7 Minute Stories w/ Aaron Calafato

The Impostor Violinist

In this classic episode from Season 3, Aaron joins the elementary school orchestra and discovers the thrill of making music. Then the sheet music gets harder, the other v

It's Just Summer Love

One summer in the late 1990s, a weeklong camping trip brought Aaron face-to-face with the kind of teenage connection that makes the rest of the world disappear. In this 7

Things I Learned Behind the Red Doors

Aaron looks back on the Episcopal church of his childhood, an unforgettable pastor named Jess, and the day he was told he might grow up to become a minister. Years later,

The Red Balloon: A Message to Heaven

When Aaron learns that his childhood friend Justin has lost his dad, he turns to an old French film and a six-year-old belief that balloons might be magic. What follows i

A Bronx Tale Test

After his first marriage ended, Aaron made himself a promise: he would never get married again. Then Cori came along. Still afraid of repeating the past, Aaron turned t

AI Told Him Humanity Could End: Dr. Jeremy Heffner on Proof of the Impossible

Trauma surgeon and bioengineer Dr. Jeremy Heffner spent years making life-and-death decisions while carrying a workload nearly three times the national average. When the

Glynn Washington: What Do Our Stories Make of Us?

Snap Judgment creator and host Glynn Washington joins Aaron for a deeply personal conversation about the power and responsibility of storytelling. Glynn reflects on being

Why Local Stories Matter with Filmmaker Brittany Dobish

Documentary filmmaker Brittany Dobish believes some of the most powerful stories are waiting in the places we already call home. Aaron talks with the founder of Dobish Le

It's Fall in July

In the middle of a hot, humid summer, Aaron escapes into a story about his favorite season: fall. From crisp morning air and colorful leaves to apple orchards, pumpkin pa

That’s Why They Call It “Stairway to Heaven”

At his daughter’s annual father-daughter dance, Aaron enters an air guitar competition he has never managed to win. This year, however, the stakes feel different. As Stai

How Trains Tell a Story of Connection with Bill Moyer of Solutionary Rail

In this short installment of 7MS Presents: The Storytelling University, Aaron sits down with Bill Moyer, host of the Reconnect America podcast and one of the driving voic

The Reunion I Was Afraid Of

Aaron never wanted to go to a high school reunion. But when his wife Cori asks him to come along to hers, he says yes. Then he realizes someone from his past might be th

An Unexpected Gift in Fort Worth | Short Stories of Hope

This month’s Stories of Hope centers around two women in Fort Worth, Texas, whose lives became connected through one complicated family. At first, there was tension. One

The Turkey Sandwich That Nearly Broke Me

This week on 7 Minute Stories, a story about hunger, frustration, and the emotional collapse caused by one impossible-to-find turkey sandwich. What starts as a simple lu

Tricia Rose Burt on Finding the Story Inside You | The Moth, Courage, and No Time To Be Timid

Tricia Rose Burt is a storyteller, TEDx speaker, longtime instructor for The Moth, podcast host, consultant, and creator of No Time To Be Timid. In this episode of 7MS Pr

The Day I Became a Movie Star

Welcome to Summer 2026 | The Best of Season 3. This week, Aaron takes us back to the late 1990s when a high school film project unexpectedly turned him into the most rec

End of Season 6: Balloons, Gratitude, and What’s Next

Aaron closes out Season 6 of 7 Minute Stories with a check-in about gratitude, growth, and the small moment at home that helped him pause and take it all in. After his w

James Whitemore on the Story of Work | Indeed, AI Hiring, and Bringing More Than a Resume

In this episode of Storytelling University, Aaron sits down with James Whitemore, Chief Marketing Officer of Indeed, for a conversation about the stories we tell through

3 Truths in 1 Life | Season 6 Finale

In the final episode of Season Six, Aaron tells a story in three parts. First, he remembers a boy from elementary school who seemed effortlessly ahead of the curve. The

The Color of Hope is Orange

In this 7 Minute Stories episode, Aaron reflects on a season of life that felt like too many trains trying to squeeze through one tunnel, and the small decision that help