{"podcast":{"title":"Silent Generation","slug":"silent-generation-6734898","podcast_index_feed_id":6734898,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/silentgeneration/feed.xml","website_url":"https://silentgeneration.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/17628020/Podcast_Artwork_1.jpeg","author":"Silent Generation","episode_count":114,"summary":"Silent Generation is a Chicago-based cultural analysis podcast that surveys the cultural consequences of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century. It explores what was lost between the Silent Generation and Generation Z. Topics discussed include aesthetics, fashion, history, and urbanism. Find us on Instagram: silent.generation","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T00:17:31.203873+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/silent-generation-6734898"},"episode":{"title":"Ep. 108. Freak Folk w/ Madeline Rupard","slug":"ep-108-freak-folk-w-madeline-rupard","published_at":"2026-06-16T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/silent-generation-6734898/ep-108-freak-folk-w-madeline-rupard","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/silent-generation-6734898","url":"https://silentgeneration.podbean.com/e/ep-108-freak-folk-w-madeline-rupard/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/hifg5z23s3xr843q/Freak_Folk_Final_Edit.mp3","summary":"Freak Folk was a subgenre of folk music popular from the early to late 2000s that emerged after younger indie musicians took inspiration from 1960s psychedelic folk. Initially defying characterization, people started to label their music “Freak Folk” beginning in 2004 after Devendra Banhart curated a compilation CD titled The Golden Apples of the Sun that unintentionally anthologized the subgenre. Most Freak Folk artists rejected the label, but it described a cohesive sound best characterized by childlike vocals, unusual musical instruments, and lo-fi production quality. This week, Nathan is joined by professor and painter Madeline Rupard (from Ep. 84: Rest Stops) to discuss the subgenre in depth. The two begin by tracing Freak Folk’s origins to Vashti Bunyan and Davendra Banhart, detailing how the two collaborated. They then dedicate a large portion of the episode to singer-songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom, discussing all four of her albums: The Milk-Eyed Mender, Ys, Have One On Me, and Divers. They then briefly cover the work CocoRosie and Animal Collective before concluding the episode with a speculative discussion about why most Freak Folk musicians received Waldorf educations in their youth. Links: Madeline Rupard - Instagram Page https://www.madelinerupard.com/ Joannna Newsom is not on Spotify The Sprout and the Bean by Joann Newsom Bridges & Balloons by Joann Newsom Emily by Joanna Newsom Have One On Me by Joanna Newsom Sapokanikan by Joanna Newsom Terrible Angels by Cocorosie Winters Love by Animal Collective Rejoicing in the Hands by Vashti Bunyan & Davendra Banhart The Golden Apples of the Sun (2004) Devendra Banhart is Not a Freak Freak Folk’s Very Own Pied Piper by Alec Hanley Bemis BiRd-BrAiNs by Tune-Yards - Pitchfork Review Joanna Newsom, the…","meta_description":"Freak Folk was a subgenre of folk music popular from the early to late 2000s that emerged after younger indie musicians took inspiration from 1960s psyche…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":6104,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/silent-generation-6734898/episodes/ep-108-freak-folk-w-madeline-rupard/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/silent-generation-6734898/ep-108-freak-folk-w-madeline-rupard.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}