State of the Human

State of the Human

State of the Human, a podcast of the Stanford Storytelling Project, shares stories that deepen our understanding of single, common human experiences—belonging, giving, lying, forgiveness—all drawn from the experiences and research of the Stanford community.

Episodes

Breaking the Rules, story 1: Statute of Limitations

May 9, 2025 • 19 mins

When a group of students stumbles upon a mysterious plaque hidden beneath an oak tree, a late-night discovery turns into a real-time detective story. Their search for answers uncovers a decades-old secret, and a story that’s both forgotten and unforgettable. 

 

Producers Arun Chhetri: Host, producer, sound design With Will Briger & Henry Segal   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
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Nakedness, story 4: Naked Retreat

June 28, 2024 • 11 mins
What would you do for the sake of a story? In this live story, recorded at the 2024 Senior Story Slam, Alina Wilson shares the story that spawned this series on Nakedness for State of the Human.
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Nakedness, Story 3: Okay With the Gay

June 28, 2024 • 15 mins

Growing up with Indian immigrant parents in a Wyoming college town, Aru was used to the tension of what her parents expected her to be and the person she was actually becoming. In this story, recorded at First Person Story in April of 2024, Aru takes the risk of emotional nakedness with her mom–even though it may leave her feeling exposed. www.firstpersonstory.org www.storytelling.stanford.edu

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Nakedness, story 2: Stripping Down

June 28, 2024 • 29 mins
Being naked–or seeing others naked–can evoke a firestorm of emotions . . . everything from freedom to vulnerability to sensuality to shame. In three stories pulled from the Storytelling Project archives (created in 2012) we explore the glory and grit of stripping down.
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Nakedness, story 1: Exposure Therapy

June 28, 2024 • 30 mins
Destiny Cunningham learned shame early. The comments that teachers, church leaders, and other kids made about her body led her to wear clothes like armor, hiding herself from others so she wouldn't be noticed. Years later, Destiny and her friends decide to visit a nudist retreat in the hopes that she'll learn how to become naked without feeling exposed.
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Reclaiming, story 8: Back to the Garden

June 27, 2024 • 19 mins
“Back to the Garden” tells the story of an organic farming couple, Jose and Rich, who are committed to sustaining the environment . . . and who 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. Produced by Anna McNulty, Shameeka Wilson, and Laura Joyce Davis.
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Reclaiming, story 7: Orca Boy

May 28, 2024 • 33 mins

Max Du is so obsessed with whales that his childhood friends call him Orca Boy. But when a SeaWorld trainer named Dawn is killed by an orca and there's public backlash against SeaWorld, his love for whales turns to shame. Years later he meets a whale trainer named Lyndsey, who was Dawn’s best friend. As Max and Lyndsey learn together the complicated dance of grief, loss, and healing, they find in their friendship a way to reclaim a...

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Reclaiming, story 6: Friends in Liminal Spaces

April 3, 2024 • 34 mins
When Anastasia Sotiropoulos joined the Stanford chapter of the Prison Renaissance Project, she got paired up with a man named Adamu Chan, who had been incarcerated at San Quentin prison for two decades. Their relationship began a few weeks before the pandemic, and the first time they talked San Quentin was the site of one of the largest COVID outbreaks in the nation. Over the next three years, Anastasia and Adamu exchanged dozens o...
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Reclaiming, story 5: Welcome to Paradise

April 3, 2024 • 28 mins
Carolyn Stein grew up with music like Avril Lavigne and The Marianas Trench – classic, trashy pop punk. But she never considered herself much of a punk rocker, until she took a little trip to the East Bay to a tiny venue called 924 Gilman Street. But soon after Carolyn discovers this venue, she learns that it may be at risk of closing. What will be lost if this venue closes? Welcome to Paradise was produced by Carolyn Stein, Ana D...
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Reclaiming, story 4: Tattoos and Taboos

April 2, 2024 • 17 mins
Whether you have a tattoo or not, we are all familiar with the stigmas that are commonly held against tattoos. Where does this aversion come from? What do these taboos say about history? What do they say about us? In this story, Keoni Rodriguez shares how his tattoos helped him reclaim his indigenous Hawaiian heritage, connect with his ancestors, and begin to heal a history of colonialism and erasure. Tattoos and Taboos was produc...
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BONUS: Story Craft Conversation with Kaitlyn Auth and Charlie Darracott on Keep Stanford Wrestling

April 2, 2024 • 13 mins
Alina Wilson and Alex Strong sit down with Kaitlyn Auth and Charlie Darracott for a story craft conversation about the story behind creating Keep Stanford Wrestling.
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Reclaiming, story 3: Keep Stanford Wrestling

April 1, 2024 • 15 mins
In the spring of 2020, Stanford University made the decision to cut 11 of their varsity teams due to financial issues and lack of success. This episode follows the men’s wrestling team and their coaches in the months following the decision to cut their team as they navigate the challenges of fighting for their spot back.
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BONUS: Story Craft Conversation with Aru Nair on Journey Through Generations

December 20, 2023 • 30 mins
As an added bonus to our Reclaiming series, we’re including conversations with the creators who made them to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of audio storytelling. In this episode, Alex Strong talks with Aru Nair, the creator of Journey Through Generations, the second story in our Reclaiming series.
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Reclaiming, story 2: Journey Through Generations

December 20, 2023 • 23 mins
In this episode, the 2nd in our Reclaiming What's Been Lost series, 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.
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Reclaiming, story 1: Home is Little Tokyo

December 5, 2023 • 33 mins
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 Litt...
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Feeding (Full Episode)

February 3, 2021 • 58 mins
Eating is one of life’s great pleasures, but what about the pleasures that come with sharing your food with others? In this episode, we’re looking at how the act of feeding can bring people together. We’ll hear the tale of an unlikely pet, a meditation on cannibalism, and a story about children on a rooftop garden in San Francisco.
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Gathering (full episode)

June 1, 2020 • 61 mins
What do we gain from gathering? In this episode, we’re thinking about how coming together can change us. We’ll hear about a citizen-led clean-up movement in India, a Bay Area artist who forms an unlikely friendship with a church in Colorado, and a student who experiences the power of connection at a living museum on Stanford campus. Producers: Isabella Tilley, Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Regina Ta, Adesuwa Agbonile, Aparna Verma, Victoria ...
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Preserving (full episode)

May 8, 2020 • 53 mins
This episode investigates the act of preserving, a decision made in the present, regarding the past, looking towards the future. What can we learn from what we choose to preserve? What does preserving reveal about our values? Producers: Cat Fergesen, Karen Ge, Regina Kong, Liv Jenks, Andy Lee, Lola McAllister, Carolyn Stein, Allie Wollner, and Grace Zhang Music: Traveler by Alexander Nakarada http://oroclick.com/Celtic-music/...
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Learning Medicine (full episode)

March 18, 2020 • 56 mins
We visit five places on campus where future doctors are learning how to practice medicine. We’re going to real classrooms: anatomy lab and wet lab, lecture halls, we visit a Stanford Free Clinic, bike across campus to the mausoleum, and head down the road to Webb Ranch. We’re asking: How are students learning to practice medicine, thoughtfully? Producers: Victoria Yuan, Aparna Verma, JJ Kapur, Sarah Griffin, Esha Dhawan, Linda Li...
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Materializing (full episode)

December 6, 2019 • 54 mins
What ideas exist behind material objects? In this episode, we’re going to look at stuff—things we can see or hear or touch—to try to understand the intangible, like memory, history, and bias. Producers: Adesuwa Agbonile, Jett Hayward, Yue Li, Jenny March, Isabella Tilley, Melina Walling, Val Gamao
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