We are digging into the archives to celebrate some of the conversations listeners have loved the most and that have shaped this project. Béla Fleck is one of the greatest living banjo players. He’s followed what many experience as this quintessential American roots instrument back to its roots in Africa, and he’s taken it where no banjo has gone before. Abigail Washburn is a celebrated banjo player and singer, both in English and Chinese. These two are partners in music and in life — recovering something ancient and deeply American all at once, bringing both beauty and refreshment to what they play and how they live.
Béla Fleck has recorded over 40 albums, most famously with The Flecktones and New Grass Revival. His albums include Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, UFO Tofu, and Rocket Science. He has released two full album collaborations with Abigail Washburn, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn and Echo in the Valley. In 2020, he released Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions. His latest album is, My Bluegrass Heart.
Abigail Washburn is a clawhammer banjo player and singer. Her solo albums include Song of the Traveling Daughter and City of Refuge. Her newest album is Wu Fei And Abigail Washburn, a collaboration with her longtime friend, the renowned guzheng player Wu Fei.
Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.
This show originally aired in June 2015.
Bryan Doerries — "You are not alone across time."
[Unedited] Bryan Doerries with Krista Tippett
Serene Jones — Grace in a Fractured World
[Unedited] Serene Jones with Krista Tippett
Michael Longley — The Vitality of Ordinary Things
[Unedited] Michael Longley with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Christine Runyan with Krista Tippett
Naomi Shihab Nye — “Before You Know Kindness As the Deepest Thing Inside...”
[Unedited] Naomi Shihab Nye with Krista Tippett
The Question “Who Am I,” and Movies We Love
Ariel Burger — Be a Blessing
[Extended] Ariel Burger with Krista Tippett
Alain de Botton — The True Hard Work of Love and Relationships
[Unedited] Alain de Botton with Krista Tippett
Living the Questions — What's our communal equivalent of rubbing each other's feet?
The Soul in Depression
[Unedited] Andrew Solomon with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Anita Barrows with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Parker Palmer with Krista Tippett
J. Drew Lanham reads his poem “Love for a Song”
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