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The Dust Bowl

A 400-year alternatative history of the United States between the Mayflower and the Moon continues with the Dust Bowl

The great migration of agricultural workers from the Dust Bowl states to California. Here they were told that jobs were plentiful, that the streets were paved with gold. This turned out not to be the case. Presenter Joe Queenan immerses himself in the music of Woody Guthrie, the photos of Dorothea Lange and the novel by John Steinbeck to recreate a disaster everyone knew about at the time. Includes contributions by Clive Webb of Sussex University and the play Migrant Mother by Michael Symmons Roberts.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Available now

14 minutes

Broadcast

  • Tue 8 Sep 2020 13:45