Oral-history project and nonprofit StoryCorps encourages friends and family to record meaningful conversations with each other that will later be archived in the Library of Congress.

What we love: How easy it is to record an interview and share it with others. Select from time-tested questions based on who you’re talking to, start recording right in the app, and publish your interview for others to enjoy in StoryCorps. (You can also keep your recording private.) Select interviews might be featured on the StoryCorps podcast and other digital platforms.

Quick tip: Join the One Small Step program to be matched with an interview partner who has different political views from you. You’ll be invited to share a 50-minute conversation that could remind you how much we all have in common. To join, select “Record as part of a program” when you tap the mic button.

Meet the creator: “The app is not just a plain audio recorder,” says Martin Olson, director of technical and digital innovation. “We use our 25-plus years of experience in what makes a good conversation to give everything you need to make this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity count.” Since its founding in 2003, StoryCorps has preserved conversations between over 700,000 people.