Podcast
The People's Recorder
Hosted by Spark Media, Inc. · EN
The People’s Recorder is a podcast about the 1930s Federal Writers’ Project: what it achieved, where it fell short, and what it means for Americans today.
Each episode features stories of individual writers, new places, and the project's impact on people's lives. Along the way we hear from historians, novelists, and others who shed light on that experience and unexpected connections to American society today.
The People's Recorder recounts a forgotten chapter in our history. Join us on an unvarnished tour of America.
The People’s Recorder is produced by Spark Media with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Florida Humanities, Virginia Humanities, Wisconsin Humanities, California Humanities and Humanities Nebraska.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
10 A Creative Incubator
Jan 24, 202500:40:04Tap to summarizeEpisode Summary:In the 1930s, the notion of making an incubator for creativity in a region devastated by the Great Depression got tested in Nebraska. This episode looks at what happened there when the Writers’ Project came to town, through a group of creatives from contrasting backgrounds, including a hobo, a nurse and a hardware store poet – all under the watchful eye of a university professor and a celebrated novelist. Starting from chaos, they ignited a surprising alchemy and made the Lincoln office one of the most productive Writers’ Project hubs in the country. The Season 1 finale listens in as Americans face war clouds on the horizon, and a national radio show asks, “Can we count on youth to uphold the American Way?”Speakers: Stephen Cloyd, librarian and historianMarilyn Holt, historianJames Reidel, biographer and poetDouglas Brinkley, historianLinks and Resources: Rudolph Umland and the Federal Writers' ProjectThe Nebraska Federal Writers' Project - Lincoln City LibrariesMari Sandoz and the Writers' ProjectWeldon Kees reads his poem, "1926"WPA Guide to Nebraska (free PDF)Prairie SchoonerReading List: Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees, by James ReidelNebraska During the New Deal, by Marilyn Irvin HoltSoul of a People by David A. TaylorThe Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, by Timothy EganThe Collected Poems of Weldon Kees, edited by Donald JusticeCrazy Horse, by Mari SandozCreditsHost: Chris HaleyDirector: Andrea KalinProducers: Andrea Kalin, David A. Taylor, James MirabelloWriter: David A. TaylorEditor: Ethan OserAssistant Editor: Amy YoungStory Editor: Michael MayAdditional Voices: Jared Buggage, Sam Hanks, JoJo Drake Kalin, Antonio Macias, James Mirabello, Mariko Miyazaki, Kate Rafter and Sarah SmackFeaturing music and archival from: Aaron CoplandAlexandria Symphony OrchestraJoseph VitarelliBradford EllisMike SayreCeiri TorjussenPond5Library of CongressNational Archives and Records AdministrationNew York Public Radio Archives CollectionNebraska Public MediaFor additional content, visit peoplesrecorder.info or follow us on social media: @peoplesrecorderProduced with support from: National Endowment for the HumanitiesHumanities Nebraska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Bonus Content - Discussion with the FDR Library
Dec 5, 202400:05:43Tap to summarizeEpisode Summary:The Franklin Delano Library and Museum is an amazing place which just celebrated its 75th anniversary. President Roosevelt had the idea to build the library on his family property in Hyde Park, New York, using private funds. And then he donated the library and its historical collections, including all of his personal and official papers, to the US Government. This started the precedent of Presidential Libraries that we continue today. Last month, we sat down with the FDR Library and its director Bill Harris and had a great discussion about the Federal Writers' Project, its impact then, and why it still matters today. Please join our host Chris Haley, writer-producers David Taylor and James Mirabello and historian Sara Rutkowski for a few highlights from that conversation.You can see the full discussion on the FDR Library’s YouTube channel here. Links and Resources: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library and Museum"Rewriting America: New Essays on the Federal Writers' Project" with Sara RutkowskiCredits: Director: Andrea KalinProducers: Andrea Kalin, David A. Taylor, James MirabelloEditor: Amy YoungFeaturing music from Pond5Featuring: Chris Haley, Bill Harris, David A. Taylor, Sara Rutkowski and James MirabelloProduced with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Florida Humanities, Virginia Humanities, Wisconsin Humanities, California Humanities and Humanities Nebraska. For additional content, visit peoplesrecorder.info or follow us on social media: @peoplesrecorder Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →08 Outsiders Remaking History
Aug 22, 2024Tap to summarizeEpisode Summary:California has always attracted outsiders, from the Gold Rush in the 1800s to young actors and filmmakers drawn to Hollywood. California was especially a place of migration during the Great Depression, when tens of thousands came searching for jobs and new beginnings. This is the first of two episodes about writers displaced by the Depression who took different paths to remaking themselves in California and documenting America. Future composer Harry Partch was more comfortable as a migrant than in straight mainstream society. Tillie Olsen found her way from Nebraska to become a reporter-activist who faced long odds to becoming a writer as a woman in the 1930s. With their work on the Federal Writers’ Project, Olsen and Partch helped create an expansive picture of California, people in migration, and the day-to-day reality that included deep labor unrest. Tensions that roiled across America boiled over in the California Writers’ Project, signaling the struggles to come in the national office. Speakers:David Bradley, novelistMary Gordon, novelistAndrew Granade, musicologist and biographerDavid Kipen, journalist and authorLinks and Resources:California and the Dust Bowl - Oakland Museum of CaliforniaCalifornia Gold: Story Map of 1930s California Folk Music "What Kind of Worker is a Writer" (about Tillie Olsen) by Maggie Doherty in The New Yorker"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen"U.S. Highball," composed by Harry Partch, performed in 2018Harry Partch: The OutsiderReading List:California in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the Golden State with introduction, by David KipenHarry Partch, Hobo Composer, by S. Andrew GranadeTell Me a Riddle, by Tillie OlsenThe Chaneysville Incident: A Novel, by David BradleyPayback: A Novel, by Mary GordonCredits:Host: Chris HaleyDirector: Andrea KalinProducers: Andrea Kalin, David A. Taylor, James MirabelloWriter: David A. TaylorEditor: Ethan OserAssistant Editor: Amy Young Story Editor: Michael MayAdditional Voices: Karen Simon, Tim Lorenz, Steve Klingbiel, Sarah Supsiri, and Ethan OserFeaturing music and archival from: Joseph VitarelliBradford EllisPond5Library of CongressNational Archives and Records AdministrationBBCFor additional content, visit peoplesrecorder.info or follow us on social media: @peoplesrecorderProduced with support from: National Endowment for the HumanitiesCalifornia Humanities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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