STORIES by Lea Thau
Storytelling for the 21st century from Peabody Award-winning producer Lea Thau (former head of The Moth and Strangers). The entire back catalogue of Strangers can be found at STORIES by Lea Thau on Patreon and Substack, where you can also find the new work in its entirety, and where everything is ad-free. You can join as a free or paid member on both platforms, so come be a part of the community, or just listen along right here and follow along on Facebook and Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
While doing a story about online dating, Lea gets her heart broken (yet again). Get the full story here.
The original Love Hurts series had four epsiodes, which were dowloaded millions of times and was the most popular series Lea has ever created.
Only the first two of those episodes are available here (this one and the next one), the others are for paying subscribers only (who also get access to the entire Strangers archive,...
The entire ba...
Our storyteller today is Erika Warren-Yarber. She’s the COO of theWind River Development Fund and theWind River Sage Fund. Please consider supporting their work.
And please consider supporting my work by becoming a paying subscriber on Patreon or Substack.
Thanks to theJust Transition Fund for connecting me with Erika. I directed a storytelling show for their partner convening, and Erika was one of the storytellers. If...
Today you're going to meet some members of the Wind River community and hear their stories. This episode is a continuation of last week's episode with Erika Warren-Yarber. If you missed that, you might be glad to hear it first, but you can also jump in right here.
This is Episode 7 of The Hopeful Locals for my paying subscribers and it's the Episode 2 here on the free podcast. If you would like to support my work and unlock the ...
The hope holds strong in this final episode about the people on the Wind River Reservation.
It is brought to you by our supporters on Patreon and Substack.
Huge thanks to the visionaries of this episode: Jackie White, Kelly Pingree, and Erika Warren-Yarber.
Please visit The Wind River Sage Fund, which was established by The Wind River Development Fund to manage their Recompete grant projects, and please check out and su...
Today you’re going to meet John Doyle, and I’m going to let him tell most of the story, because I like the way he tells it. John has had an interesting life, and he tells his story in the same warm, frank, meandering way that he seems to approach most things.
He lives and works in the town of Crow Agency, and it’s small enough that the only directions he gave me to his office were to “drive through town ...
This is a story of mothers, love, regret, and redemption, and of secrets from many years past that cast long shadows into our lives. It’s about how Deborah Jiang-Stein came to be pulled over by two highway patrolmen at 19 years-old, with a trunkload of dope, a .38 revolver, and a 10” switch blade. That was only the beginning of her long journey towards what she was looking for.
This story is a Strangers rerun f...
Joshua Safranwas born in a coven of lesbian witches in a Haight-Ashbury commune. After the fall of Saigon, young Joshua Safran hit the open road with his mother, and things only got stranger from there. This story is a rerun from 2016. Next week, we’ll run a follow-up with Joshua.
A word of warning: This episode contains moments you may find disturbing. Please use discretion and avoid listening around kids.
To see the p...
Thank you for all the love we’ve received about Joshua Safran’s story from last week. This episode is a follow-up with Joshua about his life now.
It's quite different from the original episode, because it's more of a conversation and less of a story, and because a lot has changed in 10 years – in Joshua's life, and the U.S., and the world.
Big thanks to Joshua Safran. He is the author of the memoir Fre...
Welcome back to our Summer of Strangers. Today's story is an old Strangers episode with Sharon Houston, and next week we'll do a follow-up with her.
If you want to see photos that go with today’s episode, you can find them in these posts on Patreon or Substack, where you can also join our free community and sign up for our newsletter. If you’d like to support our work, consider becoming a paying subscriber on e...
Last week we posted Sharon Houston's hilarious and beloved old Strangers story And Justice for All? and this week we're following up with Sharon to see what she's up to now....which turned out to be a lot of different things.
If you’d like to see photos that go with today’s episode, you can find them in these free posts onSubstack and Patreon, where you can also sign up for our free newsletter. If you’d like to...
Franky Carrillo was 16 when he received a double life sentence for a crime he had nothing to do with. This is his story. It's one of the most beloved Strangers stories of all time, and it will be the first of three episodes about Franky Carrillo's life, including a brand new one.
If you want to see pictures that go with today’s story, check out these free posts on Substackand Patreon, where you can also get our free newsle...
I hope you heard Franky’s story from last week, because it’s heartbreaking, and uplifting, and enraging, and inspiring, and it’s the foundation for today’s episode, which is Part 2 of his story. If you haven’t heard it yet, I'd go listen to last week’s episode first.
This episode is nine years old, but on Monday I went to meet Franky for a present-day follow-up and I can’t wait to share ...
This is a brand new installment in the Franky Carrillo saga thatI’m very excited to share with you. Franky is the same great storyteller he's always been, and he goes deeper than ever here.
If you haven’t heard the first two episodes with Franky, which we shared last week and the week before, I would go listen to those first. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you’ll be better prepared for this chapter, though...
A family tragedy sends the Corchados from Mexico to California, searching for greener pastures. Upon arrival, that’s hardly what they find, but some years later, a deal involving a 1978 Camaro sets the oldest son on a path to unlikely success.
Today we revisit the story of renowned journalist and outstanding storyteller, Alfredo Corchado, with a present-day update at the end.
Imagine your parents controlled your online dating profile. That’s what happened to Pabba and this is his story.
We first ran this story 10 years ago and next week we’ll have a brand new story with him. I can already reveal that a LOT has happened in the meantime.
This two-parter with Pabba is curated by Lulu Miller from Radiolaband Terrestrials. In addition to Pabba's story, she's made a Spotify playlist fo...
Pabba is now in his 42nd year, and his story has a resolution! Tune in to hear how his conundrum got resolved. It's a good story:)
And check out Pabba’s original story if you haven’t heard that yet. .
If you want to see photos that go with this episode, you can visit our free posts on Substack and Patreon. If you want to support our work and unlock a ton more of it, you can also become a paying subscriber...
We're featuring a story from another podcast we love today:Proxy with Yowei Shaw. She investigates the strange, funny, and sometimes maddening emotional mysteries that shape our lives. I was really moved by this episode, called Caitlin Lost the Voice In Her Head, and I wanted to share it with you.
For most of her life,Caitlin Myer had a narrator. A voice that told stories, shaped sentences, kept her company, and ma...
Xyla Foxlinstarted flying as a teenager. By her twenties, she was piloting her own plane and building another from scratch. But when a private health crisis went public, she wound up in a battle with the FAA that could ground her for good.
Today we're bringing you this fantastic story from the podcast The Longest Shortest Time with Hillary Frank, which you should go subscribe to. And please check out Hillary's original audiobook...
Our new series The Way Back starts tomorrow. Here's a little teaser. Series art by Pernille Clifforth.
Love,
Lea & Team
The entire back catalogue of Strangers can be found at STORIES by Lea Thau on Patreon and Substack, where you can also find my new work in its entirety, all of it ad-free. You can join as a free or paid member, so come be part of my community! Or follow my new work in my new public feed, STORIES by Lea T...
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