America Works, an ongoing podcast series from the Library of Congress, 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.
Latest episodes
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11 min
Kolma “Sam” Ewu, Meatpacking Plant Worker. Beardstown, Illinois
West African immigrant Komla Ewu tells oral historian John McKerley about how he left a prestigious but unprofitable teaching career in his native Togo to pursue the American dream…
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10 min
William (Bill) Hatch, Vineyard Owner and Winery Worker. Leesburg, Virginia
Bill Hatch, a farmer, winery work and the owner of Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia, explains to folklorist Kim Stryker how he transformed his multi-generational famil…
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10 min
Thomas Sink (Popcorn the Circus Comic). Circus Worker, Professional Clown. Mead, Oklahoma
Thomas Sink, who is better known to his many fans as “Popcorn the Circus Comic,” is interviewed by oral historians Tanya Finchum and Juliana Nykolaiszyn as part of their AFC-sponso…
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10 min
Kira Fobbs, Elementary School Teacher. Madison, Wisconsin
Kira Fobbs, an elementary school teacher who has devoted her life to teaching 3rd and 4th graders and Special Ed students in the schools of Madison, Wisconsin, is interviewed by fo…
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10 min
Dolores Fortuna, Professional Potter. Galena, Illinois
The respected profession potter Dolores Fortuna, head of Fortuna Pottery in Galena, Illinois, is interviewed in her studio by folklorist Meredith McGriff. Fortuna, whose career inc…
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10 min
Henrietta Ivey, Home Health Care Professional. Detroit, Michigan
Henrietta Ivey, a dedicated home health care professional, is interviewed in her Detroit home by Michigan State gerontologist Clare Luz and her colleague, epidemiologist Khalid Ibr…
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10 min
Roberta Washington, Architect. New York, New York
The distinguished architect Roberta Washington, who is the principal (or head) of her own firm, Roberta Washington Architects in New York City, speaks with oral historian and archi…
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10 min
Mario Cervantes, Boeing Air Craft Factory Worker. Wichita, Kansas
Mario Cervantes, a skilled factory worker who makes the tools that make the planes for Boeing aircraft in Wichita, Kansas, is interviewed by Briana O’Higgins on behalf of the Kansa…
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10 min
Bernardo “Bernie” Piña, Fresh Produce Salesman. Nogales, Arizona
Arizonian Bernardo “Bernie” Piña is the sales manager at Ciruli Brothers, a family-owned fresh produce import company in Nogales, Arizona. For generations, the city of Nogales, whi…
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10 min
Mike Peabody, Garbage Man and Recycling. Barre, Vermont
Mike Peabody of Barre, Vermont, is a program coordinator at the Additional Recyclables Collection Center (ARCC) of the Central Vermont Waste Management District, one of the few har…
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9 min
Jim Mercer, Commercial Marine Diver. New Bedford, Massachusetts
Underwater marine diver Jim Mercer describes his year-round job checking, maintaining, and repairing commercial fishing boats in and around the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts.…
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10 min
Kim Spicer, Electrician and Wire-Women. Queens, New York
Electrician and journey wire-woman Kim Spicer is a proud member of The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local #3, in Queens, New York. Kim talks about how sh…
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10 min
Jennifer Sgro, Nurse Practitioner, Night Ministry Bus. Chicago, Illinois
This episode features Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Sgro, who works with The Night Ministry in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1976, The Night Ministry provides housing and healthcare…
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14 min
James Hensley, Port Pilot. Houston, Texas
Houston ship channel pilot Captain James Hensley has the daunting task of guiding giant ocean-going ships into and out of one of the world’s largest and busiest ports. The famous H…
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11 min
Heather Campbell Hill, Funeral Director. Raleigh, North Carolina
Funeral director Heather Campbell Hill of the Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh, North Carolina is interviewed by folklorist Sarah Bryan as part of an Archie Green Fellowship fro…
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9 min
Sarah Fortin, Fish Net Maker. New Bedford, Massachusetts
Fish net maker Sarah Fortin was working for Reidar’s Trawl & Scallop Gear Marine Supply in New Bedford, Massachusetts when she was interviewed by oral historian Fred Calabretta fro…
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Patrick Bovenzi, Race Track Worker and Horse Identifier. Tampa Bay, Florida
Originally from upstate New York, Patrick Bovenzi has spent his entire career as a race track worker, rising through the ranks to hold numerous official positions at race tracks ac…
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Patrick Bovenzi, Race Track Worker and Horse Identifier. Tampa Bay, Florida
Originally from upstate New York, Patrick Bovenzi has spent his entire career as a race track worker, rising through the ranks to hold numerous official positions at race tracks ac…
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Sharon Sisson, Iron Worker. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago-based folklorist Bucky Halker interviews iron worker Sharon Sisson and her husband, iron worker Richard Sisson about their experiences as iron workers in the Chicago area.…
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Sharon Sisson, Iron Worker. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago-based folklorist Bucky Halker interviews iron worker Sharon Sisson and her husband, iron worker Richard Sisson about their experiences as iron workers in the Chicago area.…