America Works
Features the voices of contemporary workers from throughout the United States talking about their lives, their workplaces, and their on-the-job experiences. Drawn from hundreds of longer oral history interviews collected by fieldworkers for the American Folklife Center's Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), America Works is a testament to the wisdom, wit, knowledge, and dedication of today's working Americans. These engaging oral histories, which have are preserved in the American Folklife Center's archive, are enriching and expanding America's historical record.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 6 minutes
- Episodes
- 25
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Leah Chase, Chef and Owner of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Leah Chase, chef and owner of the legendary Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans talks with documentarian Candacy Taylor in her bustling restaurant for the Occupational Folklife Project “The Green…
Jerry Bransford, Park Ranger. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.
Jerry Bransford, a seasonal tour guide at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park, tells folklorist Brent Bjorkman how his family’s multi-generational history with the cave led him to become a guide af…
Damon Walker, Luthier. Durham, North Carolina.
Damon Walker, a “luthier” or string instrument maker in Durham, North Carolina, talks about his work making and fixing double or ‘upright’ basses with folklorists Katy Clune and Julia Gartell as part…
Marcus Wimby, Funeral Home Director. Atlanta, Georgia.
Marcus Wimby, Director of Haugabrooks Funeral Home in Atlanta, Georgia, talks about his work and career. For more than 90 years, Haugabrooks has been a mainstay of Atlanta’s African American communit…
Seymour Ray (“Ray Idol”). Independent Professional Wrestler. Bristol, Tennessee.
This is AFC staff folklorist Nancy Groce and this America Works episode features excerpts from a longer interview with the independent professional wrestler Seymour Ray – a respected athlete who is w…