Narrative

Putting an end to domestic abuse begins with identifying its various forms, which are not always physical. SCCADVASA's Sara Barber explains the nuances of domestic abuse, and how victims can safely plan to leave an abusive environment.

Robert Feinstein and Jessica Elfenbein sat down with StoryCorps to reflect on how South Carolina ticked all the boxes on a checklist they had compiled long before considering their move to Columbia.

According to the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault ( SCCADVASA ), more than 30 thousand cases of intimate partner violence are reported each year in our state. Olivia’s case is among those.

Cecil Williams is well-known as a chronicler of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina and the founder of the South Carolina Civil Rights Museum. In 2024, Williams joined University of South Carolina history professor Bobby Donaldson at StoryCorps to share how his love of photography evolved into a passionate, lifelong career.

Columbia residents Irene Tyson and Reba Campbell met nearly 40 years ago while living in Washington D.C., where regular gatherings at a small supper club evolved into a lifelong friendship.

Harvest Hope Food Bank partners with local farmers like Willie Capehart. He joined board member Yvonne Johnson at StoryCorps to discuss their work for South Carolina’s largest food bank, and why it matters to the communities it serves.

After more than 30 years, Fielding Freed still lives with the pain of his brother’s death. He joined his wife, Lana Burgess, at StoryCorps to explain how losing a loved one to suicide affects those who are left behind.

Dr. Jennifer Baumstark and Tia Tucker-Cain discuss how midwives and doulas can help improve maternal health outcomes by collaborating with traditional medical care.

In 2024, broadcaster Don Frierson and musician 2Ru3 met up at StoryCorps to discuss how music, particularly in the African American culture, has changed between their generations and what those shifts reveal about the culture itself.

When COVID-19 patient Len Fouch awoke in a Spartanburg ICU on February 4, 2021, he found himself in soft restraints to prevent him from pulling out his tubes, and a nurse named Cat Wynkoop was reassuring him that she was taking care of him, and that he would be okay.

Sally Garris met the man who would eventually become husband while attending Erskine College. He took an academic pause to serve in the U.S. military, and during that time, he and Sally stayed in touch not only by exchanging letters, but also through their shared love of the Atlanta Braves.

According to the State Department of Public Health, South Carolina ranks the 8th highest in the U.S. for maternal mortality. Dr. Kari-Claudia Allen Harrington recently joined community health worker Mike Young at SC Public Radio’s studios to discuss eliminating preventable maternal deaths in our state.

South Carolina newlyweds Jamal and Adrienne Davis looked forward to having children, but soon began encountering fertility issues. Through their struggle, they began to see social and spiritual encounters through a brand-new lens.

Each day, close to 24 million women across the country head out to work after tending to their children. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, working moms account for nearly one-third of all employed women.

Priscila Ramirez recently joined her daughter, Elen Callahan, at StoryCorps to share what it was like coming to an unfamiliar country with her husband and only $120 between them to see if they, too, could experience “The American Dream.”

Jennifer Erdin joins her husband, Ben, and son, Josh, at StoryCorps to share what inspired her to join Harvest Hope’s mission to help eliminate food insecurity across the Palmetto State.

When Harriet Hancock's middle child, Greg, came out to her as gay, she instantly accepted and supported him. But she learned that his friends who were gay had not received the same kind of acceptance as she had given her son.

This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Nicholas Milano about the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Milano is a neurologist specializing in cognitive disorders and dementia and he’s Director of the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Network (SCAN) at MUSC. 

In aviation, a pilot checklist is an essential tool used to ensure flight safety, legal compliance, and airworthiness of the craft to be flown. The checklist exists thanks to a man named Ployer Peter Hill. Or, as South Carolina’s Carol McLaren knew him, “Uncle Ployer.”

On May 16, 2024, Shaheena Bennett was sworn in as the first Black female president of the South Carolina Bar Association. A month before, she and her colleague, Nekki Shutt, sat down with StoryCorps to talk about what led to that groundbreaking moment.

Beth DeHart and her son, Jonah DeHart-Thompson, have dedicated their lives to serving and improving South Carolina communities. From the moment Jonah was conceived in the hearts of his two mothers, it was their intention to show him he was not only special, but that every person was special and deserved to be loved and cared for, regardless of their background.

How different is life as a teenager from generation to generation? That’s what 15-year-old Daniel Brown sought to find out when he invited his grandfather, Steve Garris, to the StoryCorps studio to share what it was like growing up in a small southern town. Garris reflects on his youth, from misadventures to falling in love with the music that became the soundtrack to his life in Andrews, South Ca...

Christine Currie and Jacelyn Arradaza met while working at the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. In 2024, they sat down with StoryCorps to share some personal experiences that inspired them to bring a greater understanding of Asian history and culture into our nation’s schools.

Laura Tolliver Jefferson was a consequential figure among Columbia’s Little Camden, Arthurtown, and Taylors communities. During her lifetime, Jefferson was a strong advocate for literacy, civic engagement, and bringing essential systems like sidewalks, streetlights, water, and sewage access to her community. 

In 1967, Lee Cannon enlisted in the Air National Guard, where he served eight years as a navigator. In 2024, he sat down with his daughter, Leah, at StoryCorps to explain the unique nature of his job, and to fill in the gaps of a remarkable story he had once told her when she was a child.