STORIES by Lea Thau

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.

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Thursday · 40 min
STORIES Presents: The Longest Shortest Time - Xyla vs. The FAA
Xyla Foxlin started 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, Wedlocked, a feminist thriller that I think you'll like. It comes out on October 20, but you can pre-order it here and you're in for a treat! A heads up: this episode contains a reference to suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling, dial 988 in the U.S. or Canada. Hillary Frank is the creator and host of The Longest Shortest Time, a podcast that tells surprising stories about parenthood and women’s health, named one of TIME's 100 Best Podcasts of All Time. She also created Here Lies Me, a critically acclaimed fiction podcast about middle school featuring Michael Chernus, June Diane Raphael, Rob Huebel, and W. Kamau Bell. Hillary got her start in public radio, filing stories for This American Life, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, and Studio 360, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vox, and CNN.com. She is also the author and illustrator of three young adult novels and Weird Parenting Wins, a collection of essays and unusual yet effective parenting hacks. You can follow Hillary and the podcast on Instagram. Her latest novel, Wedlocked, a feminist thriller, comes out on October 20 and you can pre-order it here. Xyla Foxlin is a mechatronics engineer, pilot, and creator whose work at the intersection of engineering and storytelling has reshaped how technical subjects reach mass audiences. With a BSE from Case Western Reserve University, her YouTube channel spans high-power rockets, custom camper builds, composite fabrication, math and physics explanations, boatbuilding, and the full-scale construction of an experimental aircraft of which she will be the test pilot. Foxlin has also emerged as a national voice for pilot mental health. After losing her FAA medical for seeking therapy, she led a campaign challenging regulations that deter aviators from seeking medical care. Following the release of her video "The FAA is in Crisis”, over 3,300 messages to 442 legislators were delivered. The Mental Health in Aviation Act was introduced in the House in April 2025, and was introduced into the Senate in November 2025. Big thanks to Hillary for letting us feature this great story. You can find many more episodes of The Longest Shortest Time wherever you get your podcasts, or become a member of The Longest Shortest Time Club, for community, ad-free listening, and access to another podcast in the Longest Shortest universe, called You Know What. We're back next week with the first episode of our series called The Way Back, which we can't wait to share with you. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 1 · 1 hr 4 min
STORIES presents: Proxy with Yowei Shaw – Caitlin Lost the Voice In Her Head
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 made writing feel less like work than a way of being alive. Then, after a concussion, the voice disappeared. In this episode, Yowei finds Caitlin a proxy: musician and songwriter Greta Morgan, who lost her singing voice after COVID and had to figure out who she was without the voice that had defined her. Together, they investigate the grief of losing the thing that gave your life meaning. You can find all the links to the books and music referenced in the episode here. Thanks so much to Yowei for letting us feature one of her stories this week and for her beautiful "emotional investigative journalism," as she calls it. It's tough to make it as an indie podcaster these days, especially doing the kind of long-form storytelling Yowei and I practice. You can join Proxy HQ on Patreon to support her independent show and get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, and live hangs. Proxy’s fall membership drive is happening right now with lots of cool perks. You can follow Yowei, and also the show, on Instagram and you can listen to lots more episodes of Proxy wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow STORIES by Lea Thau on Instagram and Facebook. 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! See you next week! Lea 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 25 · 31 min
10 Years Later – Pabba's 32nd Year (i.e Pabba's 42nd Year)
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 on either of those platform, and we’d be deeply grateful for your support. Spoiler alert: The photos might give away some of the story, but I don’t think you’ll like it any less for that:) Huge thanks to Pabba and Britt for sharing their story. Britt Snyder is delighted to be back in her home state of N.C., embracing her inner woodland creature on the outskirts of Chapel Hill with her favorite human, Pabba. She spends her days with family, childhood friends, and a growing community built through an ever-changing lineup of hobbies (currently weightlifting, but check back next month). As for Pabba, a lot has changed in the past ten years, but not much in the past week. He still listens to punk and emo and isn’t shy about getting into a mosh pit; especially now that he’s met his deductible. He lives in Chapel Hill with Britt, and their two dogs, Otto and Ella, only one of whom moshes with him. Big thanks to Hyde Park Storytelling in Austin for introducing my former producer Laura Fetherstonhaugh to Pabba. Check out their shows, they’re great! This two-parter with Pabba is curated by Lulu Miller from Radiolab and Terrestrials, who called me “a divine and otherworldly storyhound from Denmark“ in the Radiolab newsletter yesterday. I think I’m going to put that on my gravestone. Here’s a Spotify playlist for you of Lulu’s other favorite stories from the show, which have been un-paywalled for the next month. My eternal gratitude to my associate producer, Vix Jensen, our intern Aviva Barry, our production volunteer Jen Alevizos, and my husband Paul Dreux Smith who makes the music and mixes. We welcome your feedback at stories@leathau.com. This marks the official end of our Summer of Strangers, but we’ll be back with more stories next week, and every week! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 17 · 26 min
Summer of Strangers: Pabba's 32nd Year
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 Radiolab and Terrestrials. In addition to Pabba's story, she's made a Spotify playlist for you of her other favorite stories from our show. They're normally paywalled but we've unlocked them for you for the next month. If you don't use Spotify, here are direct links to the episodes wherever you listen: Falling Slowly, Gay Talese: Committed Voyeur, Terry's Treasure, Love Hurts # 1. If you’d like to see photos of Pabba, including the pictures his parents wouldn’t let him use for his dating profile, and the one they chose instead, check out our free posts on Substack or Patreon. And course, if you’d like to support our work and unlock many more premium episodes, you can also become a paying subscriber on either platform. Huge thanks to Pabba for letting us rerun his story and for taping the update with me for next week. We aren't using Pabba’s full name here because he’d rather his family didn’t hear this story, but he performs and teaches improv at Mettlesome in Durham, North Carolina, and he moonlights as a robot from the past, who traveled to the future to party and fight in Giant Robot Fight Club. Like all tech bros in a midlife crisis, he has also gotten really into Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Revenant Combat Club. Big thanks to Lulu Miller for curating this week. Lulu is perhaps best known as the co-host of Radiolab, and the co-creator of Invisibilia, and she also makes the fantastic show Terrestrials for the whole family. It’s one of those rare podcasts that you can share with your kids but enjoy just as much for your own pleasure, because it’s full of Lulu’s creativity and curious mind. She likes to investigate all kinds of quirky things and come out with the best possible story about them. This is also the case in her book, Why Fish Don’t Exist, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Paying subscribers, our next member hangout is: Tuesday, September 29: 5pm PT – 6pm MT – 7PM CT – 8PM ET – 1AM BST – 2AM CEST. Also big thanks to Laura Fetherstonhaugh for producing the original story with Pabba and being an incredible storyteller and human being, and thanks to my equally amazing current associate producer, Vix Jensen, and our beloved helpers: our intern Aviva Barry, our production volunteer Jen Alevizos, and Ark who made our social media reel this week. Get in touch at stories@leathau.com and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 10 · 31 min
Summer of Strangers: Midnight in Mexico – Then & Now
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. If you’d like to see photos that go with his story, check out our free posts on Substack and Patreon, and if you like what we do, you can also become a paying member on either platform and unlock 100+ countless benefits and episodes. Alfredo Corchado is a multi-award-winning journalist and the 2026 recipient of the I.F. Stone medal for journalistic independence. He is the Executive Director of Puente News Collaborative and the author of Midnight in Mexico, a memoir about his childhood and his journalism career in Mexico, and of Homelands about the history of Mexican-American migration and the guest worker program that brought his family here. Alfredo is at work on a third book about the U.S.-Mexico border. He was a 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and he recently completed this moving tribute to his father, who passed away in March – if you enjoyed Alfredo’s story, you might really enjoy this too! Thanks to the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard for introducing me to Alfredo, and to then-Curator, Ann-Marie Lipinski, and then-Deputy Curator, James Geary, for hiring me to direct Alfredo's story and many other Nieman stories for the stage. Big thanks, as always, to my team: Vix Jensen: Associate Producer Extraordinaire, Aviva Barry: Indispensable Intern, Paul Dreux Smith: Music maker, mixer, and soul mate, Heather Kitching: Viral reel maker, Jen Alevizos, Volunteer Project Manager & new friend. To see more photos and episode reels, and to follow the story-making process behind the scenes, join us on Instagram and Facebook. We value your feedback, and you can contact us at stories@leathau.com. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 3 · 46 min
13 Years Later – Franky Carrillo #3: Still Franky
This is a brand new installment in the Franky Carrillo saga that I’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 it could also stand alone. If you’d like to see pictures from my day with Franky on the ranch, check out these free posts on Patreon and Substack. If you want to listen ad-free, access my member-only seriesThe Way Forward, and unlock the entire Strangers archive of nearly 100 premium episodes, plus all my Hopeful Locals stories, become a paying subscriber today, starting at just $5 per month on Patreon. Paying subscribers make our work possible. Franky Carrillo is a criminal justice reform advocate and a leading voice for the wrongfully convicted. He has served as Chief Policy Advisor for the Los Angeles Innocence Project and on the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission. He also sits on the boards of Death Penalty Focus and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and he’s been profiled in the Netflix series The Innocence Files. You can find him on Instagram. Thanks as always to our production team: Vix Jensen, Aviva Barry, Jen Alevizos, and Paul Dreux Smith. Please help us keep the podcast going by spreading the word, hitting 'subscribe' wherever you’re listening, and perhaps giving us a good rating or even a little review there. It goes a long way, thank you! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and you can write to us at stories@leathau.com. Thanks for listening:) 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 27 · 30 min
Summer of Strangers: Franky Carrillo #2: Life Now – 2017
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 that story with you next week. You might think of this trilogy with Franky a bit like the 7-Up documentary series, which has followed a group of British children every seven years for more than 60 years now to see how their lives have evolved. Of course, I haven’t followed Franky since childhood, but I’ve known him since two years after his release, which you might call his rebirth. For many exonerees and the formerly incarcerated, the return home can be fraught, so four years after the first episode, I went to see how Franky was settling in, and this is the story of how I found him in 2017. If you’d like to see photos that go with today’s episode, you can find them in these free posts on Substack or Patreon. If you want to unlock 100 more paywalled episodes and help support our work, consider becoming a paying subscriber on either platform today! Franky Carrillo is a criminal justice reform advocate, who spent 20 years in prison before his exoneration in 2011. After his release, he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at Loyola Marymount University, and he has since become a leading voice for the wrongfully convicted. He serves as Chief Policy Advisor for the Los Angeles Innocence Project, sits on boards including Death Penalty Focus and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, and has also served on the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission. After the first two stories about Franky aired on Strangers, his case gained wider public attention when he was profiled in the Netflix docuseries The Innocence Files. You can find Franky on Instagram. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook, or you can write to us at stories@leathau.com. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 20 · 34 min
Summer of Strangers – Franky Carrillo #1 Life
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 Substack and Patreon, where you can also get our free newsletter. Or you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, or write to us at stories@leathau.com. We welcome all your feedback, and if you like what we do, please spread the word and give us a good rating wherever you’re listening. Since this story aired, Franky has finished his degree in sociology from Loyola Marymount University, and he has become a leading voice for the wrongfully convicted, serving as Chief Policy Advisor for the Los Angeles Innocence Project and sitting on the boards of organizations including Death Penalty Focus and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. Franky has also served on the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission. After the first two stories about Franky aired on Strangers, his case gained wider public attention when he was featured as one of eight exonerees profiled in the Netflix docuseriesThe Innocence Files. You can find him on instagram. This week, our Summer of Strangers is curated by Glynn Washington of Snap Judgment and Spooked. Glynn picked Franky’s story among his other favorite Strangers stories, which have aired in adapted versions on Snap. They include A Father’s Story – Then & Now, Henry & Jane, Falling Slowly, Terry’s Treasure, and Man on Fire. To unlock all those episodes and 90 more, become a paying subscriber on Patreon (or on Substack, though these links go to Patreon). Thanks to KCRW for funding the original production of this story and the first two seasons of Strangers. You can stream them on the KCRW site or app, and you can find their podcasts wherever you listen, including the Sam Sanders Show and Question Everything by renowned producer Brian Reed. Thanks, as always, to my associate producer, Vix Jensen, and our intern, Aviva Barry, and thanks to Heather Kitching for making our promo reels, and to Jen Alevizos for helping out. Also big thanks to Paul Dreux Smith for making some of the music for this episode and helping me mix. Last but certainly not least, thanks to all of you for listening and for being my very best stranger-friends. Members: Don’t miss our next hangout: Monday, August 31, 5:00 PM PT – 6:00 PM MT – 7:00 PM CT – 8:00 PM ET – 1:00 AM (Tues) BST – 2:00 AM (Tues) CEST – 10:00 AM (Tues) AEST. Check your email for reminders + the link. See you all next week! 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 13 · 25 min
14 Years Later: And Justice for All?
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 on Substack and Patreon, where you can also sign up for our free newsletter. If you’d like to access more than 100 exclusive episodes and join our community at a deeper level, consider becoming a paying subscriber on either of those platforms today. Or follow us on Instagram – we’ve gained more than 7,000 new followers there in the last month alone! – or on Facebook, or write to us at stories@leathau.com. This episode makes a brief reference to suicide and suicidal ideation. If anyone is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, you can find help by calling or texting 988 in the US. Big thanks to Sharon Houston for letting us rerun her original Strangers story last week, and for doing this follow-up with me, and for showing me around Chinatown on Sunday and taking me dancing tomorrow night (follow us on the above platforms to see those photos!). Sharon is a comedian, actress, content creator, producer, writer, social media consultant, and property manager. She continues to create and innovate and you can follow her on Instagram, TikTok and across all platforms as @goforsharon. Thanks to our production team: Heather Kitching, Aviva Barry, Jen Alevizos, and of course my Associate Producer Vix Jensen, who is my indispensable partner in the daily ups and downs here at the podcast factory, and thanks to my partner in life and also on the show, Paul Dreux Smith, who makes the music and mixes and is also my main squeeze and my true love. Our new regular post day is Thursday, and we’ll be back in a week with one of the most beloved Strangers stories of all time. All your feedback is welcome! 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 6 · 22 min
Summer of Strangers: And Justice for All?
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 either platform. Sharon Houston is a comedian, actress, content creator, producer, and writer, who has experience across all aspects of web and TV production. She has numerous court shows under her belt, including "Judge Joe Brown", "Divorce Court", "Judge Alex", "The Hollywood Judge", "Judge Faith", and "Judge Jerry." Sharon has produced TV and digital programming for VH1, MTVTres, Mun2, FOX, Universal Music Group, E!,OWN, Oxygen, NBC, FX, and CBS. Her original concepts have garnered deals with The Gurin Company, Scout Productions, UnbelEVAble Productions, Wanda Sykes' Push It Productions, Live Animals, Fox21, MGM, Catalyst Content Group, EveryWoman Studios, and Russell Westbrook's Westbrook Enterprises. Sharon continues to create and innovate and you can follow her on instagram and across all platforms as goforsharon. Big thanks to my man, Paul Dreux Smith, for making the music for the new parts of this episode and for helping me mix, and to our production team: my associate producer, Vix Jensen, and our intern, Aviva Barry, as well as Heather Kitching and Jen Alevizos. Want to join the conversation? Let us know what you think of this episode, or share a story of your own, by writing to stories@leathau.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 29 · 47 min
10 Years Later – The Son, The Goddess & Leopoldo
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 Free Spirit: Growing Up On the Road and Off the Grid, which formed the basis of last week’s story. Joshua, and his co-counsel, and their client, Deborah Peagler, were also the subjects of the multi-award-winning documentary Crime after Crime, about the long effort to free Deborah from prison. Joshua is the co-founder and general counsel of Medical Justice Alliance, a nonprofit that protects the right to medical care for the incarcerated. I’m deeply grateful for the help from my associate producer, Vix Jensen, and Heather Kitching, who’s been making promo reels for us, including the one about Joshua's story that has gone viral on Instagram this week, as well as Jen Alevizos who has been helping us project manage, and who picked Joshua’s story for the Summer of Strangers. Also big thanks to our fabulous interns, Aviva Barry and Crab Saylor Hochsprung-Cottrell, and of course to my love, Paul Dreux Smith, for making the music and mixing. Finally, thanks to Avi Odenheimer for making the epsiode art this week. You can join our member communities on Substack or Patreon, where you can sign up for our newsletter and join the chat about the latest episode, free of charge. Paying subscribers also get access to 80 exclusive Strangers episodes like Joshua’s from last week, plus all my new work, all of it ad-free, as well as invitations to member hangouts, and much more. Want another way to get in touch? Drop us a line at stories@leathau.com or find us on Facebook or Instagram. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 22 · 47 min
Summer of Strangers: The Son, The Goddess & Leopoldo
Joshua Safran was 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 photos that go with Joshua’s story, check out these free posts on Patreon or Substack, where you can also sign up for our free newsletter. To unlock another 80 Strangers episodes + new premium content, and to listen ad-free, consider becoming a paying subscriber. Joshua Safran is a nationally recognized advocate for the rights of women, survivors of domestic violence, and the wrongfully incarcerated. He has won many awards for his work in this field, and he’s the author of the memoir Free Spirit: Growing Up On the Road and Off the Grid. Joshua and his co-counsel, and their client, Deborah Peagler, were subjects of the documentary Crime After Crime, which was an Official Selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and has won 25 awards. Joshua is also the co-founder and general counsel of Medical Justice Alliance, a nonprofit that protects the right to medical care for prisoners. Big thanks as always, to Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and helping me mix, and to my Associate Producer Vix Jensen and our interns, Aviva Barry and Crab Saylor Hochsprung-Cottrell. Also huge thanks to Jen Alevizos and Heather Kitching for their production support, and to my original co-producer on Joshua’s story, Laura Fetherstonhaugh. Paying subscribers, we have a member hangout tomorrow: Thursday, July 23, 5pm PT – 6pm MT – 7pm CT – 8pm ET – 1am BST – 2am CEST – 10am AEST. Zoom link is in your member inbox. Did you catch last week’s beloved episode, Unconditional, with Deborah Jiang-Stein and the introductory episode to our Summer of Strangers, called Something Old, Something New, Something Light, Something True with Holly Rothschild, another Strangers favorite? Find them right here in your feed. How are you liking the Summer of Strangers so far? Don’t be a stranger and let us know your thoughts at stories@leathau.com or on Facebook and Instagram. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 16 · 42 min
Summer of Strangers: Unconditional
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 from 2015, followed by a little catch-up with Deborah. It's the first installment of our Summer of Strangers where we revisit some of our favorite stories from that show. All the stories we’ve picked for the series relate in some way to the American experience, as we take a close look at the country that just turned 250, through the personal stories of some of its people. If you’d like to see pictures that go with this episode, you can find them in these free, public posts on Patreon or Substack where you can also sign up for our free newsletter. Thanks to our storyteller, Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of the memoir Prison Baby, and the story collection Lucky Tomorrow, and founder & CEO of the unPrison Project. Thanks to Paul Dreux Smith for making the music for the new parts of this episode and for helping me mix. Big thanks, as always, to my associate producer Vix Jensen, and to our interns, Crab Saylor Hochsprung-Cotrell and Aviva Barry, as well as to Heather Kitching. We’d love to hear what you think of this story, and of this series, and of life in America. If you have anything to say, send a voice memo to stories@leathau.com and we might use it on the show, or just send us a regular email. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to help make our work possible and access another 80 Strangers episodes like the one you just heard, and much more, become a paying subscriber on Patreon or Substack. Thanks for listening…and don’t be strangers:) 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 25 · 28 min
Something Old, Something New, Something Light, Something True
In this episode, we wrap up The Hopeful Locals and preview our SUMMER of STRANGERS with a Strangers story that has been offline since 2014. The SUMMER of STRANGERS officially kicks off July 15. Comment on Patreon, Substack,Facebook or Instagram as to which Strangers stories you most want us to rerun or follow up on! Or leave a review wherever you’re listening right now to let us know! To whet your appetites and tide you over until kick-off, we’re taking three episodes from the Strangers archive each week and making them available right here in your public feed. We’re NOT reposting these at the top of the feed, so they will be under their original publication dates, and each set of episodes will only be available for ONE WEEK, so make sure you’re subscribed and that you listen to or download the episodes while they’re unlocked. This week we’re featuring the series Two Men and a Baby, which ran from 2014 to 2017, and the episodes will be available until July 2nd. Start with the first one, Two Men and a Baby, then Like a Pizza, Two Men and a Baby - The Follow Up, and Two Men and a Baby - The Final Episode! But hey, if you want access to the entire Strangers archive today and want to help make my new work possible, become a paying subscriber today on Patreon or Substack. Big thanks to Holly Rothschild for sharing her story. She and her husband, Luke Rothschild, and cellist Joseph Harvey, co-founded the genre-bending super-group, String Theory. Based in Los Angeles, they’re a hybrid performance ensemble, consisting of musicians and dancers, and combining architectural harp installations, original music, dance, and projections. Holly is also a choreographer and dancer, and she’s the artistic director of the dance & performance installation company, Bipedal Herd, which she founded. Holly’s story was originally produced with support from KCRW’s Independent Producer Project. Thanks to my love, Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and mixing, and to his band, Dengue Fever, for letting me play the song you heard in the outro. It’s called Tooth & Nail and it’s from the album Venus on Earth. Deep gratitude to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, for her help kicking off the summer series and producing The Hopeful Locals, and to the newest member of the team, our summer intern, Crab Saylor Hochsprung-Cottrell. Also thanks to my project editor, Christina Thyssen, and to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating The Hopeful Locals so beautifully. A special thanks to Heather Kitching and Sunny Jen Adrian for their help. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 3 · 45 min
The Hopeful Locals: John
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 and look for the pink house.” Inside, I found John, surrounded by machines and samples that related to his scientific research, and I found a story of hope, resilience, and reconciliation, beyond what I’d imagined – and beyond what I, myself, can muster, even on my best days. This is episode 10 of The Hopeful Locals for our paying subscribers on Patreon and Substack, and I want to thank them for making our work possible. If you 'd like to join us, you'll unlock more than 100 bonus episodes and get invited to my member hangout in Copenhagen on June 25, our monthly community hangs on Zoom, and much more. If you'd like to see photos that go with John's story become a FREE newsletter subscriber on Patreon or Substack, or join our community on Facebook and Instagram. Big thanks to John Doyle for sharing his story. He’s getting ready to retire from Little Big Horn College where he’s served as Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator for the Crow Water Quality Project and several environmental health grant research initiatives. He also works closely with Montana State University and with the Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee, which he co-founded. John serves on the Board of the local non-profit, Plenty Doors, which he helped Charlene Johnson start. They’re a native CDFI, supporting new businesses on the reservation, and they run a number of great programs, including a workforce development program and an Elders and Youth program, where the youth learn from the elders and benefit from their cultural knowledge and wisdom. Be sure to check out and support their work! Thanks to Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and mixing, and to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, for her help with this story and so many other things. Also thanks to my project editor, Christina Thyssen, and to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating this series. A special thanks to Heather Kitching and Jen Alevizos for their help this month. You can email us anytime at stories@leathau.com. We love hearing from you! 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 27 · 23 min
The Hopeful Locals #6: Cowboy Country
As L.A. burns behind me, I drive deeper into cowboy country through Wyoming to Montana, trying to untangle the many contradictions of the country I call home. This is Episode 6 of The Hopeful Locals, and it is in loving memory of Crawford White Eagle. This series is made with suppport from our sponsors Tink Media and Podcast The Newsletter, and from our paying subscribers on Patreon and Substack. Big thanks to Jackie White, for letting me visit with her. Jackie's husband, Crawford White Eagle was a ceremonial leader and one of the Northern Arapaho’s Four Old Men. He worked tirelessly for preservation of the tribe’s language and culture, and he helped establish the Northern Arapaho endowment for tribal students at the University of Wyoming, where he also received an honorary doctorate. Crawford served his country in the Vietnam War and was twice wounded in combat, receiving a Purple Heart and many other medals for his service. He was also a master jewelry maker and silversmith. Thanks to Paul Dreux Smith, for making the music and mixing this episode, and to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, for her help with this story and many other things. Also big thanks to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating the series, and to Heather Kitching for her support. Lauren Passell of Podcast The Newsletter also created the newsletters Podcast Marketing Magic, where you can find all sorts of awesome marketing tips and tricks, and Podcasts We Text About. Enjoy them all! We’d love your thoughts on this episode (and anything else) and you can email us at stories@leathau.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for listening! 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 20 · 36 min
The Hopeful Locals: Visionaries of The Wind River, Part 2
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 support the Sweetgrass Food Lodge and the Wind River Food Sovereignty Project. We have a COMMUNITY HANGOUT, open to all FREE & PAID members, TOMORROW: Thursday, May 21: 11:30am PT – 12:30pm MT - 1:30pm CT – 2:30pm ET – 7:30pm GMT – 20:30 CET – 4:30am (Fri) AEST. Become a FREE member on Patreon or Substack to see photos from this episode. Or become a paid member and join our IN-PERSON hangout in Copenhagen June 25th! INTERN WITH US: We’re looking for a summer intern. If you think that might be you email us at stories@leathau.com and tell us a little bit about yourself — your interests, relevant skills, and availability. Position can be remote. Thanks to our sponsors, Tink Media, a woman-founded, gender-inclusive podcast growth and discovery company, and Podcast The Newsletter, which is a weekly roundup of the best things in podcasting from Lauren Passell. If you like my work, I think you’ll like the things Lauren writes about. And thanks to the Just Transition Fund for introducing me to Erika, and for supporting communities like hers and helping organizations like The Wind River Development Fund secure the grant funding they need to make a real difference. As always, I’m grateful to my associate producer, Vix Jensen for all her help, to Paul Dreux Smith, for making the music and mixing, and to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating this series. Also big thanks to my project editor, Christina Thyssen, and to Heather Kitching and Jen Alevizos for their help. Last but not least, thanks to all of you for listening. If you like what we do, please rate and perhaps review the show wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps our rankings! Questions, comments, story ideas? Email us at stories@leathau.com. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 12 · 45 min
The Hopeful Locals: Visionaries of the Wind River, Part 1
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 entire Hopeful Locals series + my member-only series The Way Forward + the entire Strangers archive of nearly more than 90 episodes, you can join us at STORIES by Lea Thau on Patreon and Substack. Big thanks this week to Art Lawson and Wilma Wagon of the Wind River Fish & Game and Jason Baldes of the Tribal Buffalo Initiative, as well as Paul Huberty and Erika Warren-Yarber, who run The Wind River Development Fund and The Wind River Sage Fund, where you can track the progress of their Recompete grant projects and support their work. I also want to thank the Just Transition Fund for introducing me to Erika. They’re the only philanthropic initiative focused on coal community transition in the U.S., working to create economic opportunities for the frontline workers and communities hardest hit by the transition away from coal. Huge thanks to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, to Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and mixing, to our resident artist and illustrator Pernille Clifforth, to my project editor, Christina Thyssen, to our production intern Jen Alevizos, and a special thanks this week to Heather Kitching for her help. Questions, comments, story pitches, feedback? Email us at stories@leathau.com or find us on Facebook and Instagram. See you next week! 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 4 · 38 min
The Hopeful Locals: Erika
Our storyteller today is Erika Warren-Yarber. She’s the COO of the Wind River Development Fund and the Wind 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 the Just Transition Fund for connecting me with Erika. I directed a storytelling show for their partner convening, and Erika was one of the storytellers. If you’d like to hire me to direct a storytelling show, or teach a storytelling workshop, or help you craft your story, email me at stories@leathau.com. The champion song that played when Erika got the big news was by Indian Hill at Sho-Ban Festival Powwow 2022. Thanks, as always, to Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and mixing. Also big thanks to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, and my Project Editor, Christina Thyssen, and to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating the series, to Avi Odenheimer for making The Hopeful Locals logo, and to Heather Kitching and Jen Alevizos for their input and support. 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
April 24 · 22 min
The Hopeful Locals #2: On the Road Again
This is Episode 2 of my series, The Hopeful Locals. It’s a direct continuation of Episode 1, so if you haven’t heard that, I’d go start there. Huge thanks to my husband, Paul Dreux Smith, for making the music and mixing this episode, to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, for her help with the story, the production, the logistics – all of it – and to my Project Editor, Christina Thyssen, for always making my early drafts better. Also big thanks to Avi Odenheimer for making the Hopeful Locals logo, and to Pernille Clifforth for making an original art piece for every installment in this series. One of the greatest things about coming back to podcasting is that I get to work with such brilliant people. The other great thing is that I get to connect with you. Endless gratitude to my paying subscribers for making my work possible. It means everything to me, and you can join us on Patreon or Substack. Prices go up May 1st, so join now to lock in maximum access at minimal cost and get a lot more content – without ads –and other great benefits. We'd love to have you, and the first eight episodes of The Hopeful Locals are up and ready for you to binge. You can also sign up for my free newsletter on Patreon or Substack to get some public content without ads, plus invitations to our all-community hangouts. Thank you for the warm reception during my first week back. A week ago today, I was honestly terrified of the launch, but you’ve made it feel like a good time and a warm bath, and I’m deeply thankful for that. If you have comments or questions, or if you might want to sponsor this show, email me at stories@leathau.com. Or find me on Facebook, Instagram, Substack or Patreon as STORIES by Lea Thau. The next episode drops May 4th. Until then, dare I say….don’t be strangers:) 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 Thau, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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