Playlist: The Great Thanksgiving Listen
Compiled By: StoryCorps
StoryCorps' Great Thanksgiving Listen empowers young people—and people of all ages—to create an oral history of the United States by inviting people nationwide to honor someone in their lives by recording their story for future generations.
Participants can record an interview with someone in the same room using the free StoryCorps App or record with someone in a different location using our remote recording platform, StoryCorps Connect.
Encourage your listeners to participate by airing some of StoryCorps' most memorable intergenerational conversations.
Additional station support materials available at:
https://storycorps.org/stations/thegreatlisten/
PW: Danny loves Annie
StoryCorps Griot: Mary Othella Burnette and Debora Hamilton Palmer
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:37
Mary Othella Burnette tells her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, about “Granny Hayden,” a second-generation midwife in Black Appalachia.
Mary Othella Burnette tells her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, about “Granny Hayden,” a second-generation midwife in Black Appalachia.
StoryCorps: Jeffrey Perri and Tony Perri
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:04
Tony Perri speaks with his grandson, Jeffrey Perri, about being an older gay man and the closeness of their relationship.
- Playing
- StoryCorps: Jeffrey Perri and Tony Perri
- From
- StoryCorps
Tony Perri speaks with his grandson, Jeffrey Perri, about being an older gay man and the closeness of their relationship.
StoryCorps: Mohammad Ashraf Faridi and Muhammad Faridi
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:26
Muhammad Faridi talks to his father about what it was like growing up as the son of a cab driver.
Muhammad Faridi talks to his father about what it was like growing up as the son of a cab driver.
StoryCorps: Tan
From StoryCorps | 02:39
Grandma Crescenciana was no stranger to sacrificing for family. Her grandchildren called her Lola. They grew up hearing stories about her life in the Philippines and how hard she worked to survive. Four years after Lola passed, her grandson Kenneth came to StoryCorps to tell his mother Olivia about the greatest lesson Lola ever taught him.
- Playing
- StoryCorps: Tan
- From
- StoryCorps
Grandma Crescenciana was no stranger to sacrificing for family. Her grandchildren called her Lola. They grew up hearing stories about her life in the Philippines and how hard she worked to survive. Four years after Lola passed, her grandson Kenneth came to StoryCorps to tell his mother Olivia about the greatest lesson Lola ever taught him.
StoryCorps: Chloe Longfellow
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:22
Chloe Longfellow came to StoryCorps to remember some of the life lessons she learned as a kid, while spending time in her grandmother’s kitchen.
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- StoryCorps: Chloe Longfellow
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- StoryCorps
With her mother away, Chloe spent a great deal of time at her grandparents’ home becoming especially close with her grandmother, Doris Louise Rolison.
Despite living in the Arizona desert, Doris, who died in May, 1988, at the age of 67, maintained a lush garden of herbs and vegetables. Chloe would help harvest the food to make dishes from recipes found in one of her grandmother’s treasured cookbooks.
At StoryCorps, Chloe remembers the happy memories and life lessons taught to her by her grandmother, many of which took place while cooking in Doris’ kitchen.
StoryCorps: Karama Neal and Judge Olly Neal
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:32
Judge Olly Neal tells his daughter how discovering African American author Frank Yerby's books in his school library turned him around academically.
- Playing
- StoryCorps: Karama Neal and Judge Olly Neal
- From
- StoryCorps
Judge Olly Neal tells his daughter how discovering African American author Frank Yerby's books in his school library turned him around academically.
StoryCorps Legacy: Eva Vega-Olds and Leonardo Vega
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 03:24
After Leonardo Vega was diagnosed with cancer, his daughter, Eva Vega-Olds, used the StoryCorps app to record her father days before he passed.
StoryCorps: James Kennicott and Kara Masteller
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:52
Recorded using the StoryCorps app, a granddaughter learns about a difficult upbringing, loved ones lost, and gets advice on growing older.
- Playing
- StoryCorps: James Kennicott and Kara Masteller
- From
- StoryCorps
Since 2003, we have broadcast hundreds of conversations that were recorded in booths across the country, but this week, for the first time, we present one recorded in the front seat of a 1994 Buick.
Last month, Kara Masteller, 21, and her grandfather James Kennicott, sat together in a Waterloo, Iowa, mall parking lot and conducted a StoryCorps interview. They chose this location because James, who is 86 and resides in a local senior living facility, had no interested in sharing his business with any of the other people who live alongside him.
Their 16-minute long interview begins simply with Kara saying to her grandfather, “Tell me about yourself, where did you grow up?”
From there, Kara, the youngest of James’ 10 grandchildren, was able to get a man she described as unaccustomed to opening up about his life to briefly discuss his difficult upbringing. He then talked in greater detail about his beloved wife, Annie, who passed away in 2012, his work as a supervisor at the John Deere factory, the loss of his eldest son Chuck who suffered with Lou Gehrig’s disease, as well as his thoughts on life and advice for others as they age.
In a separate interview with StoryCorps, Kara, a senior at the University of Iowa, remembered her grandfather as once being an intimidating figure in her life, but as they have both grown older and maintained their close relationship, she now sees him as fun, protective, and loving. He’s a man who enjoys joking around, dancing, shooting pool, and playing the penny slots at a local casino.
During their conversation, James also offers Kara advice on a happy marriage, “You gotta kinda like each other…if something happened just say ‘I’m sorry’ and get it over with and make up,” because “when you get married, it’s kind of like the two of you are one. You think the same.” And on life in general, advising her to “keep it so the days don’t just go by and that’s all there is, a boring old day…let life roll on…it goes fast.” You need to “roll with age, don’t worry about it, it’s coming. Enjoy life, it’s wonderful.”
According to Kara, after their recording ended, James continued to share memories with her about Annie before they grabbed a cup of coffee and headed over to the casino to play the penny slots together.
StoryCorps Spanish Promo: The Great Thanksgiving Listen (:30)
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | :28
Spanish language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
Spanish language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorps English Promo: The Great Thanksgiving Listen (:30)
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | :30
English language Promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
English language Promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorps Spanish Promo: The Great Thanksgiving Listen (:60)
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 01:00
StoryCorps Spanish language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorps Spanish language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorps English Promo: The Great Thanksgiving Listen (:60)
From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | :55
English language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen
English language promo for The Great Thanksgiving Listen