Stories That Stay is where healing happens at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling. Hosted by therapist, learning strategist, and refugee Shamm Petros, alongside facilitator, educator, and artist Dwight Dunston, each episode invites listeners into conversations that make space for resilience, rupture, and repair.
Grounded in over 35 years of research in psychology, racial socialization, and human development, Stories That Stay is a project of Lion’s Story—an organization committed to building racial literacy and transforming identity-based stress into tools for healing and change.
Through personal stories, reflective questions, and practical tools, Shamm and Dwight guide you in navigating identity and difference with more clarity and less fear. Whether you’re an educator, organizer, artist, or simply trying to make sense of the world around you, this podcast offers a space to process what’s hard, discover new language for your truths, and move toward healing.
Fair warning—it gets emotional. But that’s the point.
When Untruth Makes You Shake: Rain Pryor on Identity and Resilience
What happens when early experiences of race and difference stay stored in the body? In this episode, award-winning actor, writer, director, and activist Rain Pryor joins hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston. As the daughter of comedy icon Richard Pryor and Jewish activist Shelley Bonus, Rain reflects on growing up Black and Jewish in Beverly Hills—from being chased at age 5 to experiencing racial terror on her front lawn. Together, they walk through Lion Story’s CLCBE framework to explore ho...
4 Aug 2026
Jeremy Keys: Take Your Parents to the Dance
How do our desperate desires to fit in impact the people who love us most? In this episode of Stories That Stay, co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston sit down with Jeremy Keys—a musician, social media strategist, and the creator of the Philadelphia Eagles newsletter Birds of a Feather. Jeremy shares a vulnerable early memory of difference stemming from his childhood move to a predominantly white, affluent Philadelphia suburb. As a teenager navigating a newly blended, multiracial family, J...
21 Jul 2026
Dr. Maureen Fleming: When Doing Everything Right Is Not Enough
Dr. Maureen Fleming grew up believing that if she followed the rules, treated people well, and worked hard, things would turn out as they should. That belief carried her through school, graduate training, and years of work focused on social justice and identity-based stress. But during her Ph.D. program, the demands placed on her exceeded what her body could sustain. In this episode, Maureen reflects on perfectionism, acquired disability, and the painful realization that doing everything “rig...
7 Jul 2026
Dr. James Peterson on Racial Stress, Memory & “The Boy in the Mirror”
Dr. James Peterson joins Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston for a powerful conversation about memory, race, identity, and the stories we carry in our bodies. Dr. Peterson is a writer, educator, consultant, and host of Evening Words on WURD Radio in Philadelphia. He is also the author of several books on hip-hop, Black culture, and the prison-industrial complex. In this episode, Dr. Peterson reflects on growing up in Newark, New Jersey, and recalls a childhood moment at Newark Boys Chorus School ...
23 Jun 2026
Sali Mudawi: I Am Not My Hair
In this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston welcome Sali Mudawi, a Sudanese-born photographer and creative director based in London, shaped by growing up in Sweden and the UK. Sali shares an early childhood memory from Sweden, when a beloved teacher apologized for calling her “Medusa” because of her braids—an incident that left her with questions about race, difference, hair, accountability, and what children are expected to carry alone. Through the Lion’s Sto...
1 Jun 2026
Stasie Maxwell: Beauty and Pain Held by the Breath
How do early memories of difference live in the body? And what happens when we finally have the tools, language, and support to process them? In the Season Two premiere of Stories that Stay, Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston welcome Stasie Maxwell for a conversation rooted in land, language, breath, and belonging. Stasie’s work sits at the intersection of land trauma and community healing, with deep ties to the Rogue Valley and intertribal community in Southern Oregon. When asked about her earl...
9 Jan 2026
Season One Finale: Reflections, Hope, and the Stories That Shape Us
In this season finale of Stories That Stay, hosts Dwight Dunston and Shamm Petros pause to reflect on the stories, insights, and moments of healing that shaped Season One. Rather than introducing a new guest, Dwight and Shamm turn toward one another—processing what they’ve learned, what surprised them, and what continues to give them hope. Throughout the conversation, they revisit key themes that emerged across the season: racial stress, identity, memory, resilience, and the power of storytel...
19 Dec 2025
Claiming Worth: Dr. Darryl J. Ford on Race, Resilience, and a Generational Legacy of Education
In this episode, co-hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston sit down with longtime educator and Quaker school leader Dr. Darryl J. Ford for an intimate reflection on early memories of race, difference, family legacy, and the practices that helped him navigate childhood and leadership. Dr. Ford traces the deep educational roots in his family—from a grandmother sent to a private girls’ school in the early 1900s, to elders like “Mama Irma” who shaped his understanding of service, to his own for...
5 Dec 2025
Brian Caselli Jordan: Holding Love and Accountability in Our First Stories of Race
In this powerful episode, educator, musician, and longtime Lion’s Story trainer Brian Caselli Jordan takes us deep into one of his earliest memories of racial difference. What begins as a tender portrait of his Italian American grandfather expands into a layered exploration of inheritance, identity, silence, and the emotional weight of witnessing racism from someone you adore. Together with co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston, Brian traces how this childhood moment shaped his understandi...
21 Nov 2025
Growing Up Biracial: Mona Norfleet on Healing and Belonging
In this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston talk with Mona Norfleet—equity advocate, writer, and community builder—about growing up biracial and finding belonging across cultures. Mona reflects on her biracial upbringing as the daughter of Mary Norfleet, an Italian American from the Bronx, and Tom Norfleet, a Black man from rural Alabama. Through tender reflection, Mona revisits her earliest memories of racial difference: her father’s warm brown hands ...
7 Nov 2025
The Weight of Difference: Inua Ellams on Identity, Abandonment, and Creative Survival
In this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston sit down with Inua Ellams—poet, playwright, performer, and creative force—to explore the first edges of difference and the lifelong echoes of separation. At age four, Inua and his twin sister were placed in different classrooms. What began as a child’s tantrum became an early lesson in loss, identity, and independence. Through mindful reflection and somatic awareness, Inua revisits that moment and traces how it sha...
24 Oct 2025
Wonder and a Will to Live: Merrill Garbus on Whiteness, Grief, and Practice
In this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston talk with musician and producer Merrill Garbus, the creative force behind Tune-Yards. Together they explore how early memories of difference—body, race, and class—shape our sense of belonging and the lifelong practice of racial literacy. Through honest reflection, Merrill names feelings of fear, avoidance, gratitude, grief, and curiosity, and locates where they live in her body. With Shamm and Dwight’s guidance, sh...
10 Oct 2025
French Toast at Daycare: Osahon Tongo on Love, Care, and Memory
In this episode of Stories That Say, hosts Shamm H Petros and Dwight Dunston engage with Emmy-winning filmmaker Osahan Tongo, exploring the intersection of identity, storytelling, and emotional healing. The conversation delves into Tongo's early memories of difference, the role of family in shaping identity, and the impact of food and care in relationships. Osahon Tongo traces an early memory—“French toast at daycare”—into a present-day meditation on love, parenting, food as care, and w...
26 Sept 2025
Love, Protection, and the Weight of Racial Stress with Lisa Nelson-Haynes
In this powerful premiere of Stories That Stay, co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston converse with Lisa Nelson-Haynes—Executive Director of Lion’s Story and former Chief Programs Officer at StoryCorps—about a childhood memory that shaped her identity and her career. Lisa revisits a vivid moment when her father confronted racial disrespect, exploring how that act of love, protection, and trauma informed her journey. Their conversation weaves storytelling, emotion, and mindful reflection, i...
25 Aug 2025
Stories That Stay: Promo One — Healing Through Identity and Memory
Stories That Stay is a podcast where healing happens at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling. Hosted by therapist and strategist Shamm Petros and educator and artist Dwight Dunston, the show blends personal storytelling with mindfulness practices and over 35 years of racial literacy research from Lion’s Story. Each episode begins with the question: What is your earliest memory of race or difference? Guests—artists, educators, leaders, and everyday people—share moments that shape...
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