Rural America has always been more nuanced and diverse than you often see in popular depictions. People have always experienced rural America in different ways -- for better or worse -- and their experiences have helped shape our rural culture. In this episode, join us in exploring rural identity. What does it mean to grow up in a small townhow? How do people in rural areas build and maintain their identities? How do they define themselves?

View the episode transcript.

Visit the Museum on Main Street website's story portal to share your own story about rural America!

Thanks to our storytelling partners at Be Here Stories at The Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum. Use the online recording tool to tell the Smithsonian about how your have experienced rural America.

This episode was produced for the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service by Better Lemon Creative Audio. Hannah Hethmon and Bobby Harley are your hosts. Produced, written and edited by Hannah Hethmon. Additional writing by Bobby Harley.