7 Minute Stories w/ Aaron Calafato

411 episodes

Why Local Stories Matter with Filmmaker Brittany Dobish
25/07/2026 | 16 mins.
Documentary filmmaker Brittany Dobish believes some of the most powerful stories are waiting in the places we already call home. Aaron talks with the founder of Dobish Legacy Films and Canal Fulton Heritage Society trustee about preserving community memory, finding the universal inside the deeply local, and creating her new documentary, Recede: The Story of the St. Helena II.

Partner with Storytelling University: reach a global audience of thoughtful, highly engaged listeners across generations, from parents and professionals to creators, leaders, and lifelong learners, all connected by a deep appreciation for powerful stories, meaningful ideas, and human connection.

⁠⁠⁠Reach out to us for exclusive sponsorship opportunities⁠⁠⁠

TSU Team:

Created & Hosted by: Aaron Calafato

Produced and Edited by: Aaron Calafato & Brooks Borden

Guest Coordinator: Dania Khalife

Love 7MS & TSU? Here's how to support:

*Follow the pod wherever you're listening

*Tap 5 Stars

*Text one person you love a link to your favorite episode.
It's Fall in July
23/07/2026 | 10 mins.
In the middle of a hot, humid summer, Aaron escapes into a story about his favorite season: fall. From crisp morning air and colorful leaves to apple orchards, pumpkin patches, bonfires, and hayrides, this nostalgic episode is an invitation to slow down and remember the simple magic of autumn.

Featuring an original score by TJ Duke.
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Be a part of the 7 Minute Stories Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get access to Aaron's Stories in a Snap series. A weekly series of written adaptations of the 7 Minute Stories you love, reimagined for the page and delivered straight to your inbox via Substack. Plus, once a quarter, you’ll receive a thoughtful note with storytelling insights, behind the scenes reflections, and exclusive bonus content.
That’s Why They Call It “Stairway to Heaven”
16/07/2026 | 9 mins.
At his daughter’s annual father-daughter dance, Aaron enters an air guitar competition he has never managed to win. This year, however, the stakes feel different. As Stairway to Heaven builds toward its legendary solo, his daughter gives him one simple instruction: “Dad, win.”

What begins as a ridiculous contest between awkward dads becomes a funny and unexpectedly moving story about fatherhood, growing up, and the fear every parent carries of one day becoming uncool. Armed with dark sunglasses, years of imaginary guitar training, and a daughter playing air drums beside him, Aaron finally gets his chance to melt faces and prove that, for at least one more night, Dad is still a rock star.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Be a part of the 7 Minute Stories Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Once a month, you’ll receive a thoughtful note with storytelling insights, behind the scenes reflections, and exclusive bonus content. You’ll also have access to Stories in a Snap, his weekly short written adaptations of the 7 Minute Stories you love, reimagined for the page and delivered straight to your inbox via Substack with no algorithm in between.
How Trains Tell a Story of Connection with Bill Moyer of Solutionary Rail
14/07/2026 | 10 mins.
In this short installment of 7MS Presents: The Storytelling University, Aaron sits down with Bill Moyer, host of the Reconnect America podcast and one of the driving voices behind Solutionary Rail.

On the surface, this is a conversation about trains, rail corridors, freight, electrification, and infrastructure. But underneath all of that is a much bigger storytelling lesson.

Bill talks about how he first got into rail not simply because of transportation policy, but because he saw an opportunity to build alliances across divides. What began as a challenge from someone on the other side of an issue eventually became a broader vision for how rail could reconnect communities, reduce harm, move freight more efficiently, and create a more resilient future.

Partner with Storytelling University: reach a global audience of thoughtful, highly engaged listeners across generations, from parents and professionals to creators, leaders, and lifelong learners, all connected by a deep appreciation for powerful stories, meaningful ideas, and human connection.

⁠⁠Reach out to us for exclusive sponsorship opportunities⁠⁠

TSU Team:

Created & Hosted by: Aaron Calafato

Produced and Edited by: Brooks Borden

Guest Coordinator: Dania Khalife

Love 7MS & TSU? Here's how to support:

*Follow the pod wherever you're listening

*Tap 5 Stars

*Text one person you love a link to your favorite episode.
When Frogs Fell From the Sky, Cedar Point Trauma and More | Night Stories LIVE
12/07/2026 | 2h 23 mins.
On this premiere episode of 7MS Presents: Night Stories LIVE, Aaron, Cori and Lisa return with another late-night mix of nostalgia, strange true history, 90s memories, and live storytelling that may or may not spiral completely off the rails.

In this episode, we explore one of the strangest true weather stories ever reported: frogs falling from the sky. We look at the real accounts behind so-called “frog rain,” including reports from Serbia and other strange cases where animals and objects seemed to fall from above.

Then we explore more strange rain stories from history, including the mysterious milky white rain that coated parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Plus: weather, unplanned stories, rants and conversations, 90s memories, a nostalgic commercial of the night, and Dear Cori and Lisa.

If you love 90s nostalgia, strange history, late-night radio, bizarre weather, unexplained mysteries, this episode is for you.

*Watch our live recordings on YouTube

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About 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 seven minutes with no script. This show is quick, immersive, and tinged with nostalgia. Each story feels deeply personal, fits into your day, and leaves you better than it found you. 7MS sounds like a Millennial swapping stories with Jean Shepherd, Spalding Gray, and Paul Harvey at a Midwestern diner. New episodes every week. - Monthly Program Schedule: 7 Minute Stories Real, short-form personal stories told by Aaron Calafato, in about seven minutes.*Stories drop every single Thursday. 7MS Presents: Short Stories of Hope Monthly true stories about people, moments, and unlikely turns that remind us hope still finds a way. *Releases monthly on the 1st Monday. The Storytelling University Conversations with great storytellers, artists, thinkers, and creatives about how stories shape the way we see the world.*Releases twice a month on the 2nd & 4th Monday. Square Stories Local stories from Aaron’s hometown of Medina, Ohio, told with the heart and texture of everyday life.*Releases monthly on the 3rd Monday. Night Stories Live! Aaron’s late-night radio show featuring co-hosts Cori and Lisa. They tackle: nostalgia, strange headlines, humor & listener moments.*Bi-Weekly episodes release on 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month.

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