‘Thanks for asking for our stories’: How we collected voicemails for this audio diary

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

Each hour of our national talk show, “Life, Community, and COVID-19,” features an audio diary with voices from around the country.

Not only does the diary bring more people into the broadcast, it also can be a way to use community engagement for a talk show.

For the May 2 show on “What COVID-19 reveals about how we care for our elderly,” the production staff used social media to ask people to leave voicemails of their experiences. Reporters also reached out directly to subjects they’ve interviewed before.

The resulting piece featured four people — three from Connecticut and one from Florida — talking about the pandemic’s impact on their lives.

A 66-year-old woman from Newtown, Conn., said she’s an active person who hasn’t been able to play in any senior sports since COVID-19 hit.

“So we’ve had to come up with other ways to stay healthy so that we are ready to play again once this is lifted.” For her, she said “It’s not just sports for us, it’s camaraderie, it’s time together.”

A woman whose aunt lives in assisted living in Mystic, Conn., told this story: “She was having breakfast in a room by herself and out her window, there were three men in hazmat suits looking at her. She went into an instant state of panic. She thought World War III had started and we couldn’t be there to help.”

A daughter in southeast Connecticut said her mother — a stroke victim who also has vascular dementia — has had to live without visits from private nurses since everything was “shuttered.” “For first time in four years my mother is on her own. I’m so sadly concerned about what lies ahead and the damage that has been done so far.”

Finally, a widow in Florida talked about losing her husband of 42 years last year. “I have a wonderful supportive family but it’s not the same as having the man who loved you unconditionally. … I join the grief we’re all feeling around the world for this terrible pandemic. I really have joy form people who support me and love me and that’s what’s keeping me going.”

The lesson we learned? Having people leave you a voicemail takes planning, time and effort. Just putting out the call via social media, even with a paid boost on Facebook, isn’t enough. And returning to previously interviewed subjects is a great option, too.

Just remember what this caller said: “Thanks for asking for our stories.”