It’s been called ‘the most noble and absurd undertaking ever attempted by any state.’ During the height of the Great Depression, the U.S government hired out-of-work writers and laid-off reporters and sent them out to record the stories of all kinds of Americans. Called the Federal Writers’ Project, historians have called the program a giant “listening project.”While on our summer break, we’re sharing the first episode of a new podcast series called The People’s Recorder. Host Chris Haley sets the stage, laying out 1930s America, the New Deal, and the cultural forces that both supported and opposed the Writers’ Project. The project of holding up to America raises questions: What history gets told? And who gets to tell it? You can listen to rest of the series by searching for The People’s Recorder wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more at peoplesrecorder.info  Guests:Scott Borchert, authorDavid Bradley, novelistDr. Douglas Brinkley, historianDr. Tameka Hobbs, historianDavid Kipen, authorDena Epstein, daughter of Hilda PolacheckStuds Terkel, oral historianLinks and Resources:American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' ProjectBorn to Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' ProjectAuthor Scott Borchert on the Federal Writers' Project and the WPA guidebooksArticle on Library on Congress symposium on The Millions Further ReadingSoul of a People by David A. TaylorRepublic of Detours by Scott BorchertCalifornia in the 1930s by David KipenFirst Person America by Ann BanksHenry Alsberg by Susan DeMasiLong Past Slavery by Catherine A. StewartBarracoon by Zora Neale HurstonHard Times by Studs Terkel