I'm just a little cautious about hyperbolic assertions about storytelling, especially in terms of magical powers. What is it we definitely know that stories do? And do we need to think a bit more (post-election) about whether there are bad stories, or just bad uses of stories?

I think concretely stories help us remember things, and are a means of expressing our values to others. Less well known is the use of storying the past to plan for the future -- we organise the materials of the past in order to try out options for how we want to be seen acting in the future.

This to me is the most powerful question we can ask. I feel that it's Mike Caulfield's ongoing question in relation to the chorus of voices that make it possible for us to move forward together, and also to Sherri's question about educational institutions and their presence in our lives. But how do we also value what is unique to a person about their story and their voice, when it is heard?