Maile Meloy

Maile Meloy is the author of seven books of fiction. Maile grew up in Helena, Montana, and now lives in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Slate, and elsewhere.

Screaming Meemies

by Maile Meloy

A shy writer gives her first ever interview on national TV.

Samuel James

Samuel James is a touring musician and creator of Kitty Critic, a music/comedy web series in which musicians perform live for their fans' cats. James was born last in a long line of performers including dancers, storytellers, porch-stomping guitar thumpers and a session jazz pianist dating back to the 1800s.

Jenny

by Samuel James

A child gets caught in the shelter shuffle of the foster system.

Cheryl Hamilton

A refugee advocate and relentless storyteller, Cheryl Hamilton was born in Auburn, Maine and returns to her beloved home state whenever possible. Cheryl has devoted her career to improving refugee protection and local integration. In her first job, she helped manage the unexpected Somali migration to her hometown in 2001, an event that inspired her to write and perform the one-woman show Checkered Floors. Since 2004, Cheryl has managed local and national refugee programs. Currently, she is the Associate Director for External Relations for RefugePoint, an international nonprofit organization that finds lasting solutions for the world?s most vulnerable refugees. A regular storyteller with Massmouth in Boston where she resides, Cheryl recently helped establish The Corner, a Lewiston-based storytelling event that features local and regional tellers, and occasionally brings national talent to Maine. Find more at cometothecorner.com.

Search and Rescue

by Cheryl Hamilton

A wilderness search and rescue teacher goes out on a ledge to help a young man.

Wendy Suzuki

Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University. Her research focuses on how our brains retain long-term memories and the effects of exercise on our cognitive abilities.

Saying 'I Love You'

by Wendy Suzuki

A doctor who studies memory is confronted with her own father’s memory loss. This story was produced in collaboration with the World Science Festival.

Hannah Morris

Hannah Morris is an archaeologist studying how humans and plants interacted in the past. She is the founder of the paleoethnobotanical consulting company Chena Consulting Services and is working on a long-term project with the American Museum of Natural History on St. Catherine's Island, Georgia.

Counting Down the Tides

by Hannah Morris

An archeologist races to complete her work before the effects of climate change destroy the site. This story was produced in collaboration with the World Science Festival.

Mary-Claire King

Dr. Mary-Claire King is American Cancer Society Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. She was the first to show that breast cancer is inherited in some families, as the result of mutations in the gene that she named BRCA1.

Who Can You Trust?

by Mary-Claire King

A doctor battles through heartbreak to make a breakthrough in cancer research. This story was produced in collaboration with the World Science Festival.

Taylor Negron

Taylor Negron was a standup comedian, actor, and writer, who starred in his own HBO special and appeared on The Tonight Show, as well as in films such as Stuart Little, The Last Boy Scout, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  He passed away in 2015 at age 57, and we miss him.

California Gothic

by Taylor Negron

A boy thinks his dreams have finally come true when he gets an exotic pet. 

Jessi Klein

Jessi Klein is a writer-performer who has written for Comedy Central, ABC, HBO, and Saturday Night Live. She is currently the head writer and one of the executive directors on the Emmy Award winning show, Inside Amy Schumer. She occasionally tweets, but hates it.

The Dress

by Jessi Klein

Jessi tries to find the perfect wedding dress without getting sucked into the modern bride cliché.

Sasha Chanoff

Sasha Chanoff is the co-founder and Executive Director of RefugePoint – an organization with the mission to protect the world's most vulnerable refugees.

An Impossible Choice

by Sasha Chanoff

A humanitarian rescue worker is forced to decide whether he will break the rules to save more lives.

Julian Goldhagen

Julian Goldhagen is a performance artist and arts educator. He is one of five children, all of whom, according to Julian, could talk your ear off with stories about their tirelessly devoted mother. Julian continues to abstain from any sort of organized tackling, particularly in birthday party settings.

Tackle Football Birthday Party

by Julian Goldhagen

A boy who loves Barbies is terrified at the thought of playing tackle football.