When Aaron received a text that said, “I think it’s dead—and it’s in your backyard,” he didn’t expect it to lead to one of the most unexpectedly moving encounters of his life.

What began as a grim discovery turned into a quiet reflection on empathy, loss, and the humanity that can show up in the most unlikely places. In this 7-minute true story, Aaron meets a man whose job is to remove what’s been left behind—but whose heart reveals something much deeper.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new ⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠⁠⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠⁠⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

*Additional sounds on cleared list and used with paid license via artlist.io

In 1993, five bucks at a drive-thru could feed a family. Today, it barely covers a soda. In this story, Aaron Calafato takes us through the chaos of the modern fast-food experience—wrong orders, long waits, and the creeping perfection of AI drive-thrus. What starts as a rant about overpriced combo meals becomes something deeper: a meditation on imperfection, nostalgia, and what we lose when machines get everything right.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new ⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, Aaron takes listeners back to one unforgettable day at his Grandpa Joe’s house. From a roadside McMuffin breakfast and legendary Air Force fight story, to stacks of bargain-bin movies, tuna sandwiches on rye, and homemade pasta and meatballs—every detail becomes a core memory worth holding onto. Through his grandfather’s wisdom and humor, Aaron reminds us that even in life’s hardest moments, there are anchors—memories that keep us steady and remind us of who we are.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new ⁠YouTube Channel⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

In this episode of 7MS, Storyteller Aaron Calafato shares an encounter with a "fortune teller" at a Bob Evans that reshaped how he saw his future. At 18, he dismissed her vision that he’d trade rock-and-roll dreams for a life centered on home and family. Years later, over breakfast at the same restaurant, Aaron faces the question: did her vision come true?

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new ⁠YouTube Channel⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

Season 6 of 7 Minute Stories opens in an empty Medina, Ohio barbershop where Saturday morning memories still linger in the air. Aaron Calafato reflects on childhood haircuts, family rituals, and the fear of familiar places fading away. But if we tell stories about these places, we may give them a chance to endure—and when those fears are confronted and embraced, we give ourselves a chance to create new space for new visions and futures.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new ⁠YouTube Channel⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

In this Storytelling University conversation, Aaron sits down with songwriter Evan Bartels to explore the craft of turning life into song. From the haunting first lines of Montana to the overlooked “side characters” of history, Bartels reveals how noticing small details can unlock entire worlds of meaning. Together, they dig into the tension between art and craft, the dignity of ordinary lives, and why the most powerful stories often come from what’s left unsaid.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on his ⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: ⁠⁠skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! ⁠⁠It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

*The Team Who've Help Make 7 Minute Stories a Top Storytelling Podcast:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

Aaron remembers the summer he spent in Washington, D.C.—a time of new independence, fast friendships, and an address book filled with names he swore he’d never lose. But as life moved forward, most of those connections faded, leaving behind a bittersweet lesson about memory and the limits of time. Plus, Aaron previews the Season 6 premiere of 7 Minute Stories, launching September 18.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new YouTube Channel—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...

And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.

*The Team Who've Help Make 7 Minute Stories a Top Storytelling Podcast:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: Pete Whitehead

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, storyteller Aaron Calafato reflects on his lifelong clash with door-to-door salespeople—and the one unforgettable mix-up that tested his boundaries at home. With humor and humility, Aaron shows how one bad assumption turned into a lesson about forgiveness, stress, and the fine line between protecting your space and shutting out opportunity.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories live during Night Stories its new⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠— these late-night sessions go live every Thursday evening @ 9:30PM EST, so be sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell to unwind with him whenever he goes live.

👉OR, if you’re a diehard 7 Minute Stories listener—skip the ads and unlock⁠ ⁠VIP access ⁠⁠to Aaron’s audio-only private studio. Subscribe to the 7MS Newsletter for commercial-free Night Stories every Thursday, straight from your phone or computer.

*The Team Who've Help Make 7 Minute Stories a Top Storytelling Podcast:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring

Special Thanks:

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, Aaron Calafato takes a simple grocery store choice—paper or plastic—and spins it into a meditation on control, responsibility, and the ripple effects of everyday decisions. What begins with a floating blue plastic bag in a parking lot leads to staggering truths about pollution, a reckoning with personal accountability, and a realization that change starts with the next small choice.

🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories live during Night Stories its new⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠— these late-night sessions go live every Thursday evening @ 9:30PM EST, so be sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell to unwind with him whenever he goes live.

👉OR, if you’re a diehard 7 Minute Stories listener—skip the ads and unlock ⁠VIP access ⁠to Aaron’s audio-only private studio. Subscribe to the 7MS Newsletter for commercial-free Night Stories every Thursday, straight from your phone or computer.

Award-winning journalist and producer Soledad O’Brien — known from CNN, NBC, and HBO, and now the CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions — joins Aaron to explore the enduring power of storytelling. From Hurricane Katrina to acclaimed documentaries, she shares why human stories resonate more than data and how details can transform the way we understand the world.

See what stories Soledad is helping craft at:

Soledad O'Brien Productions

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The Storytelling University is part of the 7 Minute Stories Universe

Created & Produced by Aaron Calafato & Brooks Borden