Nationwide One Small Step Initiative offers opportunity for people to talk about life experiences that formed their values and to listen with respect
HPPR Selected as One of Six Stations Nation-wide
While Americans face challenges unlike any other time in our history, High Plains Public Radio in partnership with StoryCorps, the national nonprofit dedicated to recording and preserving personal stories, invites people to take part in meaningful conversations that are recorded for history. With support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, HPPR is one of six stations/networks across the country selected to take part in StoryCorps’ One Small Step initiative to facilitate and broadcast conversations with Americans of opposing viewpoints. With participant permission, these conversations are preserved for future generations at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
High Plains Public Radio plans to broadcast edited versions of select submissions from its local communities.
“We’re very excited to join in this project, and hope to bring many High Plains voices to the table,” said HPPR Executive Director Will Murphy. “Public radio, and HPPR in particular, is about bringing people together for civil conversation, and this seemed like a great opportunity for area residents to talk with one another, rather than at one another.”
“Recent polls demonstrate what most of us have already experienced first-hand: that there is a pervasive culture of contempt that threatens the very foundations of our democracy. According to a CBS News poll released earlier this year, more than half of all Americans say the greatest danger to America’s way of life comes from their fellow citizens,” said Dave Isay, Founder and President of StoryCorps. “One Small Step aims to remind people of the humanity in all of us, and that it’s hard to hate up close. These communities can model this change for the rest of the country.”
“StoryCorps uses its innovative approach to sharing stories in its One Small Step Communities initiative to foster understanding and respect, even among people who deeply disagree,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “By working with High Plains Public Radio to connect people with different backgrounds and political beliefs, One Small Step is helping HPPR strengthen their communities, one step at a time. CPB is very pleased to support this effort.”
Launched by StoryCorps in 2018 in response to growing division in the country, One Small Step is a nationwide initiative that provides two strangers who hold different views with the opportunity to take part in facilitated and recorded conversations—specifically to counteract intensifying hostility and to enable those who disagree to listen to each other with respect. Rather than spark additional partisan debates, One Small Step encourages answers to questions such as, “Was there a moment, event, or person in your life that shaped your political views?” and “What scares you most when you think about the future?”
HPPR encourages residents of the High Plains to take part in this limited-time opportunity:
● Information about how to participate is at HPPR.org.
● In locations where COVID social distancing requirements remain in place, High Plains Public Radio will use StoryCorps’ remote recording platform, which pairs two strangers for a conversation over video which is hosted by a trained facilitator.
High Plains Public Radio will also team up with a variety of community organizations to spread the word and will collaborate with StoryCorps to match participants and record conversations through the end of the year. The project will include a series of public listening events, streamed online, in fall 2021. Find out how your organization can partner with High Plains Public Radio at HPPR.org.
High Plains Public Radio’s participation in the One Small Step Communities project is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. StoryCorps’ national One Small Step initiative is made possible by the generous support of The Hearthland Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Charles Koch Institute.
About High Plains Public Radio: HPPR was founded over 40 years ago with one station located in Pierceville, Kansas. In the intervening four decades, it has spread to provide primary public broadcasting service to western Kansas, Eastern Colorado, the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, and portions of Nebraska and New Mexico. HPPR operates a mix of news and music, while a second channel, HPPR Connect, focuses on news and talk programming. In addition to broadcast options, HPPR can be accessed via stream on laptop or smart speaker, or through a readily available mobile app.
