Everything Is Stories
A story of misplaced justice and the perils of innocence. Convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child, Greg Torti has spent the the last two decades in the shadow of a system that places a high priority on banishing sex offenders even after their release. Living in rural Texas with children of his own now, Torti would be the first to tell you he agrees with the system. Yet still, after years behind bars and now subject to the process a sex offender must go through each year, bitterness and anger remain after what he feels was no...
info_outline 029 No Duties Without RightsEverything Is Stories
A story of language, communism, and 9/11. As a young man growing up in the Dominican Republic, Miguel Vargas-Caba had an early interest in foreign language. With minimal resources in a country wrapped up in political turmoil and an eventual civil war, Cabas began writing to people overseas to request books and stamps for his collection. After teaching himself various languages from Latin to Russian, it was ultimately his curiosity in the latter that would land him in the United States after his mother feared for his life amongst an anti-communist culture. After adjusting...
info_outline 028 The Marble Faun - Part 2Everything Is Stories
A story of a runaway, sexual identity, and survival in the wake of loss. In part two of our episode we pick up with Jerry as he returns to New York City from Saudi Arabia. With money in his pocket he decides to indulge in a free lifestyle, immersing himself in the gay community at various bath houses and night clubs on a regular basis. After running a successful business and ultimately losing a loved one to the AIDS epidemic, he struggles with addiction in the rough and tumble 1980s East Village. From there we follow as he drives his taxi cab through a rapidly changing...
info_outline 027 The Marble Faun - Part 1Everything Is Stories
A story of a runaway, sexual identity, and survival in the wake of loss. Part one of this two-part episode follows Jerry Torre - well known for his appearance in the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens. As a child he ran from his home in Brooklyn and began working as a gardener for the wealthy in East Hampton, NY. While there he stumbles upon the now-famous Grey Gardens property and begins regularly staying with the Beales, helping maintain the property and becoming friends with the two women. At the same time he begins to discover his own sexuality, traveling...
info_outline 026 La Retirada - Act IIIEverything Is Stories
A story of drug trafficking, deception, and family identity. In the final part of La Retirada, Rocío Gómez and her family enter the United States Federal Witness Security Program. The family must create new identities, while moving from state to state. But they soon realize that fabricated identities do not change their personal history. La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio Love and Radio is produced by Nick van der Kolk
info_outline 025 La Retirada - Act IIEverything Is Stories
A story of drug trafficking, deception, and family identity. The story continues as Rocío Gómez divorces her husband Rodrigo, a master drug trafficker in Colombia. Rocío and her children move to Miami where she begins a relationship with a new man, Carlos, whose dangerous past with the mafia catches up with Rocío’s family. La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio Love and Radio is produced by Nick van der Kolk Photo by Justin Hollar
info_outline 024 La Retirada - Act IEverything Is Stories
A story of drug trafficking, deception, and family identity In Colombia, Rocío Gómez marries into an empire of wealth and power. She is told the family operates a low-profile import/export business, and finds comfort in her role as wife and mother. However, she soon learns the family business is not what it seems as Rocío becomes entangled with drugs, money, and mafioso. La Retirada is a collaboration between Everything Is Stories and Love and Radio Love and Radio is produced by Nick van der Kolk Photo by Justin Hollar
info_outline 023 SulomeEverything Is Stories
A story of terrorism, family, and forgiveness. For the first seven years of her life, Sulome Anderson never met her father, journalist Terry Anderson. Three months before she was born, her father was kidnapped and imprisoned by Shiite Muslim militants in Lebanon. Through hostage videos and letters, Sulome began forming an image of a perfect parent. But after his release, she soon realized Terry Anderson was not the person she imagined. Years later, Sulome began investigating the events the led to her father's kidnapping. In this episode, she tells her story of a personal journey into the...
info_outline 022 Force Begets ResistanceEverything Is Stories
Stories of protest from Standing Rock. In the Summer of 2016, members from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe began organizing demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), an underground pipeline that would stretch over 1,300 miles. If completed, it would carry oil through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. Many believed DAPL's route would destroy sacred Sioux grounds and affect the local water source. As Indigenous tribes from all over the world united against the pipeline, private security soon used guard dogs and pepper spray on demonstrators. Local police arrived in...
info_outline 021 A Line Drawn In The Rez DirtEverything Is Stories
A story of the Navajo reservation, native rock and roll, and action against a colonial government. For over two decades, Duane “Chili” Yazzie has been an activist for Native American rights. Of the Navajo tribe, Chili has spent his life on the reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, following tribal traditions and questioning the relationship between Native Peoples and Anglo-Americans. As a young man, he became a member of the influential Native American rock band, XIT, playing at political rallies across the United States. Chili would later become involved in Navajo politics, being sworn...
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