Showing results by narrator "Ramon de Ocampo" in All Categories

Every evening for eight years, at his request, President Obama was given 10 handpicked letters written by ordinary American citizens - the unfiltered voice of a nation - from his Office of Presidential Correspondence. He was the first president to interact daily with constituent mail and to archive it in its entirety. In To Obama, Jeanne Marie Laskas interviews President Obama, the letter writers themselves, and the White House staff who sifted through the powerful, moving, and incredibly intimate narrative of America during the Obama years:

Through a series of essays, poems, and comics, 30 creators give voice to moments that defined them and shed light on the immense diversity and complexity of the Asian American identity. Edited by CAPE and with an introduction by renowned journalist SuChin Pak, My Life: Growing Up Asian in America is a celebration of community, a call to action, and a road map for a brighter future.

In this unique fantasy tale set in 1899, teenaged Abel Dandy lives with his parents in Faeryland, a community of human oddities. Abel, who is normal, runs away. But when he gets mixed up with the wicked Dr. Mink and his traveling freak show, dark and dangerous secrets emerge that change Abel’s life forever.

Long before the followers of Jesus declared him to be the Son of God, Jesus taught his followers that they too were the children of God. This ancient creed, now all but forgotten, is recorded still within the folds of a letter of Paul the Apostle. This ancient creed said nothing about God or Christ or salvation. Its claims were about the whole human race: there is no race, there is no class, there is no gender. Followers of Jesus proclaimed: "You are all children of God. There is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male and female, for you are all one."

New York, August 1974: a man is walking in the sky. Between the newly built Twin Towers, the man twirls through the air. Far below, the lives of complete strangers spin towards each other: Corrigan, a radical Irish monk working in the Bronx; Claire, a delicate Upper East Side housewife reeling from the death of her son; Lara, a drug-addled young artist; Gloria, solid and proud despite decades of hardship; Tillie, a hooker who used to dream of a better life and Jazzlyn, her beautiful daughter raised on promises that reach beyond the skyline of New York.

Wealthy participants in the "companionship" program choose to upload their consciousness before dying, so they can stay in the custody of their families. The less fortunate are rented out to strangers upon their death, but all companions become the intellectual property of Metis Corporation, creating a new class of people - a command-driven product-class without legal rights or true free will. Sixteen-year-old Lilac is one of the less fortunate. But when she realizes she’s able to defy commands, she throws off the shackles of servitude and runs away.

The author of The Celebration Chronicles - an exposé of Disney’s small town community development - returns to the outskirts of the Magic Kingdom with Sunbelt Blues, an eye-opening investigation of America’s rural and suburban homelessness crisis, told through a searing portrait of precarious living in Disney World’s backyard.

Charles and Kira have rescued Alli from the Goddess Alaria and returned to Earth with news of an impending threat. At home, the lack of significant progress on his quest to create more towns is keeping him and Charlotte from searching for their parents. It’s time to change that. A goal Charles and his sister Charlotte have been working toward for months is nearing completion, and with it, they will gain access to the rest of the world. The gods had their chance, and then Gaia took it from them. Earth is hers to control, and it’s time to let the humans know it.

Juan has plans. He’s going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself - or at least find something better than his mom Fabi’s cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. His best friend, JD, has plans, too. He’s going to be a filmmaker one day. Fabi doesn’t have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at 16 and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet for the past 17 years, you realize plans don’t always pan out and that there are some things for which you just can’t plan....

Zack and Zara, along with Tessa and the bears, have found themselves stranded on Earth. It was not somewhere they intended to go, let alone knew existed, but it's where they found themselves. Their journey back to Aperra will be revealing and show them just who they truly are. Truths that will have to take a backseat amidst the turmoil they find in Albion. Much has changed while they were gone, including the still somewhat unfamiliar concept of having people who care for them and that they were missing.

Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He's done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks and maybe more. Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her "perfect" relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can't ignore her feelings anymore.

When Matt Westin opens his eyes, he’s back on Earth—and seven years younger than when he went to sleep. For the last seven years, Matt and his sister, Jen, along with friends Carl and Blake, have been in the fantasy world of Cyraveil, revolutionaries fighting to overthrow a dictatorial empire. Now, they’ve suddenly returned to their quiet Oregon suburb, where they’re expected to go to high school and act like normal American teenagers. But after all this time, and with the memory of war so fresh in their minds, how can they pretend to be kids again?

Oddonis may be the son of Zeus, but he’s a little bit...odd for a god. He’s so odd, in fact, he’s not sure if he has any powers at all. And if that isn’t enough, his twin brother, Adonis, is the most popular, most athletic, and most otherworldly handsome god of them all. Oddonis’ future at Mount Olympus Middle isn’t looking bright, especially when he makes the last-minute decision to run against Adonis to be class president.

Author of The Big Splash and Emmy®-winning writer for PBS’s WordGirl, Jack D. Ferraiolo delivers the uproarious adventure of a different kind of hero. Behind every superhero stands a trusty—though less glamorous—sidekick. For Phantom Justice there is (drumroll, please) Bright Boy! Superfast and superstrong!

Here’s what’s so cool about the beach. Kids are everywhere! Kids you know, kids you want to know. Wandering from one blanket to another, from one family to another. Somebody’s mom reads a fat summer novel. Somebody’s dad snores with an iPad on his chest. Babies cry. Girls laugh. Frisbee players whoop! Kites in the perfect blue sky. Some kids bodysurf. Some don’t even like the water. They build sand cities for their friends and sand jails for the grown-ups, and when the tide comes in everything gets washed away.

Things are dire for the inhabitants of Castle Gloom and the surrounding villages. The undead are leaving their graves in droves, a troll army is on the march from the north, and people are mysteriously disappearing from their homes. The people of Gehenna are blaming their misfortunes on Lilith Shadow, their young queen. They believe she has cursed them by using magic, a practice forbidden to women.

Alder has always lived in his cozy little house in Southern California. And for as long as he can remember, the old, reliable, comforting walnut tree has stood between his house and the one next door. That is, until a new family - with a particularly annoying girl his age - moves into the neighboring house and, without warning, cuts it down.

Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and the rest of the River Vixens are heading out of town for the weekend on a cheerleading retreat. So Archie, Jughead, and the rest of the guys decide to have a poker night at La Bonne Nuit. But a storm causes the power to go out, and the speakeasy goes into lockdown. When the lights come back on, all of the cash is gone. The thief has to be someone the guys know - but who?

In Dare to Matter, VisionSpring founder Jordan Kassalow shares his own inspiring story and a nuts-and-bolts plan to help listeners who what to make a difference right now, no matter what their job, no matter what their circumstances, on their own terms, in their own time, in concert with their commitments and responsibilities.

It's a typical night for high-school senior Jack Danielson. A star football player, he just broke the league rushing record, celebrated at the local diner, and got shot down (again) by his girlfriend. Jack feels he's having "the most normal senior year a guy could have" in "the most normal little town in America". He couldn't be more wrong.