Soundings

What makes young Australians such eager globe-trotters? Aliza Gazek and Kelly Vicars swung on their packs and set off “down under” to find out. The travelers they met along the way shared stories of their adventures and offered surprising insight into Australia’s history as a nation, providing a trail of clues to why it’s so easy to find an Aussie backpacker in any hostel in the world.

Producers: Aliza Gazek and Kelly Vicars

Featuring: John Grant, Prashan Paramanathan, Ashley Carruthers, Theo Ell, Mel Ronca, Sandra Ronca, Aileen “Nan” Grant

Special Thanks: Andrew Todhunter and Jeanne Snider for their guidance, our generous Aussie hosts, and everyone else who shared their stories: Alex Dumbrell, Murray and Rosie Fisher, Robin Grant, and Paul Rowley.

Music: Rusted Root, Men at Work, Grizzly Bear, Norah Jones,

Sydney Children's Choir, Slightly Stoopid, River Ran, Enya, Lucius

Image via flickr

For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

On February 22nd, 2002 a train carrying 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya was attacked by a group of Muslims, resulting in the death of all of its passengers. What followed was a series of violent, retaliatory attacks against Muslims in the state and the death of over 1,000 people.

In this piece, Stanford students Claire Colberg 14’ and Ravi Patel 13’ travel to Anand, India, to understand how these riots have affected Gujarat’s youth. Despite deep-rooted challenges, their conversations with both Hindu and Muslim students reveal the future vision of communal unity shared by Gujarat’s youth.

Producers: Claire Colberg and Ravi Patel

Featuring: The students of D.Z. Patel High School, D.N High School, the Hanifa School, and the Chaortar Institute of Technology - Changa.

Special Thanks: Andrew Todhunter, Kiran Patel, and all the students who shared their stories with us in Gujarat.

Image courtesy of Claire Colberg

For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

There’s something special about theatrical improvisation. There’s a trust, a confidence, and a sense of risk that can help individuals grow and bring groups together. But what happens when you graduate and your source of improv (mainly, your college improv group) goes away?

In this piece, Mona Thompson, Stanford class of 2013, explores the concept of improvisation in the “real world.” Would it be possible to create a whole life centered around improv? And if so, would it be meaningful?

Producer: Mona Thompson

Featuring: William Hall, Dr. Nika Quirk, & Patricia Ryan Madson

Special Thanks: Charlie Mintz, John Lee, and everyone at Stanford Storytelling Project

Image via Flickr

For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

A Mississippi county fair, the real deal on Sarah Palin, high school elections, campaign calls to grandparents, and what happens when one same-sex couple finds their fate tied to the opinions of an entire state. In this show we look at the small side of big politics, "smallitics," or how the national stage is truly made up small actors with big roles.

Host: Dan Hirsh

Producers: Jonah Willihnganz, Clare Bennett, Charlie Mintz, Micah Cratty, Lee Konstantinou, and Dan Hirsch

Featured: Bridget Whearty, Ronnie Musgrove, Jenna Reback, Allison Fink

Music: Nimbleweed

Following a surprising decision by the California Supreme Court, one couple decides to put their reservations aside and use the ‘M’ word. At the time, they had no idea that this very personal decision could turn into a discussion for an entire state.

Producer: Lee Konstantinou

Featuring: Bridget Whearty

image via flickr

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/137-episode-201.html

It's natural to want to be someone you're not. So why demonize the impostor? Today we have three stories of people who tried to pass themselves off as someone they weren't. First, a story about a degenerating mobster turned private investigator, with some very unorthodox ways of getting the job done. Then a story about a scientist who invented his data and got busted. Finally, a memoir about one woman's longing to have curly hair. Each one recalls an oh-so-typical journey of self-deception: after attempting to recreate themselves from the outside-in, they deal with the consequences.

Host: Charlie Mintz Producers: Charlie Mintz and Matt Larson Featured: Lawrence Klein, Tommy Wallach and Maria Hummel Music: Pascalle, George Pritzker and Andy Seymour

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/105-episode-202.html

When you live in a place, it's hard not to take it for granted. But in California that’s almost impossible -- the landscape is simply too striking to forget or ignore. Today’s show is about what happens when you attempt to really appreciate the place you call home. Two travelers spend five days retracing the historic and unmarked trail of the Buffalo Soldiers. Then a portrait of backcountry life in Yosemite. Finally, a poem about a wild tree with a universe inside it. And in this podcast, a supplemental interview between poet Peter Kline and Storytelling Poetry Editor, Elizabeth Bradfield.

Host: Bonnie Swift Producers: Justine Lai, Killeen Hanson, Liz Bradfield, Bonnie Swift Featuring: Shelton Johnson, Ward Eldridge, Peter Kline Music: Noah Burbank, Mt. Eerie, The Microphones, Kate Wolf

Producers: Justine Lai and Bonnie Swift Featuring: Shelton Johnson and Ward Eldridge

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/123-episode-203.html

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a prize-less, month-long contest in which thousands around the world attempt to write their novel in one month. Thirty days, fifty thousand words minimum, and no prize at the end (save for their own satisfaction). On this week's show we follow of National Novel Writing Month and learn a little about the novel while we're at it. A class of Stanford students tries to finish their novels without flunking out, a San Francisco write-a-thon filled with wannabe novelists, and the elusive 150 thousand word woman. Plus interviews with a professor, a PhD, and a book critic on the history of the novel.

Host: Charlie Mintz

Producers: Lee Konstantinou, Charlie Mintz, Killeen Hanson, Dan Hirsch, Jonah Willihnganz

Featured: Emily Rials, Bianca Ceralvo, Mark McGurl, Emma Ziker, Chris Baty, Noam Cohen

Music: Max Citron

URLs: Chris Baty

Featured: Chris Baty

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/141-episode-205.html

We all do the things we do for fun a little bit seriously. Basketball, belly dancing, or playing in a band -- these all take practice and hard work to be really fun. But some people take fun more seriously than the rest of us. Some of them are just more competitive. Some of them want to expand the arena of fine art. And some of them want to re-enchant the world. This episode has stories about a historical re-enactment society that has helped professors make new discoveries about medieval warfare, video games that are becoming professional sports, and the tragic tale of a fan club so obsessed with a character from a book that they got rid of the author. And finally, Ken Kesey reads the children's story that he took seriously enough to say, "This was my best piece of work ever."

Host/Producer: Rachel Hamburg Featured: Tony Ricciardi, Patrick Thill, Joshua Landy, Michael Saler, Ken Kesey, Arthur Maddox, Michael Lawrence Music: Kevin Macleod, The Yeltsin Collective, Arthur Maddox, William McGlaughlin, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Producer: Rachel Hamburg Featuring: Michael Saler image via Wikipedia

In a musically accompanied rendition of Ken Kesey’s self-acclaimed “best piece,” we find a seriously fun story of a crafty critter armed only with a good vantage point and a sly disposition.

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/131-episode-206.html

What happens to us when we travel? How do we get beyond the brochure (and should we)? Poets, a professor of ecology, an observer of the Malaysian meat market, and a researcher who studies sense of place work toward answers and share stories of discovery on the road.

Producers: Elizabeth Bradfield, Daniel Hirsch

Host: Elizabeth Bradfield

Featuring: Joshua Rivkin, John Evans, Laura McKee, Peter Vitousek, Nicole Ardoin, Samantha Wai, Michelle Traub, Selena Simmons-Duffin, Daniel MacDougall

Music: Volunteer Pioneer, Johnny Hwin, Natalie Dawn, Eli Herwitz, The Reiterators, and Midawe

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/109-episode-207.html

Normally Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate coming together, but today we're exploring the reasons people drift apart. In four stories, we explore all the reasons we fail to click. We have a story about a Stanford student who tried, and failed, to sell her eggs to an elite donation agency, an investigation into the paradoxical allure of French women, a radio play about the perils of matchmaking, and an essay on love that offers an unusual take on arranged marriages.

Producers: Charlie Mintz, Hannah Krakauer, Rachel Hamburg

Host: Charlie Mintz

Featuring: Eva Glasrud, Paula England, Harville Hendrix, Stuart Blaire and Art Tosborvorn

Music: George Pritzker, Jeff Striker, Snuffaluffagus

More info at:http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-2/115-episode-208.html