What is 7 Minute Stories?

7 Minute Stories is Aaron Calafato’s extemporaneous, autobiographical storytelling podcast. This top short story podcast is quick, immersive, and tinged with nostalgia. Each story feels deeply personal and always leaves you with something to chew on—7MS sounds like if Jean Shepherd, Spalding Gray and Paul Harvey swapped notes at a Midwestern diner.

About Aaron Calafato 

Aaron Calafato is a storytelling expert and narrative strategist. His stories have been heard by millions around the globe on his award-winning Podcast 7 Minute Stories, on stage and on YouTube. Calafato's extemporaneous storytelling style has been compared to that of monologist Spalding Gray and radio legend Jean Shepard.

His breakthrough 2013 monologue, (FOR PROFIT), was praised nationally for its jarring look inside the For Profit educational industry, the 1 trillion dollar student debt crisis, and its vibrant portrayal of the exploitation of the American student. 

In September 2018, Aaron launched the short-form storytelling podcast 7 Minute Stories.

Audience Reach & Growth

  • 7MS is the #1 short-form extemporaneous storytelling podcast in the world.

  • More than 30 MILLION people have heard these stories across podcast and digital platforms.

  • It has maintained a spot as a Top 50 Performing Arts, Personal Journal and now Improv Podcast on the Apple Podcasts Charts, placing it alongside long-running, big-budget storytelling shows.

  • The average episode consumption rate is extraordinarily high (over 90% of each episode listened to), which is a rare metric in the podcast world and signals deep engagement rather than casual, drop-in listening.

Aaron’s work has been featured in and on NPR, The Huffington Post, The Nation, Real Money with Ali Velshi, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Cleveland Magazine, Cleveland Scene Magazine, Belt Magazine, RT-America, WEWS ABC Channel 5, Portland Press Herald, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Fiscal Times, The Hill and Washington Monthly.

Nice Quotes

“Have you ever seen the heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano fight? He throws as many punches as he can and gives you everything he has before that bell rings. That’s what listening to Aaron Calafato tell a story is like.

​- Van Jones
CNN”
“Aaron implements theatrical techniques, storytelling & acting in the tradition of the late monologist Spalding Gray.

- Goldie Blumenstyk
Chronicle of Higher Education ”
“The Spalding Gray of his generation.

- Rob Montague
Award-winning Filmmaker ”
“One of the best storytellers out there!

- Maurice Benard
Actor/Advocate”
“I knew I had heard something special when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. 7 Minute Stories shows why audio can be the most vivid and powerful medium when used correctly.

- Gerard Edwards
CEO @ Podcast Radio
”