Against the Grain EPISODE 1: There’s Something About Music
As Farm Aid’s Executive Director, Carolyn Mugar says, “Music opens you up … you hear what’s happening and you can take it in.” In this first episode of Against the Grain called, “There’s Something...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain EPISODE 2: Hoodwinked
As Farm Aid board artist Dave Matthews says, “the vast majority of people are good, the vast majority of people are community driven and want to take care of each other,” and understanding that fact...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain BONUS Episode – Neil Young: Truth to Power
We know some of you may be traveling in the next week or two, so we created this bonus episode as our holiday gift to you. In this episode we’ll highlight one of our Farm Aid board members, the...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain EP 3: Nobody’s Just Accidentally Losing Land
How do farmers lose land? As Kenya Crumel of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance says, it’s not like losing a set of keys: “Nobody’s just accidentally losing land.” Rather, she explains land...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Bonus EP 2: Rick Bayless, The Farmers’ Chef
We just got back from Luck Reunion, a music festival held on Farm Aid President, Willie Nelson’s ranch every March. There, we talked to farmers, artists and chefs. Specifically, we spoke to superstar...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain EP 4: It’s Not the Cow, It’s the How
As Farm Aid artist Micah Nelson says, “the soil is the most fundamental source of life.” When Micah and his family were riding out the pandemic at their ranch in Luck, Texas, they decided to start...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain EP 5: For Tribes, Food is Economy
Food desert is a term that is used in reference to the absence of good quality, nutritious food in a particular geographic area. But as Chef Bleu Adams of Indigehub says in this episode of Against the...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Bonus EP 3, Zach Ducheneaux: Administrator with An Ear to...
As we heard throughout the first season of Against the Grain, American farmers have historically struggled to get the United States Department of Agriculture to listen to, and address their most...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain EP 6: Connecting Farmers and Eaters
On this episode of Against the Grain, we’re bringing you as close as possible to an actual taste of the Farm Aid festival: We’re talking about the mind-blowing, family farm food that festivalgoers eat...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Bonus EP 4: Farm Aid’s Disaster Response
In the midst of this election season, the shocking devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton seemed to get attention from the candidates only briefly. Media coverage, meanwhile, has tended to...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Episode 7: Live Farm Aid 2024 Live Panel
In this episode of Against the Grain, we take you to the FarmYard Stage at Farm Aid 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York. There we made our first recording of an Against the Grain episode in front of a...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Holiday Bonus Episode: Willie Nelson and Family
We know some of you may be traveling in the next week or two, so we created this bonus episode as our holiday gift to you. In this special episode of Against the Grain, we dig into our recently...
View ArticleAgainst the Grain Bonus Episode: Justin Jones
In this episode of Against the Grain, join us backstage at Farm Aid 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York, for an interview with Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones. Farm Aid Board Artist Margo...
View ArticleHow Chefs and Farmers are Building the Good Food Movement
Against the Grain is heading back to the Luck Reunion festival, held on Farm Aid president Willie Nelson’s ranch outside of Austin, Texas. The night before the festival, the Luck Family Foundation puts...
View ArticleArtists and Activism Series: Intro Episode
Welcome to a new series of Against the Grain: The Farm Aid Podcast. Our present political moment is the perfect time for us to bring you this special series where, over seven episodes, we’ll talk to...
View ArticleEpisode 1: Folk Singers and Politics
In this first episode of Against the Grain’s new series on Artists and Activism, we focus on the American folk music tradition. Music journalist Dorian Lynskey provides valuable historical context. He...
View ArticleEpisode 2: Activist Storytelling
In this second episode of Against the Grain’s series on Artists and Activism, we carry on from last episode’s focus on the folk singing tradition to explore the ways artists use their storytelling...
View ArticleEpisode 3: Artist Ag-tivists
In this third episode of Against the Grain’s series on Artists and Activism, we talk to artists who come from farming backgrounds and have joined Farm Aid over the years to stand up for family...
View ArticleEpisode 4: Haters Gonna Hate
In this episode of Against the Grain’s new series on artists and activism, we zero in on a subject that has come up in all of the previous episodes – artists catching flak for taking a public stand on...
View ArticleEpisode 5: Artists on a Burning Planet
In this fifth episode of Against the Grain’s series on artists and activism, we talk to Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson and Allison Russell about their experiences with climate change at home and on the...
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