Richard O'Connor

What does it take to become a Stepford wife, a woman perfect beyond belief? Ask the Stepford husbands, who've created this high-tech, terrifying little town.

Meet Nikola Tesla, the genius engineer and tireless inventor whose technology revolutionized the electrical age of the 20th century. Although eclipsed in fame by Edison and Marconi, it was Tesla's vision that paved the way for today's wireless world. His fertile but undisciplined imagination was the source of his genius but also his downfall, as the image of Tesla as a mad scientist came to overshadow his reputation as a brilliant innovator.

A documentary about autism and sensory perception that features live-action and animated segments.

A film about aggression and escalation.

In 1964, Lynn was one of 14 black students who integrated West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. During this difficult time in his life, there was one man who always made him feel safe and supported—his father, Ted Weaver—who worked as a janitor and chauffeur. At StoryCorps, Lynn talked to his daughter, Kimberly, about a lesson he learned from his father that extended beyond the classroom. [Overview Courtesy of StoryCorps]

How one doctor’s family is navigating COVID-19

On the verge of professional breakthrough, a young Bertolt Brecht reflects on relationships.

When Sharon Adams moved back to her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, she needed help with fixing her house. Initially there to do electrical work, Larry Adams found himself enamored by Sharon. The two fell in love and embarked on a new undertaking: revitalizing their neighborhood one lot at a time.

John Banvard and Jerry Nadeau are military veterans who served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively. John, 100, and Jerry, 72, sat down at the veterans home where they live to reflect on nearly 25 years together.

The difficulties faced by same-sex couples have created far too many stories of unrequited love. Glenda Elliott's story is one of them: Glenda came to StoryCorps to remember Lauree, the woman she fell in love with in small-town Georgia, at a time when it was difficult to imagine an acceptable path apart from marrying a man and starting a family. Though she and Lauree planned for a late-in-life reunion, fate interfered. In "A Certain Kind of Love," Glenda remembers the power of their bond.

Stefan Lynch was raised by gay parents in the early eighties. He was cared for and loved by a group of adults, largely gay men, who he called his “aunties.” Stefan remembers the succession of AIDS-related illnesses in his family, including the death of his father in ‘91. Even in the face of terrible sickness and loss, his aunties showed him how to survive and care for one another.

In 1998, a violent conflict forced Najat Hamza to flee her home in Oromia, a regional state in Ethiopia. She recalls the night she said goodbye to her mother before she, her father, and two siblings left for Kenya. Najat eventually settled down in Minnesota, but she still longs for a place she left behind. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]

John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. He raised three children with his wife Fannie Ruth, who was also blind and deaf.

Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden was born into enslavement in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She was 7 years old when she was freed. She stayed in Black Mountain and became a midwife, delivering several hundred babies including her own grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Mary Othella Burnette, came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, to honor the family matriarch. [Overview Courtesy of Storycorps]

It was just two days before Christmas in 1958 when John Cruitt's mother died after being seriously ill with multiple sclerosis. At the time, he was a student in Cecile Doyle's third grade class. And an act of kindness she showed him became stamped in his memory. So, more than 50 years later, he wrote her a letter.

Some sweet love stories start with chocolates and roses — but this one starts with a pet snake. Bud Jones started his taxidermy business when he was a teenager in Tallapoosa, Georgia. When Jackie and Bud went on their first date in 1954, she quickly discovered that she was in for a wild ride for love. At @StoryCorps, they shared the story of how the early adventures in their romance led to a lifelong partnership.

Mary Mills grew up as an only child in the 1960s in a quiet neighborhood near Santa Monica, California. Although Mary didn’t have siblings to play with, she was never lonely. There were plenty of children nearby, and they all wanted to be at her house where they would hang out with Mary… and her mom, Joyce Carter Mills. At StoryCorps, Mary brought her mom to tell her why she was “the mom every other kid wanted.”

Six-year-old Jerry Morrison is obsessed with outer space — so of course, his favorite person to talk to is his uncle Joey Jefferson, a Mission Operations Engineer at NASA. They talk all about favorite planets, how much more there is to learn, and Joey’s hopes for Jerry’s future.

For 25 years, Betty Thompson — who was lovingly referred to as “Miss Betty” — dedicated her career to Jackson Women’s Health Organization where she helped countless people who walked through those doors. In 2004, Jackson Women’s Health Organization became the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, and in 2022, it was forced to close as a result of the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. At StoryCorps, Betty reflects on her decision to help these women, and the experiences as a teenager in the 1960s that brought her to her calling.

In 1930s Brooklyn, Van Harris met his wife-to-be, Shirley — blooming into a 75-year romance. For nearly 40 years, they performed comedy together in Borscht Belt resorts in New York State. Beyond the stage, there was another place they loved to spend their time — Dubrow’s Cafeteria. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]