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89.3 WFPL Debuts New Series: ‘Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit’

89.3 WFPL is excited to announce the premiere of “Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit,” a new six-part series produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab.

Each story is a first person account of people in the Louisville community who’ve overcome some significant challenge and thrived despite the odds. They’re hopeful stories, in a world that’s often full of the opposite.

Beginning on September 28, an abridged version of each story will air on Fridays at 5:45 p.m. during All Things Considered on 89.3 WFPL and the full pieces will be available for download at wfpl.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The series is inspired by the words of James Baldwin from The Fire Next Time. “Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word ‘love’ here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace - not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”

"This series brings our listeners the voices of six Louisvillians, telling their stories in their own words," said WFPL News Director Erica Peterson. "Their stories are amazing and complicated and yes--sometimes tough. But they're also stories of overcoming challenges and of hope, which sometimes we don't hear enough about during the day-to-day news cycle."

“For us at IDEAS xLab - that tough and universal experience is built on HOPE and the pathways it creates toward a more resilient, creative, and healthy Louisville,” said IDEAS xLab co-founder Theo Edmonds. “Our collaborative Tough and Universal series - created in partnership with WFPL – builds on our Creative Placehealing ® movement which leverages the power arts, culture, and the creative industries to frame, seed, and scale innovation in community health.”

To cap it off, WFPL and IDEAS xLab will hold an event inspired by the series on Nov. 15, 2018 at 6:00 p.m in the Louisville Public Media performance studio. The event will be an evening of discussion and artistic performances around the theme of “Identity,” and the public is invited to attend. Event details will be forthcoming on Do502.com and the WFPL Facebook page.

Kirsten is the Director of Marketing at LPM. Email Kirsten at kpfalzgraf@lpm.org.