This chapter explores how the rhetorical critic unites story and public discourse under the label narrative. The chapter starts by cataloguing the rhetoricity of a good story. The chapter then traces the oscillating relationship between the scholarly study of narrative and the definition of rhetoric, beginning with Aristotle and ending with today’s interest in affect, emotion, and energy. As a case study, the chapter uses President Barack Obama’s 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention to illustrate how narrative criticism can open up a consequential speech. The chapter concludes by discussing the methodological and ethical challenges a critic must consider when using narrative to better understand public discourse.