Braden Storytelling Grant

Stanford Storytelling project
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Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to a small number of students 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, as well as teaching, training, and mentorship during the period of the grant (March-December). In January of each year, all of the documentaries are aired on KZSU and published on the Soundings podcast. All pieces will be considered for inclusion in State of the Human, the SSP’s premier, award-winning podcast. State of the Human episodes are aired weekly on KZSU, Stanford’s public radio station, and some stories reach national broadcast outlets.

  1. JAN 29

    Echoes Across Oceans by Rosina Lin

    This story is about how traditional Chinese music travels across time, distance, and migration, carried by the people who choose to keep it alive. Through the stories of two musicians and producer Rosina Lin's own journey as a listener, it explores memory, identity, and what it means to belong. Original scoring by Rosina Lin. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviews Yifan — Pipa player and software engineer based in Seattle George — Dizi player and music producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area   Music Acknowledgments Music and sound elements from Apple Loops and Freesound.org; Original scoring by Rosina Lin

    19 min

  2. JAN 29

    California’s Promise by Rani Chor

    Why do Cambodian American stories disappear—both from family albums and from school curricula? In this documentary, producer Rani Chor follows one community’s effort to reclaim its history, asking what happens to identity, power, and belonging when a people’s past is left untaught. In California’s first model curriculum for Cambodian Americans, we find these lost stories. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviewees: Ratha Kim, owner of Rajana Threads Bandaul Chansy, Kindergarten Teacher, Long Beach Unified Youk Chhang, Executive Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) Marika Manos, Project Lead, History/Social Science Manager of OCDE Joshua Brown, Project Manager, Model Curriculum, OCDE Matthew O’Donnell, Program Specialist on Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum, OCDE Music Credits: Cambodian Rock and Roll -- Yol Aularong + Tuk - Sou Slarp Kroam Kombut Srey (Rather Die Under the Woman's Sword) Cambodian American Studies Curriculum: https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/cambodian-american-studies

    15 min

  3. JAN 29

    Livermush: A Story of What We Carry by Ana Gray

    This episode follows livermush from producer Ana Gray's family farm to a North Carolina factory, told through family memory, labor, and survival. What begins as a search for a childhood food becomes a story about inheritance, care, and quiet resistance. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Music: Free Music Archies Eirik finbak, Dear Whiskey  Youtube Studio Audio Library Chris Haugen, Soul Food  Alge, make the visible invisible freesound.org Credits: Phyllis Hunter Bracket and Louise Rulfed and the Hunter Livermush family Macy Jones  Martha Jones, my Aunt Mothe The SSP team, with a special Shout out to Dawn J Fraser

    17 min

  4. JAN 29

    The Invisible Forest? Protecting the Brazilian Atlantic Forest by Alice Heiman

    What does it take to conserve a forest? Most people think about the Amazon Rainforest when they think of Brazil. But in fact, most Brazilians live in the Atlantic Forest. Despite being a patchwork of what it once was, the Atlantic Forest is incredibly resilient, biodiverse, and crucial to life. In this episode, we get to hear from some of the people restoring and protecting this forest before it is too late. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Interviewees: Diego Igawa Martinez, MSc. Project Analyst for SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation Luísa Genes, MSc. Scientific Director at Refauna / PhD candidate in Ecology at Stanford University. James Dietz, PhD. Founding Director, Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) Ben Beck, PhD. Founding Director, Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) Audio Credits: Music from MixKit and Blue Dot Sessions. Additional sound provided by Xeno Canto: Golden Lion Tamarin Audio. Ricardo José Mitidieri, XC960597. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/960597. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Green-barred Woodpecker. Bobby Wilcox, XC388433. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/388433. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Guira Cuckoo. Bobby Wilcox, XC328779659. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/391932. Under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Saffron Toucanet. Daniel Mello, XC530230. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/530230 under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).

    15 min

  5. JAN 29

    My Mother’s Folklore by Kristine Pashin

    After her mother’s passing, Kristine abandoned the Bulgarian folk dancing she’d grown up with. Now, through conversations with dancers across generations, she’s searching for what she lost — and questioning what it really means to belong to a culture. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project. Music: Vocals from Maria Belekova, singing a mix of traditional Bulgarian folklore works from different regions Interviewees: Sonia Kirova, President of Ripni Kalinke Cultural Center Ginny & Alan Snyder, dancers in Ripni Kalinke group Sonya Koltchev, Bulgarian-American student at Royal Veterinary College in London Yuliyan Yordanov, Bulgarian folklore teacher and choreographer Konstantin Marinov, Founder of Festival “Vereya” and accompanying dance ensemble

    15 min

  6. JAN 29

    Story Holders: Speaking the Multi-Generational Silence of Japanese American Incarceration by West Mulholland

    Producer West Mulholland explores generational silence within the Japanese American community. A holder of heritage and a carrier of stories that are not his own, Mulholland searches for what it means to narrate an inherited silence near the desert fences of Manzanar, an American Incarceration Camp and living National Historic Site. Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project.  Interviewees Bryan Watanabe, adult son of Manzanar survivor Tsuneo “Tom” Watanabe Sarah Bone, Manzanar veteran park ranger Natalie Tokita, UCLA undergraduate student, granddaughter of Manzanar survivors & Arnold Maeda Manzanar Pilgrimage Grant Recipient Music Sound effects: ambient noises collected at Manzanar, August 2025 Taiko drums; Kyodo Taiko (UCLA) at 2023 Manzanar Pilgrimage References National Park Service: Manzanar: National Historic Site California JANM: Japanese American National Museum Densho “Man Walking With Grandson,” Densho Digital Archives, The Dorothea Lange Collection, Public Domain, 1942. Special Thanks Bryan and Lynda Watanabe, Sarah Bone, Natalie Tokita, Manzanar National Park Service, and the Stanford Storytelling Project.

    16 min

  7. JAN 29

    An American Icon by Alana Esposito

    In this episode, producer Alana Esposito travels to Montana to learn more about the iconic American Buffalo and its complicated history in Yellowstone National Park.  Produced with support from the Braden Storytelling Grant and the Stanford Storytelling Project.   Music from BlueDotSessions: Pigpaddle Creek Vengeful On Early Light Sprig Leaf   Interviewees: Román Sanchez Dallas Gudgell Justine Sanchez Mike Mease Kasi Crocker

    15 min

  8. TRAILER

    Applying for a Braden Storytelling Grant? Here's what our 2024 grantees want you to know.

    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.

    6 min
See All (90)

Trailer

About

Each year, the Stanford Storytelling Project awards Braden Grants to a small number of students 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, as well as teaching, training, and mentorship during the period of the grant (March-December). In January of each year, all of the documentaries are aired on KZSU and published on the Soundings podcast. All pieces will be considered for inclusion in State of the Human, the SSP’s premier, award-winning podcast. State of the Human episodes are aired weekly on KZSU, Stanford’s public radio station, and some stories reach national broadcast outlets.

Information

  • Creator
    Stanford Storytelling project
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    90
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Braden Storytelling Grant