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.

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.

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 Carolina.

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.