At age seven, Hector Barajas crossed the Mexico border into United States as an illegal citizen. His family soon settled in Compton, California, where Hector encountered crime, gang violence, and racial division. Hector escaped the lifestyle by joining the United States Army as a non-citizen, becoming a medic for the 82nd Airborne Division. But personal problems soon led him to honorable discharge, prison, and deportation back to Mexico. In the first episode of this two-part series, Hector chronicles the humanity of being banished, and how he seeks to return to the country he once swore to protect.
Produced by Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Music by Sontag Shogun.
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
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Banished Veterans - Part 1

Created and produced by Mike Martinez and Tyler Wray, Everything is Stories is an ongoing survey of personal histories. Each episode is a first person narrative from someone who has lived through consequential changes to their notion of self and the world.

Harry Crews said it best: “Nothing is allowed to die in a society of story telling people. It is all–the good and the bad–carted up and brought along from one generation to the next. And everything that is brought along is colored and shaped by those who bring it.

These voices have told their greatest moments where peace is far and death is close. Sometimes these stories explore the philosophy of outsiders. But most importantly, these stories examine what it is to be human.

We don’t record to defend or demonstrate an idea. Rather, we create a document of what was seen and felt during their transformative experiences. Take a listen. Start anywhere. You may find a new definition of reality’s highs and lows.

Know of a story or storyteller? Send us your tales of genuine characters and unfamiliar places for consideration to: HQ@everythingisstories.com. No story too troubled, no atmosphere too strange, no realm too foreign.

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

By the time her boyfriend became violent, Kim Dadou Brown was confident she could handle it. It was just one of those things the women in her family dealt with. It wasn’t until Kim found herself in prison that she realized how seriously the years of abuse had skewed her reality – and what little support the system offered women like her.
Kims' story continues in part 02, where she shares what transpired in the wake of her boyfriends' death and how she came out on the other side into a career as an activist for domestic violence victims.
*This episode contains strong descriptions of domestic violence, please listen with care.
Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Music by Mike Etten
Sound Design by Armen Bazarian
Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A White Noise in Your Head - Part 2

Forty years ago, military-backed death squads descended on Dora Rodriguez’ hometown as a civil war spiraled out of control in El Salvador. Forced to flee as a teenager and leave her family behind, Rodriguez began what she thought would be the only journey north through Mexico and into the harsh Sonoran Desert. In this episode, Dora recounts her harrowing start-stop passage across the desert, predatory smugglers that nearly cost her life, and an unlikely relationship with a man from the other side of the wall.
*This episode has been edited from the original version for safety and editorial purposes.
Produced by Clarke Tolton, Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Sound Design by George Drake Jr.
Music by Mike Etten
Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
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The Shores of Acheron

By the time her boyfriend became violent, Kim Dadou Brown was confident she could handle it. It was just one of those things the women in her family dealt with. It wasn’t until Kim found herself in prison that she realized how seriously the years of abuse had skewed her reality – and what little support the system offered women like her. 

In Part 01, Kim meets us in her home in Rochester, New York, where she shares what ultimately led to a final act of violence and how much work she’s had to do in order to free herself from the trauma.

*This episode contains strong descriptions of domestic violence, please listen with care.
Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Music by Mike Etten
Sound Design by Armen Bazarian
Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A White Noise in Your Head - Part 1

They say stealing cattle in Texas can get a man hung by the neck until dead. From a young age Roddy Pippin was ready to take that risk, as he and his crew would take home close to a million dollars rustling cattle over the course of 3 years. 
In this episode Pippin speaks of his idyllic childhood and love for the ways of the old west, the precarious choices he made while chasing the steal that would lead to brushes with death, and how those few years on the run pushed him and his lifelong friendships to the limit. 
Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Sound Design by George Drake Jr.
Music by Mike Etten and Dominic Palermo
Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across the Purple Sage

Death, life’s ultimate closure, often casts a long shadow over the funeral that follows. These ceremonies rarely spark protest or public outcry, but in the spring of 2013 Lonewolf Smith was thrust into a national dilemma when he and his colleagues at Graham, Putney, & Mahoney Funeral Parlors were asked to tend to the body of one of America’s most reviled terrorists.
In this story we hear from former mortician Lonewolf on his dedication to his often-misunderstood work, a personal moral dilemma following his own experience with a horrific act of terrorism, and how he answers the question of who deserves a proper burial.
Produced by Grace Heerman, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
Sound Design by George Drake Jr.
Music by Mike Etten.
Intro/Outro music by Anand Wilder
Transcripts are available at everythingisstories.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Banished Veterans - Part 1

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