In a world that’s on fire, what do we do with art? Like, what can music actually do? Today, Jad Abumrad is back with his first major project since Dolly Parton’s America. Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is a twelve episode exploration of the life, work, and legacy of the Nigerian singer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, one of the most important musical artist of the 20th century. Back in the 1960s and 70s, Fela invented a new style of music that was part jazz, part funk, part African polyrhythms and instrumentation. And it had resistance baked into its core. Today, Fela has been forgotten by many. Almost erased. Fela Kuti: Fear No Man excavates his life’s work and finds it says as much about today, this moment, as it does about the past. Find Fela Kuti: Fear No Man on Audible and wherever you listen to podcasts.
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The Vanishing of Harry Pace Trailer from the Creators of Dolly Parton's America
Hi, Dolly Parton's America fans!
We're sharing a new trailer for our new 6-part series The Vanishing of Harry Pace -from the creators of Dolly Parton's America, Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee - now premiering at Radiolab.
It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, inadvertently invented the term rock n roll, played an important role in W.C. Handy becoming "Father of the Blues," inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared. The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed America. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no other.
To listen to the the new series, search "The Vanishing of Harry Pace" and "Radiolab," wherever you get your podcasts.
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She's Alive!
As Dolly will tell you, so much of who she is - her creativity, her music, her stance on life - emanates from her faith, but what exactly is that faith? The answer is deeply surprising. In this episode, Dolly tells a story of finding God in an abandoned church filled with X-rated graffiti. And she speaks of her plans for how she'll be remembered after she’s gone—how her voice will live on for the next 50, 100, 200 years.
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Traveling Creatures: live music from the series
In this second bonus music episode, we play two live songs we recorded, sung by bluegrass musicians Nora Brown and Amythyst Kiah.
You can find Nora on facebook @norabrownbanjo, instagram @little.nb, and her music at jalopyrecords.org and on Spotify.
Amythyst is on facebook, instagram, and twitter at @amythystkiah, and her music can be found at amythystkiah.com.
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Dixie Disappearance
This episode delves into the controversy surrounding Dolly Parton’s Stampede (formerly known as “Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede”)—a dinner theater that presents the Civil War as a friendly competition between neighbors. In the wake of the Charlottesville Riots in 2017, the Dixie Stampede was called out by the press, and then became embroiled in the larger national conversation about Civil War monuments and the white-washing of history. Dolly’s business conglomerate decided to eliminate “Dixie” from the name, which caused further uproar.
Dolly embodies “a quivering mass of irreconcilable contradictions” in a way very few other American figures do… but has America arrived at a place where such contradictions are no longer defensible or tolerable?
In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America’s great icons. Join us for a 9-episode journey into the Dollyverse. Hosted by Jad Abumrad. Produced and reported by Shima Oliaee. Dolly Parton’s America is a production from OSM Audio and WNYC Studios.
Canada - english