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.
Nicholas Christakis — How We’re Wired for Goodness
[Unedited] Nicholas Christakis with Krista Tippett
Robert Macfarlane — The Worlds Beneath Our Feet
[Unedited] Robert Macfarlane with Krista Tippett
Tracy K. Smith and Michael Kleber-Diggs — ‘History is upon us... its hand against our back.’
[Unedited] Tracy K. Smith and Michael Kleber-Diggs with Krista Tippett
Jill Tarter — 'It Takes a Cosmos to Make a Human'
[Unedited] Jill Tarter with Krista Tippett
Joy Harjo — The Whole of Time
[Extended] Joy Harjo with Krista Tippett
Daniel Kahneman – Why We Contradict Ourselves and Confound Each Other
[Unedited] Daniel Kahneman with Krista Tippett
Living the Questions — We’ve been enmeshed with our technologies. Tech Shabbat for everyone?
Hanif Abdurraqib — Moments of Shared Witnessing
[Unedited] Hanif Abdurraqib with Pádraig Ó Tuama
Layli Long Soldier — The Freedom of Real Apologies
[Unedited] Layli Long Soldier with Krista Tippett
Resmaa Menakem — ‘Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence’
[Unedited] Resmaa Menakem with Krista Tippett
Bryan Doerries — "You are not alone across time."
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