The People's Recorder

05/11/2026

Today we celebrate the birthday of acclaimed author Mari Sandoz!

Sandoz was one of the key consultants on the Nebraska Writers’ Project. Her advice was crucial as the Project office came together with a commitment to get Nebraska history and culture right for the WPA Guidebooks.

To nurture the literary community forming within the Writers’ Project, Sandoz would often invite the staff to her apartment for get-togethers where they would discuss writing and listen to music.

We have some wonderful and rare archival audio from Sandoz in Episode 10: A Creative Incubator, available now wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DWRzsBikbk

That episode was produced with support from Humanities Nebraska and National Endowment for the Humanities.

Mari Sandoz Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center Prairie Schooner

04/30/2026

You can now listen to our interview with expert folklorist Dr. Peggy Bulger!

Dr. Peggy Bulger led the American Folklife Center at the The Library of Congress for a dozen years. Before that, she served as Florida’s first state folklorist. But even before that, when she was doing her graduate research, Dr. Bulger had the foresight to interview Florida legend Stetson Kennedy about his work gathering Florida’s stories and songs. So, when we sat down with Dr. Bulger for The People’s Recorder, we knew she would bring a treasure trove of stories.

You can hear a lot of this conversation for free on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zSE2tgC2jI

Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!

To hear the full interview, consider joining our Patreon Community at www.patreon.com/PeoplesRecorder

04/22/2026

Today is Earth Day!

It’s a good time to remember Aldo Leopold, a key figure in developing modern environmental ethics. His groundbreaking writings helped inspire the formation of Earth Day in 1970.

Leopold's story was featured in The People's Recorder Episode 7: A Voice for the Land. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p-0jiq6sU4

This episode was produced with support from Wisconsin Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities and Create Wisconsin.



Aldo Leopold Foundation

04/11/2026

An important and powerful new educational center has just opened its doors in Richmond. Next time you are in town, be sure to visit the Shockoe Institute.

This space includes a permanent exhibition called “Expanding Freedom” that explores the history of slavery in Virginia and a lab space for lectures and book talks. There are even plans for a virtual reality experience in the future to further immerse visitors.

Our friend Dr. Gregg Kimball is a Senior Consulting Historian for the Institute. We were honored to interview him for our Virginia-based episodes of The People’s Recorder podcast, which were produced with support from Virginia Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities.

How its exhibit begins: "American racial slavery began in Virginia. Richmond played a central role in its expansion."

03/25/2026

Today is the 115th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, one of the worst workplace disasters in American history. Over a hundred workers, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women and girls were killed in the fire.

The fire is mentioned in the WPA Guide to New York City:

"Near the university, at 22 Washington Place, was the Triangle Waist Company, where in 1911 occurred a disastrous fire which took a toll of [146] lives. As a result of the investigation that followed, State laws were enacted to improve working conditions in the factories."

Even though it’s a brief reference, this description helps ensure that this tragedy, a pivotal moment in labor history that led to new laws about building codes and workplace safety, will not be forgotten.

03/16/2026

Really enjoyed the conversation between author and The New York Times journalist Clay Risen and Judge David Tatel at the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum

They discussed Risen’s book, Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism and the Making of Modern America, providing keen insights and historical context for how the Red Scare happened and why it’s so important we don’t forget that time when “fear, politics and identity collided.”

We were thrilled to speak with Risen for our upcoming podcast episodes on Martin Dies and the House Un-American Activities Committee, titled “Gospel of Fear” and we’re excited for you to hear that trilogy later this Spring!

Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism and the Making of Modern America is available wherever you buy your books, and we can’t recommend it enough. It’s an insightful and critical examination of one of America’s dark periods that remains relevant to our country today.

And to all our friends in DC, be sure to check out the excellent Blacklisted exhibit at the Capital Jewish Museum! The exhibit will be open until September 7. Learn more here:
https://capitaljewishmuseum.org/exhibition/blacklisted-an-american-story

03/03/2026

So thrilled to share that The People’s Recorder was nominated for Best History Podcast by the NYC Podcast Awards! It is such an honor to be included with these other great history podcasts – Awakenings in Real Life, None of the Above: ‘90s Rewind, The Butterfly King, and Tracing the Path.

Check out all the nominations here:
https://www.silver-nyc.com/nycpodcastawards/nominees

We also want to thank Florida Humanities, Virginia Humanities, Wisconsin Humanities, California Humanities, Humanities Nebraska and National Endowment for the Humanities, whose support was so important as we produced the first season of The People’s Recorder.

Silver Sound Studios Exactly Right

02/24/2026

Had an amazing conversation with author and journalist Clay Risen about Martin Dies, HUAC, and Joseph McCarthy, and the lessons from the Red Scare era that we should all remember today. This interview is for our upcoming trilogy of episodes called “Gospel of Fear." We can't wait for you to hear them!

Risen is the author of a great book on the era called “Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America.” It was named one of the ten best books of 2025 by the Chicago Tribune, and we can understand why. It is a compelling and tension-filled read about an unprecedented time in American history. Be sure to check it out!

02/06/2026

We were so proud to have Prairie Schooner as one of our partners in this week’s discussion about the Federal Writers’ Project. Prairie Schooner is the legendary magazine created by University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Lowry Wimberly, a key mentor to the staff of the Nebraska Writers’ Project.

Prairie Schooner is about to celebrate its centennial and has several exciting issues and events coming up – including a free event at The Coffee House Club in New York on March 11 at 6:30 pm.

Editor-in-chief Timothy Schaffert will discuss 100 years of literary publishing with Prairie Schooner contributors Cynthia Carr, Priyam Goel, Eli Peck, and Leslie Zemeckis. This is going to be a great and insightful conversation!

To all our friends in New York, go check out “Prairie Schooner in Greenwich Village”! It’s free, but you have to register at Tinyurl.com/mtcr9m5u

02/05/2026

A new interview just dropped!

Today, we are sharing our never-before-released conversation with award-winning author Dagoberto Gilb.

We interviewed Dagoberto for our documentary Soul of a People and were immediately impressed with his way of cutting through pretense with a single line. When we asked him if we could quote him in the outreach for the film, his reply was swift and dry: “Yes, to whatever I said, so long as I look brilliant.” That’s Dagoberto – he disarms with wit, then follows with something unvarnished and true.

In our conversation, Dagoberto reminds us that literature, just like life, is at its best when it insists on being true. He isn’t interesting in polishing myths, and he has no patience for stereotypes and cliches. Instead, he’s here to tell us what’s raw, lived and true.

You can hear a lot of this conversation for free on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmMY0aZzMew

To listen to the full interview, consider subscribing to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/PeoplesRecorder.

For only $5/month, you can listen to full interviews and receive exclusive access to future bonus episodes and AMA events.

University of New Mexico Press David Taylor Chris Haley

02/04/2026

Honor Black History Month with Spark Media!

This Black History Month, revisit our powerful documentaries and podcasts that bring lost histories to light and honor the depth and range of Black voices that have shaped America.

The Pact - Documentary – The promise that changed everything.
https://pickrelay.com/t/8ce0-c11a/the-pact

Partners of the Heart – Honoring the giant that American history forgot.
https://pickrelay.com/t/c078-db8c/partners-of-the-heart

The People's Recorder – Where the past is always present tense.
https://www.youtube.com/

Prince Among Slaves – One man’s legacy. One nation’s reckoning.
https://www.upf.tv/films/prince-among-slaves/