Me & You 2014
Jackie Miller adopted her son, Scott, in the early 1970s. In 2008, Scott brought his mom to StoryCorps to ask her about that decision.
Jackie Miller adopted her son, Scott, in the early 1970s. In 2008, Scott brought his mom to StoryCorps to ask her about that decision.
Bryan Wilmoth is the oldest of eight children who grew up in a very strict household. Eventually, all the siblings became estranged from their parents. At StoryCorps, Bryan told his brother mike about the day their father discovered that Bryan was gay.
Brooklynites Danny, an OTB clerk, and Annie, a nurse, remember their life together -- from their first date to Danny's final days with terminal cancer. This remarkable couple personifies the eloquence, grace, and poetry that can be found in the voices of every day people if we take the time to listen.
Joshua Littman, a 12-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome, interviews his mother, Sarah. Joshua's unique questions and Sarah's loving, unguarded answers reveal a beautiful relationship that reminds us of the best—and the most challenging—parts of being a parent.
When Sharon Adams moved back to her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, she needed help with fixing her house. Initially there to do electrical work, Larry Adams found himself enamored by Sharon. The two fell in love and embarked on a new undertaking: revitalizing their neighborhood one lot at a time.
Patrick Haggerty grew up the son of a dairy farmer in rural Dry Creek, Washington, during the 1950s. As a teenager, Pat began to understand he was gay—something he thought he was hiding well. But one day, after performing at a school assembly, Pat learned that his father could see him much more clearly than he realized.
The first-ever animated feature from StoryCorps, Listening Is an Act of Love, presents six stories from 10 years of StoryCorps, where everyday people sit down together to ask life’s important questions and share stories from their lives. Framing these intimate conversations is an interview between StoryCorps founder Dave Isay and his nine-year-old nephew, Benji.
John Vigiano Sr. is a retired New York City firefighter whose two sons followed him into service—John Jr. was a firefighter, too, and Joe was a police detective. On September 11, 2001, both Vigiano brothers responded to the call from the World Trade Center, and both were killed while saving others. Here, John Sr. remembers his sons and reflects on coping with his tremendous loss.
On the morning of September 11th, Michael Trinidad called his ex-wife, Monique Ferrer, from the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower to say goodbye. In the wake of his death, Monique tells the story of Michael's lasting legacy—the family they built together.
Barnie Botone was 22 years old when he got his very first job on the railroad. Nearly a hundred years prior, his great-great grandfather Guipago, a chief of the Kiowa Tribe of the Great Plains, was imprisoned by the U.S. Army and taken away by train during westward expansion. Botone looks back on the beauty and the tragedies on the American railroads, and the strength he needed to return day after day.
In 1955, John L. Black, Sr. started his job as a janitor for the Cincinnati public school system. He regularly put in 16-hour days to provide for his wife and eleven children. At StoryCorps, his son Samuel talks with his wife, Edda Fields-Black, about his father’s lasting legacy and the power of a look.
Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden was born into enslavement in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She was 7 years old when she was freed. She stayed in Black Mountain and became a midwife, delivering several hundred babies including her own grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Mary Othella Burnette, came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, to honor the family matriarch. [Overview Courtesy of Storycorps]
When Jeffrey Perri was nine years old, his grandfather, Tony Perri, came out to him as gay. At StoryCorps, grandfather and grandson share memories of their respective coming out journeys and reflect on how much they mean to each other.
In 2018, at the age of 63, Dee Westenhauser came out as a transgender woman. But growing up in El Paso, Texas in the 1950s she remembers having a hard time fitting in. One weekend, her parents decided to take her to her aunt Yaya’s house. Aunt Yaya saw a kindred spirit in Dee, and gave her an opportunity that no one else would: a safe, loving space to be herself.
The great oral historian Studs Terkel was an inspiration to StoryCorps, and he was also an early participant in the project. In this animated short, he speaks out on what has been lost in modern life and where he sees hope for our future.
John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. He raised three children with his wife Fannie Ruth, who was also blind and deaf.
Army infantryman Joseph Robertson discusses a deadly confrontation during World War II that continued to haunt him throughout his life.
Growing up in Wyoming in the 1950s, Sissy Goodwin started wearing his sister’s dresses. As an adult, he still felt happiest in dresses and skirts. At StoryCorps, Sissy talks with his wife Vickie about how they forged a new path that allowed Sissy to be the man he needed to be and wear his skirts proudly.
Kay Wang was a strong-willed grandmother who was reluctantly taken to a StoryCorps booth by her son and granddaughter. Though Kay resisted, she still had stories to tell—from disobeying her mother and rebuffing suitors while growing up in China to late-life adventures as a detective for Bloomingdale's department store. Kay passed away just weeks after that interview, and her son and granddaughter returned to StoryCorps to remember her gentler side, which she kept to herself.
Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed are best friends and Vietnam-era veterans. Although they didn’t serve in the war together, they share a story of courage — on and off the battlefield. They met at a transgender veterans’ support group and became inseparable members of a powerful, enduring sisterhood.