Strangers Archives

Jenni Rowell had surgery last year that altered her appearance forever. She wrote to us and said “I have a story about seeing a stranger every time I look in the mirror.” As we worked on her story, things took a turn for the worse…

Check out Jenni’s blog.

Jenni’s friend did a photo shoot with her before the surgery
Photo courtesy of Koko Warner

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A tale of true love spanning four decades, two countries, and classic racial divides. We get pitched a fair share of adoption stories and while we’re always very moved when people take in a little stranger and make her their own, it doesn’t necessarily work as a story, because it feels like a familiar premise — a story we’ve heard before. That was until we met Liz Fletcher. We hadn’t quite heard a story like this before.

Liz Fletcher is an award-winning Chicago stage actress and writer, and a diversity and inclusion writer/consultant for the Kaleidoscope Group. She’s long time ensemble member the esteemed Raven Theatre Company of Chicago.

Liz’s parents, love birds many years later

To hear this episode (and 80+ other archival episodes, plus brand new episodes of our 2019/20 season) join us on Patreon for just $1 per month.

I’ve never particularly envied people who were born rich. Without the need to hustle, I feared an existential void would open up and swallow me whole. But this may be a very middle class thing to say. Perhaps if I’d grown up poor, the hustle would look less attractive? On this episode, hear candid stories from musician Moby about the shame of growing up poor when his mother couldn’t afford milk, and the tricks he played to hide this; from Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, about being born fabulously rich — and making documentaries about that fact; from Bokara Legendre about being of the last “debutante” generation, and from another wealthy-born woman about the heartbreak that no amount of money can shield us from.
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To hear this episode (and 80+ other archival episodes, plus brand new episodes of our 2019/20 season) join us on Patreon for just $1 per month.

Remember Dave Kessler from Episode 4 who’d been online dating for 16 years straight with no luck? Well, guess what….

Also, Franky Carrillo who was exonerated after 20 years behind bars takes us from Folsom Prison to the Pump Station to shop for tubes for his girlfriend’s breast pump. And then he goes to visit another Strangers alum, Gil Garcetti, the former District Attorney in Los Angeles, who accidentally crashed a wedding while canvassing for votes for his son Eric (now the Mayor of Los Angeles), and who is often confronted by strangers whose lives he’s impacted in dramatic ways…
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To hear this episode (and 80+ other archival episodes, plus brand new episodes of our 2019/20 season) join us on Patreon for just $1 per month.

A family tragedy sends the Corchados from Mexico to California’s Central Valley, searching for greener pastures. Upon arrival, that’s hardly what they find. But some years later, a deal involving a 1978 Camaro sets the oldest son on a path to unlikely success. Now he’s risking his life every day to get the story out.

Alfredo Corchado is the author of the book Midnight in Mexico.

Alfredo’s parents on their wedding day