Soundings

Besher grew up in Syria till the war forced him, and his family, to flee. This non-narrated portrait follows his journey from Aleppo to California and finally to Stanford Medical School. Produced as part of MED 232 Global Health course (2018) Producer: Besher Ashouri (and Jake warga) Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1477997213

Hurricane Maria revealed a dependency on the government but there was one community that used it as an opportunity to claim their independence. “There was no government here. And we couldn't wait for the government. We couldn't wait for anyone.” In this story I visit of the community of Mariana that has tried to separate themselves from the government. Producer: Gabriela Nagle Alverio Music: Puerto Rico from Pastel Beach by Englewood, Elementary wave by Erokia, Night Cave by Lee Rosevere.

What does a war taste like? Tracing the history of U.S. military combat ration in Korea, the podcast tells the Koreans’ bittersweet encounters with America. Producer: Won-Gi Jung Music: “Submerging Blue-Black” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient “Memory Wind” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient

Octavius Catto, a 19th century activist, stands in bronze as the first statue of a black man on Philadelphia public property. And he’s coming back to life in other ways--on a giant mural, and in the art and social justice scenes of the city. What would this statue of an activist from history say to the activists surrounding it now...why is he back, and what’s he trying to tell us? Produced in memory of Willis “Nomo” Humphrey. Producer: Melina Walling Featuring: Melina Walling, Keir Johnston, Shakirah, Eddy, Kim McCleary, Branly Cadet, Dejay Duckett, Paul Farber Music: sonder, johnny_ripper, epilogue; Everybody Wants Gold and a Mermaid, Tony Higgins, Ray-A Life Underwater; You Can Calmly Put This Thing Together (Piece by Piece), junior85, Upside Down, Left to Right; Flight, Nctrnm, EQUINOX

If sound matters, why? I am not alone in fearing blindness, because we live in a world of visuals. Whether I am reading a book, following street signs, or hopping on a train, I can’t imagine navigating a world without my eyes. I tune out the cacophony of cars, squeaks, barks, and pedestrian crossings on a daily basis. In privileging sight, what am I missing in sound? “When you close your eyes you begin to feel your body. You become aware of your non-visual abilities,” said Thomas Tajo, a blind echolocator. I speak with human echolocators, eye researchers, and music professors to discover just how much sound has to offer. Close your eyes. Tune in, and listen to what is revealed. Producer: Chloe Barreau Music: Veni Creator Spiritus by John Dunstable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dYAEpf-A-A) Lost and Found by Podington Bear Three Colors by Podington Bear

You’re six years old. Child protective services removed you from the only life you’ve ever known and placed you in state custody, into the foster care system. Producer: ​​Rachel Vaughan Music:​​ Junior85 - You can calmly put this thing together Lee Rosevere - And So Then Podington Bear - Daydreamer

Coursework from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Coursework from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Course work from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Coursework from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Coursework from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Coursework from students in "Your American Life" Oralcomm 130 Winter18. Storytelling.stanford.edu

Claudia Heymach, Megan Calfas, Isaac Goldstein Individual stories here: https://soundcloud.com/stanfordsoundings/sets/braden-grant-stories-2017

Producer: Katie Lan Some people pray to gods, but other people pray to ghosts. In this story, Katie Lan explores the temples and folk religion in Taiwan, where her parents and the rest of her family is from. Here, she explores ghost temples and even learns to pray to a dog? Music: 晶晶 1969 鄧麗君 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0lHGnKtSI

Producer: Nya Hughes From the rhyming styles of breakbeat poets and Bronx backyard jams of the 1980s, hip-hop sprang forth from the heart of urban black culture to give voice to the silenced narratives of black communities. The rhythm of resistance. Uncontainable, the sound waves traveled much farther than the national border. In the 1990s, young Cubans living in the barrio of Alamar resonated with the rhythms and attitude in the music and adopted the art form as their own. Moving through this rich oral history and into the present, we will hear the way hip-hop brought these two cultures together in a perfect storm. Thank you to Luna Gallegos, Laura Cantana, Rolando Almirante, Dr. Cecil Brown, Jeff Chang, “The Wizard”/ “El Brujo,” Yulier, La Rafa El Individuo, and Alejandra Zamora for your honesty and warmth throughout the interview process. Music: The Message – Grandmaster Flash Get By – Talib Kweli Latino & Proud – DJ Raff Tengo – Hermanos De Causa Mi Raza - El Individuo 1981 SPECIAL REPORT: “SOU

How does one build a new home after losing all of one’s family? A son interviews his mother, a Cambodian refugee and genocide survivor, about her experience resettling in the U.S. He learns how her past has shaped his life. Producer: Bunnard Phan Featuring: Nickie Phan, Bunnard Phan, Music: Khnom Min Sok Chet Te by Pan Ron Chnam oun Dop-Pram Muy by Ros Sereysothea Orchestral version of “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers performed at The (Military) Music Show of Nations 2002 Bremen, Germany (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejm3Q5ZKr28)

Explore the ties between language and identity in South Africa with two women who see Afrikaans as the language of reconciliation. Two women in South Africa are currently challenging the assumption that Afrikaans is solely the language of the oppressor. One is a poet. The other runs a community radio station. Through a retelling of the true history of the language and the people who created the language, words arise that begin to break down the ties between language and identity over 20 years post-apartheid: “you can’t blame a language for what a group of people did with it.” Producer: Isaac Goldstein Music:The last offering, Sunhiilow No sudden movements, Rui Magic Torquoise, Sunhiilow Butterfly Lullaby, Possimiste

In Abra, a province of the northern Philippines, members of several indigenous communities - collectively called the Tinggian - are fighting to protect their histories. Listen to the stories of an elder charged with upholding a centuries-old peace pact; a pastor whose ancestors fought as revolutionaries; a mayor who evaded assassination to build a school in his hometown; and a weaver who’s made it her mission to revive a tradition of ritual and weaving. Producer: Ethan Chua Featuring: Elder Bansilan Sawadan Elder Johnny Guinaban Pastor Ruben Elder Norma Mina With thanks to: Ate Minda Guinaban Raffy Tejero The Center for Community Transformation (CCT) My parents, Ronald and Anabelle Chua Music Podington Bear

Producer: Alyssa Vann Description: This podcast explores the burgeoning natural hair movement in the Dominican Republic, where the vast majority of women prefer to straighten their hair. In doing so, it explores the intersections of race, gender, and history in the country’s capital. Music: All music recorded in the plaza in the Colonial District of Santo Domingo, or in salons.

As indigenous people from Mexico migrate to California, their languages and cultures are threatened. One indigenous trilingual rapper based in Fresno is fighting back. “We are taught that we're not valuable, we are taught that we have no history, we are ignorant, we don’t have richness of culture…. I’m trying to turn everything around.” Miguel Villegas Ventura came to the US at age 7 speaking only Mixteco, an indigenous language spoken by the Ñuu Savi nation in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla. He came of age in Fresno, California, amidst poverty, bullying and the constant pressure to hide his roots. But when Miguel learned the history of Una Isu, a 12th century Mixteco warrior, everything changed. Today Miguel demands respect and dignity through trilingual hip hop. Like Una Isu, he seeks to unite indigenous Mexicans who have found a new home in the United States. Producer: Jackie Botts Featuring voices of Miguel Villegas, Leoncio Vasquez and Irma Luna Music: “Mixteco es un Lengua