This episode of the Flame Tree Story podcast features two stories from our World Water Day storytelling event in March, where stories focused on the theme of renewal.

Storytellers Hope Wilder and Nancy Luberoff reveal how water can be a teacher through life's most difficult passages—from navigating grief and loss to discovering healing and new beginnings. Hope takes us to the Eno River, where the ever-changing waters witnessed the end of one love and the start of another. Nancy shares how burial rituals can become sacred practices of honoring life itself. These stories remind us that water carries us from grief to healing, teaching us that renewal is always possible.

The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design.

In this episode, we continue sharing stories from our International Day of Persons with Disabilities event, where storytellers explored what it means to be truly seen in community.

Storytellers Carolyn Stuart, Indigo Dutton, and Danny Steis reveal how connection deepens when communities intentionally make space for everyone's unique contributions—from an incarcerated man finding purpose through training a medical assistance dog, to a music community that transformed itself so everyone could participate, to a room that created silence so one person's voice could be fully heard. These stories show us the power of being seen and the gift of purposeful presence.

Hosts Whitney Fry and Mike Myers reflect on what it takes to create community where everyone belongs—and the healing that happens when we do.

The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design.

In this episode, we hear stories from our live storytelling event on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where each story focuses on the theme of belonging.

Storytellers Jennifer Latham Robinson, Kelvin Scopey Mosley, and Tim Field explore what it means to belong to ourselves, to face our fears in pursuit of belonging, and to create spaces of belonging for those we love. Imagination, courage, and realization feature in these stories, revealing how belonging influences what we do and who we are. Storytellers remind us that belonging is both an inward journey and an outward presence.

The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design.

In the third and final episode from our World Humanitarian Day storytelling event, we explore one of the most powerful elements of story: surprise.

These three stories—shared by Lisa Parrott, Mark Adams, and Jennifer Yourkavitch—invite us into moments that didn’t go as planned. These moments disrupted expectations, challenged comfort zones, and opened the door to deeper perspective and connection. Through humor, humility, tradition, and song, each storyteller shows how unexpected experiences can reshape belonging and reveal something essential about what we do and who we are.

The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design.

In Episode 2 of the Flame Tree Story podcast, we return to our World Humanitarian Day event to hear stories from Madagascar, Tanzania, and Uganda. These stories explore what happens when expectations collide with reality—and how connection can emerge through difficulty.

Featuring storytellers Liz Toomey, Marya Plotkin, and Shelley Zeiger-Enarson, this episode invites listeners into moments of tension and transformation. These stories remind us that discomfort can be a powerful teacher: When we listen closely and stay connected, difficult moments can deepen our understanding of ourselves and the communities around us.

The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design.

Welcome to Flame Tree Story—a new podcast exploring what we do, who we are, and the stories that live between the two. In this first episode, hosts Whitney Fry and Mike Myers share reflections and stories from Flame Tree Story’s debut community event held on World Humanitarian Day 2025.

Featuring Roberta Romano, Samir Omary, and Dan Enarson, this episode highlights connection across borders and friendship among cultures—reminding us how story can bridge difference and amplify what unites us.

Flame Tree Story is produced by Story First Design. If you enjoy this episode, follow the podcast and leave a review.