Since StoryCorps was founded in 2003, over 600,000 people have sat down to record interviews. Not sure where to start listening? Our staff have highlighted a few of their personal favorites from over the years, including stories of love from the LGBTQ+ community, reflections from immigrants on their earliest experiences in America, and a surprising number of vacuums.

Everyone has a story. Want yours to be a part of the growing StoryCorps Archive, housed at the Library of Congress? Download the StoryCorps App to record an interview with a loved one and upload it directly to the archive. If an in-person interview isn’t an option, use StoryCorps Connect to record remotely.


A Life, Complete

John Banvard and Jerry Nadeau are military veterans who served in World War II and Vietnam. When they met in 1993, they were “sort of in the closet” but soon became inseparable.


story
"I had heard all these horror stories about crooks and gangsters..."
0:00 / 0:00

Welcome to New York City

After coming to America, newly married Juliet Jegasothy experienced a spooky new American tradition: Halloween.


Leading the Way

John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. He came to StoryCorps with his daughter to talk about his successful life.


story
"They said this is the place where you're born, so no matter where you end, this is where you began."
0:00 / 0:00

You Are Both

As Tomás Ybarra-Frausto reminisces on his childhood in San Antonio, he celebrates his Mexican American heritage and the lessons he learned about land, language, and culture.

“I love the way Tomás talks about his culture in this piece, the way his land and language continues to connect him to his ancestors. Family and heritage is such a big part of Latinx culture and the way Tomás captures that is especially moving.”

—Janmaris Perez, Production Assistant

The Temple of Knowledge

For avid readers, spending a night in a library would be a dream come true. Growing up, Ronald Clark spent every night in one. That’s because his father worked as custodian of a Washington Heights branch of the New York Public Library.

“This story combines my childhood love of libraries and hidden spaces. I can’t imagine anything more magical than sneaking down from my apartment to read books in the stacks after everyone’s left, and I hope it sparks joy and wonder in everyone who watches it, too!”

—Rachel Hartman, Co-Executive Animation Producer

story
“...everything was dead. Like if I had landed on the moon.”
0:00 / 0:00

50 Years of Gratitude

After being offered a job in the United States by a friend, Roy Daley, then age 20, immigrated from Honduras with little more than two shirts and a change of pants.


story
"She said, 'You're stooping. Don't ever do that. We're very proud of you.'"
0:00 / 0:00

Loving — but Leaving — the Military

Retired Colonel Denise Baken came to StoryCorps with her children to talk about her military career, and just how closely her father’s service mirrored her own.

“I picked this as one of my favorite stories primarily because we don’t often hear stories of the women in the military. Denise Baken, as the child of a serviceman, and as a Black woman, had a complicated relationship with her time in the military and it was really captivating to hear her wrestle with the ambivalence of her feelings in real time, and the way that that experience impacted how she moved through the world after leaving. Sometimes things are messy and complicated, and I was really struck by the reality of loving the job that you’re in but also making the hard choice to leave it behind because the job might not have loved you as much as you loved it. This was also the first story that I worked on when I started full-time at StoryCorps, so it has a special place in my heart.”

—Kamilah Kashanie, Associate Producer and Podcast Host

story
“Has my collecting vacuums ever been a problem in our relationship?”
0:00 / 0:00

Swept Away

Tom Gasko has been a vacuum repairman for over 35 years. He came to StoryCorps to talk about his love for his peculiar hobby and his husband.


Want to listen to more StoryCorps stories? Sign up for our Story of the Week newsletter to discover a new voice every week.