StoryCorps: the stories of our lives

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Do you listen to NPR on Friday mornings? Ordinary (who's really "ordinary"?) folks tell stories about their lives. It's also available on podcast and e-mail subscription. Have you heard this?

The StoryCorps mobile unit travels around the USA gathering recordings...an oral history project. So far they've interviewed 22,000 people. All the recordings are cataloged at the Library of Congress. There is no charge, but a suggested donation.

You do this in pairs...one plays Interviewer, one plays Subject. The conversation can be about anything you wish. They also provide a general list of questions you can choose from. The recording session lasts 40 minutes, at the end of which they give you a CD of your session.

StoryCorps is in Tulsa now for a month, and the three of us (me, Hubby & SonofEva) made recordings. SonofEva interviewed his father first (on Thursday), then me (today). The CDs are wonderful. I know we will treasure them in years to come. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this whenever it is in your town. Take a friend or a relative with you.

Here's a link to their website. You can listen to a few stories they've recorded to get an idea about what those individuals thought was important in their lives.

http://www.storycorps.net
(click on "Listen to Stories" to hear recordings)

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@Eva,

old fashioned bookmark...

(hey Eva)

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@Eva,

I listen to NPR on my way in, but only for almost 15 minutes. I never get to hear that.

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@Rockhead,

Hey, Rock! Wink

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@Eva,

"Okay, okay, I gotta ask. What the heck does NPR stand for? Obviously something to do with radio. I've seen this in a couple of other threads."

2 Replies

@Reyn,

National Public Radio

(You can google it, or check it out on Wikipedia.)
It's broadcast all across the U.S.

1 Reply

@Reyn,

What Eva said. It's the national non-commercial radio network in the USA. I listen to it just about exclusively when I have the radio on. (Like right now, for instance -- my favorite Boston station, WGBH, is playing some very smooth jazz.)

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@Eva,

Thanks Eva and Andrew. The closest thing we have to that in Canada is the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation).

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@Eva,

What a neat idea. Thanks for the link - I'll listen from home.

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@Reyn,

Yeah, CBC works much the same way -- thoughtful broadcasting with no commercial interruptions. But CBC, I believe, is government subsidized. NPR gets only some small portion of its funding from the Fed. government. As it carries no adverts, it depends mostly on listener contributions. There are quarterly fund appeals that can drive you mad with their incessant begging, hat in hand.

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@Merry Andrew,

The CPB was established during the LBJ administration as part of the Great Society and receives something over $400 million in federal funding. It in turn supplies grants to the PBS and PBS affiliates that are mostly supported about 1/3 viewer contributions, 1/3 corporate grants, and 1/3 tax dollars from the state and CPB grants. I know that our local affiliate in Kansas in the 1980's received $600,000 in tax dollars in one year and I know that at least some of that was federal money but am not sure how much.

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@Merry Andrew,

Merry Andrew wrote:

But CBC, I believe, is government subsidized.

Yup, paid by us taxpayers.

CBC television also, but to a lesser extent, because they have commercials.

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@Eva,

I love story corps!

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StoryCorps: the stories of our lives

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