Rowena Gore-Simmons and Kenya Gore

Rowena Gore-Simmons runs 2 God B The Glory, a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated women find housing and adjust to life outside the prison system, but in 2001, she was just getting out of prison herself.

At StoryCorps, Rowena sits down with her 16-year-old daughter Kenya, who was 4 years old when her mother was incarcerated, to talk about what the experience was like for both of them.

Originally aired February 22, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Jason Weems and his parents, Robin and Warren

Classes begin at Leith Walk elementary school in Baltimore this coming Monday. And Robin Weems will be there to greet her new first grade students.

Robin’s husband, Warren, a retired Marine, will also be there, because Warren is his wife’s classroom assistant.

This husband and wife teaching team sat down to speak with their son, Jason, for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 26, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Max Voelz

Max Voelz met his future wife, Kimberly, on Valentine’s Day, while they were training to work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit — the Army’s elite bomb squad.

Both Max and Kim were sent to Iraq in 2003. One night, Max called in the location of an explosive and Kim was sent to disarm it. She did not survive the mission.

Max sat down for StoryCorps to remember her.

Originally aired May 27, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: Kimberly Voelz at work. Courtesy of Max Voelz.

Ledo Lucietto and Anne Lucietto

Ledo Lucietto and his daughter Anne talk about their shared passion for mechanical engineering that has been passed down through generations and discuss when Ledo first knew that Anne would become an engineer.

Originally aired December 12, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Fountain Hughes, Former Slave

An interview with Fountain Hughes, a 101 year-old former slave, from the spoken-word collection at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

Recorded in Baltimore, MD. Premiered August 24, 1997, on Weekend Edition Sunday.

This documentary comes from Sound Portraits Productions, a mission-driven independent production company that was created by Dave Isay in 1994. Sound Portraits was the predecessor to StoryCorps and was dedicated to telling stories that brought neglected American voices to a national audience.