Fridays on Morning Edition, it never fails. The week's StoryCorps piece fades out to a swell of waterworks from listeners nationwide. We at NPR are far from immune. Go ahead, listen to Host Steve Inskeep's wrap up of this particularly heartening conversation (at 2:35) between a single mom and her daughter and try not to choke up.
StoryCorps is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, so let's all let loose and have a good cry together tomorrow. Sound good? All you need to do is Tweet, post a photo on Instagram or message nprnews on Snapchat sharing your cry face (note: the photo does not have to be serious or capture real tears, as per our example). Tag it #StoryCorps10, and we'll share some of our favorites.
Before you get snapping, you can prep your ducts with these anecdotes from NPR journalists and staff about StoryCorps:
Steve Inskeep, Morning Edition host
"Hardly a Friday goes by without StoryCorps prompting messages to me on Twitter – reports of running mascara, of cars stopped by the side of the road, breakfast interrupted, tissue consumed. It's not always that the StoryCorps is sad! I think it is, rather, that StoryCorps is honest, and people feel a connection to it. It's amazing how eloquent people can be when they express the thoughts that so long have been in their hearts."
Shankar Vedantam, NPR Science correspondent
"We cry when we are moved, and we are moved by stories on the radio because radio is an evocative medium that harnesses our imaginations. StoryCorps puts us in the shoes of the people who are experiencing powerful emotions, and human beings are very good at connecting with the emotional states of other human beings. There are probably evolutionary reasons underpinning our capacity for empathy. For those that are curious, this paper talks about a system in the brain that may be responsible."
Tiffanie Luckett, NPR Institutional Giving
"I think I was on my way to my last interview at NPR when this story came on. StoryCorps often makes me cry, but this one made me cry so hard I had to pull the car over. I was already emotionally fragile, because I really wanted to work at NPR, and then this story just put me over the edge completely. It remains among my favorites."
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