Wisconsin Public Radio is recognizing 50 years of the U.S. Peace Corps with a special series of broadcasts, November 5-11.
Since 1961, Wisconsinites have responded to President John F. Kennedy’s call for international service in record numbers. More than 2,942 UW-Madison alumni have served in the program, second only to the University of California-Berkeley on the all-time service list.
The broadcasts kicked off with Peace Corps Voices, a one-hour documentary from independent producer Amy Mayer that includes interviews with volunteers who served around the world during each of the past five decades and recordings that they made in their host country.
This also features a special series of Story Corps segments recorded in Madison during the spring 2011. These personal interviews were conducted by the national Story Corps initiative in conjunction with the UW-Madison’s African Studies Program conference “Peace Corps and Africa: Honoring 50 Years.”
The documentary and interviews are available for listening online.