Your examples involve complex sentence structures with multiple embedded clauses, making them interesting from a syntactic and semantic standpoint, especially in terms of binding theory. Let's break down each example to analyze the binding relations:

Example 1

1. a. Who_j knows who_k heard what stories about himself_k?

b. John does (= John knows who_k heard what stories about himself_k).

- 1a: The sentence structure implies that the 'himself' refers back to the nearest noun, which is the 'who' in the embedded clause, hence 'himself_k'. This is a reflexive pronoun and needs an antecedent within its binding domain. Here, 'himself' is bound by 'who' in the embedded clause.

- 1b: Replacing 'who' with 'John' maintains this binding relation. 'John' knows who heard stories about 'himself', where 'himself' still refers to the 'who' in the embedded clause.

Example 2

2. a. Who_j knows what stories about himself_j who_k heard?

b. John does (= John knows what stories about himself_j who_k heard / John knows who_k heard what stories about his_j own).

- 2a: Here, the structure is a bit more complex. 'Who' is the matrix subject, and 'himself' appears to refer back to this matrix subject. The binding of 'himself' with the matrix subject 'who' is permissible in this structure.

- 2b: With 'John' replacing the matrix subject 'who', the sentence implies that 'John' knows what stories about 'himself' (John) someone else heard. In this interpretation, 'himself' is bound by the matrix subject 'John'.

In summary:

- In example 1, 'himself' is bound by the 'who' in the embedded clause.

- In example 2, 'himself' can be construed as bound by the matrix subject 'who' (or 'John' in 2b), making it a more direct self-reference.

These examples are somewhat complex and may be challenging to interpret without context, but from a syntactic standpoint, the binding relations are as described.