A Columbine Survivor On Going Home To Teach
Warning: the audio version of this story contains strong language.
Mandy Cooke was a sophomore at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, when two students opened fire at the school, killing 13 people and themselves.
Mandy later became a teacher back at Columbine.
At StoryCorps in Denver, Mandy sat down with Paula Reed — her former teacher from Columbine — to talk about the two decades that followed, and the lasting impact of the shooting.
Originally broadcast May 27, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: Paula Reed (L) and Mandy Cooke (R) at StoryCorps in Denver, CO. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
So They’re Not Forgotten
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, we’re thinking about sacrifice, and the bonds that form between people who literally go through war together; on the battlefield and at home.
Artwork by Lyne Lucien.
Released on May 10th, 2022.
“We Are Needed”: A Counselor At Mississippi’s Only Abortion Clinic Shares Her Story
In the mid-1990s, Miss Betty Thompson retired from her job in state government, and started a second career working at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization as a counselor. By 2004, it was the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi.
Often faced with incredibly long distances to travel, and protesters on the ground upon their arrival, Betty helped all those who walked through the doors.
In 2022, the clinic would become the center of the pending U.S. Supreme Court case challenging Roe v. Wade.
Betty worked there at the clinic for almost 25 years, but it was her own experiences as a teenager that brought her to the work.
In 2016, she came to StoryCorps to share her story.
Betty Thompson on April 14th, 2016, in Jackson, Mississippi. Photo by Natalia Fidelholtz for StoryCorps.
Top Photo: Betty Thompson on April 14th, 2016, in front of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in Jackson, Mississippi. Photo by Natalia Fidelholtz for StoryCorps.
Originally aired May 20th, 2022, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Neighbor’s Promise
Several years ago, Jennifer Hidrogo made a promise to her neighbor. In this episode, she shares how that simple act resulted in her gaining three more children and finding her calling.
Artwork by Lyne Lucien.
Released on May 17th, 2022.
These Memories Shaped His Journey Into Hospice Work
Having built a career in hospice care, Hajime Issan Koyama, known simply as Issan, has many experiences with death, and with bringing comfort to people in their final moments.
He made his way into a caregiving role after he found himself at the epicenter of the 1980s AIDS epidemic in New York City, where he witnessed many of his friends and colleagues die.
But the experiences that laid the foundation for his concept of death and dying go back to his childhood growing up in Japan, and his favorite grandmother.
He came to StoryCorps July of 2015 with his husband, Paul Boos, to share those memories.
Paul Boos and Hajime Issan Koyama at their StoryCorps interview in New York City on July 17, 2015. By Mitra Bonshahi for StoryCorps.
Top Photo: Hajime Issan Koyama at his StoryCorps interview in New York City on July 17, 2015. By Mitra Bonshahi for StoryCorps.
Originally aired May 13, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Beginning And The End
In this episode, we’ll hear about two people who help during the most important moments of our lives: when we’re brought into the world and when we leave it.
Artwork by Lyne Lucien.
Released on May 10th, 2022.
Hunny Reiken and Elliot Reiken
It was the summer of 1946 in the Catskills. Hunny Feller and her identical twin sister, Bunny, were waitresses at a hotel. Another set of identical twins, Elliot and Danny Reiken, worked as musicians in a band there.
At StoryCorps, Hunny and Elliot (below in 2010) remembered what happened when the twins met the twins.
Originally broadcast May 28, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition. It was rebroadcast on May 6, 2022 on the same program.
Top photo: Danny and Bunny, and Hunny and Elliott, at their joint wedding. Courtesy of the Reiken family.
Bottom photo: Hunny and Elliott Reiken at their StoryCorps interview in New York City.
In The Comments
A few months ago, we asked our listeners one question. We then received hundreds of responses that made even our most hardened producers tear up. In this episode, find out what that question was and how it inspired our new season.
Artwork by Lyne Lucien.
Released on May 3rd, 2022
“She Had Dreams In Life”: A Remembrance Of Latasha Harlins
We should note that the audio version of this story contains a graphic description of violence.
On April 29th, 1992, the city of Los Angeles erupted into 6 days of uprisings. Over 60 people died, over 2,000 were injured, there was widespread theft and property damage to the area, and thousands of residents took to the streets in protest — the cause widely known to be the acquittal of the four police officers who brutally assaulted Rodney King.
But there was another case that also grabbed the attention of Los Angeles at that time; the killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins. On March 16, 1991, Harlins was shot and killed by a store clerk who accused her of stealing.
Even though Latasha’s killer was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter, a judge allowed her to avoid jail time. It was among the catalysts for the Los Angeles Riots.
Latasha’s sister, Dr. Christina Rogers, and her brother, Vester Acoff, were 8 and 10 years old, respectively, when she was killed. The three children were being raised by their grandmother, Ruth Harlins.
Latasha’s cousin, Shinese Harlins-Kilgore (left), with Latasha Harlins (right) in 1983. Courtesy of Christina Rogers.
Vester, Ruth, and Christina sat down for StoryCorps, more than 30 years later, to remember Latasha.
In 1992, the family started the Latasha Harlins Foundation in her name. They aim to make lasting change for low-income and Black families and children in the Los Angeles area.
Latasha Harlins as an early teen. Courtesy of Christina Rogers.
Joyce’s Neighborhood
The mom every other kid wanted.
Mary Mills & Joyce Carter Mills
Mary Mills grew up as an only child in the 1960s in a quiet neighborhood near Santa Monica, California. Although Mary didn’t have siblings to play with, she was never lonely. There were plenty of children nearby, and they all wanted to be at her house where they would hang out with Mary… and her mom, Joyce Carter Mills. At StoryCorps, Mary brought her mom to tell her why she was “the mom every other kid wanted.”
Listen to Joyce and Mary’s story on the StoryCorps Podcast.
Listen to Joyce and Mary’s original StoryCorps interview.