State of the Human

Produced by Evan Young Briggs in Stanford's Documentary Film Program

Sometimes our rites of passage are marked by large ceremonies, like graduations or weddings. Often, however, the transformative moments of our lives come not on a stage, but from when we face the challenges given to us from the world, and from ourselves. In this episode you'll hear stories about the strange importance of the unicycle in a young man?s lives, Texas debutantes, and a 22-year-old trying to make it as a reporter in the real world. Featuring Will Rogers and Matt Larson, with music by Volunteer Pioneer, Kissing Johnny and Noah Burbank. Hosted by Micah Cratty

On this week's show, we hear stories by the winners of our first Stanford Storytelling contest, all of which explore the theme of narrow escapes. You'll hear a memoir outlining the dangers of professional panty sniffing, a memoir about a maybe catastrophic encounter with abandoned tires, and a short story recalling a scary moment in Stanford's past. Featured authors are Amanda Glasser, Erika Harrell, and Mandy MacCalla. Hosted by Lee Konstantinou

There all sorts of ways to send a messages: composing emails, writing text messages, pasting up fliers, or literally writing on the wall. In this show, we explore the various ways people send and receive messages: digital and analog, private and public, even legal and illegal. You’ll hear about the surprising origins of online social networks, the world of graffiti art, and bathroom stall vandalism. Producers: Dan Hirsch, Will Rogers, Lyndsey Garlock, Lexi Tsien-Shiang, Mitchell Wilcox. Featured: Fred Turner, Molly Butcher. Music: Johnny Hwin, Lauchlan Casey, Ill-Conditioned. Hosted by Dan Hirsch

Tea leaves, entrails, and complicated algorithms are just a few of the ways humans have tried to divine the future for personal gain. Today on our show we have three stories about various attempts to look into the future. A Berkeley undergraduate tries to beat the racetrack, economists attempt to predict recessions, and a company that can listen to a song and predict whether it's going to be a hit (note: this piece also appears in our "Form Follows Function" show). Producers: Charlie Mintz, Sarah Rizk, Sam Alemayehu, Daniel MacDougall, Kasiana McLenaghan, Bonnie Swift, Jonah Willihnganz. Featured: Paul David, Howard Schwartz, Mike McCready, Jadena, Koji Gardiner, Eleanor Safridge Fields. Music: Koji Gardiner, Ian Burrell, Andy Seymour, Jeff Striker, Pascel, Boomsnake. Hosted by Charlie Mintz

Sperm donor searches for sperm daughter. Girl searches for sperm father.

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 audio essay about love that offers an usual take on arranged marriages. Produced by Charlie Mintz, Hannah Krakauer, Rachel Hamburg. Featuring Eva Glasrud. Music by George Pritzker, Jeff Striker, Snuffaluffagus. Hosted by Hannah Krakauer

What happens to us when we travel? How do we get beyond the brochure (and should we)? Stegner Fellows in Poetry, a professor of ecology, an observer of the Malaysian meat market, or pasar pagi, and a researcher who studies "sense of place" work toward answers and share stories of their own discoveries on the road. Featuring Joshua Rivkin, John Evans, Laura McKee, Peter Vitousek, Nicole Ardoin, Samantha Wai, with music by Johnny Whin, Nataly Dawn, Eli Herwitz, The Reiterators, and Midawe. Hosted by Elizabeth Bradfield

Some people are just more competitive. Some want to expand the arenas of fine art. And some of them want to re-enchant the world. In this episode, you'll hear about people who take fun seriously: A historical re-enactment society that has helped professors make new discoveries about medieval warfare, how video games are the next professional sport, a fan club so obsessed that they got rid of their founder. And finally, Ken Kesey, Stanford Fellow and writer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next, reads the children's story that he considered his best work. Hosted by Rachel Hamburg

Thirty days, fifty thousand words minimum and no prize at the end but one's own satisfaction. On this week's show we investigate the allure 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. Hosted by Charlie Mintz

Have you ever had a nemesis? On this week's show, we tell stories of epic college feuds, petty rivalries, sweet love affairs gone bitter, and the battling little voices in your head. It's stories of conflict within and without, animosity and axes to grind, enemies and nemeses.

The golden California landscape contains more stories than you might ever imagine, and this week we have two stories and one poem set in the high Sierra Nevada. First, two travelers spend five days retracing the historic trail of the Buffalo Soldiers from the Presidio of San Francisco to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Second, a portrait of backcountry life in Yosemite today, and the adventures of the summer mountain folk. Third, a poem by Stegner fellow Peter Kline about a wild California tree. And in this podcast, a supplemental interview between Kline and Storytelling Poetry Editor, Elizabeth Bradfield.

It's natural to want to be someone you're not. So then, why demonize the impostor? On this week's show, we present three tales 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 takes an oh-so-typical journey of self-deception: after attempting to recreate themselves from the outside-in, they deal with the consequences. Hosted by Charlie Mintz

Community organizers, mayors from Wasilla, and a select handful of swing state voters. On this show, we look at the small side of big politics, or "Smallitics." Each vignette shows how the national stage is truly made up small actors with big roles. We have stories about 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. Hosted by Dan Hirsch

(1) A successful cosmetic surgery industry in modern day Korea; (2) A software that predicts hits before they're hits, based on a formula (note: this piece also aired on our "Prediction" show); (3) Iambic Pentameter in the modern world: (4) An artist who incorporates naturally occurring patterns into her art. Produced by Olivia Puerta, Nellie Olsen Olivia Prevost, Noah Burbank and more. Featuring Jill McDonough and Jen Carlile. Hosted by Bonnie Swift