Philomena Luciani and Alison Purcell
Philomena Luciani, 82, talks with her granddaughter about her own mother and the difficult times she had communicating in English after emigrating to the United States from Italy.
Originally aired May 7, 2004, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Lynne Lande and Kaitlyn Sever
Ten-year-old Kaitlyn Sever interviewed by her mom, Lynne Lande, who is a lesbian.
Originally broadcast May 7, 2004 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Carmela Pollio, Laurence Hewitt, and Yoshiharu Hewitt
Carmela Pollio tells her grandson, Laurence, and her great grandson, Yoshi, about growing up in Hell’s Kitchen.
Originally aired April 12, 2004 on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show.
Blanca Vazquez and Manny Diaz
Manny Diaz grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His family shared a tenement building with 10 other families—all with different backgrounds.
Manny came to StoryCorps with his friend Blanca Vazquez to remember how they all came together to support each other and make it through difficult times.
Originally aired October 23, 2009, on Latino USA.
Michael Wolmetz and Debora Brakarz
Debora Brakarz asks her boyfriend, Michael Wolmetz, about the pain he felt following the death of his father; Michael then surprises Debora with a proposal using the ring his father once gave to his mother.
Originally aired February 14, 2004, on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday.
Nate and Marc Herschberg
Marc Albaum (right) asks his uncle Nate Herschberg to sing for him a popular Yiddish song that Nate’s mother used to sing for him when he was a baby.
Originally aired December 16, 2003, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Isabel and Mary Beaton
Isabel Beaton tells her daughter, Mary, about growing up in Bronx.
Albert and Doris Kahn
Albert Kahn shared remembrances with his wife, Doris, about times spent on Coney Island and in movie houses during his childhood.
Originally aired December 16, 2003, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Rita and Teresa Giordano
Rita Giordano and her daughter Teresa discuss the values that Rita would like to see carried forward into the future like honesty, integrity, and peace. Teresa also asks her mother how she would like to be remembered.
Originally aired December 16, 2003, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Last Elevator
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Michael Nestor, Liz Thompson, and Richard Tierney were eating breakfast at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Together, they rode in the last elevator down in the moments before American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building at 8:46 that morning. Everyone at the restaurant at the time of impact, approximately 170 men and women, perished.
Recorded in New York City. Premiered September 11, 2003, on Morning Edition.
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.