Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) and Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" (1964): In the first episode of our new Pop, Race, and the ’60s Slate Academy, Slate pop critic Jack Hamilton talks to Barry Shank, author of The Political Force of Musical Beauty, about two immensely famous protest songs. Where did Dylan get the melody for “Blowin’ in the Wind”? What makes “A Change Is Gonna Come” so beautiful? And why is Dylan perhaps the most written-about musician of his era while Cooke has been neglected?

The first episode of this Slate Academy is being made available as a special preview. To hear the rest of the series, sign up for Slate Plus at slate.com/popacademy.

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Pop, Race, & the ’60s episode 1: Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke