Life Story Links: August 11, 2026
“If you are interviewing someone for an oral history, remember that you are not there simply to satisfy your personal curiosity. You represent future readers who will not know as much about the context of that person’s life and will need more explanations than are normally needed in conversations between people who know each other well.”
—James R. Hagerty, Yours Truly
Vintage photograph “Keeping Up With the Boys,” an old-timer structural worker at the Empire State Building, New York City, 1930, by Lewis Hine; from a 1998 print. Records of the Work Projects Administration (69-RP-4K-1). Courtesy Picturing the Century Exhibition, National Archives.
Personal history hodgepodge
BEST PRACTICES FOR RECORDING INTERVIEWS
“Recording a great interview is only the first step. How you handle that recording afterward—from transcription to storage to storytelling—determines whether those memories will endure for years or disappear with a crashed hard drive.”
104-YEAR-OLD TIME CAPSULE
“The concept of printed photos assembled into a scrapbook with the little whimsical captions Mary Ellen wrote—the names, the places, and that kind of stuff—it’s just a lost art. It’s a relic of the past.” A reporter traces the unexpected path of his grandmother’s photo album.
WORDS FOR NOW
Maggie Smith, the author of one of my favorite memoirs (You Could Make This Place Beautiful), takes the Six-Word Memoir Interview, expounding a little on the mini-memoir that applies to her life today.
A TALE OF TWO NAMES
“The call upon any of us to interpret a life is convoluted—especially if said life is played out on the public stage.” The editor of Kitchen Confidential attempts to reconcile the paradox of Tony Bourdain upon the release of the new biopic Tony.
AN ARCHIVE INFORMED BY LIVED EXPERIENCE
When Shape Arts began creating the UK’s National Disability Movement Archive and Collection (NDMAC), they knew that preserving history was only part of the job. “We also needed to think about how that history and heritage would be collected, who would feel able to contribute and who could access it.” (Learn more about how the Heritage Fund is investing in disability heritage.)
WE THE PEOPLE
The stories of one Civil War soldier might have been lost to history, if it wasn’t for one businessman with a passion for the past. Watch a special episode detailing his journey.
QUOTE-WORTHY
“Every kid feels that the world around them is not under their control necessarily. They're not controlling every part of their experience, but on the page, it's all yours, and you can write this linear narrative that makes sense, and no one can mess with it.” Go straight to the 11-minute mark to listen to Dave Eggers talk about the benefits of storytelling for young students, or start at the beginning for a delightful interview with a master writer:
Short takes
Dawn Roode’s curated roundup for the week of August 11, 2026, includes recent stories on memory-keeping, personal history interviews, and deciphering a life.