America Works Podcast By Library of Congress cover art

America Works

America Works

By: Library of Congress
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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. Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Kate Lott. Large animal veterinarian. Tillamook, Oregon.
    Mar 19 2026

    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.”

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    6 mins
  • Peg Rauschenberger. Psychiatric Nurse. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
    Mar 12 2026

    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.

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    6 mins
  • Robert O’Keffe. Veteran Administration Nurse. Willington, Delaware.
    Mar 5 2026

    Robert O’Keffe, a nurse and former Marine, talks about how his experiences and dedication led to his current career in a Veterans Health Administration hospital. He was interviewed in Wilmington, Delaware, during the Covid epidemic by oral historian Alana Glaser for her Occupational Folklife Project on “Nursing America’s Veterans.”

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    6 mins
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