StoryCorps

WNYC is the hometown media partner of StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.

Founded in 2003 by Dave Isay, StoryCorps has given people of all backgrounds and beliefs, in
thousands of towns and cities in all 50 states, the chance to record interviews about their lives.
The organization preserves the recordings in its archive at the American Folklife Center at the
Library of Congress, the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, and shares
select stories with the public through StoryCorps’ podcast, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts,
digital platforms, and best-selling books. These powerful human stories reflect the vast range of
American experiences, wisdom and values; engender empathy and connection; and remind us
how much more we have in common than what divides us.

StoryCorps is especially committed to capturing and amplifying voices least heard in the media.
The StoryCorps MobileBooth, an Airstream trailer the organization has transformed into a
traveling recording booth, crisscrosses the country year-round in order to gather the stories of
people nationwide. With the 2015 TED Prize awarded to Dave Isay, StoryCorps launched a free
mobile app that puts the StoryCorps experience entirely in the hands of users and enables
anyone, anywhere to record meaningful conversations with another person and upload the
audio to the Library of Congress. StoryCorps also records interviews in its permanent
StoryBooths located in Chicago and Atlanta.

Recording an interview in a StoryCorps booth couldn’t be easier: You invite a loved one, or
anyone else you choose, to a StoryCorps recording site. There you’re met by a trained facilitator
who explains the interview process, brings you into a quiet recording room and seats you across
from your interview partner, each of you in front of a microphone. The facilitator hits “record,”
and you share a 40-minute conversation. At the end of the session, you walk away with a copy
of the interview, and a digital file goes to the Library of Congress, where it will be preserved for
generations to come.

StoryCorps is working to grow into an enduring national institution that fosters a culture of
listening in the United States; celebrates the dignity, power and grace that can be heard in the
stories we find all around us; and helps us recognize that every life and every story matter
equally. In the coming years StoryCorps hopes to touch the lives of every American family.

Listen to WNYC for excerpts of StoryCorps interviews, featured weekly on Morning Edition, and learn more at storycorps.org.