Dolly Parton’s America (2019)

- PICKED BY ANKE-
December 2021

Hosted by Jad Abumrad and produced by Shima Oliaee, this podcast discusses race and gender in the United States through the life story of singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Starting from Parton’s own roots in rural Appalachia and stereotypes of “hillbillies”, the podcast traces compelling international connections between different countrysides.  It explains the history of the banjo: from its inception in West-Africa, to its use by enslaved Africans, ending with its appropriation by White Southerners. Abumrad and Oliaee also demonstrate how countrysides are linked both through the distribution of Parton’s music, and also by the resonance and transformation of its rural themes in different settings. Episodes “Tennessee Mountain Trance” and “Neon Moss” specifically discuss how Parton’s music travels from Appalachia to the hills of Nairobi and the mountains of Lebanon. Dolly Parton’s America is available wherever podcasts are found.