This holiday season, as StoryCorps has since 2015, we’re inviting you to be a part of The Great Thanksgiving Listen  — our national effort to encourage young people to create an oral history of our times by recording an interview with an elder, mentor, friend, or someone they admire during the holiday weekend.

In this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we’re sharing some conversations that we love which  were recorded, using either the StoryCorps App or StoryCorps Connect.

First, we hear from Max García, who recorded with his grandfather, Mario García. He wanted to know more about Mario’s childhood in Havana, Cuba, where he was a child actor. He had to leave his acting career behind when he fled the country as a refugee during the Castro regime. Mario is now passing his passion for acting on to Max.

Photo: Dr. Mario García and his grandson, Max García. Courtesy of Mario García.

Next, we revisit a conversation between a granddaughter and grandmother from our very first Great Thanksgiving Listen. They recorded on Thanksgiving Day using the StoryCorps app. The grandmother told her granddaughter about her late husband, who died when she was very young.

Dominie Apeles also interviewed a grandparent, her grandfather, Florentino. They spoke over StoryCorps Connect. Separated because of the pandemic, Dominie spoke to her grandfather about his relationship with her grandmother, and all the things she missed about being able to see him face to face. 

Photo: Dominie Apeles and Florentino Apeles, at their StoryCorps Connect recording.

Then, we visit a family in Queens, New York. Since 2004, Jorge Muñoz and his family have provided more than one hundred meals per day to day laborers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants.

Photo: Siblings Luz and Jorge Muñoz spoke about how their meal program began in their recent StoryCorps interview from their home in Queens, NY.

Jorge and his sister Luz used StoryCorps Connect to remember the beginning of their journey, and how their mother inspired them to give to those in need.

To close out the episode, host Kamilah Kashanie shows just how easy it is to use StoryCorps Connect when she sat down for a conversation with her own grandmother, Velma Hamilton. The two spoke about the lessons and traditions that have been passed down from one generation to the next, all under the roof of Velma’s Brooklyn brownstone.

Photo: Kamilah Kashanie and her grandmother, Velma Hamilton. 2011. Courtesy of Kamilah Kashanie.
Top photo: Artwork by Juliana O’Byrne.

Released on November 23rd, 2021.