Folk Music: The Cantrip of Revolution (And Its Dark Side)

Folk music isn't the soundtrack of the good guys — it's the soundtrack of conflict, period. In this episode, we explore why folk music accompanies every major social upheaval in history, from Irish rebel songs to American civil rights anthems to Confederate marches. We ask the uncomfortable question: whose songs survive, and whose get quietly filed away? 00:00:00 - Introduction: Folk music isn't what you think 00:01:15 - The thesis: Folk music accompanies conflict, not just positive change 00:02:30 - Irish rebel music: Centuries of protest in song 00:04:00 - The American Civil Rights Movement and freedom songs 00:06:00 - The dark side: Confederate folk songs and propaganda 00:08:00 - World tour: Folk protest music across cultures 00:10:00 - Can we separate good music from bad artists? 00:12:00 - Lost music: Great songs buried because of problematic singers 00:14:00 - Who wins the war writes the songbook This podcast episode was fully generated by AI — research, script, voices, and production. Built with Claude, Piper TTS, and automated pipeline tooling.