Stay Grounded With Raj Jana

“To get to that emotion, to get to that connection that I think we all crave, you have to be a good listener.” Humans have been connecting through stories since time immemorial. There’s something about stories that hook us in, build meaningful connection, and even leave us forever changed. This episode’s guest has been extracting and telling other people’s life stories for decades. Mike O’Krent’s journey started in 1996 when he spent four years interviewing Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. [Now the USC Shoah Foundation.]  This life-changing experience inspired Mike to master the art of listening - honing his interviewing skills to bring out the heart and essence of his interviewees.Through Mike’s work at Lifestories Alive, powerful stories don’t have to be left in the graveyard. Instead, they can be captured as a legacy for future generations to tap into their ancestry.“When you shut up long enough to really hear somebody you real