All Episodes
The Story Talks Back — 71 episodes
Dani Shapiro: Discovering extraordinary wisdom in fiction, memoir, and everyday life
Preview: Dani Shapiro reveals the very different challenges of writing fiction versus memoir
Yaffa Lerea: Revealing the storytelling artistry of the film editor
Preview: Noted film editor Yaffa Lerea tells of her NYC apprenticeship in video as storytelling
Timothy Ferris: Turning science into masterful stories — from Stephen Hawking to Voyager and beyond
Preview: Award-winning science writer Timothy Ferris tells why he scrapped a year’s worth of prose
Gered Mankowitz: Seeing rock icons through the storyteller’s lens
Preview: Gered Mankowitz on collaborating with the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and others
Garrett Hongo: Exploring the rich connections among poetry, memoir and storytelling
”It ain’t cool”: Garrett Hongo shares stories of everyday prejudice and condescension in academic life
John Gardner: Remembering a passionate, controversial advocate for writers and fiction
Glenn Gould: Remembering a master storyteller of music and media
Preview: Tim Page discusses pianist Glenn Gould as story and storyteller
Preview: A tribute to novelist, critic, and teacher John Gardner -- 40 years later
Dean Sluyter: Finding dharma stories in Western classics -- from Dickinson to Dr. Seuss
Preview: Dean Sluyter reveals what MAD Magazine taught him about enlightenment -- and dharma stories
Dr. Bertrand Cramer: Unearthing the extraordinary everyday stories of parents and children
Preview: Dr. Bertrand Cramer on Freud, psychoanalysis, and how childhood stories shape us as adults
Toby Amies: Documentary director celebrates the power of human stories
Preview: Filmmaker Toby Amies describes his ”moment by moment” approach to documentary storytelling
Dr. Judith Ruskay Rabinor: Celebrating the special beauty and challenges of mother-daughter stories
Preview: Dr. Judith Rabinor talks about mothers, stories, and coming to terms with ambivalence
Bianca Stone: From poetry to myth to comics -- sharing stories and experiences with readers
Preview: Bianca Stone explores the crucial interactions between storytellers and their audiences
Jack Rabid: The ”godfather” of punk rock journalists shares his own story
Preview: Jack Rabid shares stories of his passion for music outside the mainstream
Richard Kostelanetz: The ”Earl of Wordship” shares stories of artistic experimentation and discovery
Preview: Richard Kostelanetz on his lifetime of discovery -- as writer, editor, and publisher
Julie Lythcott-Haims: Stories of Black biracial life in white America
Preview: Julie Lythcott-Haims talks about being ”problematic” in white-centric America
Michael Horton: Secrets of Hollywood storytellers -- in front of the camera and behind the scenes
Preview: Michael Horton on Hollywood‘s ”hidden” storytellers
Laura Uplinger: Revealing stories of the womb and beyond
Dani Shapiro: Unearthing stories of identity, faith, self-deception, and secrets
Preview: Dani Shapiro reveals the power of stories to shape -- and undermine -- our sense of self
Special edition: A centenary celebration of pianist and educator Jane Stanton
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: Revealing the brain's innate connection to stories and storytelling
Preview: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor on the power of audiences in storytelling
Gary Husband: Two instruments, one storytelling voice
Preview: "Dual" virtuoso Gary Husband on improvising, composing, and "power of 3's" in musical storytelling
TC Boyle: The storyteller as raconteur extraordinaire
Preview: TC Boyle tells how stories help us cope with a "preposterous universe"
Bob Minkin: A lensman captures stories of rock transcendence
Preview: Bob Minkin on photography, storytelling, and his adventures with the Grateful Dead
Ananda Lima: A gifted storyteller shares her vision -- merging genres, languages, and cultures
Preview: Ananda Lima -- surreal storyteller meets realist poet
Joel Gardner: Seeing a novelist's own story through his son's eyes
Ruth Lisa Schechter: Celebrating an extraordinary poet & mentor
Preview: Maria Gillan tells about her life-changing first visit with poet Ruth Lisa Schechter
Bayo Akomolafe: Reclaiming a post-colonial universe of African storytelling
Preview: Bayo Akomolafe tells of "meeting" Yoruba stories for the first time
Paul Muldoon: From anapests to "Eleanor Rigby" -- stories from a restless poetic mind
Preview: Paul Muldoon on ghost stories, Westerns, and "telling pictures"
Joan Jeanrenaud: A story of musical transformation
Preview: Joan Jeanrenaud on helping Terry Riley shape early minimalist classics
Carolyn Forché: Bearing witness through the power of poetry
Preview: Carolyn Forché tells how Margaret Atwood and the Mt. St. Helens eruption conspired to reshape her poetry career
Thomas Avino: Storyteller of the avant-garde
Preview: Thomas Avino on learning sax from John Zorn
David Cay Johnston: The story behind the scoop
Preview: David Cay Johnston on his first news story
Tim Page: Stories from a passionate life of the mind
Preview: How his passion for music turned Tim Page into a 10-year-old critic
Linda Gray Sexton: In the footsteps of the gray ghost
Preview: Linda Gray Sexton on collaborating with her Mom -- and living with her ghost
Kid Ace excerpt: Living in the real world
David Harrington: Telling stories with violin in hand
Dean Sluyter: The dharma storyteller
Ann Herold: The editor's voice
Kid Ace: The stories behind the illusions
A preview of The Story Talks Back