State of the Human

First, in "Silence Speaks Volumes," Angela Castellanos looks at brain activity during moments of silence in music. Then, in "Healing Sounds," Trent Walker investigates the healing powers of traditional Cambodian chants. Finally, in "People Find the Drum Who Need to Find the Drum," a class of Stanford students led by John-Carlos Perea find a new community while learning the art of the powwow drum. Featuring Vinod Menon, Daniel Levitin, Jonathan Berger, Chris Chafe, Gabe Turow, Pat Moffitt Cook, Sherwood Chen, John Carlos-Perea, Michaela Raikes, Ben Burdick, LukeTaylor, Jidenna Mobbison. Music by Chloe Krakauer. Hosted by Hannah Krakauer.

What drives people to stand up in front of an audience, to perform without a safety net and put themselves on the line? In today's data-driven world, where everything can be recorded, stored, and recalled at any time, what role does live performance play? This episode begins with the harrowing experience of our host subjecting himself to the most extreme form of live performance of all: stand-up comedy. We continue with a story from playwright Amy Freed and Stanford professor of drama Kay Kostopoulos. And finally, we follow a production of the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at what goes on behind the curtain. Produced by Daniel MacDougall and Micah Cratty. Featuring Amy Freed and Kay Kostopilous. Music by Noah Burbank, Dave Chisholm, Greg Sell, Chris Babson, Zach Katagiri, and Kissing Johnny. Hosted by Micah Cratty.

Lee Konstantinou interviews Poet (and Stegner Fellow) Sean Hill

Letters, journal entries, or a digital measurement of your heart rate and blood sugar for every hour of the day: We bring you stories of cybernetic "lifeloggers," a crafty, image-tweaking Founding Father, and the most astoundingly comprehensive diary ever to find its way into Stanford's Special Collections (keyword: Dymaxion). We also have poems from one of Stanford's poets-in-residence, Kirsten Andersen. Featuring Liz Bradfield, Hsiao-Yun Chu, and Judith Richardson. Music by Boomsnake, Howard Hello, George Pritzger. Hosted by Charlie Mintz.

Our show this week in two parts: first, "Doing Justice for Shake Girl" profiles one class as it worked to tell a real woman's tragic life story in graphic novel form, discovering huge challenges collaborating as a group and getting the story right. Second, in "A Portrait of War" Emily Prince takes on the overwhelming and somber task of drawing a portrait of every American soldier who has died in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Produced by Hannah Krakauer and Dan Hirsch. Featuring Emily Prince, Tom Kealey, Adam Johnson, Eric Pape, The Stanford Graphic Novel Project. Music by Dengue Fever, Cambodian Cassette Tapes vol.1, Brother. Hosted by Micah Cratty.

This week's show is about the relationship between science and the investigation of psychic phenomena. We start in Special Collections of the Stanford Libraries, with a brief history of para-psychology and spiritualism at Stanford, and continue with the story of three contemporary researchers who study psychic phenomena. Today's one-hour journey reveals some of the social aspects that come into play in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Featuring Margaret Kimball, Robert Jahn, Brenda Dunne, Helen Longino and Dean Radin. Music by Noah Burbank, Ambika, Jimi Hendrix, Thelonius Monk, and Frank Zappa and the Mothers. Hosted by Bonnie Swift.

We usually think of mind control as part of the realm of fantasy, but it's all around us, and the consequences of ignoring its power range from failed pick-up-lines to genocide. In this episode, you'll hear stories about different kinds of mind control. You hear stories of Stanford students who tried to out the calculated techniques of a famous pickup artist at a campus party, and poet Elizabeth Bradfield discuss how being a tour guide in Alaska involves mind control, and some of her and Emily Dickinson's exquisite poetry. You'll also hear about mind control taken to its most extreme, from controlling the minds of whole cultures through fairy tales, to controlling only your own mind through lucid dreaming. Featuring Elizabeth Bradfield, Noah Burbank, Ellora Karmarkar, Amber Davis, Lea Yelverton, Emily Dickinson, Joshua Landy, Lanier Anderson, Fred Burbank, James Fearon, James Sheehan, William Dement. Hosted by Rachel Hamburg.

Today's show is about the different ways we experience the time of our lives. In our first story, Aaron Zarraga and Hanna Michelsen explore the evolution of nostalgia and how it has become a way for us to cope with our rapidly changing lives. Then, Rachel Dowling, Daniel MacDougall, and Tom Wiltzius interview families about how one particular kind of time 'the time of grievin' has been changed radically by advances in medicine. Finally, we hear the story of how two people decided to make the time of their own personal lives synchronize with major historical events. Produced by Nadja Blagojevic, Kirstin Ganz, Sam Tanzer. Featuring Amy Freedman, Chris Noxon, the Dowling family, the Vantrain family. Music by Chris Ayer, Brad Wolfe and Dave Chisolm. Hosted by Micah Cratty.

Campaigns are about getting people to vote for your candidate, and todayÕs show is about the missteps that can happen along the way. First, Elissa Morales and Wesley Lim tell the story of the musical jingles that help put people inÑand keep others outÑ of office. Second, Monica Uddin, Jeremy Newman and Omair Saddat answer the question youÕve always wondered: Why is there so much negativity in most campaigns? Melissa Leavitt tells the story of what happens when you go door to door to campaign and the people that answer either don't vote, or won't vote, for your candidate. Produced by Elissa Morales, Wesley Lim, Monica Uddin, Jeremy Newman, and Omair Saddat. Featuring Gabe Winant, Kalani Leifer, Jonah Berger. Music by Brad Wolfe, Taylor Murchison, Rego Sen, and Kissing Johnny. Hosted by Micah Cratty.

This week's show is made up of stories of remaking sound - through instruments, living organisms, and other means. First, experimental instrument designer Bart Hopkin brings joy to our ears with some of his wackier creations. Then, Noah Burbank speaks with some innovative inhabitants of Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, who have turned old junk into something truly exquisite. And, if you stay tuned, you might even get to hear tomatoes sing... Produced by Charlie Mintz, Noah Burbank, Daniel MacDougall. Featuring Bart Hopkin, Sasha Leitman, Jen Carlisle, Chris Chafe. Music by Johnny Hwin and Bart Hopkin. Hosted by Daniel MacDougall

The unlikely story of Saint Valentine opens the show, but as it turns out, most good love stories seem just as improbable. We set up a booth in Stanford's White Plaza and recorded passersby talking about just who - or what - they love. You'll hear their strange stories, followed by a story about the risky and rewarding world of online dating. But that's not all: four splendid love poems are also dispersed throughout the episode. Produced by Bonnie Swift, Elizabeth Bradfield, Tom Freeland, Christina Ho, Danielle Spoor, and Lily Kornbluth. Featuring people passing through White Plaza at Stanford. Music by Talisman, Matt Anderson, and Side by Side (Maxine Tang, Michelle Goldring, Deri Kusuma, Madalyn Radlauer, Alison Herson, Jose Arameta, and Michael Hsueh). Hosted by Rachel Hamburg.

First, in "From the schools to the street," Molly Roberts looks at how some high schools are responding to the increasing presence of gangs, and how their policies are often backfiring. Second, in "A Closed GATE," Britton Cailloutte and Richard Norte assess the progress of schools in fulfilling their educational mission while facing increasing numbers of minority students. And third, English lecturer Adam Johnson tells Lee Konstantinou a true story involving a bloody murder, police detectives, and a fiction writing class. Produced by Bonnie Swift, Elizabeth Bradfield, Tom Freeland, Christina Ho, Danielle Spoor, and Lily Kornbluth. Featuring Micah Cratty, Molly Roberts, Britton Callouette, Richard Norte, Adam Johnson, Lee Konstantinou. Music by Supergreen JellyBean, Zach Katagiri, Taylor Murchison, Kissing Johnny. Hosted by Micah Cratty.

Stories about the faithful in conflict with society, their families, and themselves. First, two Stanford students, one gay and one a conservative Christian, map out the battlefield between gay marriage and Christianity. Second, Drew Jacoby-Senghor tells a story about how the divine divide in America entered into his relationships with his parents and his girlfriend. And third, Will Rogers faces the same divine divide in himself and is able to bridge part of it by posting videos online and going to Quaker services. Featuring Vinni Intersimone, Matt Buchanan, Drew Jacoby-Senghor. Music by Amboy Kelso, Dave Chisolm, Hunt Alcott, Jennifer Lindsay, Kissing Johnny. Hosted by Micah Cratty

Jonah Willihnganz speaks with Andrew Altschul about his fiction work

Inspired by a 200 year old design for a more efficient prison called the panopticon, this show explores just a few of the ways we experience surveillance in society today, and how we respond to it. A fiction story by Andrew Altschul about phones and loss, an interview with the founder of a site that uses cell phones to fight street harassment, and a speech about the joys of Facebook. Featuring Ben Olmstead and Andrew Altschul, with music by Zach Katagiri, Johnny Hwin, Max Citron, DJ Matic and Mikey Lee. Hosted by Charlie Mintz.