Music

Dolly Parton's America

WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical ret...

Episodes

14 episodes

Another NEW SHOW Recommendation from Jad Abumrad! Our Common Nature

Jad Abumrad sits down with host Ana González to talk about her new podcast, Our Common Nature , a musical journey with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. As...

00:38:09Oct 22, 2025

Jad Abumrad’s new show - Fela Kuti: Fear No Man

In a world that’s on fire, what do we do with art? Like, what can music actually do? Today, Jad Abumrad is back with his first major project...

00:37:25Oct 15, 2025

She's Alive!

As Dolly will tell you, so much of who she is - her creativity, her music, her stance on life - emanates from her faith, but what exactly is...

00:26:37Dec 31, 2019

Traveling Creatures: live music from the series

In this second bonus music episode, we play two live songs we recorded, sung by bluegrass musicians Nora Brown and Amythyst Kiah. You can fi...

00:12:10Dec 24, 2019

Dixie Disappearance

This episode delves into the controversy surrounding Dolly Parton’s Stampede (formerly known as “Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede”)—a dinner th...

00:38:44Dec 17, 2019

Dolly Parton's America

At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, we drop in on a history class called “Dolly Parton’s America.” (We borrowed the name for our se...

00:40:29Dec 3, 2019

Dolly's Wildflowers: live music from the series

Music performed by: Justin Hiltner (@hiltnerj, http://justinhiltner.com ) Esther Konkara ( @esther_konkara ) Steph Jenkins ( @slhjenkins , h...

00:30:29Nov 26, 2019

The Only One For Me, Jolene

One of Dolly’s most iconic and successful songs is “Jolene,” a song that, at first listen, is about a romantic rival trying to steal her man...

00:36:10Nov 19, 2019

Dollitics

Dolly Parton and politics have always had an interesting relationship. On the one hand, she wrote 9 to 5 , the anthem for working women and...

00:44:50Nov 12, 2019

Neon Moss

In this episode, we go back up the mountain to visit Dolly’s actual Tennessee mountain home. But, can you ever go home again? Dolly tells us...

00:41:41Nov 5, 2019

Tennessee Mountain Trance

We journey into the Dollyverse dimension: "Tennessee Mountain Home."Like all law abiding Tennesseans, Jad grew up with the song on a loop. H...

00:40:27Oct 29, 2019

I Will Always Leave You

Porter Wagoner led the most successful country music television show of its time, and in 1967 he needed a new “girl singer.” He turned to a...

00:53:37Oct 22, 2019

Sad Ass Songs

We begin with a simple question: How did the queen of the boob joke become a feminist icon? Helen Morales, author of “Pilgrimage to Dollywoo...

00:57:31Oct 15, 2019

Dolly Parton's America Trailer

In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads...

00:01:04Oct 3, 2019