Hana tells a story at the Oakland Public Library. Photo: Hana Baba.
Hana Baba tells Sudanese folktales to children at the Taste of Africa Festival, accompanied by musician Ahmed Salam. Photo: Hana Baba.
Hana Baba
Oral storytelling of Sudanese folktales
Hana Baba is an award-winning, Sudanese American journalist at NPR station KALW Public Media in San Francisco and the long-time host of the news magazine Crosscurrents. She hosts The Stoop podcast, exploring the Black Diaspora, and is the creator and storyteller of the podcast Folktales from Sudan. Hana’s work has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, the San Francisco Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Ambie Awards, the Signal Awards, the Webbys, and recognition from the California Assembly, among others. Her latest project Folktales from Sudan is the first English-language telling of audio stories from Sudanese folklore. It has been featured by the BBC, NPR, OkayAfrica and nominated for Best Podcast for Kids by The Podcast Academy’s Ambie Awards. Hana performs the folktales live at schools, libraries and festivals.
Living Cultures Grant
2026
Folktales from Sudan
Funding will support the folklore preservation project Folktales from Sudan: a roving, live storytelling show series, an audio series (podcast), and an accompanying children’s coloring book of characters from the folktales.
