I don’t remember when I, a shy kid in love with computers, became interested in human stories. The more I think about it, the more this transition blurs. But there it is—I love hearing stories. It turns out that most people do.
I tune into The Moth Radio Hour for a weekly dose of storytelling. Even though many stories are witty and fun, there are those that explore the darker side of life: poverty, crime, broken marriages, battling with diseases, a death of a child. Those stories are from ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and they help me look beyond my bubble and learn something new about the world. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry.
Last year I wrote about stereotyping and jumping to conclusions, and about an exercise anyone can do to reduce bias. Hearing a lot of different stories makes the exercise easier.
I highly recommend subscribing to The Moth podcast. Other similar formats I’ve heard about, but haven’t tried out yet: StoryCorps (TED talk) and Humans of New York.