The extraordinary stories of ordinary Mancunians

In 2016, Caroline Dyer and Colette Burroughs-Rose shared frustrations with how the world was becoming more divided. They believed the political developments of the time — the election of Donald Trump and Brexit — had caused more friction in the world and there was a need for more nuanced conversations to help us reconnect. In the aftermath of this division, Heard Storytelling was born. It began with a series of live events in a pub in the Northern Quarter, where people were invited to share their personal stories in front of a live audience. Just last month, they launched their first podcast series, the Heard Storytelling podcast. They publish twice a week, with one long form episode on Monday which features a story and an interview with the storyteller, and on Fridays, they publish Briefly Heard, which offers behind-the-scenes insights into how a story was crafted. In this special episode, Mollie sits down with Heard Storytelling's co-founder Caroline Dyer to discuss the inspirational Manchester stories that they discovered while making the podcast, the importance of being vulnerable with strangers and why storytelling matters. Warning: this episode contains a mention of suicidal ideation.Recommendations:The Heard Storytelling PodcastSobriety's Wake-Up Call: Karl's StoryFollow Heard Storytelling on Instagram to keep up with their latest events, projects and announcements Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.