The People's Recorder

07/15/2025

Zora Neale Hurston’s final home in Fort Pierce, Florida, was about to up for sale and was in danger of being lost to developers. We were excited to hear that The Conservation Fund stepped in and bought the property. Their plan is to turn the home into a public visitor and education center.

Thank you, Conservation Fund, for helping preserve Hurston’s cultural and literary legacy for future generations!!

The Conservation Fund has helped protect the final home of legendary author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.

07/04/2025

To all our friends in Orlando, the Orange County Regional History Center is hosting History Alive: Famous Floridians this Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. This is a pretty cool exhibit where you can get up close and personal with historical artifacts used by famous Floridians, and even interact with them!

The one that piqued our interest?

How about you write a short story or poem using Zora Neale Hurston’s actual typewriter?

It’s really amazing that the History Center is showcasing this artifact in a way that brings history to life. What a fun way to learn about Hurston and her legacy.

Learn more here:
https://www.thehistorycenter.org/event/history-alive-famous-floridians-2/

Orange County Regional History Center Florida Humanities Florida Today Florida Historical Society

Saturday, July 5, 2025, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. What do Zora Neale Hurston, Bob Ross, and John Young have in common? They all called Central Florida home! Learn about these famous Floridians and the impact they had not only on Central Florida but on the world. The event features family-friendly activitie...

05/13/2025

We just heard the exciting news that author Dagoberto Gilb has been awarded a prestigious PEN America Award for his book of essays, “A Passing West”.

Check out the announcement here:
https://pen.org/announcing-the-2025-pen-america-literary-awards-winners/

We met Dagoberto when we were working on Soul of a People, our documentary about the Federal Writers Project (and an inspiration for our podcast The People's Recorder). The interview with Dagoberto was one of our favorites to film. We’re so glad to hear that he has received this well-deserved recognition.

Here are a few great quotes from the judges about Dagoberto’s work!

“The charm of Dagoberto Gilb’s A Passing West is apparent quickly—in the wit, the granular observations and the distinctive, rollicking style of his prose—but that charm can be deceptive. The scope and gravity of this collection gather force over time.”

A Passing West is rooted in Chicano California, Texas, and the greater Southwest, but journeys far beyond—back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border, to the cornfields of Iowa, the deep South, to a vast archive of the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica in Sevilla. It stops in restaurants, garages and construction sites along the way.”

Image Credit: University of New Mexico Press

04/22/2025

Today is Earth Day!!

We’ve always loved this speech from former Wisconsin Governor Ga***rd Nelson, the founder of Earth Day. Nelson was inspired in part by the groundbreaking work of conservationist and author Aldo Leopold who wrote a powerful essay on conservation in the WPA Guide to Wisconsin.

Learn about Leopold’s story and how he developed his philosophy of modern environmental ethics in The People’s Recorder Ep 7: A Voice for the Land, available now wherever you get your podcasts or here: https://www.peoplesrecorder.info/a-voice-for-the-land

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

Aldo Leopold Foundation Aldo Leopold Nature Center

04/15/2025

As Cherry Blossom season comes to a close here in Washington, DC, we’re excited to share new bonus content with you!

The powerful art exhibition Pictures of Belonging is currently at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This powerful exhibit explores three artists of Japanese descent, Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi and Miné Okubo, and puts them in their rightful place in the history of American art.

You may remember Okubo from The People’s Recorder Episode 9: Is This Land Your Land. (If not, check that episode out now!).

Producer and lead writer David Taylor visited the exhibition and shared his thoughts on Okubo and her legacy with us. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or at the direct links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peoples-recorder/id1693003215

Acast: https://shows.acast.com/peoples-recorder

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72IK20V1a7nNhhbehGBIYm?si=479e79a135be4187

Audible: https://www.amazon.com/The-Peoples-Recorder/dp/B0C88BW4R2

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-peoples-recorder-117528281/

Pictures of Belonging will be at the Smithsonian American Art Museum until August 17, 2025. We encourage you to visit and experience this powerful exhibition for yourself! Learn more at: https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/pictures-belonging-miki-hayakawa-hisako-hibi-and-mine-okubo%3Aevent-exhib-6717

This episode was produced with support from National Endowment for the Humanities, Florida Humanities, Virginia Humanities, Wisconsin Humanities, California Humanities and Humanities Nebraska.

04/14/2025

On this day in 1952, Ralph Ellison’s groundbreaking novel, Invisible Man, was published. Ellison went on to become the first African American author to win the National Book Award for his seminal book.

Parts of the novel were inspired by Ellison’s work collecting oral histories for the Federal Writers’ Project in New York. That’s a story we plan to delve into in future episodes of The People’s Recorder!

Mississippi Today featured a nice article about Ellison and his work to commemorate the anniversary. Check out the link in the first comment.

National Book Foundation American Library Association The Library of Congress

04/10/2025

Congratulations to Andrew Granade, who just won the Chancellor’s Award for Exceptional Leadership from UMKC!

We had the pleasure of interviewing Granade for The People’s Recorder podcast about avant-garde composer Harry Partch and how his time on the Federal Writers’ Project impacted his work. That was such a fun and insightful conversation! Granade is featured in Episode 8: Outsiders Remaking History. Check it out wherever you listen to your podcasts!

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

And you should also check out Granade’s excellent biography of Partch – Harry Partch: Hobo Composer! It’s a great read!

2025 event at Linda Hall Library recognizes research and scholarship, teaching and mentorship, engagement, service and leadership

04/09/2025

Tune into Wisconsin Public Radio to hear Dena Wortzel from Wisconsin Humanities and Angie Bodzislaw from the Spooner Memorial Library Memorial Library as they discuss the impact of the loss of funding to people in Wisconsin.

State humanities organizations do such critical work in their local communities. Reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to resist these cuts to the humanities!

The head of Wisconsin Humanities talks with us about the group’s future after its funding was cut. Two Wisconsin surgeons discuss a rare heart and lung transplant they performed. And […]

04/08/2025

Today is National Library Workers Day!

Let’s celebrate these dedicated and hardworking professionals and the amazing work they do for our communities. As the American Library Association said, “Library workers across the U.S. are facing a challenging time, and it’s more important than ever that we show up for them and voice our support for the hard work they do every day!”

Learn more about National Library Workers Day at https://ala-apa.org/nlwd/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJiex5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHjxC7-bdeDXWVyU_PxTjxZgS_GSOtzMy9s3kgdee5l95q_pMbpdkmC6vpxyj_aem_mjkShmaKQKzKnMZqCkZn6w

04/04/2025

To all our friends near Gunnison, Colorado, there is a cool, free event next week – the all-new version of the Story Catcher Festival organized by the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society on April 9th and 10th.

The festival takes place at Western Colorado University and will feature writing workshops, craft talks and panel discussions, including one with former U.S. Poet Laurette Joy Harjo! This really sounds like an amazing event.

For those who can’t attend in person, it looks like most of the events will also be streamed.

Check out the full schedule and learn more here. https://www.marisandozsociety.org/events_activities/event_calendar.html/event/2025/04/10/2025-story-catcher-festival/509577

We’re big fans of Mari Sandoz, who figures prominently in Ep10 of The People’s Recorder (produced with support from Humanities Nebraska and National Endowment for the Humanities). And we’re also big fans of the Mari Sandoz Society, which works to encourage a better understanding of Sandoz and to honor the land and people about which she wrote.

04/04/2025