American Railroad

Our final episode brings us to Boston, MA where, at the turn of the 20th century, Black men and women worked as Pullman porters and maids – serving predominantly white travelers while reinforcing a hierarchy reminiscent of the Antebellum South. Wives, sisters, and daughters largely made up the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters – and served as their mouthpiece – keeping t...

Centuries before the Dakota Access Pipeline snaked beneath Lakota-Sioux land, the transcontinental railroad barreled through it. Standing Rock Sioux Reservation leaders Dave Archambault Sr. and Jr. discuss how the economic and social expansion of America often comes at the expense of indigenous people. We’ll also hear from musician and Silkroad collaborator Pura Fé about her time in Standing Rock...

Episode 3 brings us to California, where historians Karen Ishizuka and Roland Hsu detail the contributions of Japanese and Chinese railroad laborers in a country that leveraged xenophobic laws in attempts to eradicate their cultural heritages. Haruka Fujii, Associate Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble, also walks us through ‘Tamping Song’—an ode to ‘Tamping Ondo,’ a Japanese work song that...

Episode 2 of the American Railroad podcast brings us to Hell’s Kitchen, a New York City neighborhood that historian Miriam Nyhan describes as transformed by immigration and expansion of the state’s railroad boom. Despite tensions between Black and Irish railroad workers, living and laboring side-by-side created a distinctly American sound. We hear from Kestrel Wolgemuth from New York’s Irish Arts...

Episode 1 takes us to North Carolina, where host and Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens reveals the origins of the popular Appalachian folk song, “Swannanoa Tunnel” and how professors Jeffrey A. Keith and Kevin Kehrberg’s research sparked important conversations about erasure and ownership in Appalachian music. We’ll also hear from Banjo player Tray Wellington about his experience as a Bl...

Embark on "American Railroad," a five-episode podcast that seeks to right historical wrongs by highlighting the untold stories and unheard voices from the diverse communities that built America’s railway systems. Hosted by Grammy Award-winner and Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens , American Railroad is produced in partnership with PRX.  

From Silkroad and PRX, the American Railroad podcast is where history and music come together. New episodes begin November 14.