A Man Recalls Being Shot by a White Supremacist at Jewish Day Camp
On the morning of August 10, 1999, a white supremacist opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Jewish day camp in Los Angeles. Five were wounded, including six-year-old Josh Stepakoff, who was shot in his leg and hip, and one person was killed.
Now an adult, Josh sat down with his father, Alan, to remember that day.
The shooter is serving two consecutive life sentences plus 110 years for multiple convictions. His actions were ruled a federal hate crime.
This story aired November 2, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition. A version also aired November 10, 2017 on the same program.
Bottom image: Josh and his father, Alan, in Washington D.C. for the Million Mom March rally in May 2000, the year after Josh was shot.
Best Friends and Vietnam-era Vets on Their Shared Sisterhood
Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed are best friends and Vietnam-era veterans. Although they didn’t serve in the war together, they share a story of courage — on and off the battlefield.
At StoryCorps, they talked about their other shared sisterhood.
Top photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed at their StoryCorps interview in Tucson, Arizona. By Mia Warren for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed are regulars at Denny’s in Tucson, Arizona, where the best friends say they often talk for hours. Courtesy of Kristyn Weed.
A version of this story aired June 30, 2018, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. It was rebroadcast on August 17, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Father-Daughter Beatboxing Duo on Making Music
Ed Cage and Nicole Paris are a father-daughter beatboxing duo.
Back during the 1980s, Ed immersed himself in the St. Louis hip hop scene and fell in love with beatboxing. Fast-forward a couple decades and that love is now firmly planted in 26-year-old Nicole as well.
At StoryCorps, they talk about how it all began.
Top photo: Ed Cage and Nicole Paris at StoryCorps. Today, the beatboxing duo travels the world performing on stage together.
Originally aired July 13, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Wife Remembers Her Husband and the Stress of Family Farming
Springtime is planting season on farms all across the country. The stress of the season can take its toll: farmers have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession in the United States.
For more than 35 years, Matt Peters grew corn and soybeans on the Iowa farm that his father and grandfather farmed before him. Then in May of 2011, at the age of 55, he took his own life.
His wife, Ginnie Peters, came to StoryCorps to remember him. She spoke with Trent Andrews, the man who took over the farm after her husband’s death.
Today, Ginnie lives a few miles away from the farm where she and Matt made their life together. Now and then she returns to visit Trent and his family, who continue to work the 1,500-acre farm.
Top photo: Trent Andrews and Ginnie Peters at their StoryCorps interview in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 19, 2018.
Bottom photo: Ginnie Peters and Matt Peters on vacation in February of 2011. Courtesy of Ginnie Peters.
If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or just needs someone to talk to, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Originally aired May 18, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Daughter Comes to Terms with Her Father’s Time in Prison
In this conversation recorded in Hartford, Connecticut, Abby Gagliardo sat down with her dad, Ralph, to talk about a confusing time for their family.
Abby knew her dad was sent to prison for larceny when she was a kid. But she didn’t understand why.
When they came to StoryCorps, Ralph had been out of prison for five years, and Abby came to understand more fully what happened.
Photo: Ralph Gagliardo, holding his daughter, Abby, the day after she was born in 2000. Courtesy Ralph Gagliardo.
In 2018, Abby is 17 and Ralph has been sober since 2012. He is also pursuing his bachelor’s degree, with plans to attend law school.
Ralph and Abby’s conversation was recorded through the StoryCorps Justice Project, which preserves and amplifies the stories of people who have been directly impacted by mass incarceration. Original support for the Justice Project was provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge, #RethinkJails and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
Originally aired April, 20, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Remembering DJ Simmonds, Officer Injured During Capture of Boston Marathon Bombers
On April 15, 2013, two explosives placed near the finish line of the Boston Marathon detonated within seconds of each other, killing three people and injuring over two hundred others.
In the days following the attack, a massive manhunt took place. Four days later, police confronted the bombers on a suburban street in nearby Watertown, Massachusetts.
Boston police officer D.J. Simmonds was one of the officers who arrived on the scene. He was injured by a homemade bomb the Tsarnaev brothers threw at police.
Simmonds’ injuries led to his death almost a year later.
At StoryCorps, his parents, Roxanne and Dennis Simmonds, sat down to remember their son.
Middle photo: D.J. Simmonds. Credit: Boston Police Department, via the Associated Press.
Bottom photo: from left to right, Dennis, Nicole, Roxanne, and D.J. Simmonds. Courtesy of the Simmonds family.
Originally aired April 13, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Brothers Living with Autism on Navigating Through Work and Life
Russell Wadsworth, 28, and his brother Remmick, 27, have been inseparable their entire lives.
They both have autism, and as kids, they had trouble with social interactions. But being just a year apart meant that they always had one another to lean on.
Including today, as they navigate the working world as two men in their twenties. At StoryCorps, Remmick talked about their experiences working together in a coffee shop.
Top photo: Russell Wadworth (L) and his younger brother, Remmick, in Temple Terrace, FL.
Middle photo: Remmick Wadsworth (L) and his older brother, Russell, c. 1994.
Originally aired April 5, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Religious School Rape and Abuse Survivors Confront The Past
When the New Bethany Home for Girls in Arcadia, Louisiana opened in 1971, the religious reform school was known as a safe haven for “wayward girls.”
Over the next three decades, law enforcement officials repeatedly investigated claims of physical and psychological child abuse at the school. Girls routinely ran away, and state officials raided the compound twice and removed children from the home.
Joanna Wright was 16 years old when she first arrived. She had been sexually abused at home and hoped the school would be a refuge. But when she got there, she was raped by the man in charge of the school.
For years, Joanna thought she was the only one. It wasn’t until years later that she connected with other former students, including Tara Cummings, who survived physical and psychological abuse while at New Bethany.
At StoryCorps, they shared difficult memories from their childhoods. Joanna begins their conversation.
In 2014, a group of women — including Joanna and Tara — came forward to say they were raped and abused at the school.
After a year-long investigation, a grand jury declined to indict the founder of the school. He died the following month.
Top photo: Joanna Wright with Tara Cummings in Cypress, Texas. Morgan Feigal-Stickles for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Outside the gates of the New Bethany Home for Girls in an archival photo from 1988. Ellis Lucia for the Times-Picayune.
Originally aired February 23, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
War Vets John (WWII) and Jerry (Vietnam) on Love and Their Marriage
John Banvard, 100, and Jerry Nadeau, 72, are military veterans, and served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively.
When they met in 1993, they were “sort of in the closet.” John’s wife of over 35 years had died nearly a decade prior and he had never been in a serious relationship with a man. Neither had Jerry.
At first, the two seemed worlds apart. John was a lover of art and theater, while Jerry was an outdoorsman. But they hit it off and soon became inseparable.
Today, they live together in a senior home for veterans in Chula Vista, California — just a few miles south of San Diego, where they were married in 2013.
Top photo: John Banvard (L) and Jerry Nadeau at their home in Chula Vista, CA.
Bottom photo: Jerry Nadeau (L) with John Banvard outside their home in Chula Vista, CA.
Originally aired February 09, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Doctors on Their Groundbreaking Multigenerational Passion for Medicine
Dr. Jenna Lester comes from a family of African American women who have dedicated their lives to medicine. Her grandmother, Ruby Brangman, became a nurse practitioner during the 1970s. At that time, Ruby was one of the first black women in her profession in New York state.
A generation later, Jenna’s mother, Sharon Brangman, became a doctor. Sharon says it was her own mother’s determination that set her on that path.
At StoryCorps in New York City, Jenna and Sharon sat down to reflect on their family’s legacy.
Top photo: Sharon Brangman and Jenna Lester at their StoryCorps interview in New York City.
Bottom photo: Sharon Brangman, Ruby Brangman, and Jenna Lester in 1988, when Jenna was three months old. Courtesy of the Brangman family.
Originally aired January 26, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.