America Works

About America Works

Features the voices of contemporary workers from throughout the United States talking about their lives, their workplaces, and their on-the-job experiences. Drawn from hundreds of longer oral history interviews collected by fieldworkers for the American Folklife Center's Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), America Works is a testament to the wisdom, wit, knowledge, and dedication of today's working Americans. These engaging oral histories, which have are preserved in the American Folklife Center's archive, are enriching and expanding America's historical record.

Publisher

Library of Congress

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Feb 2022

Latest episode

26 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

43 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Mar 2026

   Maija Holsti. Pediatric Emergency Physician. Salt Lake City, Utah.

   Dr. Maija Holsti, a Pediatric Emergency Physician and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in Salt Lake City talks with folklorist Lisa Gabbert she talks about what led her into working with children and the challenges and joys of her profession for the Occupational Folklife Project “Doctoring: The Occupational Folklore of Physicians.”

2. 

   19 Mar 2026

   Kate Lott. Large animal veterinarian. Tillamook, Oregon.

   Kate Lott is a large animal veterinarian who specializes in dairy cattle and works for the Tillamook County Creamery Association. She talks about her enthusiasm for cows, her training and about taking care of them during this interview with folklorist Jared Schmidt as part of his Occupational Folklife Project “Tillamook: Cheesemakers in Coastal Oregon.”

3. 

   12 Mar 2026

   Peg Rauschenberger. Psychiatric Nurse. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

   Peg Rauschenberger, a psychiatric nurse and faculty member at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, talks with folklorist Charitie Hyman about the rewards and challenges of her job as mental health worker for Hyman’s Occupational Folklife Project documenting 20 psychiatric nurses throughout the Bager State.

Who has been a guest on America Works

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Patrick Palmer
• Bill Favaro
• Juan Salcido Sanchez

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

79,715,622

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

10

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

51