StoryCorps, a renowned nonprofit organization celebrating the stories of everyday Americans, will record interviews in Cincinnati from Thursday, April 20 to Friday, May 19 as part of its cross-country MobileBooth tour. Having collected more than 65,000 interviews from Americans in all 50 states, StoryCorps has gathered one of the largest single collection of human voices ever recorded.
StoryCorps’ MobileBooth — an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio — will be parked at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
To welcome them to town, a brief Opening Ceremony will take place from 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 at the MobileBooth. The public is invited to join in this welcome. Included in the program:
• Murray Sinclaire from Ross Sinclaire Associates, a member of the board of Cincinnati Public Radio, the NPR Foundation, and StoryCorps
• Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., Pastor at New Jerusalem Baptist Church and chair of the Board of Directors of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
• Pauletta Hansel, Cincinnati’s Poet Laureate, will recite one of her poems and present StoryCorps a proclamation from the City.
• Tim Maloney, President & Chief Executive Officer, Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation (also speaking on behalf of fellow sponsor, The Johnson Foundation)
• Richard Eiswerth, President/CEO/General Manager, Cincinnati Public Radio
• Dan Hurley, Interim President, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• Maryanne Zeleznik, News Director of 91.7 WVXU, will emcee.
There will also be a short time available for tours of the MobileBooth, a retrofitted Airstream trailer.
Reservations for recording your story can be made by calling StoryCorps’ 24-hour toll-free reservation line at 1-800-850-4406 or visiting storycorps.org. Additional appointments will be available on Friday, April 21.
In StoryCorps’ MobileBooth, two people are able to record a meaningful conversation with one another about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered. A trained StoryCorps facilitator guides them through the interview process. At the end of each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a complimentary CD copy of their interview. With participant permission, a second copy is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear.
Founded in 2003 by award-winning documentary producer and MacArthur Fellow Dave Isay, StoryCorps has traveled to every corner of the country to record interviews in the organization’s effort to create a world where we listen closely to each other and recognize the beauty, grace and poetry in the lives and stories we find all around us.
“StoryCorps tells the true American story—that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness and heroism. Each interview reminds people that their lives matter and will not be forgotten,” said Isay. “By strengthening connections between people and building an archive that reflects the rich diversity of American voices, we hope to build StoryCorps into an enduring institution that will touch the lives of every American family.”
In Cincinnati, StoryCorps will partner with 91.7 WVXU, the local NPR station. 91.7 WVXU will air a selection of the local interviews recorded in the StoryCorps MobileBooth and create special programs around the project. StoryCorps may also share excerpts of these stories with the world through the project’s popular weekly NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books.
“It’s been 8 years since the last visit from StoryCorps, and much has changed in Cincinnati since then,” said Richard Eiswerth, GM and President of Cincinnati Public Radio, home to 91.7 WVXU. “We are looking forward to welcoming a wide cross-section of our local community to the MobileBooth to record their unique, personal stories for posterity.”
Founded in 2003 by MacArthur Fellow Dave Isay, the nonprofit organization StoryCorps has given more than 100,000 Americans the chance to record interviews about their lives, pass wisdom from one generation to the next, and leave a legacy for the future. It is the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. In the coming years StoryCorps hopes to touch the lives of every American family.
Participating in StoryCorps couldn’t be easier: You invite a loved one, or anyone else you chose, to one of the StoryCorps recording sites. There you’re met by a trained facilitator, who greets you and explains the interview process. You’re then brought into a quiet recording room and seated across from your interview partner, each of you in front of a microphone. The facilitator hits “record,” and you share a 40-minute conversation.
At the end of the session, you walk away with a CD, and a digital file goes to the Library of Congress, where it will be preserved for generations to come. Someday your great-great-great-grandchildren will be able to meet your grandfather, your mother, your best friend, or whomever it is you chose to honor with a StoryCorps interview.
StoryCorps aims to be an enduring institution that celebrates the dignity, power, and grace that can be heard in the stories we find all around us, and helps us recognize that every life and every story matter equally.
