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?
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.
We believe that if you want to make a society work, you can’t just reinforce our differences — you also have to uncover our shared humanity. Since 2018, more than 800 people across the country have taken part in our pilot phase.
Ways to Take Part in One Small Step
Record locally in one of our six 2020 “one Small Step Communities”
With support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, six radio station partners across the country now also offer opportunities to record a One Small Step conversation. If you are in the area of one of these locations, please visit the links below to be matched:
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- Jacksonville, FL (WJCT)
- Cleveland, OH (ideastream)
- Pittsburgh, PA (WESA)
- Richmond, VA (VPM)
- Wichita, KS (KMUW)
- Shreveport, LA (Red River Radio)
Read the full announcement about our work with One Small Step partners, and stay tuned for more from these stations.
Sign up for our email list
Be the first to hear about our 2020 recordings, partner stations, and more. You’ll also get tips on how to identify someone in your life to interview, plus recommended questions for conducting a One Small Step conversation. All that plus stories shared by people who have participated in the project to date.
Sign up here to take One Small Step with StoryCorps:
Be matched for a recording
In 2020, we may be coming to your community! We are now seeking people of all backgrounds and beliefs to join us in taking one small step toward each other. When you sign up for our mailing list, you’ll receive our matching survey.
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 onesmallstep@storycorps.org
Featured Stories from One Small Step
Support For One Small Step
One Small Step is supported by a broad coalition of government and philanthropic institutions, including the Fetzer Institute, The Wunderkinder Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Charles Koch Institute. Additional support is provided by the Newman-Tanner Foundation.
