk of emotional nakedness with her mom–even though it may leave her feeling exposed. www.firstpersonstory.org www.storytelling.Stanford.edu

Being naked–or seeing others naked–can evoke a firestorm of emotions . . . everything from freedom to vulnerability to sensuality to shame. In three stories pulled from the Storytelling Project archives (created in 2012) we explore the glory and grit of stripping down.

Destiny Cunningham learned shame early. The comments that teachers, church leaders, and other kids made about her body led her to wear clothes like armor, hiding herself from others so she wouldn't be noticed. Years later, Destiny and her friends decide to visit a nudist retreat in the hopes that she'll learn how to become naked without feeling exposed.

“Back to the Garden” tells the story of an organic farming couple, Jose and Rich, who are committed to sustaining the environment . . . and who don't believe in climate change. This episode explores how that dissonance might be possible, the power of language, and whether or not the term "climate change" will help save the planet. Produced by Anna McNulty, Shameeka Wilson, and Laura Joyce Davis.

Max Du was so obsessed with whales that his childhood friends called him Orca Boy. But when a SeaWorld trainer named Dawn was killed by an orca, his love for whales turned to shame…until he met Dawn’s best friend, a whale trainer named Lyndsey. She leads him back to SeaWorld on a journey of reclaiming the Orca Boy that he thought was gone. This story was produced by Max Du and Carolyn Stein with support from Laura Joyce Davis and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Max Du is an incoming computer science Ph.D. student and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University. By night, he is a writer interested in immigrant experiences and the human-animal relationship. In addition to working on pieces for the Storytelling Project, he is currently doing fieldwork for a non-fiction book that features the oral histories of whale & dolphin trainers. When he’s not wrangling robots or making friends with whale trainers, Max also enjoys improvising on the piano and listening to Jimmy Buffet.

When Anastasia Sotiropoulos joined the Stanford chapter of the Prison Renaissance Project, she got paired up with a man named Adamu Chan, who had been incarcerated at San Quentin prison for two decades. Their relationship began a few weeks before the pandemic, and the first time they talked San Quentin was the site of one of the largest COVID outbreaks in the nation. Over the next three years, Anastasia and Adamu exchanged dozens of letters, had weekly phone calls, and dreamed of creating a film together. Neither of them could have imagined where that friendship would lead them: not just to Adamu’s release from San Quentin, but his admission to Stanford as a CCSRE Mellon Arts Fellow. Today Adamu is an award-winning filmmaker and community organizer. Adamu and Anastasia have continued their friendship, and together created the 2024 podcast episode, Friends in Liminal Spaces, through the Stanford Storytelling Project’s Braden Storytelling Grant.

Carolyn Stein grew up with music like Avril Lavigne and The Marianas Trench – classic, trashy pop punk. But she never considered herself much of a punk rocker, until she took a little trip to the East Bay to a tiny venue called 924 Gilman Street. But soon after Carolyn discovers this venue, she learns that it may be at risk of closing. What will be lost if this venue closes? Welcome to Paradise was produced by Carolyn Stein, Ana De Almeida Amaral, and Max Du, with support from Laura Joyce Davis and the Stanford Storytelling Project.

Whether you have a tattoo or not, we are all familiar with the stigmas that are commonly held against tattoos. Where does this aversion come from? What do these taboos say about history? What do they say about us? In this story, Keoni Rodriguez shares how his tattoos helped him reclaim his indigenous Hawaiian heritage, connect with his ancestors, and begin to heal a history of colonialism and erasure. Tattoos and Taboos was produced by Ana De Almeida Amaral, Natasha Charfauros, Mikayla An-Yee Chen, & Chloe Gabrielle Mendoza, with support from Laura Joyce Davis and the Stanford Storytelling Project. A special thank you to Keoni Rodriguez for sharing his story with us

Alina Wilson and Alex Strong sit down with Kaitlyn Auth and Charlie Darracott for a story craft conversation about the story behind creating Keep Stanford Wrestling.

In the spring of 2020, Stanford University made the decision to cut 11 of their varsity teams due to financial issues and lack of success. This episode follows the men’s wrestling team and their coaches in the months following the decision to cut their team as they navigate the challenges of fighting for their spot back.

As an added bonus to our Reclaiming series, we’re including conversations with the creators who made them to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of audio storytelling. In this episode, Alex Strong talks with Aru Nair, the creator of Journey Through Generations, the second story in our Reclaiming series.

In this episode, the 2nd in our Reclaiming What's Been Lost series, Aru Nair goes on a journey to India to understand how oral tradition preserves cultures. But when a surprise trip to her father's home town shows her a side if him she's never seen, she emerges with a new understanding of how the stories we tell shape the people we become.

Little Tokyo is a small neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles. Since 1905, it has been home to generations of Japanese Americans. Today, gentrification is threatening to destroy everything these families have built. This episode tells the story of one community's struggle for survival and the ways in which historical development has both fractured and solidified its people. For some, home is a bed one sleeps in. For us, home is Little Tokyo.

Come on a journey to understand our fascination with sea monsters and what they inspire in humans. In particular, hear about the Icelandic Lagarfljótsormur, the water monster that sparked a 13 person commission of the Icelandic government to investigate its existence.

Eating is one of life’s great pleasures, but what about the pleasures that come with sharing your food with others? In this episode, we’re looking at how the act of feeding can bring people together. We’ll hear the tale of an unlikely pet, a meditation on cannibalism, and a story about children on a rooftop garden in San Francisco.

Our second story takes us to one of San Francisco's toughest neighborhoods, to look at tender shoots growing on the rooftops of the Tenderloin. By tender shoots we mean fifth graders, who are learning to grow and prepare their own food. Featuring: Maya Donelson, Rebecca Alonzi Producer(s): Natacha Ruck and Charlie Mintz

What does it mean to preserve a living being? We follow the life of a sourdough starter, a live culture of bacteria and yeast, that was passed onto producer Parsa Nowruzi as a parting gift by a friend. After hitting a rocky road, Parsa inevitably faces the challenge of how to keep his starter buddy alive: what does it mean to preserve the life of someone else when you are struggling to take care of yourself? Music: , Artist, Album. Include links and permissions) Sound of Picture (Artist: Podington Bear) Across the River, Piano I: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Piano_I/Across_The_River Dark Matter, Thoughtful: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Thoughtful/DarkMatter Rain on Glass, Epilogue: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Epilogue_1331/Rain_On_Glass Triste, Duets: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Duets_1372/Triste Undergarden Sea, Fathomless/Ambient: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Fathomless_-_Ambient/Undersea_Garden Wilt, Duets: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Duets_1372/Wilt Continue Life, Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3545-continue-life

Feeding Intro Story: Mukbang by Stanford Storytelling Project

Missed Connections by Neeharika Bandlapalli by Stanford Storytelling Project