Beginning later this week, WFPL will air the first story in a new series: “Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit.”

These stories — produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab — are first-person accounts from people in your community who’ve overcome some significant challenge and thrived despite the odds. They’re hopeful stories, in a world that’s often full of the opposite.

The series name is inspired by a James Baldwin quote from his book “The Fire Next Time.”

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within,” Baldwin wrote. “I use the word ‘love’ here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace — not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”

The experiences our subjects talk about are tough — and like the love Baldwin describes, many are also universal. You’ll hear stories about growing up with parents challenged by addiction and incarceration, difficulties conceiving a child, failure, racism, gun violence and poverty. But you’ll also hear about love, triumph, success and hope.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, cooking instructor Nikkia Rhodes talks about her struggles growing up in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, including her mother’s struggle with substance abuse and her father’s incarceration. Despite these challenges, Nikkia graduated with a degree in culinary arts from Jefferson County Community and Technical College and was recently chosen to participate in a mentorship program run by Chef Edward Lee for women in the industry.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, recent law school graduate Carlos Hernandez Ocampo recalls his journey from Cuba to the U.S. when he was 11 years old. Since arriving in Miami as a child, he and his family have built a life in the U.S., and moved to Louisville in 2000. Since then, Carlos has earned a bachelor's degree in art and a law degree, and served in the U.S. Navy.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, longtime educator Catherine Talbott remembers being among the first students to integrate Louisville's Seneca High School, struggling to complete her education and the joy that 27 years of teaching brought to her life.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, married couple Sally Evans and Paige Harlow talk about how they reconciled their conservative Christian upbringing with their sexual orientation, and how becoming parents deepened their faith.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, former U of L football star Herb Henry talks about his life after being shot during his freshman year of college. Now, he's a wheelchair basketball player who owns his own sportswear apparel company and is passionate about healthy living.

“Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit” is a new series from WFPL produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab. In this episode, Louisville mother Asia Ford talks about the moment that made her realize she'd have to dramatically change her lifestyle. At the time, she weighed 507 pounds. Since then, she's become a fitness enthusiast. +