Produced for National Public Radio, these in-depth features celebrate creativity, history, and folk traditions. A series born out of the belief that many of the best stories are tucked away in rural places and overlooked by most of the mainstream media, these are not stories taken from headlines, but rather spread by word-of-mouth, and uncovered through field research. Deep West Radio Documentaries are funded by the generous support of the R. Harold Burton Foundation and the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
Rap Music and Redemption on the Reservation
Deep West Radio Documentary 10/11/11 NPR's All Things Considered
Our latest story for National Public Radio is about a Native American Hip Hop artist whose music has followed the dramatic trajectory of his life on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana.
Deep West Radio Documentaries 08/05/2011 NPR's All Things Considered
For most of its 110-year history, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola has been synonymous with brutality, suffering, and executions. Yet as prisons go, it stands out for an entirely different reason: its music.
Back in the 30s and 40s the famous folklorist, John A. Lomax and his son Alan were drawn to Angola (and other prisons) in their quest for folk music in its “purest” form. The elder Lomax believed prison walls were a filter against the “polluting” influences of popular music.
Listen or download Prison Songs: The Angola Blues Download
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Deep West Radio Documentary
