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Featured story: Podcast: The Gospel Ranger
Outside the Appalachian mountains, his name was barely known. But Brother Claude Ely influenced some of the pioneers of rock & roll.
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Featured story: Podcast: Walter the Seltzerman
Once there were thousands of seltzer men in New York City. Today, Walter Backerman is one of the last.
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Featured story: Podcast: The Long Shadow of Forrest Carter
Asa Carter and Forrest Carter couldn’t have been more different. But they shared a secret.
Diaries We give people tape recorders and help them document their own lives in their own words
Amanda’s Diary: Girlfriend
Amanda is gay. Amanda’s family is Catholic. And she’s having a hard time convincing her parents that this is not “just a phase.”
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Juan: 16 Years Later
16 years ago, Juan reported on his life as a recent Mexican immigrant living in poverty in Texas. In his new diary, Juan takes us on a tour of the life he has built since he first crossed the Rio Grande. It looks a lot like the typical American dream: a house, 2 cars, 3 kids—except for the fact he’s still living illegally in the U.S.
ListenPortraits Extraordinary stories from ordinary places
The Last Man on the Mountain
In the 1990s, Arch Coal began mining Pigeonroost Hollow. Now Jimmy Weekley is the last person left there.
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Selma Koch, Bra Saleswoman
94-year old Selma Koch runs the Town Shop, one of New York’s last old-style bra fitting shops.
ListenHistories Weaving together oral histories and archival tape to bring the past to life
Becoming Nelson Mandela
Mandela was a lawyer, freedom fighter, leader of the African National Congress, and finally, president.
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West Side Story: Michael Farmer and the Murder that Shocked New York
More than fifty years ago, Puerto Rican and black gang members in New York City fatally stabbed Michael Farmer, a white teenager.
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