Search Interviews

Colleagues and friends Talia Aygun (30) and Matau Setshase [no age given] talk about their spiritual lives and reflect on connecting with their ancestors.

One Small Step partners Gregory "Greg" Greenway (71) and Randall "Randy" Cirksena (63) exchange lived experiences and discuss their civil war ancestors, first jobs as bank tellers, and not choosing a race on the StoryCorps paperwork.

Cousins and colleagues Erica Fox (48) and Dr. Lindsay Gary (33) discuss the African roots of Creole culture and feeling called by their ancestors to carry on the work they are a part of.

Sung, a Christian chaplain, shares some of the traditions around the Lunar New Year celebrations. Born in Korea but immigrated to the U.S. as a young adult, the Lunar New Year is deeply imbedded in his Korean Culture. One of...

Friends, C. Toney Aid (71) and Terry Hampton (61), share a conversation about the life of artist, L. L. Broadfoot, as well as how Broadfoot's artwork depicting 19th and early 20th-century Ozarkians came to reside at the Harlin Museum in...

Kenneth Marez Jr. (36) talks with his partner Taranita Costales (34) about his journey into researching his mixed Hispanic and Native heritage, uncovering Native ancestors forced into slavery and servitude in the process. The two also reflect on the importance...

Friends and colleagues Betty Sawyer (69) and Mama Charlotte Starks (74) reflect on the community building, education, and healing work they have dedicated their lives to. They discuss those who have influenced them, the importance of the work, and their...

Leroy Moore Jr. (53) is interviewed by his friend, Kathleen Kiley (59), about the process of co-creating Krip-Hop, a music collective and label for artists with disabilities. They discuss the importance of visibility for hip-hop musicians with disabilities and the...

Cousins Carolyn Bornfleth (68) and Adele Johnson (72) remember their ancestor Maria Rosa Villalpando, who was captured by the Comanche tribe in 1760. They discuss how Villalpando ultimately came to lead an independent life in St. Louis, MO and bond...

Naomi Love (26) interviews her friend Katie Boyle (26) about Katie's perspective on religion, community, friendship, and family. Katie also reflects on her experience stepping away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and remembers her grandmothers.

Cousins Brenda Rodriguez (62) and Fred Sanchez (57) discuss their ancestors with a focus on their great-great grandfather Salvador Sanchez whom they learned was a Navajo nation member.

Bernard Scott Rush, 68, by his daughter, Nicole Rush (Maat Free), 35, about growing up in Mississippi then moving to New York City.

Barbara Hester Kurtz (87) talks with her granddaughter Susan Scott Peterson (38) about her childhood in Mississippi in the 1930s and 1940s.

One Small Step conversation partners Bucky Neal (65) and Brenda Brown-Grooms (65) have the hard but important conversation about their ancestry - slaveowners and slaves - and also discuss the Black Lives Matter Movement and the perceived inequality they've inherited.

Friends and colleagues Ayanna Watkins (45) and Amber Sherman (29) share how they met through organizing in Memphis, the role of religion in their lives and work, and the importance of community care.

Family, immigration, ancestors, family stories

Becky Kosley (65) interviews her sister Cindy Henry (66) about their family’s migration to the United States from Slovakia, the closeness of their family, and their family’s military service.

Jaha Cummings (50) speaks with his mother Martha Bireda (78) about the importance of community, people who influenced him during childhood, and carrying on his ancestors' legacies.

Halicue Hanna (50) talks to StoryCorps facilitator Jeb Backe (26) about her spiritual path to Hoodoo. She reflects on her family roots in Mississippi, her connections to her ancestors, and her experience practicing Afro-Cuban dance.

Matt Mayberry (58) interviews his colleague Mayor John Suthers (71) about his experience in public service, how the city has changed over his life, and his reflections on leadership. Mayor John Suthers also shares stories from his childhood growing up...

One Small Step partners Donovan Dahmen (52) and Chel Anderson (67) talk about community, spirituality, their connections to nature, and being outside the dominant political systems in our society.

Cousins Cynthia Gomez (68) and Amanda Gonzalez (42) talk about their grandmother Rosa Maria Chavez, their identities, and how they are finding healing through uncovering their family history.

Jamie Citerin talks with her mother (64) about her life from growing up in Elkhart Indiana to family history, to being a young mother in the 1970's, from her faith to historical events that she has witnessed/experienced.

James D Pitts III talks about his life with his son James D Pitts IV.

Barbara Hester Kurtz (87) talks with her granddaughter Susan Scott Peterson (38) about her parents, relatives and early childhood in Mississippi.