StoryCorps

In a soundproof booth one person speaks, one listens. One may be a wife, the other a husband, one a grandparent, the other a grandchild. The teller of the story may describe the past, consider a problem, face a future. The storyteller and the listener come from all walks of life, but they should never be described as “ordinary.” They are like the rest of us, each special in some way, each with a story to tell, or a story to cherish. To date, more than 20,000 people have participated in this great experiment in the preservation of ideas and emotions, events and experiences. The StoryCorps booths are found in New York’s Grand Central Station and as part of the first permanent collection in the World Trade Center Memorial Museum. Two mobile booths tour the country collecting more stories. Many are aired in four minute segments on National Public Radio. All are archived in the Library of Congress. This collection will forever serve as a central component in the collective memory of America. For creating and continuing this invaluable institution, a Peabody Award is presented to StoryCorps.