Take One Small Step with StoryCorps
Is there someone with whom you disagree but still respect? Was there a moment, event, or person in your life who shaped your political views? Do you feel misunderstood by people who have different beliefs than you?
Join our email list to record with StoryCorps, receive project updates, and a matching questionnaire.
Since 2018, more than 800 Americans in 40 cities have taken part. Now, we’re expanding our effort: anyone anywhere can record.
Help us begin undoing the idea of “us” versus “them” in the United States.
One Small Step is an effort to connect people so they can remember that people with whom they disagree are human beings. In doing this, we can begin to mend the fraying fabric of our nation — one conversation at a time.
About the Initiative
Since we started our work nearly 17 years ago, StoryCorps has perfected a method for helping people feel more connected and for reminding us of the inherent worth of every person and every story. People come together to have otherwise impossible conversations, using our tools and questions. The microphone gives them license to talk about things they otherwise might not discuss.
Now, we are doing something different. We are asking people with different political views to record a StoryCorps interview with each other. Why?
- To break down boundaries created by politics and remember our shared humanity.
- To remind us that we have more in common than divides us and that treating those with whom we disagree with decency and respect is essential to a functioning democracy.
How to Participate
StoryCorps provides tools so you can record your own One Small Step conversation with someone you know using our own platform StoryCorps Connect. The conversation will be entirely self-guided by you and your conversation partner and takes place in a virtual video conference room.
Download (PDF): One Small Step: DIY (Do it Yourself) Guide
Anyone, anywhere can sign up for our email and complete our matching questionnaire to have the opportunity to be paired with a stranger for a One Small Step conversation. Sign up now.
This year, One Small Step will anchor in four of our country’s most politically diverse cities: communities that are culturally, historically, and demographically distinct, and that we believe can lead the way in showing us all what is possible when we take time to listen to the opinions of people with whom we disagree.
Partner with Us
We want to activate local communities around this project. To achieve this, StoryCorps is seeking partners that represent various political backgrounds and that can recruit, orient, then enlist their constituents in recording interviews. If you are interested in working side-by-side with StoryCorps to make these exciting and enriching conversations come to life, please contact us at [email protected].
Featured Stories from One Small Step
Support For One Small Step
One Small Step is made possible by the generous support by a wide range of funders including the Fetzer Institute, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s The Wunderkinder Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Charles Koch Institute.
