Stories That Stay:
How Stories of Identity Shape Us
Hosted by Shamm Petros & Dwight Dunston
A podcast where healing happens at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling…
This fall, Lion’s Story is launching Stories That Stay: How Stories of Identity Shape Us. Hosted by Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston, this is a podcast where healing happens at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling.
Each episode blends powerful first-person storytelling with mindfulness practices and over 35 years of racial literacy research to help listeners navigate race, identity, and difference with courage, competence, and curiosity.
Through our signature First Story question—“What is your earliest memory of race or difference?”—guests share formative moments, and together we explore those memories using tools that support healing, growth, and transformation.
Season One features inspiring voices like Lisa Nelson-Haynes, Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards, and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Osahon Tongo—along with educators, artists, and leaders who are unafraid to be vulnerable in sharing how early experiences shaped their lives.
Whether you’re an educator, a leader, or simply someone curious about the power of story, Stories That Stay will give you new ways to listen, reflect, and craft your own story. Episodes drop this fall subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode 1 - Lisa Nelson Haynes
In this premiere episode of Stories That Stay, co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston talk with Lisa Nelson-Haynes, Executive Director of Lion’s Story and former Chief Program Officer at StoryCorps. Lisa shares a searing childhood memory of racial disrespect and her father’s fierce response—an experience that shaped her confidence and her calling. Together, they explore the pride, calm, and trauma woven into that moment and how Lisa has carried its lessons into her decades of work using storytelling as a path to healing and justice.
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Episode 2 - Osahon Tongo
Osahon Tongo is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, writer, and director from Naperville, Illinois. His work spans cinematic storytelling, cultural commentary, and immersive media—always rooted in identity, legacy, and the complexity of the Black experience.
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Episode 3 - Merrill Garbus
Merrill Garbus formed the project Tune-Yards before she knew that she was a producer. Since then she's produced many records, many of which she's recorded with her partner, Nate Brenner.
She's written many a song for herself and others including Mavis Staples, collaborated with Yoko Ono and Laurie Anderson, and composed music for film and TV mainly with Boots Riley.
