SongWriter turns stories into songs

Poet, author, and playwright Ben Okri reads his story “A Wrinkle in the Realm,” and talks about music and dream logic. Stanford’s Dr. Tomás Jiménez speaks about polarization, belonging, and empathy. And podcaster and songwriter Matshidiso returns to SongWriter, and co-writes a song with Ben Okri

You can hear Matshidiso's recent single, Dreams, and her first episode  with Charlie Gilmour, and songs Ben Okri co-wrote with D...

At a live performance in London, journalist, filmmaker, and author Sarfraz Manzoor reads a piece he wrote for SongWriter about the things he had to learn for himself. Researcher Dr. Elizabeth Gulliford talks about her work at the Jubilee Center for Character & Virtues, and the ways reconciliation and forgiveness work within Sarfraz’s story. And SK and the Kings perform a brand-new song written in response called "Lesso...

Turkish journalist and author Asli Perker shares a story she wrote for SongWriter about a terrible car accident, and how it helped to make her the artist she is today. Scientist and researcher Dr. Itir Erhart talks about how art and empathy interact. And songwriter, poet, and crime novelist Tuna Kiremitçi performs a brand-new song written in response.

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Palestinian poet and clinical psychologist Hala Alyan shares her poem “Dear Gaza,” about guilt, memory, and hope. Scientist Dr. Salma Mousa talks about her research on empathy and polarization, and describes how soccer star Mo Salah’s prominence led to a demonstrable drop in anti-Muslim hate speech and violence in his hometown of Liverpool. H.Sinno, who is the lead singer of the Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, shares a brand...

Poet Maggie Smith reads her viral poem Good Bones and reflects on what it means to raise children in a world that is both beautiful and frightening. She also shares What I Carried, a poem about fear and love, and how both shape the lives of parents and kids. Psychologist Dr. Chrissy Salley from the Courageous Parents Network joins to talk about caregiving, resilience, and how families can have honest conversations with chi...

Filmmaker and author Naz Riahi tells a heartbreaking story she wrote for SongWriter about the loss of a beloved pet, and how her experience of grief was shaped by the war in Gaza. Neuroscientist Dr. Meghan Myer explains the way empathy maps on to different parts of our brains, and talks about her imaging research. And songwriter Rahill Jamalifard of the band Habibi plays a brand-new song written in response.

The song is ava...

Filipinx American poet Ina Cariño shares a brand new “sonnet crown” poem that they wrote for SongWriter on the subject of family and empathy. Scientist Sarah Nila describes her experiments exploring empathy with children and mothers in the Philippines, and how Ina’s poem contains echoes of her findings. And producer and songwriter Alex Wong performs a brand-new song called “Murmurations,” that includes violin by Ina and vo...

Author Kate Cohen reads a piece she wrote for SongWriter about how – despite her firm atheism – the Jewish religious ritual that she grudgingly allowed in her wedding is what she remembers and treasures most from that day. Scientist and author Dr. Arielle Levites explains how religious ritual can act as a pathway for connection or alienation, and discusses her research. And Kate’s son Jesse Cohen-Greenberg performs a brand...

Freddy Mutanguha, who is the CEO of the Aegis Trust – the organization that built the Kigali Genocide Memorial – describes surviving the genocide, and visiting the childhood friend who murdered his mother in prison. Woven into Freddy’s story are poems that Rwandan art activist and author Hope Azeda wrote about speaking to children about the genocide. Dr. Pamela Wadende describes the scientific mechanics behind forgiveness,...

During a performance at KQED Live, comedian and filmmaker W. Kamau Bell tells a story about his father’s 80th birthday party, and an extraordinary moment of collective effervescence. Scientist Dr. Shira Gabriel explains the mechanics behind collective effervescence, and one of Kamau’s favorite bands, Las Cafeteras, shares a brand-new song called “Home.”

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Bestselling Cameroonian-American author Imbolo Mbue shares an excerpt she chose from How Beautiful We Were, about a village’s collective fight against a fictional oil company. Scientist Dorsa Amir describes her research with the Shuar natives of Ecuador, and how cooperation against a common threat and polarization both contain risks and benefits. Activist and songwriter Crys Matthews describes how collective action is at t...

At a live performance at Queens College, legendary author Joyce Carol Oates reads a piece about her beloved late husband Charlie Gross, called “Hospice / Honeymoon.” Psychologist and author Dr. Allison Applebaum talks about caregiving, and shares insights from her recent book, Stand By Me. And global superstar Ali Sethi shares a brand-new song written in response.

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At a live performance at KQED in San Francisco, bestselling author and New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean tells a story about homing pigeons, and the heartbreaking implications of their extraordinary intelligence. Researcher Dr. Laura Simone Lewis shares her work with bonobos and chimpanzees, and the ways that their intelligence guides their understanding of home. And Mexican American activist and songwriter Diana Gamero...

Bonus episode! News of the mildly delayed season six, as well as some upcoming live shows, including:

5/11 Joyce Carol Oates + Ali Sethi with special guests Tony Trischka and Dr. Allison Applebaum at LeFrak Concert Hall in Queens, NY
6/13 Susan Orlean + Diana Gameros with special guest Laura Simone Lewis at KQED in San Francisco
7/10 W. Kamau Bell + Las Cafeteras with special guest Shira Gabriel at KQED in San Francis...

Bestselling author David Sedaris reads an excerpt from Theft By Finding, a collection of his diaries from when he was a young artist. Jacob Ewald of the pop indie band Slaughter Beach, Dog (and formerly Modern Baseball) recounts how reading the book backstage at a college show had the effect of giving him permission to call himself a songwriter, and to take his art seriously. He shares a brand new song written from the per...

Bestselling author Raven Leilani reads an excerpt of her short story “Breathing Exercise,” and talks about art, racism, and carnality in her work. Raven shares how her brother – who died of ALS – introduced her to art, as well as her favorite bands. 

Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields explains that she has been a Raven Leilani fan since her debut novel, Luster, and shares the band’s newest song, “The Contortionist”

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This is part one of a two-part episode featuring "Sea Oak" by George Saunders. Part one contains a song written by Ben Arthur, Vienna Teng, and George Saunders; Part two contains a new song written by Craig Finn.

Bestselling author and MacArthur genius George Saunders reads a comic-but-serious zombie story called “Sea Oak” – which was made into an Amazon TV show starring Glenn Close – and shares wisdom on writing dark thing...