Crosscurrents

All week long we've been playing this sound, and asking you to guess what exactly it is and where exactly in the Bay Area we recorded it.

  San Francisco's Homeless moms march on City Hall, Story Corps founder Dave Isay discusses the power of conversation among loved ones, one person's story of reconnecting with a mom she never knew, the Audiograph answer of the week, and local musician Thurl.

A few years ago, I got a phone call.

It was about my mother. She had died suddenly. Her next door neighbor found her slumped in the doorway of her apartment in Roanoke, Virginia. Although it had been 20 years since I last saw my mother, I was the next of kin, so it was up to me to decide what to do. I called the local mortuary, Oakey's. I chose cremation (it was the cheapest option). I didn't go to Virginia. I didn’t attend the funeral. Someone else cleaned out her apartment.

StoryCorps is a national project that records of conversations between loved ones. Parents and their children, siblings, spouses and friends sit in a sound studio booth and record and interview with each other. StoryCorps is the brainchild of Dave Isay, an award winning documentary producer, and author of the book, Mom. Since he has inspired others to interview each other, we thought it would be nice to interview him. Isay sat down with KALW's Holly Kernan.

This weekend brings not just Mother’s Day, but National Garden Day, too! Find out some ways to celebrate them both – and where you can exercise your mind and body – in this week’s Arts/Culture/Weekend!