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.
Latest episodes
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21 min
Untethered: Why We Run
In this episode, Emerson explores why people put themselves through the physically demanding experience of a run. Is it the flow state in running, the desire to feel untethered, or…
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29 min
Untethered: When the Lights Turn Green
Matthew Mettias reads his piece “When the Light Turns Green”, about finding new people to call home. Following his reading, is an interview about how the piece came to be, and a ne…
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27 min
Play: Pioneer
On a school trip re-enacting the past, Coco tries to find themselves in the magic beyond who they are supposed to be. In this episode, Author Lydia Conklin reads "Pioneer" a short…
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14 min
Play: Missing Pieces
After an accident left Becca with a skull fracture and concussion, she turned to an unlikely form of play to pick up the pieces. Interview with: Becca Taylor Producers: Arun Chhetr…
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20 min
Play: Adesuwa's Day Off
After years of discipline and structure, Adesuwa takes a day off from productivity to remember how to have fun. Producer: Adesuwa Agbonile Host: Jacob Matlof
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12 min
Invisibility, Story 6: The Cancer Fighter's Other Side
As a pediatric neuro-oncologist, Dr. Paul Fisher works with children fighting brain cancer. In this episode, he shares how invisible skills like empathy and human connection are ce…
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31 min
Invisibility, Story 5: Hillbilly Highway
Viva Donohoe always saw her grandmother as the archetype of a sophisticated woman, modeled in the spirit of iconic country singer Patsy Cline. But an investigation into Cline’s lif…
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20 min
Invisibility, Story 4: Willies on West 79th
In today’s episode, Sarah Lewis reads “Willies on West 79th,” a strangely moving tale about love, body dysmorphia, and why a rat ballet company might be the most honest place in Ne…
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19 min
Invisibility, Story 3: Mousetraps
In today’s episode, Wallace Stegner Fellow Zach Williams reads his surreal story “Mousetraps,” where a simple errand spirals into a disorienting interrogation of masculinity, guilt…
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14 min
BONUS: Story Craft Conversation with Langston Buddenhagen on New Flowers
As an added bonus to our Invisibility 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.…
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31 min
Invisibility, Story 2, New Flowers
Langston Buddenhagen takes us to Ethiopia's capital city of Addis Ababa in order to explore how neighborhoods change and what that change means. In the process, Langston explores h…
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15 min
Invisibility, Story 1: Emotional Prosody
We all know what it's like to sense something unspoken in a conversation—the hesitation, the sharpness, the softness. It's not the words, but how they're said. This episode, we exp…
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28 min
BONUS: Story Craft Conversation with Alex Strong on A Foot in Both Worlds
Alana Esposito and Alex Strong to discuss the process behind how A Foot in Both Worlds came to be. Producers: Alana Esposito, Alex Strong
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30 min
Breaking the Rules, Story 3: A Foot in Both Worlds (BLEEPED Version)
Paul Calvo has always been ambitious, but he hasn't always been on the right side of the tracks. This is his story. Producer: Alex Strong. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Sounds by Fre…
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30 min
Breaking the Rules, Story 3: A Foot in Both Worlds (UNBLEEPED Version)
Paul Calvo has always been ambitious, but he hasn't always been on the right side of the tracks. This is his story. Producer: Alex Strong. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Sounds by Fre…
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18 min
Breaking the Rules, Story 2: Scaling Stanford
A group of Stanford alumni recall their time in undergrad climbing buildings on campus – and the way it permanently altered their lives. Producer: Alana Esposito Music from Blue Do…
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20 min
Breaking the Rules, Story 1: Statute of Limitations
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 uncov…
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12 min
Nakedness, story 4: Naked Retreat
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…
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15 min
Nakedness, Story 3: Okay With the Gay
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…
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29 min
Nakedness, story 2: Stripping Down
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 Storyte…