Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen heard next to nothing about the town’s most important historical event. In 1862, Mankato was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history – the hanging of 38 Dakota warriors – following one of the major wars between Plains Indians and settlers. In this documentary, originally produced for This American Life , John goes back to Minnesota to explore what happened, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it afterwards. Image: The Minnesota State...
Apr 12, 2017•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 5
“All men are created equal.” Those words, from the Declaration of Independence, are central to the story that Americans tell about ourselves and our history. But what did those words mean to the man who actually wrote them? By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika. Key sources for this episode: Nell Irvin Painter, The History of White People Ibram Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning The Racial Equity Institute Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Mar 30, 2017•37 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Chattel slavery in the United States, with its distinctive – and strikingly cruel – laws and structures, took shape over many decades in colonial America. The innovations that built American slavery are inseparable from the construction of Whiteness as we know it today. By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika. Key sources for this episode: The Racial Equity Institute Ibram Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning Nell Irvin Painter, The History of White People Learn about your ad choices: doveta...
Mar 16, 2017•34 min•Season 2Ep. 3
For much of human history, people viewed themselves as members of tribes or nations but had no notion of “race.” Today, science deems race biologically meaningless. Who invented race as we know it, and why? By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika. Photo: The Monument to the Discoveries, Lisbon, Portugal. The highlighted figure in the center is an effigy of Gomes Eanes de Zurara. The figure at the top right is Prince Henry the Navigator. Photo by Harvey Barrison. Learn about your ad choice...
Mar 01, 2017•29 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Events of the past few years have turned a challenging spotlight on White people, and Whiteness, in the United States. An introduction to our series exploring what it means to be White. By John Biewen, with special guest Chenjerai Kumanyika. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 15, 2017•17 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Facts can be ignored by the powers that be and still ignite a movement. An interview with Tim Tyson, author of the new book, The Blood of Emmett Till. Tyson was the first historian or journalist to interview the former Carolyn Bryant, the woman in whose name Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 25, 2017•45 min•Season 1Ep. 29
There’s a long and painful history in the U.S. of white men killing black men and boys without punishment. In this episode, we listen in on “Dar He,” the one-man play by Mike Wiley that brings to life the story of Emmett Till. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 11, 2017•19 min
The last in our series exploring the spirit of America in the footsteps of one of its greatest writers, John Steinbeck. At key spots on Steinbeck’s 1960 journey across the country, we team up with artists to explore how things have changed, or not, and to talk back to Steinbeck across the years. In this episode, visits with theater director Troy Nickerson in Spokane, Washington, and poet Diana Garcia in Monterey, California. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Dec 14, 2016•24 min•Season 1Ep. 28
The second in a three-part series, journeying into the soul of America through the eyes of artists, while following in the footsteps of Nobel Prize-winning writer John Steinbeck who drove across the country in 1960 for his iconic book, Travels with Charley. In this episode, photographer Wayne Gudmundson in eastern North Dakota, and Yurok basket weaver Susan “Tweet” Burdick in Humboldt County, California. Produced by John Biewen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Nov 30, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 27
First in a three-part journey into the soul of America, through the eyes of working people who happen to be artists. In this episode, David Slater in Sag Harbor, New York, and Kalamu ya Salaam in New Orleans. Retracing the 1960 journey by writer John Steinbeck for his book, “Travels with Charley in Search of America.” Produced by John Biewen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 16, 2016•22 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Siler City, North Carolina used to be a typical Southern town. Everybody was white or black. Now the town’s population is half Latino. One community’s journey through the “five stages of grief” – all the way to acceptance? By John Biewen and Tennessee Watson. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lucas Biewen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Nov 02, 2016•39 min•Season 1Ep. 25
How to grieve when the deaths come so quickly? How, as an African American mother, to protect your child’s innocence and hope? An audio essay by Stacia Brown. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Oct 19, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 24
The last installment in our Storymakers series. Four pieces by citizen storytellers on living together, and apart, in Durham, North Carolina. By Vimala Rajendran, Chip and Teddy Denton, Courtney Reid-Eaton, and Nia Wilson. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jul 27, 2016•27 min•Season 1Ep. 24
More from our team of citizen storytellers in Durham, NC. Stories by Courtney Smith, Katt Ryce, and Kimani Hall, exploring the things that unite and divide people in Durham and in America. Part of Storymakers: Durham, a project of the national Localore: #FindingAmerica initiative. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jul 13, 2016•32 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Three stories conceived and made by citizen storytellers Jamila Davenport, Roberto Nava, and Debby Bussel explore race, class, and gentrification in Durham, North Carolina. Part of Storymakers: Durham, a project of the national Localore: #FindingAmerica initiative. Music by Lucas Biewen and Blue Dot Sessions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jun 30, 2016•35 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Can stories help to bring a community together? How about radio stories, conceived and made by citizen storytellers? Introducing Storymakers: Durham, a project of the national Localore: #FindingAmerica initiative. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jun 15, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 21
The word “Hiroshima” may bring to mind a black-and-white image of a mushroom cloud. It’s easy to forget that it’s an actual city with a million people and a popular baseball team. How did the cataclysm of 1945 reverberate in the place where it happened? Hearing Hiroshima is a production of Minnesota Public Radio, from American Public Media. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
May 26, 2016•33 min•Season 1Ep. 20
It can take a lifetime to make sense of a parent, or to get over him. Or, just maybe, to come to terms. By Ruxandra Guidi. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
May 18, 2016•19 min•Season 1Ep. 19
The people we love have power—the power to upend our lives, or at least to make things interesting. Two stories of surprises, curveballs thrown by family members. Pieces by Qathi Hart and John Rash. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
May 04, 2016•17 min•Season 1Ep. 18
A quartet of very short works exploring memory – most inspired by Third Coast Audio Festival ShortDoc Challenges. Pieces by Ligaiya Romero, Madeline Miller, Nan Pincus, and John Biewen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 20, 2016•18 min•Season 1Ep. 17
A punk farmer. A tale of rogue chickens on the loose in the city. A pair of refreshing takes on the whole Food thing, in and around Durham, NC. Pieces by Emily Hilliard and Joseph Decosimo. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 06, 2016•20 min•Season 1Ep. 16
A refugee from Bosnia. An NYC-born survivor who grew up poor, black, Muslim, and gay. And how one, and her music, saved the other. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 23, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 15
People in two communities – one in Alaska, one in New York State – wrestle with questions about energy and the environment. We listen in on democracy close to home. Stories by John Biewen and Jon Miller, edited by Deb George. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 09, 2016•24 min•Season 1Ep. 14
A South Sudanese refugee and the music that cuts his heart to pieces. Thelonious Monk’s North Carolina roots. Music and home. Pieces by Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa and John Biewen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 24, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 13
It happens. A happy, healthy young person suddenly gets a grave diagnosis. What does not usually happen: The patient rolls tape. By Ibby Caputo. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Feb 10, 2016•32 min•Season 1Ep. 12
It waits for us all. A lot of people want to think about death as little as possible. Others want to dive right in and explore the mystery. Two short docs on the Big D. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 27, 2016•23 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Music can be a powerful gift – if you get the song right, or the right song. Two stories from North Carolina. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jan 13, 2016•17 min•Season 1Ep. 10
There’s a long and painful history in the U.S. of white men killing black men and boys without punishment. In this episode, we listen in on “Dar He,” the one-man play by Mike Wiley that brings to life the story of Emmett Till. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 30, 2015•16 min•Season 1Ep. 9
A father turns on a recorder while tucking in his 7-year-old, having no idea he’s about to capture a poignant growing-up moment in his son’s life. (Advisory: This episode is not suitable for some young children.) Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 16, 2015•14 min•Season 1Ep. 8
The surest way for a woman to declare herself a Muslim is to wear the head scarf — the hijab. In these two short pieces, young Muslim women explore the often unwelcome questions and perceptions that come with the scarf, and the deeply personal decision to wear it. Short documentaries by Reem Alfahad and Sofiya Volubuyeva. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Dec 02, 2015•18 min•Season 1Ep. 7
