The Forgotten Country Radio Show

Will Hoge is a Grammy nominated singer and songwriter born and raised in Tennessee. His latest album, My American Dream, takes on border police, political corruption, anti-intellectualism, poverty and the NRA. On this episode, we talk about the politics of Nashville and identity in the new South.

The millennial generation is quickly becoming the most "bright lights, big city" generation in history. More young people are leaving small towns for the city than ever before.Eric Powell Holm is an artist born and raised in Brookings, South Dakota now living in Brooklyn, New York who has found himself part of this new "Rural Diaspora." We talk about leaving our hometowns and rediscovering our rural roots. He even plays us a few of his "Queer Leftist Country Songs."

In this special episode of Flyover Folk, we're LIVE from the Smokey Row Coffee Shop in Oskaloosa, Iowa for the Des Moines Register's "Changing Iowa" public service series. The conversation, hosted by Lynn Hicks of the Des Moines Register, examines the sweeping demographic and workplace changes confronting Iowans, their communities, and the state’s economy. In this episode, we explore ways to create great communities for all generations.

For generations, political cartoonists have used their art and satire to editorialize on complex cultural and political issues.Today’s guest, Marty Two Bulls Sr, is an award-winning Oglala Lakota cartoonist who has spent the last few decades creating political cartoons for both native and non-native media outlets. We talk about his art and issues currently facing the native community—especially the Oglala Lakota Community on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.You can learn more about Marty Two Bulls Sr. and see some of the prints we discussed on today’s episode by visiting m2bulls.com

The election of Donald Trump encouraged many people to run for local office. This didn't just happen in cities, but in small towns as well. Today's guest, Bryn Bird, is a local farmer in Licking County, Ohio. She's running for a township trustee position and it's her first time seeking public office. We talk about the challenges of running for office and how she navigates local politics.

Dr. Katherine Cramer, a political scientist and author of "The Politics of Resentment", dives into the complex dynamics of rural consciousness in American politics. She discusses how rural resentment played a crucial role in the election of Donald Trump and the subsequent political shifts. Cramer shares insights on bridging the urban-rural divide, emphasizing the need for authentic dialogue and representation of rural voices. She also critiques traditional polling methods and examines the intricate relationship between rural identity, economic struggles, and resistance to redistribution policies.

The Ruralists is a band from Sioux Center, Iowa who believes art and beauty can be found hidden in the back of any old garage in small town America. On this episode of Flyover Folk, Luke Hawley and Laremy De Vries of the Ruralists discuss creativity and music in the center of America's farm country.

Much of America’s economic and community development decisions are made in urban centers and this urban bias puts rural people at a real disadvantage. Today’s guest, Nicholas Garcia, is a rural social scientist at the Ohio State University who studies the accessibility of rural communities for people with disabilities. On today’s episode, we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of rurality on both micro and macro levels and how local leaders can turn their local challenges into opportunities for their community.

Iowa Congressman Steve King in many ways has become the face of rural American politics. He often attracts the national spotlight through his racist anti-immigrant rhetoric and rants against a multicultural America. King made national news again recently, this time for saying that “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” But ironically for King, Latino immigrants are the single biggest hope for rebuilding rural America — specifically his rural America. Populations in 31 of the 39 counties King represents have declined between 2010 and 2015.

Americans are living through the worst addiction epidemic in our nation’s history. Today, more Americans die each year from overdose than from car accidents and firearms with many of the worst casualties happening far from the media spotlight in rural communities and small towns in the Flyover States. Today’s guest is Dr. Kathleen Frydl. Dr. Frydl is a political historian and author of Drug Wars in America, 1940-1973, and The GI Bill. She is currently working on the history of Catholic hospitals in modern America.