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Our second story takes us to one of San Francisco's toughest neighborhoods, to look at tender shoots growing on the rooftops of the Tenderloin. By tender shoots we mean fifth graders, who are learning to grow and prepare their own food. Featuring: Maya Donelson, Rebecca Alonzi Producer(s): Natacha Ruck and Charlie Mintz
Matthew Felix On Air: People Who Create. People Who Make a Difference.
It was great having fellow Marsh-ian, stage performer, and podcast producer Natacha Ruck in the studio! We compared our recent experiences developing and performing our solo stages shows at San Francisco’s The Marsh theater, talked about Natacha’s other stage work, and much more! Natacha Ruck's documentary work has appeared at the MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as on National Geographic, NBC NY, and Link TV. Her podcasting work has appeared on NPR affiliates nationally and locally. She teaches multimedia storytelling at the University of San Francisco (USF), is workshopping a solo performance, and runs DoTellDo.com, a storytelling service company.
The solenodon: a venomous, shrew-like mammal, found only in the Caribbean, that has survived for millions of years by hiding underground. Even the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago couldn’t kill this hardy little creature. But after surviving for so long, after outliving the freakin’ DINOSAURS, the solenodon is now threatened by human encroachment into their habitat. Guest producer Laura Cussen brings us this story, originally published in 2014 with support from the Stanford Storytelling Project and a Braden Storytelling Grant. Featuring: César Abril, Nicolás Corona, Pedro Martínez, and Alexis Mychajliw Special thanks: The Last Survivors, Natacha Ruck, Will Rogers, Graham Roth, Weston Gaylord, Professor Elizabeth Hadly, to all the people who have made this project possible, and to the Hispaniolan solenodon. Music: Sunsearcher, Chris Zabriskie, Nicolás Corona Image via flickr
The mind’s ability to envision more than what is physically present in the world is an astounding fact of life. We’re always imagining, thinking, and living in our heads. Our thoughts and our imaginations shape how we see the world, they shape our words and our actions. This is nothing new. We’ve been doing this for all our lives. as far as we can remember. But that’s why we take a closer look and ask the question: how do our imagined lives shape our reality? What happens day to day at the frontier between the worlds we imagine and the worlds we inhabit. Host: Justine Beed Producers: Justine Beed and Natacha Ruck with help from Louis Lafair, Amabel Stokes, Alec Glassford, Tamu Adumer, Joshua Hoyt, Austin Meyer, Claire Schoen, Christy Hartman, Will Rogers, Albert Gehami, Jonah Willihnganz, and Jake Warga Featuring: John Rick, Tamu Adumer, Louis Lafair, Terry Root, Louie Psihoyos, WonGi Jung, Austin Meyer, Amabel Stokes, Alec Glassford, Max Whitmeyer, Nina Donaldson, Maria Doerr, Liam Bhajan, Jeffrey Abidor, Emma Fisher, Natacha Ruck, and Jackson Roach Music and Sounds: See storytelling.stanford.edu for full list of music and sounds used in this episode Image via Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kainkalju/5894855297 Story 1: Birth of Imagination Description: What happened the first time humans used imagination to shape the world? Producers: Tamu Adumer and Natacha Ruck Featuring: Professor John Rick Image via Wikimedia: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bifa…o_(Madrid).png Story 2: One Quinoa Burger At A Time Description: Can imagination help one student tackle one of the biggest problems of our time? Producer: Louis Lafair Featuring: Terry Root and Louie Psihoyos Music: "T-Shirt Weather," "Little Dipper," "Pure Swell," "Funk," and "Boop" by Podington Bear Photo via the Stanford Review: stanfordreview.org/article/is-stan…conserve-water/ Story 3: My Imaginary Girlfriend Description: How hard can it be to break up with an imaginary girlfriend? Producer: WonGi Jung with help from Justine Beed Featuring: WonGi Jung Image via StoryNight Story 4: Double Banded Dream Description: In this story, we venture into the land of dreams and investigate how imagination can endanger reality. Producers: Austin Meyer and Joshua Hoyt Featuring: Austin Meyer Music: "Nothing Lasts" by Alexandre Desplat and "Gnossienne No. 2: Avec étonnement" and “Gynopédie No. 1”by Erik Satie Image via Wikimedia: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wedding_rings.jpg Story 5: The Periphery Description: In this story we dive deep into the head of a coffee shop vigilante and listen to her thoughts as she tries to save the day. Producers: Amabel Stokes, Justine Beed Writer: Amabel Stokes Featuring: Amabel Stokes, Alec Glassford, Max Whitmeyer, Nina Donaldson, Maria Doerr, Justine Beed, Liam Bhajan, Jeffrey Abidor, Emma Fisher, and Jackson Roach Music and Sounds: See storytelling.stanford.edu for full list of music and sounds used in this piece Image via Unsplash: unsplash.com/photos/k_RYBedEvDw
Teaching seems pretty straightforward: one person knows something better than someone else and teaches it to them. But there’s something important that happens to the teacher themselves. In this episode, a 3-year-old teaches his parents what he’s made of, a student defies expectations and becomes a teacher himself, teachers are surprised to learn what makes them tick, prehistoric people have to teach one of life’s hardest lessons (hint: there are llamas involved), a professor regrets a missed opportunity, and the cover of a Ghanaian newspaper does a whole lot of teaching. This week, we’re exploring how teaching shapes the teacher. Host: Kate Nelson and Hadley Reid Producers: Kate Nelson, Hadley Reid, Christy Hartman with help from Jake Warga, Will Rogers, Nina Foushee, Claire Schoen, Natacha Ruck, Joshua Hoyt, and Jonah Willihnganz Featuring: Chris Andrews, Andrew Nelson, Gabe Lomeli, Madonna Riesenmy, John Kleiman, John Rick, Linda Paulson, and Emily Polk. Music used during transitions: Nick Jaina, Podington Bear, Broke for Free, Alex Fitch, Gillicuddy Image via Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gracewong/141384577 Story 1: Training Wheels Description: When Kate’s parents set out to teach her and her brother how to ride bikes, they expected to take it step by step, using every precaution: helmets, kneepads, training wheels. What they didn’t expect was a lesson of their own. Producer: Kate Nelson Featuring: Chris Andrews and Andrew Nelson Music: Podington Bear (Ice Cream Sandwich, Bit Rio); Alex Fitch Story 2: See Me After Class Description: Gabriel Lomeli didn’t look like your typical A+ student. Problem was, he was getting A+’s. In this story, we follow Gabe as he reconciles others’ expectations with his own ambitions and achievements. Producer: Eileen Williams and Emmerich Anklam Featuring: Gabriel Francisco Lomeli, Junior Sounds: 76288__timbre__dramatic-violin-stab-long-decay Music: Kai Engel; Broke for Free (Golden Hour, Heart Ache, Something Old, And And, Something Elated) Story 3: The Power of Teaching Description: Professor Madonna Riesenmy was curious about what motivates teachers and decided to investigate. But other teachers weren’t too happy to hear about her findings. To be honest, we’re not quite sure how we feel about them, either. Producer: Emma Heath with help from Christy Hartman and Hadley Reid Featuring: Jonathan Kleiman, Madonna Riesenmy Music: Podington Bear (Caravan, Jettisoned), The Losers Story 4: Expulsion of the Yearlings Description: Stanford Anthropologist John Rick takes us to the highlands of Peru to discuss the impact of teaching at it’s most fundamental level. Producer: Jacob Wolf with help from Hadley Reid Featuring: John Rick Sounds: blouhond, 15050_Francois, kurono01, damiananache, felix.blume, JohnsonBrandEditing, sardan1972 Music: Original Scoring by Christina Galisatus Story 5: Tales from the RF Apartment Description: Linda Paulson is a Stanford faculty member who lives with eighty-eight teenagers in a freshman dorm. A late night knock at her door takes on new meaning years later. Producer: Vanna Tran with help from Kate Nelson Featuring: Linda Paulson Music: Alex Fitch (We Call this Home, Secret Place); Chris Zabriskie (Cylinder Six, It’s Always Too Late to Start Over); Broke for Free (Love is Not) Story 6: Just a Little Bit of Sweat Description: Emily Polk went to Buduburam refugee camp to teach journalism. But one newspaper photo ended up teaching the most memorable lesson of all. Producer: Hadley Reid Featuring: Emily Polk Music: Gillicuddy (Fudge, A Garden and a Rose ) Martin R, Original music by Man of Suit (Breathing Rhythm, Diagnosis)
Nearly three decades ago, Psychologist James Pennebaker discovered a shocking correlation between secrets and health outcomes - that people who kept more secrets were dealing with more health issues. Today, secrets are generally considered bad. But in today’s episode, we’re going to discuss creative secret keepers. These people use secrets to form relationships, to explore worlds they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access, even to build new lives for themselves until - well - the secret’s out. Today we’ll explore what opportunities open up when someone keeps a secret, and what happens when that secret is revealed. Host: Chelsea Davis Producers: Rosie La Puma, Eileen Williams, Will Rogers, Claire Schoen, and Jonah Willihnganz Featuring: James Pennebaker, Jackie Chan and Justin Krasner-Karpen. Thanks also to Preet Kaur, Natacha Ruck, Joshua Hoyt, Tess McCarthy, Alexander Muscat, Lilly Gill, Shara Tonn, Dustin Dienhart, Christy Hartman, Jake Warga. Music used during transitions: Podington Bear, Revolution Void Image via Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mharrsch/3292777771/
We’ve come to think of healing in mechanical terms, as repairing something broken, like fixing a flat tire. But for most of human history healing has meant more than repairing the body. Healing has meant restoring a sense of wholeness to a person—or even a relationship or community. In today’s show we’ll hear two stories that explore this older sense of healing. First, a Bay Area woman diagnosed with breast cancer finds healing through a complementary medicine modality at Stanford Hospital called Healing Touch. Second, a Stanford student living with an incurable disease finds healing in an encounter with the ocean and one of its creatures. How do we heal when our bodies are irrevocably changed? Host: Preet Kaur Producers: Bonnie Swift, Christy Hartman, Taylor Shoolery, Preet Kaur, Alka Nath, Will Rogers, Julie Morrison, Mallory Smith, Natacha Ruck, Claire Schoen, Jonah Willihnganz Featuring: Preet Kaur, Carolyn Helmke, Catherine Palter, Melissa Anderson, Rosa Fuerte, Marilyn Getas-Byrne, Anne Proctor, Laura Pexton, Margot Baker, David Wolf, Maggie Burgett, Maria Cacho, Katie Talamantez, Elizabeth Helms, Diane Wardell, Sue Kegal, Jim Batterson, Margaret Schink, and Mallory Smith Image via The Archeological Museum of Piraeus
In this show, we are talking about a very special kind of belief—belief in something. Often considered a defining human characteristic, like language, belief shapes our lives. We put our confidence in something that is unseen; we understand the world in terms of a bigger, unknowable framework. This ability may not be unique to humans, but it does appear to be a very special talent. Today, we want to find out what this specific type of believing means for our lives. How are we changed by belief? What does it do to us? Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically: what can believing do? Host: Eileen Williams Producers: Eileen Williams, Rosie La Puma, Will Rogers, Claire Schoen, and Jonah Willihnganz Featuring: Beth Duff-Brown, Krista Tippett, and Carol Dweck. Thanks also to Lora Kelley, Louis Lafair, Sonia Gonzalez, Natacha Ruck, Madeleine Chang, and Lisa Hicks. Music used during transitions: Broke for Free (XXV, A Beautiful Life) Image via Wikimedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Airplane_Window_View_6_2013-04-01.jpg
In 1971, Dr. Philip Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement of Jordan Hall, the psychology building at Stanford. Mentally healthy college students were randomly assigned the roles of prisoner and guard. Dr. Zimbardo was trying to test how situations control human behavior, but within days, the situation spun out of control. In this special episode, Drs. Philip Zimbardo and Christina Maslach tell the story of what ended up being one of the most infamous psychology studies in history - where young, mentally healthy participants turned brutal and desperate in only a few days. You'll learn surprising details of what inspired the Stanford Prison Experiment and how it ended, and hear how the experiment helped contribute to understanding the relationship between individuals and the situations they find themselves in. Note: The original version of this episode mis-identified the location of the pilot study that inspired the Prison Experiment. The Stanford Storytelling Project regrets this error. Featuring: Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Dr. Christina Maslach Host: Bojan Srbinovski Produced by: Rachel Hamburg, Bojan Srbinovski, Mischa Shoni, Charlie Mintz Interviews conducted by: Bojan Srbinovski, Natacha Ruck, Victoria Hurst Additional production help from:Justine Beed, Kate Nelson, Will Rogers Original Music by Rob Voigt Other music: Chris Zabriskie, Billy Gomberg, Gillicuddy, Tearpalm Audio clips of the Stanford and Toyon Prison Experiments are from The Philip G. Zimbardo Papers at the Stanford University Archives. News clip credit: http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/april-30-2004-abu-ghraib-prison-scandal-9120643 Photo credit: Chuck Painter
Some 76 million years ago an asteroid smashed into our planet, killing the dinosaurs and three-quarters of the Earth’s plants and animals. Once again our planet is facing a wave of extinctions, this one of man's making, and more than ever we need to know what it takes for a species to survive a cataclysm. Laura Cussen traces the improbable story of an ancient, venomous mammal of the Caribbean, and of the local people who have unearthed its secret to survival. This project was made possible by a Braden Grant from the Stanford Storytelling Project. More info about the Braden Grant: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html Producer: Laura Cussen Featuring: César Abril, Nicolás Corona, Pedro Martínez, and Alexis Mychajliw Special thanks: The Last Survivors, Natacha Ruck, Will Rogers, Graham Roth, Weston Gaylord, Professor Elizabeth Hadly, to all the people who have made this project possible, and to the Hispaniolan solenodon. Music: Sunsearcher, Chris Zabriskie, Nicolás Corona Image via flickr
In 1999, France created the French equivalent of a civil union. The PACS--an acronym for "pacte civile de solidarité"-- was intended as an alternative to marriage for gay couples, but it was open to straight couples as well. And it was used by them--perhaps paradoxically, 94% of PACS couples are straight. With the legalization of gay marriage in May 2013, gay couples who want legal protection are no longer relegated to the PACS. What does the PACS mean to the people who get it, and how is it different from marriage? How can love and commitment be expressed, and how is this changing in modern French society? Savannah Kopp interviews PACS couples in Paris about their love stories and their PACS stories. This piece explores how a culturally specific label for a relationship comes to have meaning and how, as the cliché goes, maybe the French can teach us about love. This story was supported by a Braden Grant from the Stanford Storytelling Project. Click here to learn more about the Braden Grant: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html Producer: Savannah Kopp Featuring: Laura Berrey, Guido Panel, Kelsy Wilson, Suzanne Newman, Sylvia Calle, Valerie Lincy, Anne Bayley, Dana Conley, Channa Galhenege, Coralie Ossant, Diane Bonifaix, Roberto Conradi Merci à: Estelle Halevi, Wilfried Rault, Natacha Ruck, the Stanford Storytelling Project, the PACS couples, and everyone who helped me realize this project. Music: Podington Bear, Broke for Free, Kevin MacLeod, Everybody Was In the French Resistance Image courtesy of Savannah Kopp
Sometimes, the only way to voice our feelings is to break into song. We’re not just talking about singing, we’re talking about that surprising moment - when melody, lyrics, and pure emotion swell inside us. When we have no choice but to open our mouths and let our voices soar. In that moment, our own voice escapes us and ventures into the world with what seems like a mind of its own. We hear ourselves like we never have. Others hear us too, and the results can be life-changing - for the better and for the worse. In our first story, we find out what really happens when you open your heart and break into song for the girl who may (or may not be) the one. In our second story, we explore what it takes to lend your voice to others, and break into song for them, whatever the consequences may be. In our third story, we go to France, to find out what happens when two lifelong enemies break into song together. Producers: Natacha Ruck and Victoria Hurst Host: Victoria Hurst Featuring: Lecturer Wendy Goldberg, Danny Smith, Chris Worth, Andi Harrington, Jared Muirhead and Natacha Ruck Music: Sweet Thang by Shuggie Otis , The Concubine by Beirut More info at: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/shows/season-4/375-episode-411-breaking-into-song.html
Carolyn Ho sets out on a journey guided only by the SHORE and Natacha Ruck floats freely out with the tide into the OCEAN. July's Summer of Grudge kicks off at WRITE CLUB SF: a place where cool shit happens.