With the help of AFC staff, John Fenn and Stephen Winick will finally get to the bottom of the pesky question: what is the origin of folklore? They will also explore the infamous holiday of April Fools' Day. You'll learn about the history of April Fools' day along with the legends that accompany it. John, Stephen, and AFC staff will talk about the different tricks and pranks associated with the Fools' day, specifically the pranks that students played on their teachers in the early 20th century. You'll also learn about the intricate April Fools' pranks AFC staff play on each other at the Library, and hear a traditional Irish ballad associated with April Fools' Day.

With the help of colleagues from the National Museum of African American History and Culture as well as AFC staff, Stephen Winick and John Fenn explore the collaborative collection known as the Civil Rights History Project. You’ll learn about the piece of Congressional legislation that mandated the project, as well as the various roles that the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress have played in generating and maintaining the collection. You’ll find out about some of the fieldwork behind the interviews, as well as the more technical concerns that run through a born-digital collection. And you’ll hear several interview clips from the collection, all chosen by guests on the episode. The Civil Rights History Project is a valuable and rich collection hosted on the Library’s website, and this episode will help you understand a bit about what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to making such a collection available to the public.

With the help of AFC archivists, Stephen Winick and John Fenn reveal the history of a great work of African American folk creativity: the spiritual "Kumbaya" or "Come By Here." You'll hear how it was collected from oral tradition in Georgia and North Carolina in the 1920s, and hear it become the first State Historical Song of Georgia on the floor of the Georgia State Senate. You'll find out how the words "come by here," sung in a regional dialect, came to be spelled "Kumbaya" around the world. You'll hear how some people came to believe the song was written by a white evangelist from New York, while others thought it came to America from Angola. And you'll enjoy performances and commentary from Grammy-winning recording artists, expert archivists, and self-described library nerds. This is the story that got the Folklife Today blog covered by the New York Times!

Today we explore festive food traditions, including Thanksgiving and other holiday meals. Stephen Winick reveals what the Pilgrims REALLY ate at the 1621 event many Americans call "The First Thanksgiving." Megan Harris of the Veterans History Project shares interviews with wartime veterans about festive holiday meals in the military. Mackenzie Kwok brings interviews about ramps, a stinky wild onion that's at the center of its own festivals in some Appalachian communities.

This episode shares some of our favorite haunting or spooky songs for the Halloween season. It includes songs about vengeful ghosts, haunted fiddles, and our inevitable final confrontation with death. There's even a spooky story about a skeleton that plays the fiddle, complete with its favorite tune! Guests include Halloween expert Jack Santino and folksingers Jeff and Gerret Warner.

This episode shares some of our favorite songs of the Christmas season. It includes songs derived from English and Spanish medieval mystery plays, children's songs, cumulative carols, and other fun songs of the season. There's even a performance by the American Folklife Center mummers, who sing and perform a Christmas play every year at the Library of Congress.