StoryCorps' MobileBooth Coming to The Porch at 30th Street

May 14, 2019 4 years ago

Calling all storytellers! StoryCorps, a renowned nonprofit organization celebrating the stories of everyday Americans, will record interviews in Philadelphia from May 28, 2019 to June 26, 2019 at The Porch at 30th Street Station as part of its cross-country MobileBooth tour. Having collected more than 65,000 interviews from Americans in all 50 states, StoryCorps has gathered one of the largest single collections of human voices ever recorded.

StoryCorps’ MobileBooth—an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio—will be parked at The Porch at 30th Street Station for the duration of its Philadelphia visit. In StoryCorps’ MobileBooth, two people are able to record a meaningful conversation with one another about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered. A trained StoryCorps facilitator guides them through the interview process. At the end of each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a complimentary CD copy of their interview. With participant permission, a second copy is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear.

The first batch of reservation slots were made available on May 14th and have already been scheduled. Additional appointments will be made available at 10 AM on Wednesday, May 29th, 2019. Reservations can be made by calling StoryCorps’ 24-hour toll-free reservation line at 1-800-850-4406 or visiting WHYY.org.

In Philadelphia, StoryCorps will partner with premiere public media organization WHYY. WHYY will air a selection of the local interviews recorded in the StoryCorps MobileBooth and create special programs around the project. StoryCorps may also share excerpts of these stories with the world through the project’s popular weekly NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books. Support for StoryCorps MobileBooth stop in Philadelphia was provided by Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center.