Soundings

The town of Rhinelander Wisconsin has a curious obsession: the Hodag, a fearsome green beast that a lumberjack allegedly discovered there in 1893. Entranced by the legend, Isabella and Sam travel to Rhinelander to uncover what’s behind the Hodag— and to decide if they should believe, too. Music in this story is provided by Blue Dot Sessions (An Unknown Visitor, Vernouillet, Color Country, Darn tha...

This is the story of a mother fighting grief after the loss of her daughter, and navigating what it means to be Indigenous within a criminal justice system that tries to take away her voice. These are her words. To learn more about Skye, visit: https://justiceforskyejim.com/ and for resources on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women visit: https://theskyewomanproject.com/ .

Every year, a small group of Stanford Students are awarded grants to complete audio stories under the teaching, training, and mentorship of the Stanford Storytelling Project. These are the stories that came out of that process from 2020 to 2021.

A story about people experiencing homelessness and their path to reconnection with their loved ones. Listen to learn why no matter where you are and what your journey in life has been, you will always be someone’s somebody.

What does it mean to protest and are there ways to do so that bring creativity to the forefront along with the issues? Listen to how those who were on the front lines of the WTO protests in Seattle used puppetry to get their ideas and demands across to those in power.

Come on a journey to understand our fascination with sea monsters and what they inspire in humans. In particular, hear about the Icelandic Lagarfljótsormur, the water monster that sparked a 13 person commission of the Icelandic government to investigate its existence.

What are you supposed to do after a noose is found on your campus? Stanford’s answer to that question was, in part, to invite The Experience Sankofa Project, a living museum on black history to campus. This story details what the Project can teach us about racism, activism, and (maybe most importantly), community. Producer: Adesuwa Agbonile Featuring: Venus Morris, Dereca Blackmon, Mizan Alkebulan...

Producer: Sophie McNulty In her late thirties, Lanie, Sophie’s mom, became a born again Christian. Christianity gave her life meaning and happiness. When Lanie found God, “All the heaviness was just lifted.” Sophie, an atheist, struggles to find purpose in her own life. In this story, Sophie sets out to determine if what saved her mother could save her, too. Music: The Healing (Sergey Cheremisinov...

Producer: Daniel Helena Alexander In the summer of 2019, I fly to Israel with a single goal in mind. I want to play a song. But not just any song. I want to play a Klezmer song. This podcast follows my journey meeting Jewish musicians and dealing with family tragedy to compose a personal song. “Music doesn’t lie.” You'll agree when you hear how beautiful, haunting, and inspiring Klezmer music can...

Producer: Ethan Lo What’s the point of all of this? It’s a question we've all asked ourselves. For child-refugees who’ve come to America (and their descendants), attempting to answer this question is inevitably tied with wondering why fate, God, or whatever higher power they believe in has given them opportunities that those who came before them did not have. If you’ve ever asked yourself what it...

Producer: Elena Press In the summer of 2019, I took off on a cross-country road trip to discover my father’s mysterious hippie past. Though I grew up with a dad who worked as an accounting professor, all throughout my childhood I heard stories of my dad building log cabins in Washington Woodlands, running a granola coop and my half-sister born on the kitchen table. Join me as I travel across time...

Producer: Mylan Gray When you feel at home thousands of miles away from your birthplace, what choice do you have but to return? I take a return trip to the Festival of the Rosary—an African syncretic festival in the southeast of Brazil. In returning, I learned African diasporic peoples might be connected by more than just African ancestry. Marked by cultural loss from the middle passage, this fest...

Producer: Hannah Scott I grew up in the sprawl of Los Angeles. I grew up on garage shows, Whiskey-A-Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard, classmates rapping on SoundCloud, my mom driving me an hour and a half to a venue in Orange County. My experiences with DIY music communities have been among the most important aspects of my life; yet, the deeper I get into this world, the more I hear people tell me that I...

Producer: Julie Fukunaga What does it mean to (be queer) and come of age on the internet? In the past ten years, the queer games movement has exploded. Around the world, more and more people feel like they can make free and simple and strange games - ones that speak to queer stories and experiences. But it wasn’t always this easy. Some queer gamers used the earliest, clunkiest internet to find eac...

Class projects

Class projects

Class projects

Class projects

Course projects for Oralcomm 130

Stories of people waiting at the San Mateo County Jail. Waiting to go home, waiting to visit a loved one, and waiting to learn what their future holds.

Course projects for Oralcomm 130

Course projects for Oralcomm 130

A story of how Palo Alto firefighters manage the ups and downs of life on the job.

Judy, a Bay Area native, advocates for the release and fair treatment of inmates. But how did that come to be? In this episode, gain insight into Judy, life behind bars, and how a children's’ television show can inspire investigation.

El Camino Real is a California icon, but its history is often confused with the one the auto industry used to sell cars in the early 1900s. What really happened on this historic street?