Podcast Summary: “A Photographic Love Letter to the City from the HONY Founder”

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Brandon Stanton, founder of Humans of New York
Episode Date: October 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Brandon Stanton, creator of the massively popular Humans of New York (HONY) project, as he discusses his latest book Dear New York—a meticulously curated collection of photos and stories from his 15-year journey documenting the city’s diverse inhabitants. As the book launches alongside a large-scale public art installation at Grand Central Terminal, Stanton reflects on his evolution as a photographer, interviewer, and New Yorker, offering deep insights into what it means to truly see and listen to people in a metropolis defined by its constant motion and diversity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Origins and Evolution of Humans of New York

• Right Place, Right Time: Stanton began HONY 15 years ago, just as social media was gaining momentum.
  • “I just moved to the city, I'd only been photographing for about three months... and the social media kind of dawned right at that moment and it was just this tidal wave.” (02:04)
• Learning in Public: HONY’s first book sold nearly a million copies when Stanton had only three years of experience. Now, after interviewing 10,000+ people and working in 40 countries, he's refined his craft and wanted Dear New York to be the ultimate portrait of the city.
  • “I wanted to go back and take everything that I've learned about storytelling, everything that I've learned about photography, everything that I've learned about people, and create the most beautiful portrait of New York City that I possibly could.” (02:56)

The Art of Storytelling and Interviewing

• Active Listening and Presence: Stanton emphasizes the importance of listening deeply and making his subjects feel seen and comfortable.
  • “Every time I sit in front of a person, I just am trying as much as possible to disappear and to be a channel for this person's lived experience.” (03:45)
• Getting to Deeper Truths: Instead of surface-level stories people think they want to tell, the interview process uncovers hidden insights.
  • “The process is really digging down one question at a time to things that people might not have thought about or examined themselves. And that's what a really good interview is.” (04:44)

Why People Open Up to a Stranger

• The Need to be Seen: Stanton reflects on the “sacred” nature of being intensely listened to and how people often yearn for such attention.
  • “The act of having somebody very intensely listen to you is kind of a sacred thing...to have a partner in that, somebody who's just as interested in understanding you as you are in understanding yourself, is a very honoring thing.” (06:20)

Memorable Stories & Listener Favorites

• Mary O’s Scones (Listener Text, 07:53):
  • Mary O, originally running an Irish pub and struggling during COVID, began selling her mom’s Irish soda bread scones after her HONY story went live—she sold $1 million worth overnight and established a thriving shop with lines “around the block.”
  • “She sold $1 million worth of scones that night. Amazing.” (08:01)
• Tanqueray’s Epic Life Story (Listener Text, 16:16)
  • Stanton recounts stopping an older woman named Stephanie in a mink coat who revealed herself to be the “first black burlesque dancer to break into the white world.” Her dramatic, multi-chapter story captivated millions.
  • “Her world was just almost like a Martin Scorsese movie...I spent three months with this woman as opposed to one hour...54 chapters on Instagram, one post at a time, and 3 million people read it from first word to last.” (16:41)

Changing Approaches and Vulnerability

• Evolution Over Time: As Stanton has grown older, his approach has slowed, becoming more conversational and empathetic—a shift from “a young man in a hurry.”
  • “In this season of my life, it's very much more of a conversation...I've slowed down a lot. I think part of that's being 41 years old and evolving.” (09:23)

The Power and Pitfalls of Social Media

• Double-Edged Sword: Social media removed traditional gatekeepers, enabling HONY’s success; but algorithms now prioritize engagement over connection, sometimes reinforcing negative behaviors.
  • “All of my success was enabled by the pulling down of those gates and the democratization of social media. And then it's kind of morphed into something...the main metric...is how do we finagle our algorithms to make whoever's on the other end stare at the screen as long as possible.” (13:29)
  • “The cognitive dissonance that my success being so directly attributed to something that I want to shield my own children from is something I think about often.” (14:51)

What Makes Dear New York Unique

• Portraits of Every New Yorker: The book serves as a heartfelt mosaic of the city, focusing on all walks of life—from single mothers in the Bronx to newcomers fighting for security and dignity.
  • “It's not stopping people and asking them what they think about Donald Trump...it's what are you going through right now? What is this moment of your life right now?...giving that same sort of attention and focus that the media would give to people with status and money, to just the everyday person.” (12:24-13:14)

Grand Central Public Art Installation

• A Citywide Celebration: 150+ digital screens and 50-foot projections create an immersive portrait of NY at Grand Central Terminal, with schoolchildren’s photos included. The installation is heralded as the station’s largest transformation.
  • “The entire complex has been completely turned over to a celebration of the diversity and humanity of New York City...It's accompanied by an absolute historic amount of permissions and approvals from the mta.” (19:02)
  • “There's an exhibition that combines the work of professional photographers with 600 school children from around New York City that submitted their work through an open call.” (20:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the City as a Microcosm
  • “If New York City is where the world comes together, Grand Central is where all of New York comes together.” (19:02)
• On Hope for Humanity:
  • “I've been carrying around a $3,000 camera in every single neighborhood in New York City, stopping 10,000 random strangers for 15 years. I've never had anything bad happen to me. That's because the people of this city are decent and they're good... one on one, it's beautiful. And I think that's a hope for humanity.” (18:12)
• On the Role of Listening:
  • “The core of it is just listening.” (07:08)
• On Interviewing:
  • “I just don't want him to get hurt...by, like, falling on the street or being kidnapped by aliens or something.” (11:48–12:12)
  • And then Pluto, the son: “I am an alien,” (12:17)

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Highlights | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:09 | Introduction; Dear New York book and art installation | | 02:00 | HONY origins; learning in public | | 03:11 | The art of storytelling and deep listening | | 04:26 | How interviews go beyond surface stories | | 07:53 | Mary O's Scones story | | 09:23 | Changes in approach and emotional growth | | 11:02 | Photo of father and son; parenting and acceptance | | 13:29 | Reflections on social media’s promise and peril | | 16:16 | Listener favorite: Tanqueray’s story | | 17:35 | Why Grand Central Terminal represents NYC’s diversity | | 19:02 | Details of Dear New York’s art installation | | 20:20 | Schoolchildren’s photography in the installation |

Tone and Takeaway

The tone is reflective, earnest, and full of warmth—Brandon Stanton’s humility and passion for uplifting everyday people shines throughout. Both the book and the public art installation invite New Yorkers (and listeners everywhere) to appreciate the unseen, everyday stories at the heart of city life.

For more details, listen to the full episode of “All Of It” from October 8, 2025. The “Dear New York” Grand Central exhibition runs through October 19th.