State of the Re:Union

In the last episode of State of the Re:Union, the team brings you a collection of our favorite stories from the road. Host Al Letson reflects on six years of SOTRU and says goodbye to the show. V...

http://stateofthereunion.com/travelogue-volume-two/

The San Gabriel Valley is just like any other suburb in America. Life revolves around family and school; the social fabric is woven over cheap eats at the mall. But unlike most suburbs in America...

http://stateofthereunion.com/san-gabriel-valley/

Poetry isn’t just words on a page. Instead it’s a form that lets people express themselves in a way that’s often far more deep, emotional, and complex than other forms of communication. In ...

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-poems-the-poets-the-power/

The climate is going haywire, and politicians are bickering over what to do about it, or whether to do anything at all. But that’s only part of the story. Around the country, communities are ta...

http://stateofthereunion.com/ithaca-ny-power-to-the-people/

When someone decides to transition from one gender to another, it’s obviously a big deal in their life. But what’s it like for their spouse?VIEW PHOTOS AND MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/a-couple-twice-born/

This year, State of the Re:Union recognizes Black History Month through the lens of African-American art, the role it has played in social movements and everyday life, and why it matters both to ...

http://stateofthereunion.com/power-of-african-american-art/

When a city’s murder rate goes up and stays high for years, what do community activists working against violence do? How do they keep from losing hope? Back in 2010, State of the Re:Union visit...

http://stateofthereunion.com/nola-murder-board/

In every community, there are certain characters that are familiar to everybody. They’re not actually famous– they’re just recognizable folks about town because of some quirk or personal ch...

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-whistler/

The SOTRU team brings you a collection of stories from the road. Host Al Letson reflects on the show and plays some of his favorite stories mixed with unheard interviews. We’ll also hear a stor...

http://stateofthereunion.com/travelogue-volume-one/

In our globalized world, it only takes a click to buy something from China and have it delivered right to your doorstep. But that product sailed across the ocean on a cargo ship before it got to ...

http://stateofthereunion.com/truckers-high-seas/

The United States has the world’s largest prison population. In 2012, there were 2.3 million people in American prisons or jails – and even more under some kind of “correctional supervision...

http://stateofthereunion.com/american-justice/

It’s estimated that there are nearly 1.5 million people in the U.S. who identify themselves as transgender. That’s more than a million people with families, communities and stories we are on...

http://stateofthereunion.com/trans-families/

Interior Alaska can be a forbidding place. The region is largely wilderness, covered with expansive stretches of tundra and towering mountain ranges. Winters are long and dark, with just a few h...

http://stateofthereunion.com/interior-alaska/

The U.S. has been a country shaped by migration, dating back to the days of the pioneers making their way West. But recently, this country has been seeing a different kind of migration, one moti...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sorting-of-america/

When Mormon pioneers rolled into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, they brought with them a new theology, a short but intense history of persecution, and dreams of a new kind of society. 166 years l...

http://stateofthereunion.com/salt-lake-city/

Host Al Letson and guest producer John Biewen (of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University) present a collection of stories from Durham, North Carolina. In this hour of SOTRU, we ex...

http://stateofthereunion.com/contested/

For many Americans, Hawai’i is a tropical playground, the place of surf, sun and dream vacations. Behind the tourist façade, though, is one of the most unique multicultural states in the nati...

http://stateofthereunion.com/hawaii-legacy-sugar/

Even in diverse neighborhoods, it’s easy to go about our lives in a well-established groove, only interacting with the people we already know, the people most like us. But in one neighborhood ...

http://stateofthereunion.com/friendship-ross-stardust/

In this National Poetry Month special, SOTRU explores all facets of poetry and its influence in host Al Letson’s life. We talk to poets from all over the country about the craft, the lifestyle...

http://stateofthereunion.com/when-words-matter/

When you picture Vermont, you probably get a mental image of a pastoral scene of fields and mountains, maybe some maple trees. How about… mohawks and mosh pits? SOTRU Producer Tina Antolini di...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sotru-short-vermonts-hardcore-scene/

When one city in upstate New York was having trouble with its economy, it came up with a big idea to try to solve the problem: making its own...money. But can a concept as innovative as that act...

http://stateofthereunion.com/ithaca-hours/

Usually during Black History month, we remember civil rights icons and reflect on their legacy. But over the past couple years, SOTRU has met a new generation of African-American leaders, people...

http://stateofthereunion.com/leadership-from-the-bottom-up/

During a month selected to celebrate “history,” we certainly are treated to a lot of the same familiar stories: the battles won for Civil Rights, the glory of Martin Luther King Jr.’s word...

http://stateofthereunion.com/redefining-black-history/

What happens if you move to Portland, Oregon and you’re not into bikes or beer? Or if, say, you don’t even speak English? East Portland, a part of the city that looks completely different fr...

http://stateofthereunion.com/east-portland-soccer/

Most of State of the Re:Union’s reporting is done right here in the United States, but today host Al Letson tells us a very personal story about his recent trip to Malawi. VIEW PHOTOS AND MORE...

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-possibilities-of-the-stars/

In the 1970s, a prominent schizophrenia researcher named Dr. Loren Mosher noticed that the standard treatment in the hospital– medication, confinement– didn’t have good outcomes. People di...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sotru-short-soteria/

A twist on SOTRU’s regular Dear City letters feature: for this special podcast, we asked Berta Britz, who has been hearing voices for her entire adult life, to write a Dear Voices letter. This...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sotru-short-dear-voices/

Last summer, we visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a devastating racial incident in 1921 still divides the city today. That legacy has made it tough for Tulsa to move forward into the future, but in...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sotru-short-dear-tulsa/

For all you Portlandia fans out there, we hate to break it to you: the city ISN’T actually Portlandia… Except when it is. People there are very serious about recycling and passionate about h...

http://stateofthereunion.com/sotru-short-move-by-bike/

Among the most iconic landscapes in America is the Western Range, a stretch of millions of acres of land, much of it remote and undeveloped. Deep traditions tie people to this land. But in the 2...

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-southwestern-range/

Tulsa, Oklahoma sits at a crossroads of American identities. In a special episode of SOTRU, we travel to the middle of Middle America to see what happens when these identities collide. We explor...

http://stateofthereunion.com/tulsa-ok-reconciliation-way/

Portland is a city that some residents praise as a kind of eden: full of bike paths, independently-owned small businesses, great public transportation and abundant microbreweries and coffeeshops...

http://stateofthereunion.com/portland-or-a-tale-of-two-cities/

Back in 2004, staff producer Laura Starecheski visited a state mental hospital in Queens, New York, called Creedmoor. She stumbled on to a mystery there that would take almost ten years to unrav...

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-hospital-always-wins/

In this American Graduate special, State of the Re:Union takes a closer look at school, community, and the dropout crisis in this country. With reporting from both urban and rural schools, and i...

http://stateofthereunion.com/back-to-basics/

In this episode, SOTRU travels to Holyoke, Massachusetts, home of the Care Center. an alternative school just for pregnant and parenting teen… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/dropouts-to-graduates-the-story-of-the-care-center/

More than two million veterans have come home so far from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. For returning veterans, reintegrating into society c… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/coming-home-stories-of-veterans-returning-from-war

In this episode Al Letson and guest producer Lu Olkowski visit a tiny town in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio where, for a century, residents h… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/pike-county-oh-as-black-as-we-wish-to-be/

At this point in the 21st century, it’s kind of impossible to talk about community-building without, at some point, talking about the internet… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/internet-communities-virtual-reality

Jacksonville, Florida is a lot of things: a military town. A church town. A beach town. And it can be all those things because Jacksonville is the… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/jacksonville-fl-grinding-the-gears/

Tucson sits in the borderlands, the desert landscape where America and Mexico meet. This place is crisscrossed by boundaries, visible and inv… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/tucson-az-borderlands/

Every day in America, more than 7,000 students drop out of school. In a State of the Re:Union first, this episode combines radio drama and docum… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/summer-in-sanctuary-an-american-graduate-special

The Community of Comics Episode In this episode we explore a community where when evil rears its head, someone finds a way to set things right, ev… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/comics-with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility/

The Ozarks have long been an isolated part of the country. Steep mountains break up the landscape into hills and hollows, making each little to… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/ozarks-full-circle/

Baltimore is a city of many neighborhoods, of intense divides—racial, class, and otherwise– not easily overcome. It’s a city bogged do… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/baltimore-md-outsiders-in

Quaint storefronts along Main streets, covered bridges over clear streams, cows from dairy farms dotting green valleys: across the state, th… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/vermont-the-small-town-state

The Tri-Cities are Richland, Pasco and Kennewick—3 cities clustered near one another in the vast plains and deserts of Washington state, to th… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/southeastern-washington-the-unlikely-perfect-place

There’s been a lot of bad news coming out of Sacramento lately: homelessness, the foreclosure rate, unemployment, political gridlock in a sta… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/sacramento-ca-all-hands-on-deck

Cleveland, Ohio is a city that was made by entrepreneurs, but for decades, it’s been known as a city that’s a shell of its former manufactu… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/cleveland-oh-entrepreneurs-at-work

People are few and far between in Wyoming. Those that do live here prize tradition, self-reliance, and their connection to the land. So when c… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/wyoming-the-new-old-west

The Bronx has long been seen as a symbol of America’s failings. For many people here, ‘making it’ means escaping the crime and poverty of their b… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/the-bronx-ny-still-rising-from-the-ashes

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area, Mississippi Gulf Coast residents were forced to come together to deal with the aftermath. Then, jus… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/mississippi-gulf-coast-defending-the-gulf

Refugees, entrepreneurs, visionaries—these are the historic roots of Oakland, California. The city has long been home for people building n… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/oakland-ca-the-self-made-city

These days, two versions of Las Vegas occupy the public imagination. One is of Sin City, home to The Strip, to glitter and entertainment. The oth… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/las-vegas-nv-bright-lights-big-city-small-town

Famous for its beaches and clubs, Miami is also the 3rd poorest city in the nation. If you own a store in South Beach, your customers are equally li… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/state-of-the-reunion-miami-bridging-the-divide

A couple of decades ago, Utica, New York, was dying, by even its residents diagnosis: a popular bumper sticker in the ‘90s read “Last One Out of Ut… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/utica-ny-city-with-a-warm-heart

Birmingham is a place that can’t escape its history—especially the painful parts. Almost fifty years later after the tragedies and triumphs o… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/birmingham-alabama-the-long-story-short

August 28th, 1963 will forever be tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech.” This historic moment would probably have never…

http://stateofthereunion.com/bayard-rustin-who-is-this-man

Rural Appalachia has long been portrayed in the media as a place of victims: people at the mercy of the region’s poverty or bigotry. In this episo… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/appalachia-rising

Unlike places that have been thrown into a state of crisis by a disaster, Austin, Texas, has been thrown into crisis by success. Its population h… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/austin-tx-growing-pains

Los Angeles, Lala land, often thought of as the city of movies and money and fame. But that characterization doesn’t get at the heart and soul of t… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/los-angeles-ca-home-sweet-home

It isn’t exactly Lake Wobegon anymore… Once known as the home of Midwestern Lutherans and Scandanavian farmers, the cities of Minneapolis and… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/twin-cities-mn-world-within-two-cities

We are excited to announce the release of our Española episode: The Land Remembers. Al Letson and team explore this incredible area to examine t… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/espanola-the-land-remembers

Listen to the episode and check out our video documentary, podcasts, images and articles on New Orleans! If you’ve listened to our NOLA e… READ MORE

http://stateofthereunion.com/new-orleans-la-the-big-easy