This is Charles. This interview was recorded near the end of the presidential race when everyone and their brother was trying to figure out what was happening in the minds of poor, white voters. I grew up in poverty under the shadows of Northeast Ohio steel mills. And it struck me that many of the insight everyone was looking for was right there in the music of where I grew up. In my opinion, the best example of that voice in 2016 was country music singer-songwriter Brandy Clark. Her album, "Big Day in a Small Town," had the answers, if anyone dared to listen.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Poet Frances Richey calls her latest collection "The Warrior – A Mother's Story of a Son at War."
Christopher Moore talks about untranslatable words.
Writer Junot Diaz tells us why he's a big fan of Samuel R. Delany's novel, "Dark Reflections".
Cartoonist David Rees's cult hit comic, “Get Your War On” grew out of his frustration at the lack of satire in New York after 9/11.
The Silk Road was once the great meeting place between the East and the West - a network of ancient trading routes winding through China and India, across Central Asia and Iran to the Mediterranean.
Cecil Brown has researched the true story that gave rise to the Stagolee myth, and explains what the song has meant to various groups, especially within the African-American community.
Cynthia Woodland’s tattoo has a story. It’s about being a young single mom. It’s about faith. It’s about Tyler.
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