The Telling Takes Us Home - A Celebration of American Family Stories

Episode 8 - "On the Reef of Norman's Woe"

Episode 8 begins with host Joe McHugh explaining how fate plays a role in deciding which stories are featured in each episode of The Telling Takes Us Home and ends with a lively recitation by an Irish poet of the classic poem The Wreck of the Hesperus by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In between are stories about learning a life lesson from a brother thanks to a boxing match, a mother's ESP, a father saved by an enemy soldier, a most unusual "tea party," going after the girl you love, and a very close call while working for the railroad. So have a listen and wonder awhile at the human condition in all its varied forms.

Episode 7 - It's a Haunted House

Episode 7 of the Telling Takes Us Home begins with a visit to Omaha, Nebraska, and a story told by a former organizer for the Meat Packers Union and a superior court judge providing a portrait of a tough grandfather and his conflict with organized labor in Chicago. These are followed by stories about how a prayer resulted in a miracle cure, an ill-fated baptism in the hill country of eastern Kentucky, an Irish mother's special way of knowing, a Native American man's act of generosity, and the link between a discovered old family photograph and a popular rock band. The episode ends with a remarkable tale of an honest-to-goodness haunted house.

Episode 6 - "He Was a Good Man"

Episode 6 of The Telling Takes Us Home begins with a story about a dentist called upon to perform surgery following the shoot-out at Wounded Knee in 1973. This is followed by stories about the early days of aviation, the Buck Rogers comic strip and subsequent popular radio show, author Lee Smith talking about her eccentric uncle who was a gifted musician with a drinking problem, a fire-and-brimstone preacher who puts his life at risk when he's forced to confront the members of his church in the back country of South Carolina, and a poem written for a step-father as he prepares to leaves this world.

Episode 5 - Fly the Airplane!

Episode 5 begin with a story about a miraculous airplane accident. It is followed by memories of a storytelling grandmother, how a young girl found the courage to face to a mean neighbor to save her flock of pet turkeys, an Irish conman who decides to sell his circus and go into the Christian revival business, a recollection of how a mother received a special gift, a pair of stories about the early days of radio, and a noted Scottish fiddler and how his music helped save the life of a child.

Episode 4 - Too Many Chickens

Episode 4 brings us a stories about a wartime courtship close to the front lines, how a book and the manager of movie theaters in Utah got rid of a restriction based on racism, how a songwriter was inspired to write a song about a near-death experience, an Depression-era farmer with far too many chickens, memories of how a family reacted to a news broadcast on December 7, 1941, a judge who went out of his way to help the poor, and two Jewish men who bought a hotel only to discover…

Episode 3 - To Do Whatever It Takes

This episode features stories about a young boy saved by his grandfather from a sinking boat, how a bunch of campers discovered a trio of secret lakes teeming with trout, a young mother winning a trunk full of books and a young girl finding a bookcase full of books, a practical joke played on a father working at a car dealership, the man who invented the snowmobile and fell in love inside a rollerskating rink, a mother who won't take no for an answer as her child struggles with a deadly disease, and how an immigrant step-mother instilled in her step-daughter a love for voting and democracy in America.

Episode 2 - The Reunion of a Lifetime

Episode 2 of The Telling Takes Us Home podcast series features stories about a fortune teller and the wife of a bronco rider, how fate protected a mother and child traveling from Russia to America, how a fire changed a man's racial attitudes, a hairdresser who served as a therapist, how a woman saved the family horse during the Civil War, how a WWII pilot refused to miss his own wedding, how a brother thought he killed his sister, and a prank pulled on the owner of a brand-new VW bug. There is also an audio essay by author Jim Houston on the why it can be so important for someone to tell their family stories.

Episode 1 - The Smartest Man I Ever Knew

This first episode of our new podcast series celebrating family stories features stories about a prank pulled on a grandfather in Ireland, a husband's efforts to save his wife's life while interned in a camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII, an Italian-American woman marvels at photos in her granddaughter's college yearbook, men and women who pitch in to help in the aftermath of the Johnstown Flood, opera day and a cleaning woman who plays Chopin, a father who finds beauty in an unexpected person, and why it's always best to tell the truth.