Storytelling for the 21st century from Peabody Award-winning producer Lea Thau (former head of The Moth and Strangers). The entire back catalogue of Strangers can be found at STORIES by Lea Thau on Patreon and Substack, where you can also find the new work in its entirety, and where everything is ad-free. You can join as a free or paid member on both platforms, so come be a part of the community, or just listen along right here and follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
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Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
STORIES Presents: The Longest Shortest Time - Xyla vs. The FAA
#21 trending · Personal Journals
Xyla Foxlin started flying as a teenager. By her twenties, she was piloting her own plane and building another from scratch. But when a private health crisis went public,
Oct 8 40 min
STORIES presents: Proxy with Yowei Shaw – Caitlin Lost the Voice In Her Head
We're featuring a story from another podcast we love today: Proxy with Yowei Shaw. She investigates the strange, funny, and sometimes maddening emotional mysteries that s
Oct 1 1 h 04 min
10 Years Later – Pabba's 32nd Year (i.e Pabba's 42nd Year)
Pabba is now in his 42nd year, and his story has a resolution! Tune in to hear how his conundrum got resolved. It's a good story:)
And check out Pabba’s original story
Sep 25 31 min
Summer of Strangers: Pabba's 32nd Year
Imagine your parents controlled your online dating profile. That’s what happened to Pabba and this is his story.
We first ran this story 10 years ago and next week we’l
Sep 17 26 min
Summer of Strangers: Midnight in Mexico – Then & Now
A family tragedy sends the Corchados from Mexico to California, searching for greener pastures. Upon arrival, that’s hardly what they find, but some years later, a deal i
Sep 10 31 min
13 Years Later – Franky Carrillo #3: Still Franky
This is a brand new installment in the Franky Carrillo saga that I’m very excited to share with you. Franky is the same great storyteller he's always been, and he goes de
Sep 3 46 min
Summer of Strangers: Franky Carrillo #2: Life Now – 2017
I hope you heard Franky’s story from last week, because it’s heartbreaking, and uplifting, and enraging, and inspiring, and it’s the foundation for today’s episode, which
Aug 27 30 min
Summer of Strangers – Franky Carrillo #1 Life
Franky Carrillo was 16 when he received a double life sentence for a crime he had nothing to do with. This is his story. It's one of the most beloved Strangers stories of
Aug 20 34 min
14 Years Later: And Justice for All?
Last week we posted Sharon Houston's hilarious and beloved old Strangers story And Justice for All? and this week we're following up with Sharon to see what she's up to n
Aug 13 25 min
Summer of Strangers: And Justice for All?
Welcome back to our Summer of Strangers. Today's story is an old Strangers episode with Sharon Houston, and next week we'll do a follow-up with her.
If you want to see
Aug 6 22 min
10 Years Later – The Son, The Goddess & Leopoldo
Thank you for all the love we’ve received about Joshua Safran’s story from last week. This episode is a follow-up with Joshua about his life now.
It's quite different fr
Jul 29 47 min
Summer of Strangers: The Son, The Goddess & Leopoldo
Joshua Safran was born in a coven of lesbian witches in a Haight-Ashbury commune. After the fall of Saigon, young Joshua Safran hit the open road with his mother, and thi
Jul 22 47 min
Summer of Strangers: Unconditional
This is a story of mothers, love, regret, and redemption, and of secrets from many years past that cast long shadows into our lives. It’s about how Deborah Jiang-Stein ca
In this episode, we wrap up The Hopeful Locals and preview our SUMMER of STRANGERS with a Strangers story that has been offline since 2014.
The SUMMER of STRANGERS offic
Jun 25 28 min
The Hopeful Locals: John
Today you’re going to meet John Doyle, and I’m going to let him tell most of the story, because I like the way he tells it. John has had an interesting life, and he tells
Jun 3 45 min
The Hopeful Locals #6: Cowboy Country
As L.A. burns behind me, I drive deeper into cowboy country through Wyoming to Montana, trying to untangle the many contradictions of the country I call home.
This is Ep
May 27 23 min
The Hopeful Locals: Visionaries of The Wind River, Part 2
The hope holds strong in this final episode about the people on the Wind River Reservation.
It is brought to you by our supporters on Patreon and Substack.
Huge thank
May 20 36 min
The Hopeful Locals: Visionaries of the Wind River, Part 1
Today you're going to meet some members of the Wind River community and hear their stories. This episode is a continuation of last week's episode with Erika Warren-Yarber
May 12 45 min
The Hopeful Locals: Erika
Our storyteller today is Erika Warren-Yarber. She’s the COO of the Wind River Development Fund and the Wind River Sage Fund. Please consider supporting their work.
And p
May 4 38 min
The Hopeful Locals #2: On the Road Again
This is Episode 2 of my series, The Hopeful Locals. It’s a direct continuation of Episode 1, so if you haven’t heard that, I’d go start there.
Huge thanks to my husband,
Apr 24 22 min
Chart trend
Position in the Personal Journals chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#75#149JulAugSepOct
#3
all-time peak
2
days in the top 3 since Dec 2024
Chart positions
Where STORIES by Lea Thau ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 10, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
I just listened to both of the episodes with Joshua Safran. The first one was amazing. Hearing his incredible story was healing. I was extremely disappointed in your follow-up conversation. You seemed to be only interested in his political opinions and quickly put him in a different category than you are in. You were preaching there are two sides to every story and you didn’t give him that grace. Instead of trying to understand, your guard seemed completely up and you were completely lacking empathy. I consider myself left-wing, so I understand how this conversation can be triggering. But to me, you dehumanized him. And that’s not okay. We are more than just political parties. This man has done a lot of advocacy and helped a lot of people and doesn’t deserve to be painted as a bad person because of differing opinions.
Margirlw · Aug 2026
Whatever story Lea wants to tell I want to listen! I deeply appreciate her perspective vulnerability and her curiosity. It's always genuine and human centered. Her stories make me feel less alone in this big wide world.
jcalevizos · Apr 2026
Lea details all her efforts in a way that sounds effortless. A thoroughly pleasant, quirky, and captivating listen. Thanks for coming back!
Carla IS · Apr 2026
I absolutely adore every single episode. I never ever re-listen to podcasts, however that changed when I discovered you! I can listen over and over because your voice and the voices you bring to your show are so beautiful and special and meaningful. Thank you for sharing your talents and especially your personal stories and experiences that are deeply inspiring and so very real.
benlashford · Nov 2022
I tried so hard to like this and couldn’t even get through the second episode. I loved Strangers and am not sure what has happened to Lea, but her self absorption and the lack of any narrative tension — any actual storytelling other than the minutiae of her own life — make this show a huge slog. There is something about her that is so negative, complainy and self absorbed, I don’t think podcasting is her strength anymore, sadly. I didn’t want to undermine her efforts with a bad review but listening to this was so unbearable I felt obligated to warn others.
Gostosa2222 · Apr 2026
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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of STORIES by Lea Thau, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
