About Rachel Hopkin

Rachel Hopkin PhD is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University.

NBN Episodes hosted by Rachel:

William G. Pooley, "Body and Tradition in 19th-Century France: Félix Arnaudin and the Moorlands of Gascony, 1870-1914" (Oxford UP, 2019)

January 3, 2024

Body and Tradition in Nineteenth-Century France

William G. Pooley
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

The moorlands of Gascony are often considered one of the most dramatic examples of top-down rural modernization in nineteenth-century Europe. From an …

Jack Zipes on Life as a Folklorist, Folklore Studies and Publishing Fairy Tales

December 14, 2020

Life as a Folklorist and Folklore Studies

Jack Zipes
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Today I talked with Jack Zipes about a life in Folklore Studies, about some of his many publications, and about publishing fairy tales. Jack Zipes is …

Éva Guillorel, "Rhythms of Revolt: European Traditions and Memories of Social Conflict in Oral Culture" (Routledge, 2018)

May 26, 2020

Rhythms of Revolt

Éva Guillorel
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

The culture of insurgents in early modern Europe was primarily an oral one; memories of social conflicts in the communities affected were passed on th…

Steve Zeitlin, "The Poetry of Everyday Life: Storytelling and the Art of Awareness" (Cornell UP, 2016)

May 25, 2020

The Poetry of Everyday Life

Steve Zeitlin
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

This is a book of encounters. Part memoir, part essay, and partly a guide to maximizing your capacity for fulfillment and expression, The Poetry of Ev…

S. Ingram, W. G. Mullins, and T. Richardson, "Implied Nowhere: Absence in Folklore Studies" (UP of Mississippi, 2019)

July 30, 2019

Implied Nowhere

Shelley Ingram, Willow G. Mullins, and Todd Richardson
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

In Implied Nowhere: Absence in Folklore Studies (University Press of Mississippi, 2019) authors Shelley Ingram, Willow G. Mullins, and Todd Richardson…

M. D. Foster and J. A. Tolbert, "The Folkloresque: Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture World" (Utah State UP, 2015)

July 2, 2019

The Folkloresque

Michael Dylan Foster and Jeffrey A. Tolbert
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

This volume introduces a new concept to explore the dynamic relationship between folklore and popular culture: the "folkloresque." With "folkloresque,…

Fernando Orejuela and Stephanie Shonekan, "Black Lives Matter and Music: Protest, Intervention, Reflection" (Indiana UP, 2018)

May 7, 2019

Black Lives Matter and Music

Fernando Orejuela and Stephanie Shonekan, eds.
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Music has always been integral to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, with songs such as Kendrick Lamar’s "Alright," J. Cole’s "Be F…

Anand Prahlad, "The Secret Life of a Black Aspie: A Memoir" (U Alaska Press, 2017)

April 17, 2019

The Secret Life of a Black Aspie

Anand Prahlad
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Anand Prahlad was born on a former plantation in Virginia in 1954. This memoir, vividly internal, powerfully lyric, and brilliantly impressionistic, i…

Alexander Langlands, "Cræft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts" (Norton, 2017)

March 4, 2019

Cræft

Alexander Langlands
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Alexander Langlands is a British archaeologist, historian, writer, and broadcaster. His most recent book, Cræft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True …

David J. Puglia, "Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Baltimore 'Hon': The Folk in the City" (Lexington Books, 2018)

January 31, 2019

Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Baltimore 'Hon'

David J. Puglia
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Folklorist David J. Puglia is an assistant professor at the City University of New York and in his latest book - Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Ba…

Patrick B. Mullen, "Right to the Juke Joint: A Personal History of American Music" (U Illinois Press, 2018)

December 14, 2018

Right to the Juke Joint

Patrick B. Mullen
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

On its back cover, Patrick B. Mullen’s Right to the Juke Joint: A Personal History of American Music (University of Illinois Press, 2018) is aptly des…

Lee Bidgood, "Czech Bluegrass: Notes from the Heart of Europe” (U Illinois Press, 2017)

November 14, 2018

Czech Bluegrass

Lee Bidgood
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Although bluegrass music is typically associated with the bluegrass state of Kentucky and Appalachia, the genre is actually played in many pockets all…

Kate Parker Horigan, "Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative" (UP of Mississippi, 2018)

November 9, 2018

Consuming Katrina

Kate Parker Horigan
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of th…

James P. Leary, "Folksongs of Another America: Field Recordings from the Upper Midwest, 1937–1946" (U Wisconsin Press, 2015)

August 22, 2018

Folksongs of Another America

James P. Leary
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Folksongs of Another America: Field Recordings from the Upper Midwest, 1937–1946 (University of Wisconsin Press) first appeared in 2015 when it compri…

Marsha MacDowell, Clare Luz, and Beth Donaldson, "Quilts and Health" (Indiana UP, 2017)

July 25, 2018

Quilts and Health

Marsha MacDowell, Clare Luz, and Beth Donaldson
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

In Quilts and Health (Indiana University Press, 2017), Marsha MacDowell and her colleagues examine the phenomenon of health-related quilts, of which t…

Ann K. Ferrell, "Burley: Kentucky Tobacco in a New Century" (UP of Kentucky, 2013)

May 30, 2018

Burley

Ann K. Ferrell
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Ann K. Ferrell is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Folk Studies program at Western Kentucky University, and also Editor-in-Chief of the …

Joseph Sciorra, "Built with Faith: Italian American Imagination and Catholic Material Culture in NYC" (U Tennessee Press, 2018)

May 8, 2018

Built with Faith

Joseph Sciorra
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Folklore scholar Joseph Sciorra is the Director for Academic and Cultural Programs at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in Queens Colleg…

Jo Farb Hernandez, "Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments" (Raw Vision, 2013)

March 28, 2018

Singular Spaces

Jo Farb Hernandez
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments (Raw Vision, 2013) is an audacious tome. A comprehensive survey o…

Jean R. Freedman, "Peggy Seeger: A Life of Music, Love, and Politics" (U Illinois Press, 2017)

March 8, 2018

Peggy Seeger

Jean R. Freedman
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

When folklorist Jean Freedman first met Peggy Seeger in 1979, Freedman was an undergraduate on her junior year abroad in London, while her American co…

Claire Schmidt, "If You Don't Laugh, You'll Cry: The Occupational Humor of White Wisconsin Prison Workers" (U Wisconsin Press, 2017)

February 8, 2018

If You Don't Laugh, You'll Cry

Claire Schmidt
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Claire Schmidt is not a prison worker, rather she is a folklorist and an Assistant Professor at Missouri Valley College. However, many members of her …

Franz Rickaby, et al., "Pinery Boys: Songs and Songcatching in the Lumberjack Era" (U Wisconsin Press, 2017)

January 10, 2018

Pinery Boys

Franz Rickaby with Gretchen Dykstra and James P. Leary
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

Gretchen Dykstra's career to date has been both impressive and wide-ranging. She was the founding President of the Times Square Alliance, the former C…

David Hopkin, "Voices of the People in Nineteenth-Century France" (Cambridge UP, 2017)

December 25, 2017

Voices of the People in Nineteenth-Century France

David Hopkin
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

The author of this book, David Hopkin, is Professor of European Social History at Hertford College, Oxford. He is also my brother. However, I'm not fe…

Luisa Del Giudice, ed. "On Second Thought: Learned Women Reflect on Profession, Community, and Purpose" (U Utah Press, 2017)

December 8, 2017

On Second Thought

Luisa Del Giudice
Hosted by Rachel Hopkin

On Second Thought: Learned Women Reflect on Profession, Community, and Purpose (University of Utah Press, 2017) is a collection of thirteen essays by …