November 14, 2008

Historical audio

As an interesting coincidence to my reading The Grapes of Wrath came about a few days ago. I was listening to last week's This American Life podcast on my run on Tuesday. The first portion of the show was in honor of Studs Terkel who had passed away on October 31st. They played about 20 minutes of his 1970's interviews with survivors of the Great Depression. After reading Steinbeck's portrayal, it was interesting to hear from folks who had lived through this period.

Mr. Terkel's Conversation with America is a collection of interviews he conducted for his books and radio program. They covered a number of topics, and his interviews on the depression were used for his book Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. The interviews selected for the podcast were an interesting snapshot of the time. More audio of his interviews on various topics can be found on his website.

No comments: