"This soulful collection is perfect for fans of The Moth or Humans of New York. " — Publishers Weekly People in San Antonio love to tell stories. Worth Repeating: San Antonio Stories is a collection of forty true tales, epic adventures, and intimate revelations from the heart of one of America’s fastest growing and most culturally diverse cities. There is the hilarious chronicle of being crowned Turkey Queen of Cuero, as well as stories of finding one’s place as an immigrant or refugee, the heartbreak of being on the AIDS epidemic’s front lines, and the redemption in writing My Little Pony fan fiction. From the birth of a Freedom Rider to the origins of a literary legend, from the search for a murdered mother’s memories to passing our abilities and disabilities along to our children, the pieces here are as varied and nuanced as the city its authors have called home at one time or another. They might not all take place in Texas, but every story has roots in its streets, suburbs, and history. Whether it’s an account of being stranded in Uganda, growing up in a Mexican border barrio, catching swine flu in Thailand, being among Harvard University’s first Black architecture students, growing up in Iran, or leaving India for a new life in Texas, each story has a soul that is puro San Antonio. From last chances to first tries, all of these personal narratives were originally performed in front of an audience at Worth Repeating , Texas Public Radio’s live storytelling series. Writers include Heather Armstrong, Tanveer Arora, Jennie Badger, Kiran Kaur Bains, Marion Barth, Sheila Black, Barbara Bowie, Norma Elia Cantú, Kelly Grey Carlisle, Cary Clack, Jess Elizarraras, Georgia Erck, Tiffany Farias-Sokoloski, Elizabeth Fauerso, Everett L. Fly, Larry Garza, Lorenzo Gomez III, Mike Knoop, David W. Lesch, Rey Lopez, Vanessa Martinez, Collin McGrath, Joaquin Muerte, Sanford Nowlin, Tori Pool, Wendy Rigby, Alex Rubio, Jonathan Ryan, Yara Samman, John Phillip Santos, Burgin Streetman, Whitley Strieber, Barbara S. Taylor, Michael Taylor, Kirsten Thompson, Clay Utley, Cristina Van Dusen, Eddie Vega, Ayon Wen-Waldron, and Bria Woods. "This soulful collection is perfect for fans of  The Moth  or  Humans of New York. " —  Publishers Weekly Paul Flahive is a journalist for Texas Public Radio currently serving as the station’s first accountability reporter. He founded Worth Repeating , TPR’s live storytelling series, in 2015 and was its producer until 2020. His reporting has been heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Science Friday , and Here and Now and has been included in winning entries for two Edward R. Murrow Awards. Tori Pool is a Texas writer and comedian and the events manager at Texas Public Radio, where she produces the station’s live storytelling series, Worth Repeating , and other community events. She is a two-time nominee for the San Antonio Current ’s Best Stand-Up Comic and the coauthor of the card game Latino Card Revoked . A regular at Texas comedy clubs, she has opened for Cristela Alonzo, Mo Amer, Drew Carey, and Tom Green. Burgin Streetman is a writer and the assistant director of Trinity University Press. She started her career in books at Doubleday Book Shop in New York City and has worked for Barnes & Noble, the Jim Henson Company, and Artisan Books. She has written for the San Antonio Express-News , the San Antonio Curren t , and the San Antonio Report and blogs at Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves. She lives in San Antonio. Introduction Paul Flahive I was asked to write about how Worth Repeating was created at Texas Public Radio—a story about a storytelling program that tells people’s stories. Unfortunately, that story isn’t one of long deliberative contemplation and analysis, surveys sent to community groups, and thoughtful discussion on what San Antonio needs. It came fully formed. In short, it is a rip-off. A rip-off of a rip-off, truth be told. The story of Worth Repeating coming to Texas is the same as my own story of coming to the state. And it starts in Alaska. What the fuck am I doing here? That was on my mind one night in downtown Anchorage. It was cold . . . which in Alaska is sort of like saying it was daytime, or nighttime, or we existed. But it was cold. It was one of those cold months in Alaska—one of ten of them—and I was grudgingly meeting a former-girlfriend-now-just-friend for a drink and a show. It was a Monday, which was one of my days off from my job at a homeless shelter for teens, and frankly, I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want to hang out with a woman I had just broken things off with after a few months and get a drink and go to a weird little theater on the edge of downtown for a show about—well, something. SEE! I had forgotten what I was even going to. What the fuck am I doing here?” was on my mind. But not just about being downtown. What was I doing in Alaska? Don’t get me wrong. I love Alaska, and the pe