Podcast
American Railroad
Hosted by Silkroad · EN
Embark on "American Railroad," a five-episode podcast that seeks to highlight the untold stories and unheard voices from the diverse communities that built America’s railway systems. Hosted by Grammy Award-winning musician and Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, American Railroad is produced in partnership with PRX.
Silkroad, founded by Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, was inspired by the historical Silk Road and created as a model for cultural collaboration through music. In 2020, Rhiannon Giddens was named Artistic Director and immediately embarked on a mission to unearth the forgotten stories of America. Silkroad’s American Railroad project—years in the making—embodies Giddens’s vision for the Ensemble by shedding light on those erased or overlooked in American history while showcasing Silkroad's unique ability to amplify diverse voices. The project has since evolved into cross-country tours and performances, recording releases, educational materials, and this podcast series.
After the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, a trip from coast to coast that used to take months was shortened to just under a week, allowing for the transport of goods and ideas across the continent in ways previously inconceivable. Profit-seeking corporations and the American government financed it, but the people who actually built and were most affected by it are the focus — Indigenous and African Americans as well Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrant laborers whose contributions have been largely erased from history. Silkroad’s American Railroad seeks to paint a more accurate picture of the global diasporic origin of the American Empire.
Each episode weaves music, storytelling, and historical analysis, traveling to railroad communities across the U.S. From the Chinese and Japanese laborers' crucial role in California's railroads, to the tragic tale of Black convict laborers in North Carolina, and the intersection of music and labor history in New York and Boston, the series brings to light the stories that have long been marginalized. The journey also takes us to the Standing Rock Reservation, showcasing the resilience and musical traditions of the Lakota community. Through intimate interviews with local culture bearers, historians, and Silkroad’s musicians, "American Railroad" paints a more accurate and inclusive picture of America's history.
Join us weekly on Thursdays as we amplify the voices of those who have long been silenced, celebrate the diversity that built America, and uncover the enduring impact of these buried histories on our society today.
7episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 5: Boston
Dec 19, 202400:44:03Tap to summarizeOur final episode brings us to Boston, MA where, at the turn of the 20th century, Black men and women worked as Pullman porters and maids – serving predominantly white travelers while reinforcing a hierarchy reminiscent of the Antebellum South. Wives, sisters, and daughters largely made up the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters – and served as their mouthpiece – keeping the economic, social, domestic, and political interests of railroad workers at the center of their activism. We’ll hear from special guests Kerri Greenridge, Larry Tye, Melinda Chateauvert, and Helen Credle, as well as from musician and Silkroad collaborator Cécile McLorin Salvant, whose song “Have You Seen My Man?” gives voice to the legions of Black women who awaited the safe return of their loved ones aboard the trains, while they took care of home in communities like Boston’s South End neighborhood.
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Episode 4: Standing Rock
Dec 12, 202400:43:25Tap to summarizeCenturies before the Dakota Access Pipeline snaked beneath Lakota-Sioux land, the transcontinental railroad barreled through it. Standing Rock Sioux Reservation leaders Dave Archambault Sr. and Jr. discuss how the economic and social expansion of America often comes at the expense of indigenous people. We’ll also hear from musician and Silkroad collaborator Pura Fé about her time in Standing Rock for the #NoDAPL occupation, ethnomusicologist Everardo “Ever” Reyes take on how songs like Fé's “Mahk Jćhi” are a part of a long tradition of indigenous protest music and Standing Rock Sioux tribe member and historian Dakota Goodhouse on the legacy of Sitting Bull and how Indigenous people opposed and resisted westward expansion.
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Episode 3: California
Dec 5, 202400:42:11Tap to summarizeEpisode 3 brings us to California, where historians Karen Ishizuka and Roland Hsu detail the contributions of Japanese and Chinese railroad laborers in a country that leveraged xenophobic laws in attempts to eradicate their cultural heritages. Haruka Fujii, Associate Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble, also walks us through ‘Tamping Song’—an ode to ‘Tamping Ondo,’ a Japanese work song that captures the spirit of laborers dedicated to the rail.
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Episode 2: New York
Nov 21, 202400:43:08Tap to summarizeEpisode 2 of the American Railroad podcast brings us to Hell’s Kitchen, a New York City neighborhood that historian Miriam Nyhan describes as transformed by immigration and expansion of the state’s railroad boom. Despite tensions between Black and Irish railroad workers, living and laboring side-by-side created a distinctly American sound. We hear from Kestrel Wolgemuth from New York’s Irish Arts Center (IAC), as well as from artist and catalytic agent Lenwood “Leni” Sloan and Silkroad Ensemble member Maeve Gilchrist, as they use music to capture the energy and urgency of the time during their workshop at the IAC.
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Episode 1: North Carolina
Nov 14, 202400:36:42Tap to summarizeEpisode 1 takes us to North Carolina, where host and Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens reveals the origins of the popular Appalachian folk song, “Swannanoa Tunnel” and how professors Jeffrey A. Keith and Kevin Kehrberg’s research sparked important conversations about erasure and ownership in Appalachian music. We’ll also hear from Banjo player Tray Wellington about his experience as a Black band leader making a way in a genre not well known for performers who look like him.
Transcribe →American Railroad: Trailer
Oct 31, 202400:05:00Tap to summarizeEmbark on "American Railroad," a five-episode podcast that seeks to right historical wrongs by highlighting the untold stories and unheard voices from the diverse communities that built America’s railway systems. Hosted by Grammy Award-winner and Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, American Railroad is produced in partnership with PRX.
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American Railroad: Teaser
Oct 1, 202400:00:37Tap to summarizeFrom Silkroad and PRX, the American Railroad podcast is where history and music come together. New episodes begin November 14.
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