State of the Human

There's no doubt about it; as a species, we've got a lot of conviction. But conviction can also lead to years spent howling on a cliff covered in rattlesnakes in the middle of a swamp, searching for Bigfoot. It can lead you to ride a motorcycle into the dangerous, illegal gold mining camps of Peru. It can make you stay in a relationship that doesn't make you happy. And finally, it can make you vote for one of the most absurd, offensive, and hilarious mascots to almost ever exist: The Stanford Robberbarons. On this week's episode, stories about barking up the wrong tree. Featuring: Xandra Clark, Jane Reynolds, Mike Greene, Katy Ashe, Christina Ho, Yaa Gyasi, Jerry Lee, Glen Davis, Lee Rosenbaum, Vlae Kershner, Bob Ottilie, Chris Gray. Hosted by Rachel Hamburg

Unless you're a hermit on a rock in the middle of nature, you almost certainly spend your days passing in and out of spaces crafted for human use. You leave a bedroom designed for sleeping and go to a bathroom designed for washing and...you know. You enter an office designed for working or a store designed for buying. It's easy to forget though, just how much the space we're in shapes us. So this week's show is a cold-water, slap on the face, static-electric jolt reminder of just how powerfully spaces can affect the way we think and act. We have stories about paranoia in an outhouse, ghosts in an abandoned building, conformity at the mall, creativity in the classroom, memories in an apartment corner, and the space that separates us from everyone else, until it doesn't. Featuring: Alexis Petty, Larry Liefer, Kai Carlson-Wee, Chelsey Little. Hosted by Rachel Hamburg

The human voice was once considered sacred. Priests and shamans would speak into ceremonial vessels made to preserve its magic. But now every Tom, Dick and Sally vibrates air like they're scratching their elbow. In this show, we try to make the voice weird again. We hear how the voice transforms its owner when he starts speaking a new language. We also hear about a parakeet who speaks like a deceased grandmother, a young man who makes a sound that baffles his neighbors, and the future of synthesized speech. Plus a story about lipreading that's guaranteed to make you pay a lot more attention, from here on out, to mouths. Featuring: Claire Woodard, Will Rogers, Rob Ryan, Rachel Kolb, Bronwyn Reed, Clifford Nass. Hosted by Charlie Mintz

We get the story behind the recovery of the true lyrics of classics by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and many more, and to hear the CBB perform some of their biggest hits. Tune in to hear the amazing stories behind the writing and rewriting of rock 'n roll and classics: how "Johnny Be Good" started as "Rhetor be Good" and how Dylan's anthemic chorus in "Rainy Day Women 12 and 35" was originally "Everybody Must Use Modes," and learn about their new, international project, a re-examination of the Old Testament that reveals just how much its writers, and indeed the entire culture of the period, wrestled with the writing process. Featuring: Marvin Diogenes, Clyde Moneyhun. Music: Composition Blues Band. Host: Jonah Willihnganz

We take the show to San Francisco, visiting the foggy gardens of the Sunset and the sunny fruit stands of the Mission, and even the rooftops in the Tenderloin. We talk to a new breed of urban farmers and we meet an earth scientist, a chef, a salvadorian emigrant, a city rat, a country mouse, and a whole class of third graders to figure out how urban farming has become a medium for profound changes in the daily life of urbanites. In our last segment we return to Stanford to find out how students are changing their own relationship to the their environment through our new favorite medium, food. PRODUCERS: Natacha Ruck, Charlie Mintz. MUSIC: Bibio, Alessandro Ricciarelli, Gerd Baumann, Ken Grobe. FEATURED GUESTS: Page Chamberlain, Susannah Poland, Caitlin Brown, Maya Donelson, Rebecca Alonzi, Tree, Suzi Palladino. HOST: Natacha Ruck

In this special episode, we're featuring pieces produced by Molly Antopol's undergraduate creative writing class centered around the theme "Youth." This episode features stories about growing up, not growing up, and the moments that stick with us the most. Music by Noah Burbank. Hosted by Hannah Krakauer

Sometimes a simple question is all it takes to get someone telling a story. These questions take people straight back to a moment in time where something specific happened in a completely unique way. With this show, we ask people to tell the story of their first kiss. Every story is the same. Every story is different. After that, changes of hearts and a deeper understanding of one's capacity to love. To close out the show we have two glimpses into potential future realities, android love and a Valentinian Apocalypse. Have a great V Day.

This show explores looking up to people, what it means, and how it can change both them and ourselves. (1) Killeen Hanson interviews her father about his estranged father. (2) Andrew Altschul exposes the conventional roots of a fictional female rock-star in an excerpt from his novel Lady Lazarus. (3) Lee Konstantinou interviews Arnold Rampersad about his biography of Ralph Ellison; his question is not "What kept Ellison from publishing anything after Invisible Man?" but rather "How did this author climb onto his pedestal in the first place?" Music by Noah Burbank. Hosted by Killeen Hanson

We throw all kinds of things away without thinking about it. Our five contributors take a look at where our trash goes, the creative things that people do with it, and even question what it means to throw something away. PRODUCERS: Lydia Santos, Killeen Hanson, Matt Larson, Kasiana McLenaghan, Lindsay Sellers. MUSIC: Noah Burbank, Nimbleweed, Daniel Adams, Hey Young Believer, Japandi, Kissing Johnny. hosted by Hannah Krakauer

How do people make choices based on the imperfect knowledge that genetic science provides? Today on our show we look at a few examples of that. We hear a story about sperm donation and the perils of choosing your child's father out of a book. He hear a story about using genetics to make a decision about surgery. We walk into an MRI to investigate the genetic basis of personality. And we hear a short story about cannibalistic vultures. Prepare for a show that will leave you doubled up in a helix of joy. Music by Cults, Boomsnake, Mothlight. Hosted by Charlie Mintz

It's easy to look around and see signs of fragmentation, so today's show takes a different approach and examines a few different instances of people coming together: community. We explore an off-campus house that was meant to be an intentional community devoted to sustainability and see where they failed and succeeded. We meet a community of Burning Man devotees who come together for a floating party on the Sacramento River Delta. Also we hear music made by a community of people who've never met each other. Plus, the solution to the Dirty Dish Dilemma. Featuring Daniel Steinbock, Philip Narodick, Zuzana Drozdz. Music by Noah Burbank. Hosted by Charlie Mintz.

Through humor, irony, and song, we hope this show helps our listeners to come to better terms with the Apocalypse. This is such a mind-blowing episode that it is in a record eight parts: one short story, one excerpt from a novel, two poems, one interview, one story-booth vignette, one ballad, and a correspondence with our friend Pete, on the other side. Produced by Jonah Willihganz. Bonnie Swift, Dan Hirsch, Micah Cratty, Adrienne Chung, Lee Konstantinou, Killeen Hanson, Elizabeth Bradfield, Hannah Krakauer, Jack Wang. Featuring a supplementary interview with Alexander Rose. Music by Nataly Dawn, Daniel Steinbock, Darby McDevitt. Hosted by Bonnie Swift.

Although superheroes may seem like 2-dimensional relics of our childhood, they can have a significant impact on our lives, and the lives of others. In this episode, listen to stories on superheroes battling in academia, superheroes living among us, and fictional superheroes fighting real-world battles. Produced by Matt Larson, Micah Cratty, Lee Konstantinou. Featuring Professor Scott Bukatman, Robert Walker. Music by Kissing Johnny, Noah Burbank. Hosted by Micah Cratty

The story of an inventor in Palo Alto.

What is the difference between work and play, or is there a difference at all? In this episode, we?ll hear seriously playful stories from an academic archaeologist, a woman who designs toys for disabled children, and circuit-bending musicians. Produced by Hannah Krakauer, Mike Mellenthin, Heather Roberts. Featuring Michael Shanks, Jessica Zarin Kessin, Reed Ghazala, Sridharan Devarajan. Music by Kissing Johnny, Dubious Ranger, Nimbleweed. Hosted by Hannah Krakauer