Accessibility links
StoryCorps: Recording The Lives And Stories Of Everyday Americans StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.
StoryCorps

StoryCorps

Sharing And Preserving The Stories Of Our Lives

2 members of support group for living with mental illness find love in Utah

by Jo Corona

Julianne Larsen, who's been living with schizophrenia since her 20s, and Mar Fenix Nauta, who manages bipolar disorder and PTSD, discuss how they're about to celebrate 13 years as a couple.

2 members of support group for living with mental illness find love in Utah

Listen · 3:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1179612150/1179612151" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Twin brothers, who are morticians, look back on their lives of caring for the dead

by Eleanor Vassili

Twin brothers, Melvin and Marvin Morgan, talk about their thoughts on death. They both have had long careers as morticians in New York City.

Twin brothers, who are morticians, look back on their lives of caring for the dead

Listen · 2:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1178332486/1178332487" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Volunteering at the U.S.-Mexico border helped a nurse find meaning in her work

by Esther Honig

Angelina McCall talks about volunteering as a nurse at a clinic on the U.S.-Mexico border after struggling to work in the ER at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volunteering at the U.S.-Mexico border helped a nurse find meaning in her work

Listen · 2:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1177023888/1177023889" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Woman who had post-partum depression says she attempted suicide 4 times

by Esther Honig

After Heidi Koss gave birth to her daughter Elora, she suffered from post-partum depression. Elora is now 14 years old, and she spoke to her mom about the experience.

Woman who had post-partum depression says she attempted suicide 4 times

Listen · 3:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1175711869/1175711870" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Couple fights for equality and safety for gay people on tribal land

by Jey Born , Savannah Winchester

Felipa Deleon Mousseau and Monique "Muffie" Mousseau, who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, talk about falling in love, and gay people not always being accepted.

Couple fights for equality and safety for gay people on tribal land

Listen · 3:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1174242202/1174242203" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Navy yeoman remembers his time as a gay serviceman in the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' era

by , Julia Kirschenbaum , Jo Corona

Navy Yeoman Jacob Tate remembers his time as a gay serviceman during the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" era, which kept openly LGBTQ service members from serving in the military.

Navy yeoman remembers his time as a gay serviceman in the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' era

Listen · 2:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1172894615/1172894616" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Mom tells her 12-year-old son that she likes that no one dims his light

by Julia Kirschenbaum , Jey Born

Mason Best brought his mom Roseann Smith to StoryCorps at the Boys' Club of New York in Queens. He had a long list of questions for her — and wasn't shy about jumping right in.

Mom tells her 12-year-old son that she likes that no one dims his light

Listen · 2:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1172684259/1172684260" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

'I'm going to die in these shoes.' Ga. woman loves shoes — despite polio's effects

by Halle Hewitt

Shirley Duhart was two years old when she got polio in 1950. She talks to her doctor, Dale Strausserher, about her love of shoes. Though she struggled to walk, shoes became very important to her.

'I'm going to die in these shoes.' Ga. woman loves shoes — despite polio's effects

Listen · 3:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1171202760/1171202761" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A mother remembers when her daughter wrote her own bill of rights

by Sophia Lo

In this week's StoryCorps, Folashade Alao reminisces with her mother about the bill of rights she created for herself as a child.

A mother remembers when her daughter wrote her own bill of rights

Listen · 2:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1169719455/1169719456" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A man saves a stranger's life during a historic flash flood

by Jo Corona

In this week's StoryCorps, Zack Stephney talks to Melissa Brooks — he rescued her from a flash flood in Georgia in 2009.

A man saves a stranger's life during a historic flash flood

Listen · 3:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1168581817/1168581818" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

From tragedy to triumph — life rolls on, paralyzed construction worker says

by Zanna McKay

More than 30 years ago, Leslie Harris was working a construction job in Kankakee, Ill. He came to StoryCorps with his daughter Angie to remember the day his life changed.

From tragedy to triumph — life rolls on, paralyzed construction worker says

Listen · 2:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1167297088/1167297089" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

How the Facebook post, 'Kidney for Kim,' led to a donation from a stranger

by Esther Honig

Kim Pratt needed a kidney, and in 2108 she created a Facebook post looking for a potential donor. After seeing the post for the second time, CJ Johnston decided to donate a kidney to Kim.

How the Facebook post, 'Kidney for Kim,' led to a donation from a stranger

Listen · 2:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1165766421/1165766422" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A father and son in rural Tennessee look back on a life filled with music

by Eleanor Vassili

Jim Von Stein, 70, who made his living installing air conditioning systems, talks to his son Jason about the songs he's written that few people have heard. He's written more than 8,000 to date.

A father and son in rural Tennessee look back on a life filled with music

Listen · 3:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1162511219/1162511220" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The unexpected ways cultural differences shaped a couple's relationship

by Annie Russell

In this week's StoryCorps, the daughter of a Cambodian family in the Bronx and a Puerto Rican from Manhattan talk about their meeting, their marriage and life together.

The unexpected ways cultural differences shaped a couple's relationship

Listen · 2:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160849481/1160849482" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

One of the first Black teachers at a mostly white school recounts her challenges

by Max Jungreis

More than 50 years ago, Eunice Wiley became one of the first Black teachers at a mostly white elementary school in a small Florida town. She retired as a school principal in 2005.

One of the first Black teachers at a mostly white school recounts her challenges

Listen · 2:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1159207705/1159207706" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A father and daughter recount a particularly memorable driving lesson

by Jo Corona

Some people may not be meant to drive, and Maritza Bell might be in that group. Danny Bell, her husband, and their daughter Sydia, went to a StoryCorps booth to remember Maritza's final lesson.

A father and daughter recount a particularly memorable driving lesson

Listen · 3:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1157773664/1157773665" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

2 daughters reflect on a secret their dad shared nearly 20 years ago

by Jo Corona , Stefan Weiner

David Hedison came to a StoryCorps booth years ago with his daughter Serena and revealed he got a nose job to be an actor. Serena and her sister Alex came back to StoryCorps to reflect on the secret.

2 daughters reflect on a secret their dad shared nearly 20 years ago

Listen · 2:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1155927090/1155927091" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Black History Month 2023

Remembering Wendell Scott, first Black man to compete in NASCAR's highest category

This week's StoryCorps tells the story of Wendell Scott, who drove during the Jim Crow era and was the first African American to win a race at NASCAR's elite major league level.

Remembering Wendell Scott, first Black man to compete in NASCAR's highest category

Listen · 2:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1154091992/1154091993" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Each year their family honors 2 Holocaust survivors' enduring romance

by Ester Honig

On this date 78 years ago, allied troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. This StoryCorps episode is about two people freed from another camp: Theresienstadt.

Each year their family honors 2 Holocaust survivors' enduring romance

Listen · 3:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1151957926/1151957927" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A couple reflects on their decision to end a pregnancy

by Jey Born

In 1999 Tom Peters met JoAn Joseph at a party for his job. A couple of years into their relationship, they came to a crossroads and had to make a difficult decision.

A couple reflects on their decision to end a pregnancy

Listen · 2:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1150228820/1150228821" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A civil rights leader was able to balance standing up for himself and survival

by Jey Born

In this week's StoryCorps, a former aide to Martin Luther King Jr. talks about his career as a civil rights leader.

A civil rights leader was able to balance standing up for himself and survival

Listen · 3:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1148970583/1148970584" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org