StoryCorps

Stories from dads about fatherhood and the unique ways they've found to bond with their kids— from beatboxing to square dancing, and even heavy metal.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're celebrating Pride with LGBTQ+ stories from around the country and across time— from a soldier whose coming out made history, to a phone operator at a helpline for inquiring lesbians.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Stories about mothers, the difficult choices they face, and the moments they had no control over.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're back with more listener voicemails. You shared stories about hidden things — what you kept from others, or what others kept from you. Surprises under trucks, and secrets hidden under soil. Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On this episode, we dig into the StoryCorps archive to mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing through the voices of multiple people who were there that day. Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week: Stories about people who ended up in relationships they didn't see coming— friends and lovers who weren't part of the plan.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two friends went on a ski trip that went incredibly, horribly wrong. Almost a decade later, they came to StoryCorps to finally talk about it.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week on the podcast, we remember Howard Dully, who died earlier this year. He was given a lobotomy in 1960 when he was just 12 years old. In this documentary, he goes in search of the story behind his surgery.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the podcast this week: Stories about Black love, staying true to yourself, and remembering the loved ones who made us.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After a 13-year-old girl fends off unwanted male attention for the first time, her mom convinces the girl's middle school to teach consent ed. It doesn't go as planned. This episode comes from The Longest Shortest Time, a podcast about parenthood and reproductive health that recently relaunched after a hiatus.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Army Sergeant Alex Ortiz served in Afghanistan and Iraq before injuries forced him to retire in 2013. His wife, Lixannie, had never been close to a veteran before they met... and some things about his past surprised her.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Anna Cherepnina fulfilled a long-held dream of serving in the military when she enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2009. But a string of personal tragedies brought her to the darkest moment of her life. At StoryCorps, she reflected on how an encounter with an insolent fox and a trip to the base of Mount Everest helped her see the light again.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Leah Bash is an avid runner, a dog mom, a wife – and there's a part of her family's history she can't stop thinking about. Both sides of her family were incarcerated alongside 125,000 other Japanese Americans during World War II. Her father and his six siblings spent more than three years behind barbed wire at isolated camps in Manzanar, California and Crystal City, Texas. After Leah learns about her father's struggles with panic attacks and is herself diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she starts to wonder: could those experiences at camp during World War II have far-reaching consequences a generation later? In this episode of Inheriting from LAist Studios and the NPR network, Leah has a candid conversation with her cousin Joya, for the very first time, about their family's mental health and the effects of the incarceration camp.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're back with more listener voicemails. This week: Your stories about music boxes, family secrets, and the people who made a mark on you. Tell us your story at 702-706-TALK.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Navy veterans Windy Barton and Michael Davidson struggled to feel fulfilled after leaving the military. Then they discovered Team Rubicon: a special team of veterans who go into the fray when natural disasters strike. The two friends came to StoryCorps to reflect on what inspired their sense of duty.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

StoryCorps does a lot of different things, but they all come down to connecting people— even if they disagree. That's the idea behind our One Small Step initiative, where we pair strangers with opposing political views to have a conversation, not about politics, but about their lives. In the last episode of our season, two people who connected — even though their beliefs divided them.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the morning of January 29th, 1998, a terrorist bombed the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, killing a police officer and severely injuring a nurse. Both victims risked their own safety to show up for others—despite having different beliefs—and will forever be linked by the same act of political violence.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As communities across the Southern United States set about recovering from one of the most devastating hurricane seasons ever, we're doing what Mr. Rogers always told us to do when the news is scary: we're looking for the helpers. In this episode, two stories about people who have stepped up for their neighbors, despite their differences.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For almost fifty years, people have been gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia to achieve something that seems impossible: world peace. And despite the fact these people are kids, they're pretty successful. Schoolteacher John Hunter invented The World Peace Game as a way to teach messy geopolitical realities. He never could have anticipated what his students ended up teaching him— or that the game would bring him face-to-face with the heights of real-world power.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As we enter the home stretch of this presidential election, we're bringing you an all new season of the StoryCorps Podcast called Stepping Up. We're sharing stories from people who did just that, by making the decision to confront the difficulties and divides in their own lives head on; those who chose to seek connection when the opposite path seemed easier or sometimes even more logical. These stories aren't about finding an easy solution, they're about dealing with the reality of the world, and trying to make the best of it.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're back with more stories that listeners, like you, have shared on our voicemail. This week: The thin lines between life and death, and friendship and love. Leave your own voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Cynthia Alvarez fell in love with Marine Corporal Daniel Mark MacMurray. She was a peace activist, he was a proud veteran, and the two didn't always see eye to eye. But they agreed to love each other.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Gwen and Yasir weren't the type of couple that liked to run marathons, at first. As hardships pulled their lives in unexpected directions, running became their best— and sometimes only— way of remembering what really mattered.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Being a sports fan means putting a part of your happiness in the hands of strangers. When they lose, you die a little. But when they win, it's incredible. This week, stories about the triumph and tragedy of being a fan.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Athletes get all the glory, but there are countless people around them making the games happen– from referees making judgments, to vendors in the stands hawking snacks and beer. In this episode, we're talking to people on the sidelines.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every athlete's looking for that extra edge — and for a lot of them, it's their family. Who drove them to practice? Who told them to never give up? In this episode, player's loved ones step into the spotlight.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the first episode of a new sports-themed season of the StoryCorps Podcast, we're talking about the game changers: People who altered how their sport was played. Some of these changes were tiny ones we now take for granted. Others changed how the sport looked. But after they made their mark, nothing was the same.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today, an episode by our friends at Radio Diaries and Radiotopia from their latest series, "The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island," untangling mysteries from America's largest public cemetery.Artwork by Juan Astasio.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Marine Staff Sergeant Nick Bennett and Sergeant Major Dan Miller remember a deployment during the Iraq War that changed their lives.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

All last season we asked our listeners to call our voicemail and tell us their stories. In this special bonus episode, it's their time to shine. Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1964, a 12-year-old paperboy from suburban Long Island spent nearly two weeks hiding among the gleaming attractions of the New York World's Fair. His adventure caused a media sensation, but the world only learned half the story.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jackie Miller and her son, Scott Miller, always shared everything with each other, even if it was hard. Scott knew his mother wanted to live life on her own terms, but he wasn't prepared for how she wanted to end it.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Judd Esty-Kendall's father was an animal lover who filled their house with raccoons, hawks, and critters of every size. At times it was more like a zoo than a home. But there was one creature Judd's father treasured above the rest: A gray wolf.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Howie Gordon starred in over a hundred porn films in the 70s and 80s under the name Richard Pacheco. But his greatest role was as a father. At StoryCorps, he talked with his son Bobby Gordon about sex, shame, and dirty movies.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In "My Way," the new season of the StoryCorps podcast— stories from people who found a rhythm all their own and confidently marched to it their whole lives. Our first episode features a graduate of Hamburger University, one man's remarkably brave appearance on conservative radio in the 1990s, a New Yorker who took his mugger out to dinner, and more.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1942, the U.S. allowed Black men to enlist in the Marine Corps for the first time. It was during World War II, and resulted in more than 19,000 Black recruits being sent to Montford Point, North Carolina for basic training. Many of those men are no longer with us, but their voices can be heard in the StoryCorps archive.These stories are part of our Military Voices Initiative.If you want to leave the StoryCorps Podcast a voicemail, call us at 702-706-TALK. Or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this special episode, we're remembering StoryCorps participant Rick Abath, who talked to his wife, Diana, about being on guard during the biggest art heist in history. Rick died last month at the age of 57.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As we close out our special series celebrating 20 years of StoryCorps, hear how our One Small Step initiative is helping to facilitate a national conversation by bringing people together from across the political spectrum.

This week, we're taking a break from our special series celebrating 20 years of StoryCorps to bring you an interview recorded just days ago. It's an update to a story recorded around the holidays back in 2012, and we just had to share it.

Mary Johnson-Roy first came to StoryCorps in 2011 to speak with Oshea Israel, the man who murdered her son. In the latest episode from our special series celebrating StoryCorps' 20th anniversary, we'll share updates on a conversation none of us imagined would happen back when StoryCorps started.

StoryCorps' initiatives have long helped us gather voices that are usually omitted from the historical record, like our LGBTQ+ Outloud initiative. In our continuing celebration of twenty years of StoryCorps, we're sharing some of our favorite recordings from that collection... and how a story close to our founder Dave Isay's heart helped lead to its creation.

For most of StoryCorps' existence, we've recorded people in person at our storybooths. But on this episode of our special series celebrating 20 years of StoryCorps, we're looking back to when we stepped outside the recording booth to capture stories. Sometimes because we wanted to hear new voices... and sometimes because we had to.