Stories of Our City
Stories of Our City is a worldwide project to cultivate community and understanding by sharing real stories from real people around the globe. We produce these stories to reveal that our everyday experiences with family, love, religion, and culture are often similar to those of others living in cities and villages across the globe. We believe that when we share and celebrate a common humanity we can begin to erase the boundaries and labels that divide us. When we take the time to listen, we can begin to recognize the “other” as the same as us, giving us the foundation for global community.
- Update frequency
- every 46 days
- Average duration
- 11 minutes
- Episodes
- 41
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2023
190: Mindset Matters/Forsaking Fast Fashion
This week’s episode is part two of a two-part series. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to the first part of Elles’ story, check it out in Episode 189!
In the first half of her story, Elles sha…
189: Model Behavior: Life on the Runway
As a lover of fashion from a young age, Stories of Our City producer Jessica Spann spent her childhood cutting out photos from magazines of gorgeous models wearing brilliant outfits. Now living in a …
186: Young Turks: An Unconventional Love Story
We never know when—or even if—and where love will find us. It happened to find Nazife Uner of Izmir, Turkey, as she travelled home from high school in the early 1960s. At that time in Turkey most mar…
185: Pass a Dollar
At eleven years old and suddenly an orphan, Sandy found himself without a home and on his own. All he had was a friend with a plan for how they could make it rich. But as Sandy and his friend set off…
184: Eighty Days Around the World
It had just started to drizzle again. My family and I were headed to Richmond, Virginia, via Interstate 64, confronting a bit of rain along the way. We had just taken a timed family selfie at the Vir…
182: Far from Child’s Play: A Child Psychologist Discusses Her Profession
Meet Cemre (Gem-ray): a researcher, scholar, and prolific writer in the field of child psychology. Much of her career focuses on the weighty subject of child exploitation and abuse, and she spends ma…
181: Carrying On: A South Asian Couple’s Commitment to Fostering
Sami Malik (ma-lik), an Uber driver from Pakistan, and his wife have devoted much of their adult lives to fostering children in the United Kingdom. Since his arrival in Scotland more than 25 years ag…
180: A Crowded House: Father-Daughter Duo Doing Their Part in Reclaiming Syria’s Lost Generation
In the middle of the ongoing Syrian War, Esra, a Syrian national from Kuwait, and her father founded a small orphanage in Istanbul, Turkey, where she is helping oversee and care for a group of high-p…
178: The Teachable Teacher
Nuray (nur-eye), an accomplished teacher who runs her own language school in Istanbul, has been teaching the Turkish language to foreigners for over a decade. Although an experienced educator, Nuray …
176: The Joy of Singing
Music is a powerful thing. It’s the language of life that transcends culture and has the capacity to unite people from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems. Music greets and confronts us throu…
175: Heart for Africa: From a Big City Nurse in the United States to a Clinical Instructor in the African Countryside
The country of Liberia is nestled on the Atlantic coast of West Africa between Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. In recent history, civil war and disease have wreaked havoc on the country's already sma…
173: In the Presence of My Enemies
In some small towns, having long hair can be dangerous business. Such is the story of Ufuk (u-FOOK), a thirtysomething from Istanbul, Turkey, who had long hair and earrings as a university student in…
172: The Necessity of Art
Once hailed as ‘the Paris of the Middle East,’ Beirut is a city of contrasts, a cosmopolitan crossroads where East meets West. As such, it is a city that unabashedly embraces art. Retired visual arti…
171: A Rich House
Multi-family living arrangements, communal decision making, and arranged marriages are all indigenous elements of Pakistani culture that may seem foreign and unfamiliar to many Western ears. For Kira…
170: The Wedded Wanderers
Ever wanted to ditch your job, the nine-to-fiver, the good old daily grind and traverse the world? Meet Nathan and Sarah. This husband and wife pair from Boise, Idaho, did just that. Quitting their j…
168: Catstantinople: Istanbul's Street Animals
As one of the world’s most populous cities, Istanbul boasts more than its share of human residents. But this famed historic city also boasts its share of another kind of resident: the fluffy, furry k…
167: Crossing Lines: Connecting Cultures Through Slacklining
In our previous episode, we shared the story of Sonya Iverson, a slacklining and highlining enthusiast who shared how these related sports have helped her succeed in life beyond the line. In part two…
166: Achieving the Impossible: The Science of Slacklining
To some, slacklining, along with its cousin highlining, is nothing more than an extreme and dangerous sport. But to Sonya Iverson, a geneticist by training, slacklining is a passion and a path to ove…
164: Living Light: Connie and the Miracle Babies
In our previous episode, we shared the story of Cathy Rude and Connie Blokkum, two midwives who collectively started a birthing center in west Houston, Texas, six years ago. This week, hear Connie sh…
163: Labor of Love
In a labor of love, three Texas midwives collectively started and are running a birthing center in the west Houston city of Katy six years ago. Hear from two of these women, Cathy Rude and Connie Blo…