Soundings

Applying for a Braden Grant? Here’s what you need to know. (BLEEPED VERSION)

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to support the research, writing, and production of audio documentaries. The aim of the program is to help students learn how to tell powerful, research-driven stories based on testimony they gather through interviews, research, or oral history archives. Grantees receive up to $2,500, along with teaching, training, and mentorship for the duration of the project.
Here's what the 2023 Grantees had to say about their experience.

Applying for a Braden Grant? Here’s what you need to know. (UNBLEEPED VERSION)

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to support the research, writing, and production of audio documentaries. The aim of the program is to help students learn how to tell powerful, research-driven stories based on testimony they gather through interviews, research, or oral history archives. Grantees receive up to $2,500, along with teaching, training, and mentorship for the duration of the project.
Here's what the 2023 Grantees had to say about their experience.

La Fiesta and Cosmovisions in Oaxaca by Lizbeth Luevano

This episode explores the different futures made possible when you balance narratives of dispossession with narratives of joy--and how we see that manifest in Oaxaca's celebrations and the different ways that community members seek to make themselves visible.

Beautiful Bonds of Banter by Shameeka ”Smeek” Wilson

Despite 13+ years of a fractured relationship between mother and daughter, this episode journeys through the past, present, and future, highlighting one unlikely solution that changed the trajectory of a family and its generations.

Back to the Philippines by Kevi Johnson

Kevi grew up surrounded by Filipino caregivers--many of whom had to leave their families in the Philippines to work in the US. As she starts to unpack the histories of the people who raised her, Kevi embarks on a journey of discovery that reveals the dark history of how the US caregiving industry became dependent on the separation of Filipina workers from their families.

We Are the Voice by Marissa Mengheang

In an effort to reconnect with her Cambodian identity, Marissa Mengheang explores the experiences of Cambodian genocide survivors, including her own grandparents. But her search for knowledge takes to her to an unexpected place.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains references to genocide, murder, and human rights violations.

Regeneration Pilgramage by Alice Grace

This intro episode of the Regeneration Pilgrimage series is about a journey of self discovery that took place in nature-based off grid communities in Portugal and Spain. This episode is an intimate, deeply personal story of the month long solo-pilgrimage that your host, Alice Grace, set out on in the Summer of 2023. This is
her story of finding healing and the secrets to living in alignment with purpose to transcend the illusions of the modern capitalistic matrix.

Back to the Garden by Anna McNulty

“Back to the Garden” tells the story of an organic farming couple, Jose and Rich, who are committed to sustaining the environment and who also don't believe in climate change. This episode explores how that dissonance might be possible, the power of language, and
whether or not the term "climate change" will help save the planet.

Friends in Liminal Spaces by Anastasia Sotiropoulos

In this story about connection outside the bounds of physical space, time, and life experience, an unlikely friendship buds during uncertain times.

Changing Experiences

In the midst of the pandemic, Neelay embarks on a cross country road trip to take a break from the stresses of life and to explore more of the country around him. However, as his excursion takes him deep in the Midwest, he encounters protestors at Nebraska’s state capital that radically change his worldview. With a tight knit community right in front of him, fighting for their people back in their home country, he ponders the status of the Asian American community today and its presence across all parts of the nation.