7 Minute Stories w/ Aaron Calafato
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7 Minute Stories w/ Aaron Calafato
7 Minute Stories is the leading short-form autobiographical storytelling podcast in the world, reaching over 30 million listeners through weekly unscripted personal narratives. Each episode delivers a true story from Aaron Calafato’s extremely normal yet deeply relatable life in Ohio, told in about...
Episodis Recents
400 episodis
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 stor...
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 effor...
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 smal...
The Man Who Didn’t Speak for 17 Years | Short Stories of Hope
After witnessing the devastation of a 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, one person made a simple decision: he would stop riding in cars. But when p...
The Gift Bag, the Candle, and Rainn Wilson
After recording a conversation with Rainn Wilson for the 7MS bonus series: The Storytelling University, Aaron reveals the anxiety he felt before the i...
Rainn Wilson on The Stories We Tell Ourselves | From Nicaragua to The Office to Soul Boom
In this bonus episode of 7 Minute Stories Presents: The Storytelling University, Aaron sits down with Rainn Wilson, the award-winning actor, New York...
The Day I Became Batman to a Robin
When Aaron discovers a robin’s nest outside his sliding glass door, a simple backyard moment turns into a daily ritual of wonder, worry, and unexpecte...
He Still Sends Emails From Heaven
More than a decade after his grandfather passed away, Aaron still sees the green light appear next to his grandfather’s old Gmail account. What began...
Randall Kenneth Jones: Pat Benatar, Storytelling as Purpose, and Why You Should “Save the Turtle”
7MS Presents: The Storytelling University returns with a heartfelt and deeply human conversation about storytelling, purpose, creativity, and the mome...
A Wish I Regret
An exhausting night in the emergency room pushes Aaron to make an impulsive wish: what if healthcare workers were replaced by AI? But when a quiet mom...
She Buried Their Names in a Jar | Short Stories of Hope
In this month’s 7MS Presents: Stories of Hope, Aaron tells the true story of one woman risked everything to smuggle children out of the Warsaw Ghetto...
Hey Dad, Wanna Have a Catch? (A Field of Dreams Story)
Aaron reflects on the enduring power of Field of Dreams, weaving together baseball, memory, and the quiet bond between fathers and sons. As listener s...
Rev. James Martin: Why Stories Change Everything, What Points to the Resurrection, and the Story That Blew His Mind
Today on 7MS Presents: The Storytelling University, Aaron talks with Rev. James Martin, Jesuit priest, New York Times bestselling author, an editor at...
Somewhere Between Here and There: Sliding Crepes
One afternoon, Aaron and his wife Cori drive to their favorite café… and it’s gone. No sign. No trace. Just a completely different place where it used...
Walter: The Story of an Elegant Man
On a routine trip to a Northeast Ohio institution, a simple checkout line becomes something more...
In this story, Aaron reflects on the...
David Moulton: On Storytelling, Cybersecurity, and Why Story Moves Business Forward
In this bonus episode of 7 Minute Stories Presents: Storytelling University, Aaron Calafato sits down with David Moulton to explore the unexpected int...
Pretending to Be Pacino or The Speech You Wish You’d Given
What if the words you never said still have somewhere to go? In this episode, Aaron revisits one of the most powerful monologues in film and turns it...
Finding Success in Taco Bell Sauce Packets
A strange package shows up at Aaron’s door, filled with Taco Bell hot sauce and a message that didn’t quite survive the journey. But what starts as a...
The Receipts She Never Threw Away
In this 7 Minute Stories, Aaron shares a story that was passed down to him about a boy who grows up believing his mother chose work over him. Years la...
The Meteor Nobody Saw Coming
A meteor explodes over Medina, Ohio—shaking homes, lighting up the sky, and turning an ordinary morning into something unforgettable. As Aaron retrace...
Ani Zonneveld: Storytelling, Progressive Islam, and the Power of Music to Change Hearts
In this episode of 7MS Presents: The Storytelling University, Aaron sits down with writer, activist, and Grammy-certified songwriter Ani Zonneveld, fo...
Coveralls, Coffee, and What His Dad Left Behind
One night, Chad Baxter heard a knock at the door and saw his mother standing in the hallway. In this listener-submitted 7 Minute Stories episode, Chad...
From Kidnapped Child to Olympic Flag Bearer | Short Stories of Hope
In this month’s 7MS Presents: Stories of Hope, Aaron Calafato tells the true story of a six year old boy taken during a church gathering in a small vi...
The Ritual of the Last Bar of Soap
In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, Aaron has a strange ritual he’s a little embarrassed to admit.
It happens quietly at the end of ever...
Are Aliens Real? Obama, UFOs, and the Night We Thought We Saw One
After Barack Obama recently clarified his comments about aliens, UFOs, UAPs, and Area 51, the question resurfaced: Are we alone in the universe?
...
Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies): “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” Songwriting, Philosophy & The Stories That Saved Lives | The Storytelling University
Brad Roberts, lead singer and songwriter of Crash Test Dummies, sits down with Aaron for a wide-ranging conversation about songwriting, philosophy, an...
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
This week on 7 Minute Stories, Aaron reflects on loss, legacy, and the fragile weight of being human.
From the passing of cultural icons...
The Floating Hospital | Short Stories of Hope
In a remote community along the Amazon River, a man lives for two years in quiet, crippling pain. The nearest hospital is not down the road. It is a j...
An American Buffet and the Trouble with Nostalgia
An American buffet leaves an impression on you. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.
Maybe it was a Chinese Buffet with your high school frien...
A Lesson from the Gumball Philosopher
In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, Aaron tells the story of a broken gumball machine, a chance driveway encounter, and a man who chose to live by an...
The Astronaut Who Couldn’t Live Alone
What happens when survival means living your entire life in total isolation? Drawing from Interstellar, Aaron Calafato steps into the mind of Dr. Mann...
The GoFundMe He Never Asked For
A GoFundMe is started for the actor Mickey Rourke, and the internet responds as it so often does. Reading the comments anonymously, Aaron discovers so...
The Restaurant With No Prices | Short Stories of Hope
This is this January's bonus episode of Short Stories of Hope. In this story, Aaron shares a quiet and unexpected moment centered on a woman on the ed...
I Tried to Prove My Pediatrician Wrong (and Accidentally Learned Something Else)
In this episode of 7 Minute Stories, Aaron revisits the last conversation he ever had with his pediatrician, a moment that left him angry, insecure, a...
Christmas: The Man and the Birds | A Timeless Christmas Story
Every Christmas, a short story makes its return—one without a known author, but with a lasting impact. The Man and the Birds was famously shared each...
Sports Are Human Stories: John Telich on Storytelling, Legacy & Northeast Ohio | The Storytelling University
In this Storytelling University bonus episode, Aaron sits down with John Telich, who spent four decades shaping how Northeast Ohio experienced sports...
The Polar Express, Belief, and Why Santa Is Real
As the year comes to a close, Aaron returns to a childhood memory sparked by The Polar Express—a quiet library, falling snow, and a sound he still can...
The Glowworm That Saved Christmas
It’s Christmas Eve, 1987, and a 4-year-old Aaron suddenly realizes he has nothing to give. No money, no store to run to, and a desperate need to feel...
The Wind Phone Story: A Reflection on Loss, Healing, and the Voices We Carry | Short Stories of Hope
This is December’s bonus episode of Short Stories of Hope. In this month’s story, Aaron shares the quiet and powerful tale of the Wind Phone in Ochi,...
The Real Story Behind “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
In this special holiday episode, Aaron breaks down the surprising origin of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a song that was almost far too b...