Dolly tunes into America’s heartbeat

It’s known as the land of the free and the home of the brave, but modern America could be described as being in a bit of a mess. With an unpredictable president under threat of impeachment, the country is divided on issues of race and the distribution of wealth.

Some new podcasts attempt to go behind the headlines to answer what it means to be American in 2019.

A much anticipated podcast released this week is Dolly Parton’s America, presented by Radiolab cohost Jad Abumrad. He followed Parton for two years for this nine-part series, to look at the impact the country music star has had on American culture.

What he finds is that Parton transcends the rural and urban, liberal and conservative, to somehow bring people together.

Parton is well-known for her music and her boob jokes, but her life story – a young girl coming down from the Tennessee mountains to conquer the world – is one that takes Abumrad down many rabbit holes and into lots of mini ‘‘Dolly-verses’’.

In the podcast, Parton opens up about her music, business empire, faith, and politics, and more than 50 other interviewees sum up and challenge what Parton’s story represents. She makes a fascinating study in social culture and feminism, and I am hooked.

Parton was once described as a ‘‘great-unifier’’ by journalist Sarah Smarsh, host of a new podcast about rural and working-class Americans. The Homecomers looks to dispel the myth that small, rural towns and areas in America are dying economically and culturally.

Smarsh interviews six champions of places that society would have them get out of, celebrating the richness of rural people.

Finally, the impeachment story hasn’t gone unnoticed by the podcast world.

CNN is running a daily podcast, The Daily DC: Impeachment Watch, featuring experts and reporters discussing the evolving story.