CONTEMPORARY ORAL-HISTORY & DOCUMENTARY PODCAST ARCHIVE
Original conversations documenting the people, experiences and ideas through which the Blues is lived, understood and expressed.
Ongoing podcast series
original long-form conversations
Talking Blues begins with conversation. Musicians, historians, writers and others connected to the Blues share their experiences, influences, memories and perspectives in their own voices. Together, these conversations form a growing record of the Blues as it is lived, understood and expressed.
Each interview becomes part of a larger collection. The original conversation is preserved through audio, video, a proofed transcript and documentary stills. People, places, eras and themes connect individual interviews across the archive, allowing relationships and recurring ideas to emerge over time.
The purpose is not to define the Blues through a single voice, but to preserve many voices—and make the connections between them easier to discover.
Explore the people, stories and experiences behind some of Talking Blues' most-listened-to episodes.
Seven years beside Muddy Waters gave Bob Margolin a front-row seat to Chicago Blues history. He reflects on Muddy, Raw Chicago Blues, life on the road, and the realities of being a working musician while carrying that tradition forward for a new generation.
Harmonica player, author and scholar Adam Gussow explores the Blues from both the bandstand and the classroom. The conversation reaches from his years performing with Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee to the history, culture and enduring meaning of the Blues.
Blues historian and Robert Johnson biographer Bruce Conforth separates the man from the mythology. The conversation reaches from Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis to the folk revival, authenticity, and a lifetime spent investigating Blues history.
Real interview videos will be embedded here as they are edited and published.
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Publication status: coming soon.© 2026 TALKING BLUES ARCHIVE. ALL RECORDINGS AND MATERIALS CATALOGED FOR PUBLIC ACCESS. EXPLORING THE BLUES CONDITION AND ITS EXPRESSIONS.