On today's episode, Jennie talks with Kathryn Miller Haynes, Head of the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh. The center is a successor institution of the Foster Hall Collection, the cornerstone of concrete memorial culture that sprung up around Stephen Foster in the early 20th century. Kathy is also a novelist and, as you'll hear, a great conversationalist. Remembering Stephen Foster has always been a fraught enterprise, and we talk about what's changed in the last 20 years, especially the recent period of monument removal and remaking of public space.

To learn more about the Center for American music, visit their website at: https://library.pitt.edu/center-american-music.

To learn more about the show and the book, visit our website at: www.StephenFosterAt200.com.

Welcome to Stephen Foster at 200, a companion podcast to the edited volume Stephen Foster at 200: A Critical Reappraisal. In this first episode, hosts Jason Lee Guthrie and Jennie Lightness-Goff sit down with Robin James, the book's editor. Our conversation covered the project's background and why we were interested in writing about Stephen Foster in 2026.

To learn more about the show and the book, visit our website at: www.StephenFosterAt200.com.

On July 4th, 1826, America celebrated its jubilee Independence Day and mourned the loss of two founding fathers. It also welcomed the birth of a boy in Pittsburgh who would one day be known as the “Father of American Music.”

Stephen Foster was the composer of many popular early American songs including “Camptown Races,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Swanee River,” and “Beautiful Dreamer”. “Oh! Susanna” was not only Foster’s first hit, many people think that it’s the first hit song ever and that it helped to create the popular music industry as we know it today.

But like so many aspects of early American popular culture, the catchy melody and lighthearted lyrics of “Oh! Susanna” obscure a dark and violent reality. While many people know the earworm refrain of “I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,” most do not know that an original verse includes a racial slur and blithely references the tragic death of 500 African Americans.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence and the 200th anniversary of Foster’s birth, it is high time for a critical reappraisal of his legacy.

Join hosts Jason Lee Guthrie and Jennie Lightweis-Goff as we interview the experts and decipher the coded history of American music on Stephen Foster at 200.

To learn more about the show and the book, visit our website at: www.StephenFosterAt200.com.