AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

Critics are accusing President Trump of exploiting the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from Britain for his own personal advancement. So far, he’s hosted a UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, event on the White House lawn that raised questions of political profiteering and conflicts of interest. Last week, Trump kicked off a bonanza on the National Mall in Washington called the Great American State Fair, featuring a gleaming portrait of himself. And on Friday, Trump unveiled an updated design for a proposed commemorative U.S. passport with a large image of himself superimposed on the Declaration of Independence.

Well, our next guest is celebrating the nation’s independence a little differently. StoryCorps founder Dave Isay’s latest effort asks Americans to do something increasingly rare: connect with someone they’ve never met and have a real conversation. The initiative is called Connect250, created by StoryCorps in partnership with NPR’s Morning Edition, and invites strangers from across the country to interview each other about their lives, families and formative life experiences. Here’s a video explaining how it works.

CONNECT250 EXPLAINER: We’re pairing strangers from across the country to record a 40-minute conversation to learn about each other’s lives. These recordings will be archived at the Library of Congress, creating a time capsule of who we are right now as America celebrates its 250th birthday. With our digital platform Connect250, you can participate in a self-guided conversation. Select your partner from personalized matches, schedule a meeting, and then record a conversation using our video platform. Every step of the way, we provide you with guidance, so you can have a successful conversation. First, fill out a short form and opt in to Connect250. Next, follow the directions you’ll receive through emails and on our website to complete the process, from being matched to scheduling your video call to having your virtual conversation. We hope it’ll be the first of many. America, get ready to meet America.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, preregistrations open now. The recording portal opens July 7th.

For more, we’re joined by Dave Isay, the Peabody Award-winning radio producer, MacArthur “genius” fellow, founder of StoryCorps, author of numerous books on the power of listening and oral history, got his start at WBAI, Pacifica Radio in New York.

Dave, welcome back to Democracy Now! If you can just explain what Connect250 is?

DAVE ISAY: Sure. And I just want to clarify: I got my start with Amy Goodman, not just at BAI.

So, Connect250 is as — we were underwhelmed by everything that was going on for 250, kind of like what you said, and decided to try to do something that was built to last. So, we are building this — this is all very recent. We started about a month ago. And we’re building a platform very quickly, as you said, Connect250, where you can come and meet a stranger — it’s kind of like a dating app — and then record an interview for 40 minutes. It goes to the Library of Congress. So, it’s a standard StoryCorps interview. Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you have to have this stranger with you? They wouldn’t be a stranger —

DAVE ISAY: No, no, no, no, no.

AMY GOODMAN: — if you did. You just sign up.

DAVE ISAY: You sign up.

AMY GOODMAN: And you’re paired up?

DAVE ISAY: And you match yourself with a stranger. You can see a whole bunch of different bios and the first name and where they live. And then you say, “OK, I want to talk to this person.” And then, if they want to talk to you, you’re paired up, and you do this video interview on a protected platform.

Like, I could imagine that people would think this a little bit scary, but it’s unbelievably fun. As you know, you know, I was thinking — I was talking to the guy who founded StoryCorps with me, who saw you in Providence over the weekend. And he reminded me that when I started StoryCorps, he said, “Why are you doing this?” And I said, “I want other people, I want everybody to know what it feels like to get to interview someone, to have that, like, amazing feeling of honoring someone by listening to their story.” So, this is kind of the ultimate expression of that.

And we are open for preregistration now, so we want everybody who listens to Democracy Now! to preregister at Connect250.org. We’ve had thousands and thousands of people preregister so far. And we want to create something that’s going to last until 350.

AMY GOODMAN: So, for people who don’t know what StoryCorps is, explain, and the fact that it’s being archived now by the Library of Congress. Is that also true for Connect250?

DAVE ISAY: Everything goes to the Library of Congress, yeah. We’ve had about 750,000 people participate. And again, very much in the spirit — this whole thing is very much in the spirit of Amy Goodman. We have booths across the country where you can come and listen to a loved one.

AMY GOODMAN: Booths, not booze.

DAVE ISAY: Booths, booths, yes, not booze. And you listen — you have a conversation with, say, your grandmother for 40 minutes, and at the end of the interview, it goes to the Library of Congress. So, this is a little bit different, because it’s strangers talking to each other. But as you know, it’s a beautiful thing. I mean, why are we alive, if not to take a little bit of a risk and to get to know people who we might not otherwise get the chance to talk to?

AMY GOODMAN: And isn’t it equal? You interview each other?

DAVE ISAY: Yes, yeah. And you ask those great StoryCorps questions. You know, who was kindest to you in your life? How do you want to be remembered? It’s a very — it’s actually a very hopeful project. StoryCorps, as a whole, 750,000 people across the country. And we have these facilitators who bear witness to these interviews. And to a person, if you ask them what they’ve learned, they give a version of the Anne Frank quote, that people are basically good. So, it’s something — we have to hold on to hope. We have to hold on to hope. And StoryCorps, I think, is a hope machine and a love machine. And I just hope everybody participates.

AMY GOODMAN: And they go to?

DAVE ISAY: They go to Connect250.org to preregister right now. And then you’ll get — the portal opens on July 7th, and you’ll get to do your interview July 7th through the end of July.

AMY GOODMAN: Dave, thanks so much for coming in and for your creativity and all of your work. Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps. The new project is called Connect250.

Oh, and Democracy Now! has job openings. Go to democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.