Stations
StoryCorps works in partnership with local public radio, public television stations and local communities to use the tools and platforms offered by StoryCorps to advance local service mission. This page contains a wide range of content and resources for programmers, including access to our award-winning animated shorts, as well as materials in support of member stations’ use of StoryCorps content. Unauthorized use of these materials is prohibited.
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
In 2017, we invite you back to help us create a culture of listening that echoes across the nation. Working with member stations and local school districts, StoryCorps has recorded 75,000+ interviews since our inaugural Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. Using the free StoryCorps App, participants will upload their interviews directly into the StoryCorps archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Your station’s participation in this project will result in a greater connection to young audiences and their families, and provide your station the opportunity to grow that relationship into other stories. Now more than ever we need to facilitate authentic conversations in our communities.
Anyone can record as part of The Great Thanksgiving Listen. We offer educational resources to support use by target audiences including educators, teachers, principals, mentorship providers, afterschool programs, and education networks with decision makers on curricular issues, and high school students (ages 13 and over).
Stations can maximize outreach into local communities, with activities including:
- Running promos that explain how to join the project;
- Encouraging your station’s on-air talent to tweet about the project;
- Inviting teachers and educators to your station for professional development and to meet your education reporter;
- Sending a station host or reporter to local high schools to talk about the project and discuss best practices in an interview.
Promos, music beds, scripts and social media copy are available for use by participating stations:
- DOWNLOAD VISUAL ASSETS
- DOWNLOAD ON-AIR PROMOS (OR CREATE YOUR OWN)
- On-air promos – Set #1
(Produced; for scheduling September 1 – October 31, 2017)
- On-air promos – Set #2
(Produced; for scheduling September 1 – October 31, 2017)
- Twitter: Calling all teachers! Sign up starts today for #TheGreatListen from @StoryCorps. Get the curriculum and get started: thegreatlisten.org
- Twitter: Calling all educators! Sign up starts today for #TheGreatListen from @StoryCorps. Get the curriculum and get started: thegreatlisten.org
- Twitter: Connect w/ someone you love at #Thanksgiving. Sign up for #TheGreatListen, @StoryCorps’ national recording project: thegreatlisten.org
- Facebook: [STATION] is pleased to partner with StoryCorps (Tag: https://www.facebook.com/StoryCorps) and to announce The Great Thanksgiving Listen 2017. On Thanksgiving weekend, teachers and high school students across the country will use the StoryCorps app to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend. Take part in #TheGreatListen and help make history: thegreatlisten.org
- Facebook: Calling all teachers! [STATION] is pleased to partner with StoryCorps (Tag: https://www.facebook.com/StoryCorps) and to announce The Great Thanksgiving Listen 2017. On Thanksgiving weekend, join teachers and high school students across the country to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend. Join the StoryCorps in the Classroom (Tag: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StoryCorps) group, and download a special Teacher Toolkit and multimedia resources at thegreatlisten.org
Follow StoryCorps on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit thegreatlisten.org for more about the project.
For any questions about The Great Thanksgiving Listen, please contact:
Ellen McDonnell, Consultant for Storycorps
emcdonnell@storycorps.org or call 202.744.0062.
Animated Shorts
StoryCorps shorts are funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and are available to all public television stations. They can also be accessed and used by public radio stations for use on your website.
File Transfer Information
Download broadcast quality files of the shorts via the POV Dropbox.
For support or technical assistance, please contact:
For questions or to report broadcast and web carriage, please contact:
StoryCorps Animation Team
animation@storycorps.org
Coming Soon
“Tom’s War”
TRT: 2:25
Synopsis: After being drafted in 1969, Tom Geerdes served as an Army medic in the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Like many veterans, he returned home a changed man. At StoryCorps, Tom shared his long journey toward healing with his daughter, Hannah Campbell.
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration Date: March 31, 2020
Availability: Release date TBD.
Social Media Copy:
- Facebook: After being drafted in 1969, Tom Geerdes served as an Army medic in the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Like many veterans, he returned home a changed man. At @StoryCorps, Tom shared his long journey toward healing with his daughter, Hannah Campbell. The result is “Tom’s War,” the latest animated short from StoryCorps.
- Twitter: “Tom’s War,” the newest animated short from @StoryCorps, brings a new dimension to our current remembrance of Vietnam.
- Instgram: In “Tom’s War,” the newest animated short from @StoryCorps, Tom Geerdes talks with his daughter about his long journey toward healing following his Army medic service in the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drafted in 1969, he came home a changed man.
Recently Released
“School’s Out”
Click here to view the animation.
Synopsis: Following the federal mandate to integrate schools in the 1950s, Reverend James L. Seawood recalls how African Americans were forced out of Sheridan, Arkansas, the fate of his beloved school, and the human cost of “urban renewal.”
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration Date: March 31, 2020
Availability: Available Available through POV’s Dropbox.
“StoryCorps Animated Shorts Trailer”
Click here to view the trailer.
TRT: 1:06
Synopsis: A collection of clips showcasing the StoryCorps Animated Shorts produced in 2015-2016.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: N/A
Availability: Available through POV’s Dropbox.
“The Bookmobile”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:22
Synopsis: At eight years old, Storm Reyes was already working full time with other migrant farm workers in the fields outside Tacoma, Washington. One day, a bookmobile arrived and brought her new worlds—and hope.
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration Date: March 31, 2020
Availability: Available for broadcast use on April 1. Available for online posting starting April 13. Also available for download via PBS Source and on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: School Library Month (April), National Library Week (April), National Bookmobile Day (April), Native American Heritage Month (November), Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October), Labor Day (September), Women’s History Month (March)
“Driven”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:48
Synopsis: Wendell Scott was the first African American inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Throughout the 1960s, he poured his heart, soul, and all of his earnings into maintaining his own race car. His son, Frank, remembers what it took for his father to cross the finish line at racetracks throughout the South.
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration Date: January 31, 2020
Availability: Available for download via PBS Source and on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: NASCAR (January), Black History Month (February), Father’s Day (June)
Behind-the-Scenes of “Driven”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:41
Synopsis: A look into director Julie Zammarchi’s creative process as she designs the StoryCorps animated short, “Driven.”
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration date: January 25, 2020
Availability: Available for download via PBS Source and on POV’s Dropbox.
“The Saint of Dry Creek”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:30
Synopsis: Patrick Haggerty was a teenager in rural Dry Creek, Washington, in the late 1950s. Here, he remembers the day he first had a conversation with his father about being gay.
Use: Broadcast and web.
Expiration Date: October 9, 2019
Availability: Available for broadcast use immediately. Fed Wednesday, October 9 on PBS Promo Reel HDPR 1016. Also available on POV’s Dropbox and via PBS | Source (search for “StoryCorps”).
Date pegs: National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11), Pride Month (June), Father’s Day (June)
“Traffic Stop”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:18
Synopsis: Alex Landau, who is African American, recalls how he nearly lost his life following a traffic stop with the Denver police. He and his mother, Patsy, who is white, remember that night and how it changed them both forever.
NOTE: “Traffic Stop” contains two graphic images (01:49, 02:48) and a racial invective (02:06).
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: July 24, 2019
Availability: Available on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Anniversary of Ferguson Riots/Michael Brown’s Death (Aug. 9); Black History Month (February); Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (July); National Adoption Awareness Month (November).
“A More Perfect Union”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:51
Synopsis: Theresa Burroughs recalls her persistence to claim her right to vote during the Jim Crow era in the rural South.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: January 31, 2019
Availability: Available on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January), Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Anniversary of Voting Rights Act 1965 (August)
Behind-the-Scenes of “A More Perfect Union”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:38
Synopsis: A look into the process behind making a StoryCorps animated short, featuring Theresa Burroughs’ story in “A More Perfect Union.”
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration date: January 31, 2019
Availability: Available on POV’s Dropbox.
Recommended holiday programming
“Listening Is an Act of Love”
TRT: 22:36
Synopsis: The first-ever animated feature from StoryCorps, Listening Is an Act of Love, presents six stories from 10 years of StoryCorps, where everyday people sit down together to ask life’s important questions and share stories from their lives. Framing these intimate conversations is an interview between StoryCorps founder Dave Isay and his 9-year-old nephew, Benji.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
StoryCorps Classics
“1st Squad, 3rd Platoon”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:45
Synopsis: Marine Lance Cpl. Travis Williams reflects on being the sole survivor of a bomb blast that killed his entire 12-man squad.
NOTE: “1st Squad, 3rd Platoon” contains a censored invective (01:30).
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: October 31st, 2018
Availability: Available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Veterans Day (November), Memorial Day (May)
“Always a Family”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:29
Synopsis: Monique Ferrer remembers her last conversation with her ex-husband, Michael Trinidad, who was killed in the September 11th attacks.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: September 11, Father’s Day (June)
“Clean Streets”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:47
Synopsis: New York City sanitation worker Angelo Bruno and his long-time partner, Eddie Nieves, talk about becoming a part of the community they served on their route.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: April 30, 2019
Availability: Available on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: International Worker’s Day (May), Labor Day (September)
“Danny & Annie”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 5:51
Synopsis: Brooklynites Danny, an OTB clerk, and Annie, a nurse, remember their life together-from their first date to Danny’s final days with terminal cancer.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Valentine’s Day (Feb 14)
“Eyes on the Stars”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:16
Synopsis: Carl McNair tells the story of his brother Ronald, an African American kid in the 1950s who set his sights on the stars.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (January 28), Black History Month (February), Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (July 2)
“Facundo the Great”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 1:51
Synopsis: Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez recounts how the new kid at school became a hero when his name stumped their teachers.
NOTE: Names in “Facundo the Great” may sound similar to invectives.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October), Back to School Season (September)
“A Family Man”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:15
Synopsis: Sam Black remembers his father, an enduring lesson, and the power of a look.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Father’s Day (June), Labor Day (September), Black History Month (February)
“Germans in the Woods”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:30
Synopsis: Joseph Robertson was an infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Veterans Day (November), Memorial Day (May)
“A Good Man”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:17
Synopsis: Bryan Wilmoth talks with his brother Mike about reuniting with his siblings years after their dad kicked Bryan out for being gay.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: July 20, 2018
Availability: Available on POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: National Siblings Day (April 10), LGBTQ Pride Month (June)
“The Human Voice”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:44
Synopsis: The great oral historian Studs Terkel was an inspiration to StoryCorps, and he was also an early participant in the project. In this animated short, he speaks out on what has been lost in modern life and where he sees hope for our future.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: StoryCorps’ Great Thanksgiving Listen (November; day after Thanksgiving), Studs Terkel’s birthday (May 16)
“The Icing on the Cake”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:44
Synopsis: Blanca Alvarez and her husband risked crossing the border to immigrate into the U.S. and then struggled to make ends meet. They hoped to shelter their children from these harsh realities, but Blanca’s daughter Connie reveals how much children can really see of their parents’ lives-and the inspiration they draw from their struggles.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October), Women’s History Month (March), Mother’s Day (May), Labor Day (September)
“John and Joe”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:55
Synopsis: Retired firefighter John Vigiano Sr. lost both his sons on September 11, 2001-John Jr., also a firefighter, and Joe, a police detective.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: September 11, Father’s Day (June)
“The Last Viewing”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:21
Synopsis: Allen Hoe tells the story of a chance encounter with a stranger who knew his son, Army 1st Lt. Nainoa K. Hoe.
Use: Broadcast and Web
Expiration Date: October 31, 2018
Availability: Included on PBS Promo Reel HDPR 918. Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Veterans Day (November), Memorial Day (May)
“Making It”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:43
Synopsis: Nineteen-year-old Noe Rueda tells his former teacher Alex Fernandez about his clever money-making endeavors as a kid in Chicago’s Little Village.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Teacher Appreciation Week (May), Mother’s Day (May), Graduation season (May-June), Labor Day (September), Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October)
“Marking the Distance”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:02
Synopsis: Gweneviere Mann talks with her boyfriend, Yasir Salem, about navigating through life after losing her short-term memory.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), Brain Tumor Awareness Month (May), New York City Marathon (November)
“Me & You”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:57
Synopsis: Jackie Miller and her son, Scott, share a conversation that leads to unexpected revelations.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Mother’s Day (May), LGBTQ Pride Month (June), National Adoption Awareness Month (November)
“Miss Devine”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:39
Synopsis: Cousins James Ransom and Cherie Johnson recall their formidable Sunday school teacher, Miss Lizzie Devine, the only woman who scared them more than their grandmother. Set in the small Florida town of the cousins’ memories, this animation will have you laughing out loud as the cousins remember the fearsome Miss Devine.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Teacher Appreciation Week (May)
“The Nature of War”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:33
Synopsis: Army National Guard Specialist Justin Cliburn remembers the unlikely friendship he formed with two Iraqi boys he met while deployed in Iraq.
Use: Broadcast and Web
Expiration date: October 31, 2018
Availability: Included on PBS Promo Reel HDPR 918. Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Veterans Day (November), Memorial Day (May)
“No More Questions!”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 4:18
Synopsis: Kay Wang was a feisty octogenarian when her son and granddaughter brought her to the StoryCorps booth in New York City. Though Kay was reluctant, she told her life stories-from disobeying her mother and rebuffing suitors while growing up in China, to adventures as a detective for Bloomingdales’ Department Store later in life. Kay passed away weeks after that interview, and her son and granddaughter returned to remember her gentler side, which she kept to herself.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Women’s History Month (March), Mother’s Day (May), National Grandparents’ Day (September), Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May)
“Q & A”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:59
Synopsis: In early 2006, 12-year-old Joshua Littman, who has Asperger’s syndrome, interviewed his mother, Sarah, at StoryCorps. Their one-of-a-kind conversation covered everything from cockroaches to Sarah’s feelings about Joshua as a son.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Autism Awareness month (April), Mother’s Day (May)
“The Road Home”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:27
Synopsis: Eddie Lanier thanks his friend David Wright for help along his way back from alcoholism and homelessness.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day (Dec. 31-Jan. 1), Alcohol Awareness Month (April)
“She Was the One”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 2:37
Synopsis: Brooklynite Richie Pecorella remembers the love of his life, his fiancée Karen Juday, who was killed in the September 11th attacks.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: September 11, Valentine’s Day (February 14)
“StoryCorps Animation Highlights Reel”
TRT: 0:51
Synopsis: A collection of clips showcasing the StoryCorps Animated Shorts catalogue.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: N/A
Availability: Available through POV’s Dropbox.
“Sundays at Rocco’s”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:17
Synopsis: Nicholas Petron remembers how everything changed when the city made new plans for his family home.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Italian Heritage Month (October)
“To R.P. Salazar, with Love”
Click here to view the animation.
TRT: 3:01
Synopsis: Rachel P. Salazar and Ruben P. Salazar were living 9,000 miles apart, unaware of each other’s existence, until a stroke of luck brought them together.
Use: Broadcast and Web.
Expiration Date: November 28, 2017
Availability: Included on SPPR 139 Special Promo Feed (POV StoryCorps Shorts). Also available through POV’s Dropbox.
Date pegs: Valentine’s Day (February 14), Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October)
MobileBooth Assets
Press Release Template: Click here to download.
Media Advisory Template: Click here to download.
Social Media Template: Click here to download.
Press Guidelines: Click here to download.
New 2017 StoryCorps Logos: Click here to download.
Airstream Trailer Photos: Click here to download.
StoryCorps MobileTour Promotional Video: Click here to view on YouTube.
StoryCorps Production Assets
Production Quick Guide for Station Partners: Click here to download.
Mobile Guidelines: Click here to download.
StoryCorps Usage Policies: Click here to download.
Using Interview Materials for Partners: Click here to download.
Promotional Materials and Scripts: Click here to download.
Other Promotional Tools
New for April 2017! CALLINGS in paperback press release: Click here to download.
CALLINGS copy for social media: Click here to download.