Sophia Michaels
A new ten-episode podcast, America’s Dead, will dig into the everlasting, multi-faceted legacy of the Grateful Dead with the help of some of their biggest fans. The show arrives in full today, Sept. 15, via Sonos Radio.
Filmmaker/producer/Deadhead Emmett Malloy spearheaded America’s Dead, and served as host as well. The series will feature interviews about the Dead with a smattering of noted musicians, including Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Mac DeMarco, Animal Collective, Lila Downs, and Branford Marsalis. One particularly special episode will even feature the Grateful Dead’s own Bob Weir in conversation with Margo Price.
Along with musicians who’ve been inspired by the Dead, the show will feature folks of all stripes from the vast Deadhead community. That includes noted mycologist (i.e. mushroom expert) Paul Stamets; the Dead’s former tour manager Sam Cutler; Grateful Don/Don Bryant, founder of the Dead-centric sobriety group, Wharf Rats; and the University of Southern California’s Dean of Religious Life, Dr. Varun Soni. Contemporary artist ESPO and the L.A. streetwear label Online Ceramics will also discuss the Dead’s lasting iconography and visual language.
“This is a podcast about the Grateful Dead — but even more than that, it’s about the community that made the Dead who they are, “Malloy said in a statement. “A truly American experiment.”
