# Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/fresh-air-214340/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonc
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/fresh-air-214340/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonc.md
Podcast: [Fresh Air](https://stenobird.com/podcast/fresh-air-214340)
Published: 2026-09-21T18:15:01+00:00
Episode link: https://www.npr.org/2026/09/21/nx-s1-5976861/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonce
Audio file: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-381444908/npr.simplecastaudio.com/49850946-31c1-4953-8129-0d718420c400/episodes/e657f050-0ccc-4c87-ad82-90f577aea132/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=49850946-31c1-4953-8129-0d718420c400&awEpisodeId=e657f050-0ccc-4c87-ad82-90f577aea132&feed=jBsBZBHh&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5976861&p=381444908&d=2817&size=45079493
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fresh-air-214340/episodes/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonc
Duration seconds: 2817

## Resource

A self-described "folkie to the bone," Giddens talks with Terry Gross about channeling her ancestors through her instrument, playing on Beyoncé’s country single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and a connection between Irish folk music and Dolly Parton. Giddens also sings and plays banjo and fiddle throughout the interview. Her latest album, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers , takes its name from an Emily Dickinson poem. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fresh-air-214340/episodes/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonc/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/fresh-air-214340/rhiannon-giddens-traces-the-banjo-from-her-ancestors-to-beyonc.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.