Megiddëh Goldston, Raphael Hameed and Heidi Hameed
In July 2014, Raphael Hameed was walking with his 5-year-old son, Ish, when they were hit by a speeding car. Raphael lost his leg. Ish, his only son, was killed.
While the driver is awaiting trial for vehicular homicide, her sister, Megiddëh Goldston (above left), is trying to do right by the Hameed family.
They connected after the accident. Now she visits Raphael and his wife, Heidi (above right), to help with their day-to day-life. They sat down for StoryCorps in Colorado Springs.
Originally aired January 2, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Terri Van Keuren, Rick Shoup and Pamela Farrell
Every Christmas Eve, people worldwide log on to the official Santa Tracker to follow the man himself (along with his eight reindeer and Rudolph), as they make their way across the globe delivering presents to boys and girls.
It all started in 1955 with a misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper and a call to Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup’s secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD.
Here’s the story of how it all began, as told by Colonel Shoup’s three children, Terri Van Keuren (top left), Richard Shoup, and Pamela Farrell (top right).
Originally aired December 19, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Listen to Terri, Richard and Pamela’s story on the StoryCorps Podcast.
Bob Walsh and Gay Talese
New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. The graceful span of the Verrazano connects the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, making it the longest suspension bridge in the country.
Gay Talese was a young reporter at the time, and wrote a book documenting the construction called “The Bridge.”
Talese (right) recently interviewed Bob Walsh (left), whose family boasts five generations of ironworkers. The construction of the Verrazano Bridge was Walsh’s first job in the trade.
At StoryCorps, Talese reads from his book and speaks with Bob about the dangers involved in building one of New York City’s landmarks.
Originally aired December 12, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Kirk Sharp and Ryan Sharp
Sgt. Ryan Sharp (right) served two tours in Iraq with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
In 2008, when he returned to the States from his last tour, things weren’t the same. He had trouble thinking straight, he felt off and was deeply depressed.
Ryan and his father, Kirk Sharp (left), sat down for a StoryCorps conversation in Lincoln, Nebraska to talk about what happened when Ryan came home.
Originally aired November 8, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Hector Matascastillo and Trista Matascastillo
In 1998, Trista Matascastillo was in the Navy, when she was sexually assaulted by someone she had served with.
Trista told no one about the attack. She had a son as a result and raised him by herself.
Five years later, she met her husband, Army 1st Sergeant Hector Matascastillo. They recently talked about what Trista lived through.
Originally aired November 1, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Photo courtesy of Trista Matascastillo.
The Unusual Inspirations of the Morbid Anatomy Museum
Since she was a child, Joanna Ebenstein has been fascinated with the things that make most people squirm.
As an adult, she founded the Morbid Anatomy Museum, where visitors could see a pickled opossum and a two-headed duckling, among other unusual and grotesque objects. The museum closed its doors in 2016.
At StoryCorps, Joanna sat down with her father, Bob Ebenstein, to talk about the childhood origins of her career, including a hunt for black widow spiders in their backyard.
Originally aired October 31, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Kevin Powell and Shirley Parrello
Lance Corporal Brian Parrello (left) was the only member of his Marine platoon who didn’t make it home from Iraq.
They were patrolling near the Haditha Dam when Brian was killed by an IED. He was 19 years old.
Since then, Brian’s platoon has become close with his family. One of those Marines, Sergeant Kevin Powell (top left), sat down for a StoryCorps conversation with Brian’s mother, Shirley (top right).
Originally aired October 25, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Photos courtesy of Shirley Parrello.
Sonia Vasquez and Tina Vasquez
Tina Vasquez grew up just outside of New York City in the 1980s. Her mother, Sonia, raised her with little help, and money was often tight for their family.
At StoryCorps, Sonia told Tina about how she’d take on several jobs to pay the bills.
Originally aired October 3, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Kevin Lucey and Joyce Lucey
Marine Corporal Jeff Lucey was 23 when he was deployed to Iraq at the start of the war. Together with his unit, he drove truck convoys for three months at the beginning of the invasion.
He returned home safely. At first he appeared to be well, but like many veterans Jeff struggled with the invisible wounds of war.
Jeff’s parents, Kevin (left) and Joyce (right), came to StoryCorps in Wellesley, Massachusetts to remember the day their son got deployed.
Originally aired September 13, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Alton Yates and Toni Yates
As a teenager, Alton Yates (pictured above) did a job that helped send people into space.
In the mid-1950s, before NASA existed, Yates was part of a small group of Air Force volunteers who tested the effects of high speeds on the body. They were strapped to rocket-propelled sleds that hurtled down a track at more 600 miles per hour and stopped in a matter of seconds. These experiments helped prove that space travel was safe for humans.
At StoryCorps, Yates told his daughter, Toni (pictured together at left), that—for him—the story starts in high school, shortly after his mother died.
Originally aired August 29, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
After leaving the Air Force in 1959, Alton Yates became involved with the Civil Rights Movement in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. On August 27, 1960, he attended a sit-in that turned violent. It became known as Ax Handle Day.