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DAVID A. TAYLOR

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The Washington Post called The People’s Recorder “a fascinating new podcast” and the Writers Guild of America hailed it as “a podcast about how history is told and the power of being heard.” The series connects listeners with the public tumult and private stories of New Deal writers, artists and the everyday Americans who inspired them. Season 1 traces a journey across America through the lens of WPA writers and affiliated New Deal artists. Catch up on Season 1 now.

They had a mandate to create a portrait of America during a national emergency. Hearing people’s stories of pain and joy, they found new ways to share them. They created travel guidebooks (the WPA guides), oral histories, audio recordings,  murals and even a graphic memoir.

The People’s Recorder features archival audio and new conversations with writers and historians today, along with original interviews with FWP writers themselves. 

Growing from the award-winning project Soul of a People, The People’s Recorder is produced with major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and state humanities councils. Click below to catch up on Season 1 and sign up to receive alerts.

ABOUT DAVID A. TAYLOR

David Taylor writes about revealing connections between people and their worlds. His writing about people, food, health and science has appeared in SmithsonianThe Washington Post, Mother JonesScience, Undark, and Oxford American.

MORE ABOUT DAVID TAYLOR