The holidays offer us a chance to come together, at a time when community and connection are more important than ever. Watch some of our favorite animations celebrating the special stories that come from connecting with your family and loved ones from a different generation, and learn more about how to record your own #TheGreatListen story.

Grandma’s Hands


Madzimoyo Owusu, who grew up in the same three-story apartment building as her grandparents in Chicago’s West Side in the 1970s, remembers always feeling protected by her grandmother—even when they would just sit in silence. At StoryCorps, she opens up to her daughter, Johannah, about how her grandmother’s gentle, yet powerful, spirit left a lasting imprint on her life.

Lola’s Work


Kenneth Tan and his mother remember the remarkable life of his grandmother, whom he called Lola. She was born in the Philippines and survived the Japanese Occupation of World War II. After her father passed away, Lola, the youngest of four siblings, started working to support the family. Through all the hard times and hard work, Lola was a devoted and loving grandmother.

My Father, the Giant


Caught in a thoughtless act of cruelty, a young man learns a lesson in compassion from his father, a larger-than-life tribal leader of the Caddo Nation and a veteran of World War II. Years later, the man passes that lesson down to his own son.

Meet the Greenbergs


Growing up in her parents’ home in Queens, New York during the 1950s, Laura Greenberg says she didn’t know what normal behavior was. She remembers her family expressing love through hugging, cursing, and oversharing. At StoryCorps, Laura sits down with her daughter Rebecca to reflect on their unconventional love language.

Labor of Love


Mary Othella Burnette and her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, remember their family matriarch, Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden.

An Honest Life


When Jeffrey Perri was nine years old, his grandfather, Tony Perri, came out to him as gay.

Marching to the Beat of his own Drum


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“When you get musicians cooking on the bandstand, the hair goes up on the back of your neck..”
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How an unexpected deportation cut a young musician’s career short.

Finding a New Way To Be Thankful in a Pandemic


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“I can't fix the country... but I can brighten my own corner. “
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Back in 1985, when Scott Macaulay’s parents were going through an acrimonious divorce, he found himself alone on Thanksgiving. So he decided to start cooking dinner for other people who had nowhere else to go. 

 



Stories from #TheGreatListen

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“I think it's important to capture those opportunities while you still have them in your grasp.”
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A Century-Old Family Reunion Interrupted By A Pandemic

For nearly a century, the Quanders has been gathering for a family reunion each year. In the face of COVID-19, they must reconsider how to keep their history alive.
Read the full transcript here.

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"I applied to NASA four times."
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When You Have Problems, Go To The Clouds

When Wally Funk was twenty, she got the chance to prove that females could be astronauts. While the program got shut down, she didn’t let this stop her. More than half a century later, she joined the crew on the New Shepard rocket, which launched on July 20th, 2021.
Read the full transcript here.

The Little Things

For the past eight years, Herman Travis has pushed a heavy shopping cart full of groceries to bring to elderly neighbors in a low-income housing complex. He was joined at StoryCorps by one the residents he delivers to, Robert Cochran, to talk about the impact of that gesture.
Read the full transcript here.

Double Major

As a student at Bowdoin College, Wil Smith had an unique roommate, his infant daughter Olivia. By graduation, his entire school was cheering them both across the stage.
Read the full transcript here.


Bring StoryCorps to Your Classroom

The Great Thanksgiving Listen is the perfect opportunity for students to practice their listening and storytelling skills by honoring someone in their life with an interview. We invite educators to use our toolkit to bring StoryCorps into the classroom this November.


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"I was debating whether I would say something at dinner..."
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I Love Leslye

Leslye Huff and her partner, Mary Ostendorf, met in 1983. Mary felt less comfortable with public displays of affection and had not told many people in her life about her sexuality, including her family. They talk about a difficult Thanksgiving, and all the ways that love can heal.
Read the full transcript here.

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“As soon as I landed, I was home.”
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“I Have These Dreams Where I Go Back”: Dad and Daughter Mourn a Syria They Once Knew

Ten years after the start of the Syrian civil war, father and daughter Walid and Magda Sakaan remember their lives in Syria.
Read the full transcript here.

From Beets to Brilliance: A Grandmother’s Wisdom Lives On

After Chloe Longfellow’s father died, her mother, Dorsey Romano, was forced to take on a variety of jobs, some of which required her to work nights. While her mother was away, Chloe spent time at her grandparents’ home and became close to her grandmother, Doris Louise Rolison.
Read the full transcript here.

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"Why are you asking these questions?"
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The Questions They’ve Always Wanted To Ask

In an interview with their father, Isaiah and Josiah Fredericks ask him about the hardest thing about being a dad, as well as why they can’t have their own rollercoaster.
Read the full transcript here.

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“...everything was dead. Like if I had landed on the moon.”
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In the US 50 Years, a Man Reflects on His Arrival from Honduras

Over 50 years ago, Roy Daley arrived in America, although it wasn’t quite what he was expecting. At StoryCorps he remembers his first Thanksgiving in the United States.
Read the full transcript here.

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