Podcast review: Dolly Parton’s America, New York Public Radio (2019-20)

I don’t remember which of my Facebook friends suggested this one to me, but I’m glad they did, it’s scrumptious! The way this show talks about – not just America – but the world, is eminently satisfying, as Dolly Parton (aged now in her 70s) emerges as a sympathetic figure for people across the political divide.

Imperceptibly she’s become an icon of popular culture as demonstrated by this show, which was put together by a Tennessee native named Jad Abumrad (whose father, a doctor, had treated Parton following a minor traffic accident). Once again we see the strength of American journalism, an enterprise with many branches that has an ability to commit resources in the service of a bigger cause by focusing intently on the particulars of individual cases.

For most progressive (certainly, in my case) Dolly Parton was, while I was growing up, an emblem belonging to the enemy. But her dogged commitment to a singular style – country music has reached new heights in recent years with such artists as Taylor Swift rejuvenating the brand – and a willingness to embrace its kitschy overtones, has meant that Parton has triumphed where other singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 70s have languished, since the 1990s, in obscurity – only remembered when they die and tributes briefly flow. Parton, on the other hand, uses a flinty brand of commercialism to overcome obstacles by appealing to a wide audience. Her listeners are as likely to be gay as Trump voters.

Parton has flowered, her ability, at the same time, to embrace both feminism and femininity – two apparently conflicting sets of ideas – meaning she’s more popular than ever, though she’s reached an age when most artists put down the tools of their trade and take the road to retirement. It seems Parton still has things to say.

Abumrad has one of those standard American accents – which I’d also found with the accents of the narrators of ‘Shittown’ and ‘Joe Exotic’ and ‘Bear Brook’ – that contrasts with the down-home accents of Parton’s voice. In one episode Abumrad examines the issue of regional accents in detail, helping to paint a vivid portrait of America.

The first two programs listed in the above paragraph also evoke the cultural border between small-town America and the America of New York and Chicago and Los Angeles (and sundry other cities where a counterculture has been able to grow). It’s a border present in the very voices of the people used to tell the story, including that of the narrator. The textures of the sounds hold up for view a certain set of ideas that belong to a phenomenon that is visible from anywhere in the world. 

Abumrad and the producers at WNYC radio have produced something indicative of larger problems that America faces. And in slightly different forms they apply in other countries, too.