This episode is part two of The Soul of Music—Overheard’s four-part series focusing on music, exploration, and Black history. Our guest this week is Sampa The Great, a Zambian-born rapper, singer, and songwriter. Sampa spent most of her childhood living in Botswana, and her music career took off in Australia; but when the pandemic hit, Sampa returned home to ... Show More
Jul 2023
Trapped in the icy waters of the Northwest Passage
For centuries, the Northwest Passage, the long-sought sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through northern Canada, was a holy grail of Arctic exploration. Even now, sailing through it isn’t guaranteed. Mark Synnott, a National Geographic Explorer, writer, and adv ... Show More
34m 16s
Jul 2023
Playback: Modern Lives, Ancient Caves
There’s a lost continent waiting to be explored, and it’s right below our feet. We’ll dig into the deep human relationship to the underground—and why we understand it from an instinctive point of view, but not so much from a physical one. (Hint: We’re afraid of the dark.) In an e ... Show More
28m 39s
Jun 2023
Playback: This Indigenous Practice Fights Fire with Fire
For decades, the U.S. government evangelized fire suppression, most famously through Smokey Bear’s wildfire prevention campaign. But as climate change continues to exacerbate wildfire seasons and a growing body of scientific research supports using fire to fight fire, Indigenous ... Show More
29m 8s
Jul 2023
Secrets of African rhythms with Sampa the Great, Thandiswa Mazwai, Emmanuel Jagari Chanda and Mag44
Sampa the Great, Thandiswa Mazwai, Emmanuel Jagari Chanda and Mag44 discuss music standing the test of time, African music, and the new generation of musicians.Sampa the Great was born in Ndola in Zambia and became interested in music from a young age, writing poems and singing f ... Show More
36m 33s
Dec 2021
Amanda Shires For Christmas
Today we have a special Broken Record Holiday episode with Nashville singer Amanda Shires. Shires’ new holiday album, For Christmas, isn’t meant to make you feel merry and bright. Instead it’s an acknowledgment of the complicated feelings that can come along with the holidays, li ... Show More
41m 8s
May 2022
Prodigies: Dimi Mint Abba
Dimi Mint Abba (1958-2011) was the diva of the desert. Widely considered Mauritania’s most famous musician, her soaring vocals have proven the soundtrack for generations of North Africans.History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we ... Show More
5m 13s
Oct 2020
Post-Pandemic Paradise in Rapa Nui
What happens to a tourist paradise when no one shows up to visit? Rapa Nui, known to many as Easter Island, typically welcomes more than 120,000 visitors each year—which is a lot for a place with only 10,000 residents. After COVID-19 shuts down flights to this remote island, citi ... Show More
42m 11s
Aug 2022
The Hidden Messages In Taylor Swift’s Album Release
On the show today… Lizzo took home the Video for Good Award at the MTV VMA’s and her speech is one for the history books, but unfortunately, it was all hooked on a vicious new interview about her that went viral. Here’s what you need to know. And, we were threatened with this ide ... Show More
16m 30s