The Apple Seed

Stories honoring the times kids have pulled what you might call “a fast one” on someone else.

Lois Lane by Rosie Cutrer (3:07)

A desire for storytelling starts getting Rosie in trouble at school, causing her to continually miss recess but when she can't take the indoors any longer she concocts a plan to get out of the classroom. Learn more about Rosie Cutrer by visiting: www.rosiecutrer.com

The Conjuring of Bloody Mary by Alan Hoal (19:44)

Alan's brother mischievously convinces him to summon Bloody Mary, a prank successfully pulled off with the assistance of their sister. Learn more about Alan Hoal by visiting: www.thehoalstory.com

Braces by Donald Davis (34:00)

Donald needs braces, the only problem is that the orthodontist is only available when Donald’s parents are at work—and they can’t afford to leave so they make a plan for Donald to go to his orthodontic appointment by himself however, when Donald is left to his own devices he decides to spend his day a little differently than what his parents have planned. Learn more about Donald Davis by visiting: www.ddavisstoryteller.com

Stories and snippets that we've adored from the week of May 7th, 2018 to May 11, 2018.

Digital Stories from the U of U (00:55)

Sam interacts with the digital storytelling class at the University of Utah as they share their stories and things they learned in the process of digitizing them. You can find the full version of Alexis Cortez's story on our episode "Digital Stories".

Maude by Catherine Conant (35:55)

From our episode "Unlikely Friendships", this is Catherine Conant at the 2017 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival telling about her special friendship with a woman named Maude Pinkus while she lived in New York. Learn more about Catherine Conant by visiting: catherineconant.com

Anthony Burcher Interview (51:32)

That is just a small portion of our interview with Anthony Burcher and if you want to hear the entirety of it you can find it on the "Storyteller Spotlight: Anthony Burcher" episode. Learn more about Anthony Burcher by visiting: www.anthonyburcher.com

Stories of unlikely friends.

Maude by Catherine Conant (1:11)

“I went to New York to seek my fortune, what I got was Maude.” Learn more about Catherine Conant by visiting: catherineconant.com

Little Boy Frog and Little Boy Snake by Margaret Read MacDonald (28:40)

A frog and a snake run into each other while going up a mountain. The frog teaches the snake to hop and the snake teaches the frog to slither and they become fast friends. Their parents scold them from hanging out with their “enemies,” but they always remember their friendship. Learn more about Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald by visiting: www.margaretreadmacdonald.com

Electra by Jay O'Callahan (37:15)

Little kids befriend an eccentric old lady on their street who often recites lines from Electra. Learn more about Jay O'Callahan by visiting: www.ocallahan.com

Unlikely Friends Roundtable (45:50)

The Apple Seed gang talks about unlikely friendships they’ve formed in their lives.

In this episode of the Apple Seed we have the pleasure of talking with Anthony Burcher about his latest album, Anthony Squished My Banana, along with several of his other works including his book 101 Games that Teach Storytelling Skills. We also share one of Anthony's stories, "Sunday Dinner", about his Sundays growing up near his grandparents. You can find all of Anthony's work on his webiste: www.anthonyburcher.com

A lot of the storytelling you consume these days comes to you through digital media platforms. Case in point? You might be listening to the Apple Seed on the radio. It’s a radio show. But you might be listening on the web at byuradio.org, and you might be listening on the BYURadio app. Someone might even have sent you a simple link by email or Facebook or something, and here you are. Digital technologies are making it easier than ever for storytellers to share stories and connect with an audience. So it makes perfect sense that universities are offering courses in digital storytelling. On today's episode, we visit a digital storytelling class at the University of Utah, and we follow them a bit as they created audio stories about werewolves, railroad trains, dating adventures, video games, and more. And, of course, we meet their professor, Natalie Stillman-Webb.

Stories that take place or come from mountains about a sense of community.

Selection of works from Adam Booth (2:46)

From his album "The Mountain Came Alive" we're featuring the stories and songs, "Spring Arrival", "Cargo Train", "Springtime Food", and "Clearest Creek". Learn more about Adam Booth by visiting: www.adam-booth.com

Jack & the Animals by David H. Claunch (14:36)

Jack Tales are a folklore tradition of the Appalachian mountains and this particular one is about Jack, animals, and some pesky bandits. Learn more about David H. Claunch by visiting: www.davidclaunch.com

How Bill’s Wife Taught Him a Thing or Two by Joseph Bruchac (29:14)

Bill tells a little boy some tall tales about his farm and isn't sure what to do when the kid actually shows up to witness everything Bill has talked about. Learn more about Joseph Bruchac by visiting: josephbruchac.com

Goat from the Hills and Mountains by Simon Brooks (37:16)

A little family lives in the mountains and cultivate lovely gardens together. All is well until an obnoxious mountain goat prances into their lives. Learn more about Simon Brooks by visiting: www.diamondscree.com

Finding Folklore/Bile Them Cabbage Down by Dolores Hydock (46:48)

Dolores Hydock talks about moving down to Alabama in search of folklore and ends up finding a sense of home, featuring music from Flying Jenny. Learn more about Dolores Hydock by visiting: www.storypower.org

Stories about family history.

Generations by Beth Horner (1:32)

A song about the way families weave together over time. Learn more about Beth Horner by visiting: bethhorner.com

The Grecian Urn by Robin Schulte (4:21)

Robin talks about a John Keats poem called “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” a poem about a Romantic painting by Constable that depicts frozen moments. At first he laments these “could-have-beens,” but ends rejoicing that these moments will never end. Robin relates that to the memories of her family, moments kept frozen by stories. Learn more about Robin Schulte by visiting: www.robinschulte.com

Amy Harris Interview (12:25)

Amy shares her research of her familial structure in 18th and 19th century England, specifically about the family of Anne Travell. She talks about her hopes for her students of family history and marvels at the way that learning about our ancestors can change the way we see those around us. Learn more about BYU professor Amy Harris by visiting: history.byu.edu/Faculty/Harris

Part of Me by Gary Voorhees (43:22)

A song about the influence ancestors can have on you. You can find more of Gary's work on the album "The Saga of Sanpitch".

Portraits by Priscilla Howe (47:48)

Priscilla realizes that if all you know about your ancestors are how they look they might scare you instead of inspire you. Learn more about Priscilla Howe by visiting: www.priscillahowe.com

“Reunited and it feels so good…”

Victoria’s Coming Back from the Mission Story by Victoria Khalil (00:44)

Assistant Producer Victoria Khalil shares her experience coming home after living in Mexico and having limited contact with her family for a year and a half.

Three Coins by Barbara G. Schutzgruber (6:53)

A woman is forced into slavery for 20 years. Her owner releases her and an old woman gives her 3 pieces of advice for 3 coins. The woman follows the advice on the journey home and is eventually reunited with her family. Learn more about Barbara G. Schutzgruber by visiting: weavestory.com

The Time Machine by Donald Davis (27:05)

Donald Davis goes to his 45th high school reunion and tells stories about his principal and classmates. Learn more about Donald Davis by visiting: www.ddavisstoryteller.com

Stories to celebrate Earth Day 2018

Callaloo and the Crab by Bobby Norfolk (2:11)

A creation story that highlights how the way the earth has been treated affects society. Learn more about Bobby Norfolk by visiting: www.bobbynorfolk.com

Escapee from Civilization by Pete Griffin (16:42)

The story how the forget-me-not became Alaska’s state flower. Learn more about Pete Griffin by visiting: www.thestorytellingranger.com

Over and Over Again by Fran Stallings (23:30)

From her album, "Stories and Songs for a Green Earth", this song is about the cyclic processes of the earth. Learn more about Fran Stallings by visiting: www.franstallings.com

Too Much Help by Fran Stallings (25:48)

A group of villagers doesn’t clean up after themselves so when their town gets too dirty or rat-infested to live in they simply pick up and leave without trying to solve the problem, until they meet a old man with magical skills.

Sandals by Fran Stallings (35:03)

A King in India wants to understand his people more, so he disguises himself and walks on the streets without anything on his feet.

Frogs, Guardians of Water by Doug Elliot (41:24)

Talks about the creation and how the world used to be lush and full of water, until people and animals took it for granted. All of the animals have a counsel to decide who will be the keeper of the water. The frogs are chosen, but every other animal reminds us in their own way to honor and respect water. Learn more about Doug Elliott by visiting: www.dougelliott.com

We all have had or will have moments that change the flow of our lives and on that topic we wanted to share these stories with you:

Tempering: Of Treehouses and Tragedy by Kylie Turley (1:36)

Kylie’s son falls out of their treehouse and suffers traumatic brain injury, changing her life forever.

My Grandmother's Hair by Kevin Cordi (14:55)

Kevin reminisces about his grandmother's hair and how it embodied the spirit of her younger more wild years. Learn more about Kevin Cordi by visiting: www.kevincordi.com

Occam's Razor by Dolores Hydock (21:33)

Dolores’s mother gets sick and lives with her for 8 months and Dolores is moved by how many people step forward to help them. Learn more about Dolores Hydock by visiting: www.storypower.org

Aunt Esther Saves a Life by Donald Davis (35:00)

When Donald is a little boy he draws on his aunt’s wall in permanent marker. She hides his drawing so that his mother doesn’t get upset. Learn more about Donald Davis by visiting: www.ddavisstoryteller.com

The Night that Changed Everything by Geraldine Buckley (43:16)

Geraldine does a poetry workshop in a prison. The inmates scare her at first but then the power of creativity and words creates a special bond between her and them. Learn more about Geraldine Buckley by visiting: www.geraldinebuckley.com