Research Guides: ESL052 and ESL053 (Advanced Communication Skills): Authentic stories and podcasts

Authentic stories and podcasts

These stories are for entertainment, fun, and learning. They share about real peoples experiences and lives.

The stories have a "play-the-sound" button to start the sound. These are called "Play" buttons. Play buttons usually have a triangle on them. Examples you will see include:

StoryCorps

StoryCorps
Listen to real people sharing personal stories and conversations. StoryCorps' mission is to "preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world". There are many types of stories shared, but they are almost always people talking and telling the story together. Transcripts available.

The Moth

The Moth
Listen to real people share true stories about their lives. Some are funny, some are sad, some are amazing - all are interesting. The Moth's mission is to "promote the art and craft of storytelling and to honor and celebrate the diversity and commonality of human experience."

This American Life

This American Life
This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast, heard since 1995. Each week they choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme. This American Life is heard by 2 million listeners each week on over 500 public radio stations in the US, with another 2.8 million people downloading each episode as a podcast.