Every day after school Ali Muldrow's parents asked her two very different questions: "What did you learn today" and "What did they lie to you about today." We listen to a story Ali told that shows how these two questions shaped her approach to teaching. We also talk about how useful storytelling is in fundraising and activism and her new role on the Madison school board.

Mel Hammond shares a story about driving to Indiana to visit her sister in prison, hoping she followed the strict dress code rules correctly and would be allowed to see her sister. Takeyla Benton and Jen Rubin talk with Mel about the value of using humor in telling a hard story. Apaloo Edmond of Afreeka Wear (and the MarketReady programs) joins us to share his small business origin story. (Edit Note: Jen's microphone was a little giltchy so the sound quality is a little off this week.)

Nestor Gomez tells a story about his food cravings and his ex-wife's food cravings during her first pregnancy. Since his ex-wife took superstitions seriously, it became Nestor's job to make sure her cravings were met. Nestor is a master storyteller and we dive into the craft behind this story and storytelling in general. We also talk about the Immigration Stories series he produces.

"When your love looks different it needs extra - it needs truth and safety." This is a lesson Danika Laine learned from a relationship she was in with a woman who was not out to her family. Their love was not enough for the relationship to endure. (This story was told at the Madison Moth GrandSlam in 2018.)

Something as common as hair can connect us and separate us in unexpected ways. From his corn rows to a shaved heat to a large afro, people in Madison had things to say about Kevin Willmott II's hair. We listen to Kevin's story, his experience with racism in Madison, and his perspective on people's fascination with his hair.

Victor shares his story of when he crossed the border from Mexico to the United States when he was 16. We get into the specific details of his story and also the common threads with anyone's story that had to leave one country and take a risk in coming to another country.

Never wanting to have kids, Linda Hedenblad was happy to make it to menopause childless. She shares the story of how she and her husband became the guardians for their nephew and she learned how to be a parent. We talk about the care needed to tell a story that involves the lives of other people.

James Edward Mills tell a story about how he inadvertently spent his 44th birthday in a brothel in Ethiopia and how he got himself out of a tricky situation. We also talk about his podcast, 'The Joy Trip Project' and his book, 'The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. At the end of the podcast we do a short feature on 'Perfect Imperfections, a Madison small business owned by Jasmine Banks.

We are replaying our second episode during our summer hiatus. Inside Stories didn't have many listeners for our first few episodes - so we re-sharing Brendon's.

We are replaying this first pilot episode during our summer hiatus. Inside Stories didn't have many listeners for our first few episodes - so we re-sharing Esteban's.