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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
What if breathing could be used as a collective tool of resistance? Citizens in China show us just how they used qi gong, a healing form of breathing to empower themselves during an era of uncertainty.
Writers: Katie Lan and Jenny MarchProducers: Katie Lan, Jenny March, Jake Warga, and Jackson RoachFeaturing: Nancy Chen
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Andrew Todhunter, a writer for National Geographic, explores the underwater cave of Stargate in the Bahamas. It’s dark, dangerous, and “as alien as any possible science fiction world.” But while exploring the perilous surroundings around him, Todhunter reveals a surprising truth—one that comes from within.
Music and sound: "Oceans Between Us" by Maritime, "Falling" by Kamikaze Deadboy, "waiting (in the wet alley" by lost-radio, "Moon Morning" by Aymeric de Tapol, "A Million Worlds" by Andrew Odd, additional sound effects from Freesound.org and Archive.org
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
This is a recorded performance about breath, exhaustion, and struggle, written by a choreographer named Tom Johnson in the 1970s. With reflections from Dr. Janice Ross, professor of dance. “The body is a leaky, messy medium for art making.”
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Could you transition from the flurry of a race to the calm of absolute still in a few seconds? In biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship, this skill is a must. After much trial and tribulation and many failed shots, Joanne Reid, biathlete of the U.S national team, learned that it’s all about the breath. Be warned, this story is not for the faint of lungs.
Music and Sound: "Epiphany" by Podington Bear, “Women 15 km Individual Race 2017 Biathlon IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen HD” by HQ Sport
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Brad Ross started his beatboxing career as a senior in high school, “as kind of a joke.” Now you can spot Brad dropping a beat in the acapella group, Stanford Mixed Company, or just ask him for a demo like we did. Brad shares how he learned how to harness the rhythm behind the rhythm—the rhythm of the breath—and what he’s discovered from “using [his] lungs to make art.”
Music: Brad’s sick beats
Tuesday Jan 31, 2017
Tuesday Jan 31, 2017
In this episode, we explore inheritances’ many forms and unexpected outcomes. “You’ll hear the forgotten tales of hand-me down clothing, stories of family exploits that keep ancestors alive, how your genetic inheritance can define you...for better and for worse, and how even our values can get passed down from one generation to the next.”
Host: Rosie La Puma
Producers: Rosie La Puma, Luke Soon-Shiong, Hadley Reid, Jake Warga, Claudia Heymach, Christy Hartman, Annina Hanlon, Benjamin Philip Suliteanu, Jonah Willihnganz, Ethan Chua
Featuring: Rosie La Puma, Deborah Wicks-La Puma, Deanna Wicks, Luke Soon-Shiong, Brooke McEver, Claudia Heymach, Marisa Heymach, Sierra Freeman, Matthew Porteus, Devon Cajuste, Amalia Saladrigas, McGregor Joyner, Emma Rothenberg
Show Music: Proliferate by Podington Bear
Image courtesy of Rosie La Puma
Intro Story: Alice
She’s over a century old, but still the size of a toddler. Meet Alice, the inherited family member that has been handed down for five generations of daughters.
Producer: Rosie La Puma
Featuring: Rosie La Puma, Deborah Wicks-La Puma, and Deanna Wicks
Music: Proliferate by Podington Bear
Story 1: The Stories We Wear
An MFA art project reveals the hidden stories of inherited clothing.
Producers: Luke Soon-Shiong with help from Hadley Reid and Jake Warga
Featuring: Luke Soon-Shiong, Brooke McEver
Music: Bensound.com
Story 2: Abuelita
A college student hears her late great-grandmother’s voice for the first time.
Producer: Claudia Heymach
Featuring: Claudia Heymach, Marisa Heymach, Rosie La Puma
Music and Sound: Afterglow by Podington Bear, gunfight sound effect from Freesound (links at storytelling.stanford.edu)
Story 3: We're All Okay
Two siblings, one gene and a question that lasts a lifetime.
Writer: Sierra Freeman
Producers: Claudia Heymach, Christy Hartman, and Rosie La Puma
Featuring: Sierra Freeman
Music: Jackson Roach on mandolin
Story 4: CRISPR-Cas9
Editing out the diseases in our genes.
Producers: Claudia Heymach with help from Annina Hanlon and Rosie La Puma
Featuring: Claudia Heymach and Matthew Porteus
Music: Dark Waters by Podington Bear
Story 5: Father to Son
Stanford Football Receiver Devon Cajuste reflects on the family values passed from father to son.
Producer: Rosie La Puma
Featuring: Devon Cajuste
Story 6: Call Me by My Old Familiar Name
Three undergrads explore how loss of their fathers turned into inheritance.
Producer: Benjamin Philip Suliteanu
Featuring: Amalia Saladrigas, McGregor Joyner, Emma Rothenberg
Music: Original scoring by McGregor Joyner
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Non-narrated story of three Stanford students who share something in common: they lost their fathers. “You can be angry about death for a very long time but it’s not really worth. I think death just makes you look at life in the face. Even when he was sick, he was still very much trying to live his life …”
Producer: Benjamin Philip SuliteanuFeaturing: Amalia Saladrigas, McGregor Joyner, Emma Rothenberg
Music: Original scoring by McGregor Joyner
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Live from StoryNight 2015, Devon Cajuste tells the story of how his father told him that he has five years left to live. “You don’t know what to do when you’re thirteen years old and your dad tells you that he has five years left to live … and I count and that’s my freshman year of college.”
Producer: Rosie La PumaFeaturing: Devon Cajuste
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Monday Jan 30, 2017
A Stanford Lab develops gene editing tools to fight disease, and in the process challenges whether our destiny is predetermined by DNA.
Producers: Claudia Heymach with help from Annina Hanlon and Rosie La PumaFeaturing: Claudia Heymach and Matthew Porteus
Music: Dark Waters by Podington Bear
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Monday Jan 30, 2017
A young woman comes to terms with a potentially lethal condition that runs in her family. “‘Is he okay, is he going to be okay, is the surgery going okay?’ Maybe they were just tired of the same sentence, rearranged. We want to know, is he going to be …”
Writer: Sierra FreemanProducers: Claudia Heymach, Christy Hartman, and Rosie La PumaFeaturing: Sierra Freeman
Music: Jackson Roach on mandolin