Storytelling's surprising digital age revival

The Broadside

Trading stories is an ancient and deeply human experience. But today, most of the stories we consume come to us through a digital screen. So it might surprise you to find out that we're in the midst of a revival of the old school style of storytelling. Turns out, sitting in a crowded room with other people, sharing funny and tragic and unbelievable stories live and in person has never been bigger.

Thank you to Nancy Reeder of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild for reaching out and pitching this show idea.

And special thanks also goes out to linguist and former Broadside guest Brody McCurdy for providing us with audio from the Voices of Chatham project, an ongoing oral history and documentary recording the history, culture, and language of Chatham County. Voices of Chatham was created in collaboration between NC State’s Language & Life Project and the Chatham County Historical Association.

Featuring:

• Ellen Bland, organizer of Mill Town Yarns in Chatham County, NC
• Willa Brigham, professional storyteller
• Alan Hoal, founder and chair of the Old North State Storytelling Festival in Cary, NC
• Jeff Polish, founder and executive director of The Monti in Durham, NC

Links:

• You can find a transcript of this episode here.

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