Stanford Storytelling Project captures human experience in “State of the Human” podcast

By: Kim Ngo
January 18, 2017
The Stanford Daily

“It doesn’t matter what we bury: a body, a feeling, or an object. We expect it to stay buried. We put it aside and bid it farewell… But sometimes the grave is not a final resting place.” — so begins the podcast “State of the Human,” run by the the Stanford Storytelling Project (SSP), an arts program on campus that seeks to promote the art of storytelling within the undergraduate community. more


Anna Deveare Smith

7 Steps to Telling a Fantastic Story

By Rachael Schultz
Men’s Health
March 10, 2016

“From Pixar films to high-school plays to magazine features, every good story needs a conflict, says Jonah Willihnganz, director of the Stanford Storytelling Project at Stanford University. …”more


Anna Deveare Smith

Anna Deavere Smith talks about the healing power of stories

By Vanna Tran
The Dish
November 1, 2015

“On Oct. 28, hundreds gathered at Memorial Auditorium for a night of storytelling and conversation with former Stanford faculty member ANNA DEAVERE SMITH, an award-winning pioneer in the field of documentary theater. …”more


Rachel Hamburg

The Podcast Invasion

By Nick Veronin
Metroactive
July 30, 2015

“… Some of the freshest faces on the podcasting scene are Rosie La Puma and Eileen Williams, undergraduate students working with the Stanford Storytelling Project. The project aims to “promote the transformative nature of traditional and modern oral storytelling” by giving students the skills and tools to create their own audio stories. …”more


Telling True Stories: Braden Grant helps Stanford students broadcast audio documentaries

By Elizabeth Schwyzer
Palo Alto Weekly
June 25, 2015

“First-hand accounts of American drag queens and gender artists. Stories of children living in orphanages in Ghana. The experience of women after serving prison sentences in California, the beliefs of native healers in Hawaii and the origins of the American folk song, “We Shall Overcome.” These are among the audio documentaries created by recipients of the Braden Grant. …”more


Mischa Shoni

Stanford undergrads explore the power of storytelling with audio documentaries

By Josh Hoyt
Stanford News
March 1, 2015

“From orphans in Ghana to drag queens in San Francisco – Stanford students in a storytelling program have learned about communities, events and traditions both foreign and familiar. In April the latest audio documentaries will be aired on campus radio station KZSU and released online on the Stanford Storytelling website. …”more


West

KZSU and SSP: The Letters of Stanford Radio

By Niuniu Teo
West
March 1, 2015

“Walking into the KZSU radio station is a bit like entering a time capsule. Concrete steps lead down to the building, featuring carpeted rooms with a formidable number of multi-colored cables, brown filing cabinets stacked on top of each other, and shelves filled with painstakingly categorized and alphabetized LPs, fraying at the edges. The current show plays from speakers located throughout the rooms. A small group of local volunteers, students, and alumni are nestled into different nooks of the building, flipping through music libraries and exchanging familiar banter, the entire station humming with low-budget love. …”more


Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed, Heartbreak Kid

By Justine Beed
The Stanford Arts Review
January 19, 2015

“Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things and Wild are the kind of books that make one cry in public places, like in an aisle seat of an airplane, dried out and manically laughing at the absurdity of yourself and the fullness of life. And when Strayed came to Stanford on January 13th, her often-heartening words elicited a similar kind of reaction in the watery-eyed crowd of CEMEX auditorium. But her work is not altogether sentimental. Not everybody who reads her books is prone to empathetic bouts of sniveling. Besides, her words are far from sappy, they’re strapping, they’re with it, they’re vital, they’re brutal, they’re brave and they’re honest. …”more


Maria Bamford

The eccentric Maria Bamford charms at CEMEX Auditorium

By Ian Anstee
The Stanford Daily
January 29, 2015

“Hilarious, simply hilarious. That’s the aptest description I can give for Maria Bamford’s sidesplitting performance last Monday night. Invited to Stanford as part of The Stanford Storytelling Project series, this rather spindly, 5-foot-6 comedian capitalized on the accessibility of stand-up comedy to recount her life story — namely, her struggles with mental illness and performance. …”more