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Podcast: Art Works Podcast
Episode: Exploring American Routes: A Conversation with Nick Spitzer
Description: In this special Thanksgiving episode of Art Works, we’re revisiting our interview with Nick Spitzer, folklorist, radio host, and the 2023 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellow. Nick discusses his path from college radio to producing the award-winning American Routes, a program that has spent 25 years exploring the intersections of Cajun, Creole, jazz, blues, gospel, and more. He shares stories of cultural discovery, the concept of creolization, and his commitment to bringing traditional and vernacular arts to national audiences. Nick reflects on his formative experiences—from fieldwork in Louisiana to curating programs for the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival—and the prof...