StoryCorps: capture your family’s Thanksgiving stories

Surrounded by turkey and stuffing, it is easy to forget what Thanksgiving is all about: honoring family. How is that tradition preserved? Well, there’s an app for that.

National Public Radio (NPR) is calling on younger generations to record interviews with their elders using the StoryCorps app this Thanksgiving. The project, called The Great Thanksgiving Listen, is a charming holiday addition to the app’s noble mission.

What is StoryCorps?

StoryCorps is an independent project run by NPR. Its mission is to “preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” They do this by conducting and collecting interviews with people from every corner of the nation and archiving them to the Library of Congress.

The StoryCorps app is a refreshing use of media to foster empathy instead of alienation. It promotes the value of listening and storytelling—as opposed to judgement and cynicism—while also providing an invaluable time capsule.

The app has features for planning an interview, where you can choose or write your own questions to appear as you record. This means no interviewing experience is necessary. You can share your interview to StoryCorps or save it for yourself, and browse through stories of people across the country.

Who is using it?

StoryCorps is open to everyone. Anyone with a cell phone can conduct their interview in their living room, and some people even trek to the StoryCorps booths that visit cities and towns for a professionally recorded conversation.

The Great Thanksgiving Listen mends the rift between young and old generations by encouraging open conversations between young people and their family. Students in particular can benefit from such an experience.

The Journalism 1 class have been introduced to The Great Thanksgiving Listen as a chance to practice their interviewing skills. Sasha Kek, freshman, has decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about her family.

“In my opinion, my family is pretty interesting. They were all born in the Soviet Union, and [lived] during the fall of the Soviet Union, and people have some misconceptions about that and a very basic knowledge of it,” Kek said. “I think having interviews with my family [who were] alive at that time could bring more truth to it.”

Kek plans to interview her grandfather living in Ukraine, her grandfather who lived during WWII, and her father and uncle who served in the Soviet Union. She recognizes the challenge of approaching sensitive subjects, but Kek thinks it a worthwhile commitment to share their stories.

“They don’t really like speaking about their life in the Soviet Union because it was pretty difficult. So putting the story out would be difficult because it’s a very touchy subject,” Kek said. “Getting a story out and making it known to everyone else would be worth the [challenge].”

Stories worth a listen

Stories like those of Kek’s family fill the StoryCorps archives, including condensed conversations that aired on NPR’s radio show.

Inspiration, emotion, and humanity come to the forefront in these three-minute recordings, like ten-year-old Desmond Floyd’s conversation with mother Tanai Benard about school shootings, Joe Dittmar’s recollection of September 11, Sharon Brangman and daughter Jenna Lester’s discussion of a family line of women doctors, and Amina Amdeen and Joseph Weidknecht’s reflection on finding surprising common ground.

Should you get involved?

StoryCorps, particularly The Great Thanksgiving Listen, is well worth anyone’s time. There is no better time than the holiday to honor family and their experiences. Their stories are often surprising and bring people together in the most unexpected ways.

“I would actually recommend doing the project even to students outside of journalism because just knowing more about your family benefits you,” Kek said. “[It] can put you into perspective of people who are older than you that come from different backgrounds even though they are your family.”

Thanksgiving is coming up, and this opportunity with it. The app is made to be easily accessible to to everyone—the only necessities are a loved one, a pair of ears, and an open mind.