Vietnam by association

Back in New Jersey. In the sixties, life was easy, not much to worry about until the Vietnam war came along. In November, 2018, Jude Bornstein is interviewing his dad Steve Bornstein. Jude asks His father Steve Bornstein about what...

Marriage is a Right

Have you ever wanted to hear what a gay man wants to change in gay rights? I am Julia Grane and I am 15 years old and I interviewed my Uncle Brett over the phone about him being gay and...

Boy meets Miltary Base

Once upon a time a young boy went through the stages of life: childhood, college, and being all grown up; however this same boy got to travel the world, become the resident advisor of his college dorm and work at...

Saving Lives, One GI Tract at a Time

Medicine is in my family’s blood. My name is Ethan Edelstein, I am 14 years old, and I interviewed Susan Edelstein, who is my mother. We recorded this interview in Beverly Hills, California. My mother is a pediatric gastroenterologist who...

Grandpa’s, Grenades, and God

Christmas is a day not only for unwrapping presents and eating candy canes. It’s also a time of family, and love. So on December 25, 2019, 14-year-old Beija Sayeed sat down with her great grandfather Alfonzo Jackson to talk about...

Old Coach Keeps On Coaching

The Guinness World Record holder Elan Buller, was interviewed my Luca España on November 17th 2017. Elan Buller had once been the elementary school physical education coach for Luca, between his 1st and 6th grade years. Luca and Buller became...

Living in Conflict: The Effects of The Vietnam War on Daily Life

“What are we doing there?” the tragic story of life as a kid in America during the pointless Vietnam War. Will Angarola interviews his father Bill Angarola in Los Angeles, California about life as a teenager in the 60s in...

Future of Opportunity – Rod Sepand

**The Date Was January 20, 2020** Imagine If you had no supporters and nobody that believed in you.  To prove everyone wrong, you would have to work hard everyday to reach your goal of being successful. My Dad started from nothing...

Where Have all my Good Men Gone?

“You never know when it’s going to be the last time you see somebody, life is so uncertain” In this interview, we hear Mighty Behrendt interviewing her grandmother, Sharon Hemmer Ruotola in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 28th,2019. Sharon was...

Joe Filisko & Harlan Terson

A conversation between Joe Filisko, blues harmonica player and teacher, and Harlan Terson, touring and teaching bass player. Harlan remarks on his luck to experience the zenith of the blues era and working with several Chicago Blues Legends. Joe remembers...

Tisa Batchelder & Gregg Ostrom

A conversation between partners and musical collaborators Gregg Ostrom and Tisa Batchelder, who met many years ago at the Old Town School, where they work. They share memories of their first encounters with the school, of their long courtship, and...

Charles Kim & Kim Bellware

A conversation between Charles Kim, Guitar and Songwriting teacher at Old Town School since 1999 and Kim Bellware, friend and student. Kim and Charles discuss the effect of YouTube on classes at Old Town School, and how people choose to...

The King of Pop

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work with the king of pop? Annabel Bastien interviews her mother Risa Bastien, who is 49 years old, about her career with Michael Jackson in Sherman Oaks. We reflect on...

A Senegalese Story: From a Prankster to a Professor

From a straight A student and prankster to a professor in another country, life is full of surprises. In November 2017, 14-year-old Aram Sow interviews her Father Paap Sow to learn about his experience growing up in Senegal, West Africa...

Interviewing Grandma

A story of growing up in the 1940s. Dani Miller,age 14, interviews her grandma, Joyce Quinn in Los Angles,CA. You will learn about her religion, careers, teachers, family members and hobbies through this interview. You will also hear about her...

The Elementary Maverick

Before big campuses like Campbell Hall, schools would be smaller and different then they are today. Alex Sanger, is a father of two who lived in Texas until he moved to LA, he went to elementary there and had lots...

Linda Salmons: Folk Musician

Meet Linda Salmons! Linda is the founder of “Picking On The Porch” at the Tuckerton Seaport. In this interview, she shares the best stories from her life as a folk musician. From meeting Taylor Swift to trading guitar lessons for...

The Survival of the Korean War

“Everyone has to watch each others backs.” (1:22) On January 6th of 2020 in Laurel Canyon, Mike Badalian was interviewed by Jessie Reitz on his experience in the Korean War and why it made such a big impact on his...

Ella Jenkins

Born in St. Louis on August 6th, 1924, and raised on Chicago's South side, Ella Jenkins was the first person in line on the opening night of the Old Town School of Folk Music, December 1st, 1957. At the time,...

Working into Harvard

Francette Kelley never expected to get into Harvard, but it was a welcome surprise. In this interview, James Kelley interviews Francette in Los Angeles California, about her life growing up in Boston in the 80’s. He asks her about her...

A Disrupted Childhood

Imagine being 11 years old, fleeing from your country to escape a civil war. Alfonso Campos didn’t have to imagine this, he experienced it. Olivia Campos, his 14 year old daughter, has interviewed him about the early years of his...

Living Before Modern Technology

People grow up in the modern world with all sorts of new and fancy technology, but how was it like for someone like my father Kevin Morgan who was in his teenager in the 70s and grew up before this...

Charlotte Bader

A conversation with Charlotte Bader. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 25th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

Jane Stracke Bradbury

A conversation between Jane Stracke Bradbury and Old Town School documentarian Mareva Lindo. Jane has been present at every incarnation of the school, even before it began. Daughter of Old Town School co-founder Win Stracke, she recalls memories of her...

Jon Langford & Sally Timms

Jon Langford and Sally Timms--of The Mekons and countless other projects--have been part of the Old Town School community in a myriad of ways since the 1990s. Just a few months after Langford was honored as a “Music Legend” by...