StoryCorps is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing people's stories to highlight the lives and stories all around us. Mississippi Public Broadcasting is partnering with StoryCorps to record conversations between Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds from Feb. 17 through March 20.
Since 2005, StoryCorps has facilitated thousands of meaningful conversations between people who know and care about one another. For the participants' safety during the coronavirus pandemic, StoryCorps offers appointments in a "virtual recording booth." Participants can record remotely from their homes using an internet-connected device.
Reservations for interviews are free and available to the public starting Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. To book your interview, visit storycorps.org/mpb.
A trained StoryCorps facilitator guides participants through the interview process step-by-step. After each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a link to download their interview. Their conversation is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear with the participant's permission.
The interview process and experience are conducted via StoryCorps Virtual, a new, browser-based platform that allows both participants to see and hear one another during their conversation and be joined and guided by a facilitator remotely.
The MPB News department, in collaboration with MPB Radio, will present selected stories for broadcast this summer.
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. The organization's goal is 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 an authentic 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. "During this pandemic, the value of preserving these stories, and of strengthening connections between people who may feel physically isolated, is more important than ever."
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is the founding partner of the StoryCorps Mobile Tour. CPB's support has enabled the StoryCorps Mobile Tour to visit 180 towns and cities nationwide since 2005, recording tens of thousands of stories.