As the country marks its 250th anniversary, StoryCorps is inviting Americans to take part in a national experiment in connection — by talking with a stranger.
Connect 250, a collaboration with NPR’s Morning Edition, matches participants with someone from another part of the country for a 40-minute conversation about their lives. The interviews can become part of the nation’s historical record, with conversations preserved at the Library of Congress.
For StoryCorps founder Dave Isay, the project builds on an idea that has guided the nonprofit since it began in 2003 with a recording booth in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.
Isay said his years as a radio documentary producer showed him the power of asking people questions they might never otherwise be asked.
“I wanted everyone to have the experience that I had of being able to ask questions like this,” Isay said.
What began as a project Isay expected to last about a decade has now continued for more than 20 years.
“StoryCorps is playing in the sandbox of humanity,” he said. “It’s just about who we are as human beings.”
StoryCorps has previously developed programs that bring strangers together across political differences, including One Small Step. Radio Catskill was a One Small Step participant in 2024. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization also created a way for people to conduct StoryCorps conversations over video.
For the 250th anniversary, Isay said StoryCorps wanted to create something quieter and more personal than many of the country’s larger celebrations.
“We wanted to do something in the spirit of StoryCorps and Public Broadcasting that’s more a whisper in your ear,” he said.
The project was developed in roughly six or seven weeks, Isay said. More than 10,000 people had pre-registered before the platform opened in early July, and interviews continue to come in.
Isay describes Connect 250 as a way to counter isolation and distrust by creating opportunities for people to meet and listen to one another.
“StoryCorps is, I like to think, kind of a hope machine, a proximity machine, and an empathy machine,” he said.
He said conversations with strangers can sometimes produce an unexpected level of openness. Isay has participated in two Connect 250 interviews himself, including one in which he became emotional.
“I think we hope that Connect 250 and StoryCorps as a whole just draws us a little bit closer together,” he said.
The Connect 250 platform remains open, with registration ending Aug. 31. Isay is encouraging people across the Catskills and beyond to participate.
He hopes the conversations will give future generations a more personal picture of America at 250 years old.
“We wanted to do something that was going to survive until the 350th,” Isay said.
Image Credit: StoryCorps