Braden Storytelling Grant

This story is about how traditional Chinese music travels across time, distance, and migration, carried by the people who choose to keep it alive. Through the stories of two musicians and producer Rosina Lin's own journey as a listener, it explores memory, identity, and what it means to belong. Original scoring by Rosina Lin. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviews Yifan — Pipa player and software engineer based in Seattle George — Dizi player and music producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area   Music Acknowledgments Music and sound elements from Apple Loops and Freesound.org; Original scoring by Rosina Lin

Why do Cambodian American stories disappear—both from family albums and from school curricula? In this documentary, producer Rani Chor follows one community’s effort to reclaim its history, asking what happens to identity, power, and belonging when a people’s past is left untaught. In California’s first model curriculum for Cambodian Americans, we find these lost stories. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviewees: Ratha Kim, owner of Rajana Threads Bandaul Chansy, Kindergarten Teacher, Long Beach Unified Youk Chhang, Executive Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) Marika Manos, Project Lead, History/Social Science Manager of OCDE Joshua Brown, Project Manager, Model Curriculum, OCDE Matthew O’Donnell, Program Specialist on Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum, OCDE Music Credits: Cambodian Rock and Roll -- Yol Aularong + Tuk - Sou Slarp Kroam Kombut Srey (Rather Die Under the Woman's Sword) Cambodian American Studies Curriculum: https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/cambodian-american-studies 

This episode follows livermush from producer Ana Gray's family farm to a North Carolina factory, told through family memory, labor, and survival. What begins as a search for a childhood food becomes a story about inheritance, care, and quiet resistance. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Music: Free Music Archies Eirik finbak, Dear Whiskey  Youtube Studio Audio Library Chris Haugen, Soul Food  Alge, make the visible invisible freesound.org Credits: Phyllis Hunter Bracket and Louise Rulfed and the Hunter Livermush family Macy Jones  Martha Jones, my Aunt Mothe The SSP team, with a special Shout out to Dawn J Fraser

What does it take to conserve a forest? Most people think about the Amazon Rainforest when they think of Brazil. But in fact, most Brazilians live in the Atlantic Forest. Despite being a patchwork of what it once was, the Atlantic Forest is incredibly resilient, biodiverse, and crucial to life. In this episode, we get to hear from some of the people restoring and protecting this forest before it is too late. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviewees: Diego Igawa Martinez, MSc. Project Analyst for SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation Luísa Genes, MSc. Scientific Director at Refauna / PhD candidate in Ecology at Stanford University. James Dietz, PhD. Founding Director, Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) Ben Beck, PhD. Founding Director, Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) Audio Credits: Music from MixKit and Blue Dot Sessions. Additional sound provided by Xeno Canto: Golden Lion Tamarin Audio. Ricardo José Mitidieri, XC960597. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/960597. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Green-barred Woodpecker. Bobby Wilcox, XC388433. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/388433. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Guira Cuckoo. Bobby Wilcox, XC328779659. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/391932. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Saffron Toucanet. Daniel Mello, XC530230. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/530230 under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).

After her mother’s passing, Kristine abandoned the Bulgarian folk dancing she’d grown up with. Now, through conversations with dancers across generations, she’s searching for what she lost — and questioning what it really means to belong to a culture. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Music: Vocals from Maria Belekova, singing a mix of traditional Bulgarian folklore works from different regions Interviewees: Sonia Kirova, President of Ripni Kalinke Cultural Center Ginny & Alan Snyder, dancers in Ripni Kalinke group Sonya Koltchev, Bulgarian-American student at Royal Veterinary College in London Yuliyan Yordanov, Bulgarian folklore teacher and choreographer Konstantin Marinov, Founder of Festival “Vereya” and accompanying dance ensemble

Producer West Mulholland explores generational silence within the Japanese American community. A holder of heritage and a carrier of stories that are not his own, Mulholland searches for what it means to narrate an inherited silence near the desert fences of Manzanar, an American Incarceration Camp and living National Historic Site. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project.  Interviewees Bryan Watanabe, adult son of Manzanar survivor Tsuneo “Tom” Watanabe Sarah Bone, Manzanar veteran park ranger Natalie Tokita, UCLA undergraduate student, granddaughter of Manzanar survivors & Arnold Maeda Manzanar Pilgrimage Grant Recipient Music Sound effects: ambient noises collected at Manzanar, August 2025 Taiko drums; Kyodo Taiko (UCLA) at 2023 Manzanar Pilgrimage References National Park Service: Manzanar: National Historic Site California JANM: Japanese American National Museum Densho “Man Walking With Grandson,” Densho Digital Archives, The Dorothea Lange Collection, Public Domain, 1942. Special Thanks Bryan and Lynda Watanabe, Sarah Bone, Natalie Tokita, Manzanar National Park Service, and the Stanford Storytelling Project.

In this episode, producer Alana Esposito travels to Montana to learn more about the iconic American Buffalo and its complicated history in Yellowstone National Park.  Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project.   Music from BlueDotSessions: Pigpaddle Creek Vengeful On Early Light Sprig Leaf   Interviewees: Román Sanchez Dallas Gudgell Justine Sanchez Mike Mease Kasi Crocker

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to support the research, writing, and production of audio documentaries. The aim of the program is to help students learn how to tell powerful, research-driven stories based on testimony they gather through interviews, research, or oral history archives. Grantees receive up to $2,500, along with teaching, training, and mentorship for the duration of the project. Here's what the 2023 Grantees had to say about their experience.

How Patsy Cline shifted the country music industry--and a whole country's idea of femininity. Interviewees: Ellis Nasser Margaret Jones Sources: Country Music USA by Bill C. Malone Creating Country Music by Richard A. Peterson Selling Tradition: Appalachia and the Construction of an American Folk by Jane E. Song Catchers, Ballad Makers, and New Social Historians: The Historiography of Appalachian Music Music by Patsy Cline & Blue Dot Sessions

"New Flowers" explores the history of Addis Ababa's Piassa's neighborhood: its birth, destruction, and what sense of home remains. Includes interviews with Paul Buddenhagen, Sine Berhanu, Messay Gesesse Mikael Shebele, Dany Dereje, and Yalew Berhanu. Music: Mulatu Astatke: "Tezeta," "Tension," "Yekeremo Sew," "Yegelle Tezeta" Daniele Serra

Digital diagnosis explores how telehealth is changing the physician patient relationship. Through interviews with both physicians and patients we uncover where telehealth shines and where it falls short, ultimately getting to the heart of what medicine is and how we can use technology in a way that puts people first.   Interviewees:Sarah Grace LeBaronLyle Joyce, M.D.Randi ZellerResearch:● https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-024-01152-2● https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10210114/● https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7690251/Music:● Phase Purple by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290642">Blue Dot Sessions</a>● Brek PKL by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290643">Blue Dot Sessions</a>● Our Fingers Cold by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290644">Blue DotSessions</a>● The Griffiths by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290645">Blue Dot Sessions</a>    

Climbers modify the rock to climb safely, leaving permanent anchors for catching falls. This was not always the practice, and its early implementation lead to a period of conflict in the climbing community when ethics were in flux. Climbing has solved this dilemma, and can show the world how to walk reframe the line between environmental sustainability and land use.    Name and title of interviewees: Dan Earhart, MS, Climbing Coordinator, Stanford University Jane Willenbring, PhD, Professor of Earth and Planetary Systems, Stanford University Hugh Driscol, Principal and founder of Chord Architecture in Santa Fe New Mexico Emma Harrison, PhD, Environmental Scientist, advocate. Rupesh Chhugan TCMP, CHP, Hakomi practitioner.   Music Attribution (In order of appearance) Setting Pace by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290191">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Road to Petersby by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/285202">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Hanging Rock by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290346">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Bauxite by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290218">Blue Dot Sessions</a> KeoKeo by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290262">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Evol Triumph by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/290238">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Capstone by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/285163">Blue Dot Sessions</a> Set the Tip Jar by <a href="https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/285159">Blue Dot Sessions</a>

A California-born CHamoru woman’s personal journey discovering how CHamoru became endangered and how Guam’s island community was restoring the language. Show Notes: Interviews included Antoinette McDaniel, Aunt and Professor studying Chamoru culture; Mark Mendiola, Director of Institutional Advancement University of Guam; Michelle Chrisostomo, Founder of Guahan Sustainable Culture; Anna Marie Arceo, Founder of Chief Hurao Academy; Jesse Charfauros, Father and lifelong mentor(Not included in final episode)Jimmy Teria - CHamoru Language and Culture Specialist Guam Department of Education Research referenced in this episode.● National Park Service - Guam Study(https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/wapa/guam_study.pdf)● Bevacqua, M. L., & Cruz, M. L. (2020). The banality of American empire: The curiouscase of guam, usa. Journal of Transnational American Studies, 11(1), 127–149.https://doi.org/10.5070/t8111046995 ● Aguon, J. (2021). The Properties of Perpetual Light. University of Guam ISBN978-1-935198-36-9● Combs, S. (2022, January 26). In WWII, the Japanese invaded Guam. now they’rewelcomed as tourists. History.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/wwii-japan-invaded-guam-now-welcomed-touristsAudio Stories:● The Sunday Read: ‘The America That Americans Forget’:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbfkKeLKFZ0● PBS Guam - War For Guam:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moBvsySdCHs&t=2124sAcknowledgments for any music you used (artist, song title).(Pacha Faro, Car Ride)(Cranberry House, Cruxis)(The Caravan, Waiting At Dawn)(Sketchbook, Contrarian)(Earthmover, The Melt)    

This episode explores the story of Lima’s Tusán—Peruvian Chinese—community, examining their influence on Peruvian culture and identity through Chifas, restaurants serving Peruvian-Chinese cuisine. From the history of Chinese immigration to Peru to today’s Barrio Chino (Chinatown), I consider what it means to assimilate, belong, and transform.   Featured Interviewees:● Rodrigo Campos, Founder of Tusanaje● Diana Hu Huang, Mandarin Chinese Teacher● Linda Liu, Master’s Student● Antonio Chang Diplomat and HistorianNon-Featured Interviewees:● Boya Li, PhD. Journalist, Historian● Dennis Chu, Owner of Flor de Mayo Restaurant in NYC● Lok Siu, PhD. Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley● Sutee Dee, Author of How to Eat in Peru Blog● Tiffany Wang, prev. Researcher at SwarthmoreResearch Referenced:● https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/chinese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/#:~:text=About%204.7%20million%20Chinese%20Americans,born.● https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/11/25/247166284/a-history-of-indentured-labor-gives-coolie-its-sting● https://www.thecleaverquarterly.com/stories/chifa-diaries● https://www.howtoeatinperu.com/p/four-things-that-i-missed-about-peru● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Peruvians● https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/chinese-peruvian-tusan-immigrants-history● https://www.tusanaje.org/biblioteca/items/show/15● https://panoramas.secure.pitt.edu/health-and-society/chinatown-peru-brief-look-chinese-diaspora-latin-america● https://works.swarthmore.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1599&context=theses● https://www.pbs.org/ancestorsintheamericas/fabiana_1.html● https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00598155/document● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luz_incident● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Peruvians● https://oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-1023?p=emailAaYgy7EkN7aao&d=/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-1023● https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/the-evolution-and-preservation-of-chinese-peruvian-identity/      

Fadie Arabo's story is about uncovering the Chaldean identity: What it means to him and how it has changed since coming to Stanford.People interviewed:Dr. Dean Winslow: Medical doctorTerezsa Arabo: Young ChaldeanRami Sarafa: Harvard BusinessKen Alyass: Harvard HistorianZiyad Gawis: El-Cajon ChaldeanZena Roumaya: MotherCal Abbo: Chaldean News EditorJohn Kurikuz: Chaldean Stanford Alumni   Research drawn from the following sources: https://www.chaldeannews.com/ https://www.chaldeannews.com/2023-content/2023/12/1/who-are-the-chaldeans Music Acknowledgementshttps://www.soundsnap.com/tags/cashier: 1https://pixabay.com/music/search/flight/: 3https://www.soundboard.com/sb/sound/1105823#google_vignette: california lovehttps://pixabay.com/music/search/arab/: 4  

What does it mean to come face to face with failure as a student at an 'elite' school? What advice do alumni, advisors, and professionals have to share about wellness, academic competition, and perfectionism? And is there a secret to surviving in today's age of a dangerous productivity culture? Can you come back from burnout? Tune in :) - Maija Cruz - Cari Costanzo - Thomas Curran - 10% Happier Podcast - Nowhere to Run instrumental - Stegosaurus Rex - Symphonia IX Instrumental - Current Joys - Hail, Stanford, Hail - Stanford Choir

In this story about connection outside the bounds of physical space, time, and life experience, an unlikely friendship buds during uncertain times.      

In an effort to reconnect with her Cambodian identity, Marissa Mengheang explores the experiences of Cambodian genocide survivors, including her own grandparents. But her search for knowledge takes to her to an unexpected place. This episode contains references to genocide, murder, and human rights violations.

“Back to the Garden” tells the story of an organic farming couple, Jose and Rich, who are committed to sustaining the environment and who also don't believe in climate change. This episode explores how that dissonance might be possible, the power of language, and whether or not the term "climate change" will help save the planet.

Despite 13+ years of a fractured relationship between mother and daughter, this episode journeys through the past, present, and future, highlighting one unlikely solution that changed the trajectory of a family and its generations.

Kevi grew up surrounded by Filipino caregivers--many of whom had to leave their families in the Philippines to work in the US. As she starts to unpack the histories of the people who raised her, Kevi embarks on a journey of discovery that reveals the dark history of how the US caregiving industry became dependent on the separation of Filipina workers from their families.

This intro episode of the Regeneration Pilgrimage series is about a journey of self discovery that took place in nature-based off grid communities in Portugal and Spain. This episode is an intimate, deeply personal story of the month long solo-pilgrimage that your host, Alice Grace, set out on in the Summer of 2023. This is her story of finding healing and the secrets to living in alignment with purpose to transcend the illusions of the modern capitalistic matrix.

This episode explores the different futures made possible when you balance narratives of dispossession with narratives of joy--and how we see that manifest in Oaxaca's celebrations and the different ways that community members seek to make themselves visible.        

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to support the research, writing, and production of audio documentaries. The aim of the program is to help students learn how to tell powerful, research-driven stories based on testimony they gather through interviews, research, or oral history archives. Grantees receive up to $2,500, along with teaching, training, and mentorship for the duration of the project. Here's what the 2023 Grantees had to say about their experience.

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to support the research, writing, and production of audio documentaries. The aim of the program is to help students learn how to tell powerful, research-driven stories based on testimony they gather through interviews, research, or oral history archives. Grantees receive up to $2,500, along with teaching, training, and mentorship for the duration of the project. Here's what the 2023 Grantees had to say about their experience.

Aru Nair goes on a journey to India to understand how oral tradition preserves cultures. But when a surprise trip to her father's home town shows her a side if him she's never seen, she emerges with a new understanding of how the stories we tell shape the people we become.

After months apart, a mother and daughter pick an unlikely reunion activity: a pilgrimage. Follow them as they take a journey up coastal Scotland and deepen their understanding of themselves and their relationship.

This is the story of a mother fighting grief after the loss of her daughter, and navigating what it means to be Indigenous within a criminal justice system that tries to take away her voice. These are her words. To learn more about Skye, visit: justiceforskyejim.com/ and for resources on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women visit: theskyewomanproject.com/ .

Little Tokyo is a small neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles. Since 1905, it has been home to generations of Japanese Americans. Today, gentrification is threatening to destroy everything these families have built. This episode tells the story of one community's struggle for survival and the ways in which historical development has both fractured and solidified its people. For some, home is a bed one sleeps in. For us, home is Little Tokyo.

The town of Rhinelander Wisconsin has a curious obsession: the Hodag, a fearsome green beast that a lumberjack allegedly discovered there in 1893. Entranced by the legend, Isabella and Sam travel to Rhinelander to uncover what’s behind the Hodag— and to decide if they should believe, too.

A story about people experiencing homelessness and their path to reconnection with their loved ones. Listen to learn why no matter where you are and what your journey in life has been, you will always be someone’s somebody.

What does it mean to protest and are there ways to do so that bring creativity to the forefront along with the issues? Listen to how those who were on the front lines of the WTO protests in Seattle used puppetry to get their ideas and demands across to those in power.

Come on a journey to understand our fascination with sea monsters and what they inspire in humans. In particular, hear about the Icelandic Lagarfljótsormur, the water monster that sparked a 13 person commission of the Icelandic government to investigate its existence.

Every year, a small group of Stanford Students are awarded grants to complete audio stories under the teaching, training, and mentorship of the Stanford Storytelling Project. These are the stories that came out of that process from 2020 to 2021.

I grew up in the sprawl of Los Angeles. I grew up on garage shows, Whiskey-A-Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard, classmates rapping on SoundCloud, my mom driving me an hour and a half to a venue in Orange County. My experiences with DIY music communities have been among the most important aspects of my life; yet, the deeper I get into this world, the more I hear people tell me that I missed out on “the glory days.” In this story, I travel to Asheville, North Carolina to prove that DIY is, in fact, not dead, but that young people today are making the subculture more accessible and creative. Producer: Hannah Scott Featuring: Mark Hosler Emma Hutchens Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol Music: Scott Shoemaker, the Well Drinkers (live at the Grey Eagle) alright lover: “II”, “divorced father son all stars”, “furukawa” Ulises Lima: “Mark 1” Richard Jonas: “hhhaaarrrdddcccooorrreee” Pudge: “Sweetheart” Negativland: “Destroying Anything” Spaceman Jones and the Motherships: “My City Has Lights” “Around the Cliffs” Slugly: “Poison” (live at the Mothlight) Dude Babe (live at Fleetwoods) Special Thanks: David McConville Alice Sebrell Andrea Burns Debevoise Teresa Clark Fred Turner

When you feel at home thousands of miles away from your birthplace, what choice do you have but to return? I take a return trip to the Festival of the Rosary—an African syncretic festival in the southeast of Brazil. In returning, I learned African diasporic peoples might be connected by more than just African ancestry. Marked by cultural loss from the middle passage, this festival births a culture of its own. Its songs and rituals speak to the suffering of slavery and embrace a remembrance of forgotten homelands. As a black person from the United States, being in the presence of this grieving made room for something else to take root. Producer: Mylan Gray Featuring: Ana Luzia Da Silva, Padre Jailson, Rainha Cleusa, Dayonna Tucker, Ramona Greene, Cameron Woods

In the summer of 2019, I took off on a cross-country road trip to discover my father’s mysterious hippie past. Though I grew up with a dad who worked as an accounting professor, all throughout my childhood I heard stories of my dad building log cabins in Washington Woodlands, running a granola coop and my half-sister born on the kitchen table. Join me as I travel across time and space to uncover the truth of it all and learn from “the reality teacher.” Producer: Elena Press Music: Unthunk Monplaisir An Eagle in Your Mind Les Hayden Lobo Loco Kathleen Martin Mutherpluckin Silicon Transmitter Latch Swing

What’s the point of all of this? It’s a question we've all asked ourselves. For child-refugees who’ve come to America (and their descendants), attempting to answer this question is inevitably tied with wondering why fate, God, or whatever higher power they believe in has given them opportunities that those who came before them did not have.If you’ve ever asked yourself what it is that you need to be doing in life, this story is for you. You don’t have to come from a refugee background to relate. It’s simply the story of a young man who’s beginning to seriously question his lot in life, intertwining it with his family background, and coming to terms with the nature of it all. By exploring the three lives of a now-reintegrated middle-aged man who was sentenced to prison at 15, a college student who once couldn’t dream, and a high school student balancing what she owes to her mother and to herself; Ethan hopes to answer one question: what am I here for, if anything? Producer: Ethan Lo Featured voices: Ethan Lo, Choy, Paw, Neesha Music: Opening Credits, Johnny Ripper Rain, Aaron Ximm Night Caves, Lee Rosevere Ominous Beat, Setuniman freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ Harmonious Ending, Setuniman freesound.org/people/Setuniman/

In her late thirties, Lanie, Sophie’s mom, became a born again Christian. Christianity gave her life meaning and happiness. When Lanie found God, “All the heaviness was just lifted.” Sophie, an atheist, struggles to find purpose in her own life. In this story, Sophie sets out to determine if what saved her mother could save her, too. Producer: Sophie McNulty Music: The Healing (Sergey Cheremisinov) Precisamos de um plano (rui) Valantis (Blue Dot Sessions) Waves (Pictures of the Floating World) Multiverse (Ketsa) Postcards mastere

In the summer of 2019, I fly to Israel with a single goal in mind. I want to play a song. But not just any song. I want to play a Klezmer song. This podcast follows my journey meeting Jewish musicians and dealing with family tragedy to compose a personal song. “Music doesn’t lie.” You'll agree when you hear how beautiful, haunting, and inspiring Klezmer music can be. Producer: Daniel Helena Alexander Music: “Miter Der Lerrer” by Di Gasn Trio “Schwartz Doina and Al’s Dances” by Daniel Hoffman “San Diego” by Blink-182 “Bagopolier Freylekhs” by Klezmer Israel “Hora de Concert” by Emil Aybinder “In Your Arms” by Forestt “Music for Bows and Feet” by Daniel Hoffman “Festival Excerpts” by HaBalkania “Hora Mittsibeles” by Alicia Svigels “Excerpts” by HaBalkania “Niggun” by Gal Klein

What does it mean to (be queer) and come of age on the internet? In the past ten years, the queer games movement has exploded. Around the world, more and more people feel like they can make free and simple and strange games - ones that speak to queer stories and experiences. But it wasn’t always this easy. Some queer gamers used the earliest, clunkiest internet to find each other in crisis, to find friends, community, and a lifeline support in a time when no one was paying attention. Follow the journeys of queer gamers as they reflect on their earliest experiences online - experiences of freedom and discomfort, of community and isolation. They’ve since become architects of the internet, contributing to online communities as media scholars and game developers, but for these queer gamers, it all started way back. Producer: Julie Fukunaga Featured voice (subjects names if they want to share): Pedro Gallardo (he/him), Teddy Pozo (they/them), Kat Brewster (they/she) Au Clair de Lune (Sunhiilow) Sad Day Slow Game Music (HeatleyBros) PlaymateX, In My Head (Podington Bear) Flight of Lulu (Possimiste) Notice the Absence of You is Here (Monplaisir) You Can Calmly Put This Thing Together (Junior85) Opening Credits (JohnnyRipper) Route 3 (Mikel (Game Chops)) Various themes from Animal Crossing

While working in Entebbe, Uganda for two months, Dylan befriends a group of musicians and creates a music video for a rapper named Ben. Join Dylan as his personal identity and perceptions about Entebbe are challenged, nuanced, and shaped through the creation of the music video. Producer: ​Dylan Junkin Special thanks to Rahul Benno Music: HIlls and Valleys by Buju Banton, The Road is Rough by Jimmy London, Right Right Time by Johnny Osbourne, Do Good by F. Stewart, Kyarenga by H.E. Bobi Wine, Skonto by Fic Fameica,

Description: In Hue, Vietnam, bullet holes and bunkers are constant reminders of the stories no one mentions. In New York, a daughter tries to understand how the war in Vietnam has shaped her father’s life and hers. In both worlds, however, “History is politics” and silence is the rule. But what happens when we start asking about memory, not History? Producer: Axelle Marcantetti  

I would have been born here, had my parents never left this town for the U.S. In my journey, I retrace my steps back to Malinaltenango, Mexico, the land my parents have always called home and a land I have never really known on my own. During my time here, I struggle with ideas of identity, belonging, family, and trauma. I re-open wounds that have long been sealed to make sense of my life in relation to my grandmothers. “It’s a part of my history that I never like to think about, because it makes me sad, or maybe guilty for being born when I was and where I was. Or maybe I don’t think about it because it makes me fear loneliness. Because what if they pain of loneliness is just as transferable as their love?” Producer: ​Andrea Flores

Besher grew up in Syria till the war forced him, and his family, to flee. This non-narrated portrait follows his journey from Aleppo to California and finally to Stanford Medical School. Produced as part of MED 232 Global Health course (2018) Producer: Besher Ashouri (and Jake warga) Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1477997213

Hurricane Maria revealed a dependency on the government but there was one community that used it as an opportunity to claim their independence. “There was no government here. And we couldn't wait for the government. We couldn't wait for anyone.” In this story I visit of the community of Mariana that has tried to separate themselves from the government. Producer: Gabriela Nagle Alverio Music: Puerto Rico from Pastel Beach by Englewood, Elementary wave by Erokia, Night Cave by Lee Rosevere.

What does a war taste like? Tracing the history of U.S. military combat ration in Korea, the podcast tells the Koreans’ bittersweet encounters with America. Producer: Won-Gi Jung Music: “Submerging Blue-Black” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient “Memory Wind” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient

If sound matters, why? I am not alone in fearing blindness, because we live in a world of visuals. Whether I am reading a book, following street signs, or hopping on a train, I can’t imagine navigating a world without my eyes. I tune out the cacophony of cars, squeaks, barks, and pedestrian crossings on a daily basis. In privileging sight, what am I missing in sound? “When you close your eyes you begin to feel your body. You become aware of your non-visual abilities,” said Thomas Tajo, a blind echolocator. I speak with human echolocators, eye researchers, and music professors to discover just how much sound has to offer. Close your eyes. Tune in, and listen to what is revealed. Producer: Chloe Barreau Music: Veni Creator Spiritus by John Dunstable (www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dYAEpf-A-A) Lost and Found by Podington Bear Three Colors by Podington Bear

You’re six years old. Child protective services removed you from the only life you’ve ever known and placed you in state custody, into the foster care system. Producer: ​​Rachel Vaughan Music:​​ Junior85 - You can calmly put this thing together Lee Rosevere - And So Then Podington Bear - Daydreamer

Some people pray to gods, but other people pray to ghosts. In this story, Katie Lan explores the temples and folk religion in Taiwan, where her parents and the rest of her family is from. Here, she explores ghost temples and even learns to pray to a dog? Producer: Katie Lan Music: 晶晶 1969 鄧麗君 www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0lHGnKtSI