Shane Fairchild and Sayer Johnson

Shane Fairchild (above left), a transgender man, lived with his wife, Blue Bauer, a transgender woman (pictured at left), for almost six years.

Blue transitioned when she was 54 years old. She and Shane met at a bar and were inseparable. But then Blue got lung cancer. She died on April 12, 2013.

Shane sat down with their friend, Sayer Johnson (top right), to remember Blue.

Originally aired January 25, 2015, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Photo Courtesy of Shane Fairchild.

Meaghan Starkloff Breitenstein and Colleen Kelly Starkloff

In his early 20s, Max Starkloff was in a near-fatal car accident, which left him quadriplegic and living in a nursing home.

One day he came across a young woman who worked there, named Colleen. At StoryCorps in St. Louis, Colleen Kelly Starkloff (right) sat down with her daughter, Meaghan Starkloff Breitenstein (left), to remember Max.

Originally aired January 16, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo of Max Starkloff courtesy of Colleen Kelly Starkloff.

Sandra Sowder and Marcia Sutton

Sandra Sowder (left) and Marcia Sutton (right) met in a small town outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Over time, they fell in love. When they made their relationship public, their worlds turned upside down.

The couple sat down together at StoryCorps to talk about what happened next.

Originally aired September 21, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

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.

David Wright and Eddie Lanier Jr.

Eddie Lanier Jr. (above right) met David Wright (above left) while panhandling on a highway exit ramp. Eddie was homeless and fighting to stay sober. The two men became friends, and in 2006 David interviewed Eddie at a StoryCorps booth in Durham, North Carolina.

Click here to listen to their first interview.

In 2014, StoryCorps returned to Durham. Eddie and David, who then lived together, came back for a second interview. At the time, Eddie was suffering from a very advanced stage of emphysema and didn’t have long to live. At StoryCorps, he spoke about the end of his life.

Eddie passed away five months after his second StoryCorps interview.

Click here to watch “The Road Home,” the StoryCorps animation of Eddie and David’s story.

Originally aired May 9, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Jeff Lasater and Drew Cartwright

At 14, Jeremiah Lasater, pictured at left in his football uniform, towered over his classmates and struggled with a learning disability.

A gentle giant, he was an easy target for bullying, until he finally took his own life.

His father, Jeff Lasater (above left), came to StoryCorps with his friend Drew Cartwright (above right) to remember Jeremiah.

Since Jeremiah’s death in 2008, Jeff has devoted himself to preventing bullying of kids with special needs.

Originally aired January 31, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition

Photo courtesy of the Lasater family.

Robin Share and Rami Aizic

Since childhood, Rami Aizic knew he always wanted to be a father and just assumed that one day he would meet a woman, fall in love, and it would all fall into place.

Then he realized he was gay.

Robin Share wanted to be a mother, but she did not have a partner, so when a friend introduced them and they hit it off, they began making plans to have a baby together.

At StoryCorps, Rami and Robin talk about their journey to become parents to their now 14-year-old daughter.

Originally aired November 1, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Starr Cookman and Kylee Moreland Fenton

Starr Cookman (left) and Kylee Moreland Fenton (right) have been best friends since they were children—even trying to become blood sisters. And today, they remain just as close, living on the same street as each other with their families.

Kylee is a nurse and soon after Starr’s son Rowan was born, he began breathing rapidly and spitting up food. This concerned Kylee and she recommended getting him to a doctor immediately. It turned out there was something wrong with his heart and he was rushed into surgery, saving his life.

At StoryCorps, Starr and Kylee discuss the bond between them that has only grown stronger over time.

Originally aired October 18, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Dawn Burke and Don Burke

There was a time when Dawn Burke considered rats to be filthy animals. That was until a neighbor introduced her to them as pets. Eventually she brought a rat home from a pet shop and from there her collection of pet rats began to grow.

At StoryCorps, Dawn and her husband, Don, discuss their love of a rodent many others vilify, and the sanctuary they have opened to care for mistreated, sick, or unwanted rats.

Originally aired October 4, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Diane Kenney and her sister Linda Kenney Miller

Linda Kenney (R) Miller and her sister Diane Kenney (L) remember their grandfather, Dr. John A. Kenney, who founded the first hospital for African Americans in Newark, NJ.