Exploring American Routes: A Conversation with Nick Spitzer

In this special Thanksgiving episode of Art Works , we’re revisiting our interview with Nick Spitzer, folklorist, radio host, and the 2023 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellow . Nick discusses his path from college radio to producing the award-winning American Routes , a program that has spent 25 years exploring the intersections of Cajun, Creole, jazz, blues, gospel, and more. He shares stories of cultural discovery, the concept of creolization, and his commitment to bringing traditional and vernacular arts to national audiences. Nick reflects on his formative experiences—from fieldwork in Louisiana to curating programs for the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival —and the profound impact of mentors like Bess Lomax Hawes. (Don’t miss the special Thanksgiving episode of American Routes celebrating the 2024 National Heritage Fellows !)

You can listen to Exploring American Routes: A Conversation with Nick Spitzer online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Exploring American Routes: A Conversation with Nick Spitzer is an episode from Art Works Podcasts by National Endowment for the Arts.

This episode is 39:11 long.

This episode was published on Nov 26, 2024.

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