Listen to any of hundreds of stories, drawn from the more than 17,000 conversations we’ve recorded across the country. Just press the “play” button next to each image; if the story moves you, pass it along using the share link. Tune in to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition, and
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“School was out for two weeks and all the telephone lines were down.”
Dr. Jim Fleming tells his daughter, Janetta, about being trapped indoors by the Great Ice Storm of 1951.
Recorded in Nashville, TN.
“I was going to get this little boy an adoptive home before Christmas.”
Sister Mary DeSalles Collins, who worked at New York Foundling for over 50 years, remembers one adoption just after World War II.
Recorded in Yonkers, NY, in partnership with the Convent of Mary the Queen.
“We go around and we bless the hands of all the people who work in the hospital.”
Janet Lutz (R) tells her friend, Lori Armstrong (L), about working as a hospital chaplain.
Recorded in Atlanta, GA.
“You followed my footsteps and I thought it was great.”
Ledo Lucietto and his daughter, Anne, talk about how their family's mechanical inclination has been passed down through the generations.
Recorded in Baltimore, MD.
“It's a premature aging disorder...”
Barbara Cooper (L) tells her mother, Jody Houston (R), about living with a form of the rare genetic condition, Progeria.
Recorded in Abilene, TX.
“She still thought I was in Iraq.”
Hector Vega and his wife, Leopoldina, remember the day Hector returned home from war.
Recorded in New York, NY.
“Her full name was Sara Louisa Matilda Elizabeth Nowles.”
Mike Kilgore remembers his grandmother and an incident involving a wild flower called Rabbit Tobacco.
Recorded in Indianapolis, IN.
“The announcer was saying all these untrue things about gay and lesbian people...”
John Brown (R) tells his brother Paul (L) about an encounter with a local radio station in West Virginia.
Recorded in Charleston, WV.
“What has happened to the human voice?”
Studs Terkel, the late oral historian, from a 2005 interview recorded when a StoryCorps mobile booth visited his home.
Recorded in Chicago, IL.
“We sold what household things we had...”
Lillian Howell, 89, tells her son Thomas about moving from Ohio to Virginia during the Great Depression.
Recorded in Roanoke, VA.