WHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads”

How'd a 1971 country-pop anthem about West Virginia... inspire a 1995 anime classic about teens in Tokyo? We kick off a season about great movie needle-drops with the tale of WHISPER OF THE HEART — the anime that helped drive John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads" into Japanese culture. Guests include the song's co-writer Bill Danoff , plus rare interviews with Studio Ghibli cofounder Toshio Suzuki and his daughter Mamiko — the movie's lyricist. The audio documentary podcast MUBI Podcast returns with a sequel to our super-popular season diving deep into the grooves of classic movie "needle drops." Titled NEEDLE ON THE RECORD - SIDE TWO , in each episode host Rico Gagliano tells the story of a film that fused music and image to make magic — and sometimes, change popular culture. Guests include director Gurinder Chadha and musician Bally Sagoo on BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM 's bhangra bangers, and movie star Jack O'Connell on THIS IS ENGLAND , the ska-fueled drama that introduced him to audiences. YUKI'S SUN is now streaming almost globally as a part of the Drawn to Life: Animated Films collection on MUBI. FLOW is now streaming on MUBI in the UK and Ireland. To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast . Availability of films varies depending on your country. WHISPER OF THE HEART will return to cinemas with an exclusive IMAX re-release across the US and Canada from April 21, newly remastered in 4K. Tickets are available here . MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

You can listen to WHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads” online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

WHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads” is an episode from MUBI Podcast by MUBI.

This episode is 34:32 long.

This episode was published on Apr 16, 2026.

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