Rag Radio:
Bobby Bridger discusses the lasting impact
of Native American culture on our society
By Rag Radio / The Rag Blog / March 15, 2012
Author, historian, singer/songwriter, playwright, artist, actor, and theatrical producer Bobby Bridger was Thorne Dreyer’s guest on Rag Radio, Friday, March 9, 2012, on Austin community radio station KOOP-FM.
You can listen to the show here.
Culture on Rag Radio with Thorne Dreyer, Friday, March 9, 2012
On the show, Bridger discusses the issues raised in his most recent book, Where the Tall Grass Grows: Becoming Indigenous and the Mythological Legacy of the American West, which “explores the impact of Native American culture on the American psyche… and examines the impact of indigenous American mythology on contemporary identity and the development of modern popular entertainment, particularly the Hollywood film industry.”
On the show, Bridger contrasts the roles played by iconic figures like Sitting Bull and John Wayne in depicting Indian culture, and the impact of Lakota holy man Black Elk and his book, “Black Elk Speaks.” Ken McKenzie-Grant participated in this interview and the show includes live performance by Bridger.
This is our second Rag Radio interview with Bobby Bridger; the first occurred on Nov. 18, 2011, and you can listen to it here.
Bobby Bridger, who lives in Houston, is also the author of A Ballad of the West, and other books about native American culture and the American West. A descendant of legendary “mountain man” Jim Bridger, Bobby was featured in an entire chapter of Jan Reid’s classic book, The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock.
Bridger, who is also a trained sculptor, painter, and art educator, has appeared twice on PBS’ Austin City Limits, on PBS’s American Experience, and on Good Morning America and other major national media. He is the composer of the anthem of the Kerrville Folk Festival, “Heal in the Wisdom,” and London-based Qube Pictures released a boxed set DVD collection of his highly-acclaimed epic theatrical trilogy, A Ballad of the West.
Rag Radio, which has aired since September 2009 on KOOP 91.7-FM, a cooperatively-run all-volunteer community radio station in Austin, Texas, features hour-long in-depth interviews and discussion about issues of progressive politics, culture, and history.
Hosted and produced by Rag Blog editor and long-time alternative journalist Thorne Dreyer, a pioneer of the Sixties underground press movement, Rag Radio is broadcast every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CST) on KOOP and streamed live on the web. After broadcast, all episodes are posted as podcasts and can be downloaded at the Internet Archive.
Rag Radio is also rebroadcast on Sundays at 10 a.m. (EST) on WFTE, 90.3-FM in Mt. Cobb, PA, and 105.7-FM in Scranton, PA. Rag Radio is produced in the KOOP studios, in association with The Rag Blog, a progressive internet newsmagazine, and the New Journalism Project, a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Tracey Schulz is the show’s engineer and co-producer.
Coming up on Rag Radio:
THIS FRIDAY, March 16, 2012: Journalist and labor activist David Bacon on how U.S. policies fueled Mexico’s great migration.
