[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.77,0:00:08.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to tell you about my search\Nfor purpose as a journalist
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.71,0:00:12.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how Dolly Parton\Nhelped me figure it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.04,0:00:15.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I've been telling audio stories\Nfor about 20 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.67,0:00:17.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,first on the radio and then in podcasts.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.98,0:00:21.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I started the radio show\N"Radiolab" in 2002,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.88,0:00:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,here was the quintessential\Nstory move we would do.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.64,0:00:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'd bring on somebody --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.20,0:00:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Audio) Steven Strogatz:\NIt's one of the most hypnotic
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.82,0:00:31.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spellbinding spectacles in nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.29,0:00:34.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, you have to keep in mind,\Nit is absolutely silent.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.41,0:00:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jad Abumrad: Like this guy,\Nmathematician, Steve Strogatz,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.09,0:00:38.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he would paint a picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.53,0:00:40.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,SS: Picture it.\NThere's a riverbank in Thailand,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.85,0:00:42.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the remote part of the jungle,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.44,0:00:44.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're in a canoe,\Nslipping down the river.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.54,0:00:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no sound of anything,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.98,0:00:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe the occasional, you know,\Nexotic jungle bird or something.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.30,0:00:52.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: So you're in this imaginary\Ncanoe with Steve,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.65,0:00:56.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in the air all around you\Nare millions of fireflies.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.20,0:01:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what you see is sort of\Na randomized starry-night effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.61,0:01:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because all the fireflies\Nare blinking at different rates.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.59,0:01:05.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is what you would expect.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.49,0:01:08.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But according to Steve, in this one place,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.20,0:01:10.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for reasons no scientist\Ncan fully explain --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.91,0:01:12.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,SS: Whoop.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.100,0:01:14.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whoop.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.92,0:01:16.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whoop.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.14,0:01:19.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With thousands of lights on\Nand then off, all in sync.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.10,0:01:26.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Music and electric sounds)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.33,0:01:27.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: Now it's around this time
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.79,0:01:30.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would generally bring in\Nthe beautiful music, as I just did,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.00,0:01:33.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you'd start to get that warm feeling.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.03,0:01:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A feeling, that we know from science,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.84,0:01:36.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of localizes in your head and chest
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.78,0:01:38.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spreads through your body.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.26,0:01:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's that feeling of wonder.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.90,0:01:43.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From 2002 to 2010,\NI did hundreds of these stories.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.69,0:01:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sciency, neurosciency,\Nvery heady, brainy stories
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.16,0:01:50.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would always resolve\Ninto that feeling of wonder.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.78,0:01:53.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I began to see that as my job,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.44,0:01:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to lead people to moments of wonder.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.27,0:01:57.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What that sounded like was:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.78,0:02:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Various voices) "Huh!" "Wow!" "Wow!"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.09,0:02:03.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"That's amazing."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.28,0:02:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Whoa!" "Wow!"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.34,0:02:08.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: But I began to get\Nkind of tired of these stories.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.72,0:02:10.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, partially, it was the repetition.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.70,0:02:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember there was a day\NI was sitting at the computer,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.41,0:02:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making the sound of a neuron.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.83,0:02:15.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Crackling sound)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.01,0:02:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, take some white noise,\Nchop it up, very easy sound to make.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.35,0:02:23.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember thinking,\N"I have made this sound 25 times."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.24,0:02:25.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it was more than that --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.28,0:02:27.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a familiar path\Nto these stories.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.47,0:02:29.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You walk the path of truth,\Nwhich is made of science,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.98,0:02:31.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you get to wonder.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.16,0:02:33.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I love science, don't get me wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.21,0:02:35.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My parents emigrated\Nfrom a war-torn country,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.36,0:02:36.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came to America,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.60,0:02:41.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and science for them was, like,\Nmore their identity than anything else,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.45,0:02:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I inherited that from them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.27,0:02:46.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there was something\Nabout that simple movement
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.76,0:02:48.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from science to wonder
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.07,0:02:49.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that just started to feel wrong to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.93,0:02:52.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, is that the only path\Na story can take?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.94,0:02:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Around 2012,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.82,0:02:59.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I ran into a bunch of different stories\Nthat made me think, "No."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.47,0:03:00.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One story in particular,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.66,0:03:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where we interviewed\Na guy who described chemical weapons
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.70,0:03:07.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being used against him\Nand his fellow villagers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.35,0:03:08.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the mountains of Laos.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.61,0:03:10.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Western scientists went there,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.57,0:03:13.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,measured for chemical weapons,\Ndidn't find any.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.16,0:03:14.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We interviewed the man about this,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.82,0:03:16.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he said the scientists were wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.47,0:03:17.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We said, "But they tested."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.90,0:03:20.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "I don't care,\NI know what happened to me."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.39,0:03:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we went back and forth\Nand back and forth,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.56,0:03:24.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and make a long story short,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.47,0:03:26.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the interview ended in tears.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.98,0:03:28.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt ...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.75,0:03:29.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt horrible.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.04,0:03:34.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, hammering at a scientific truth,\Nwhen someone has suffered.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.04,0:03:36.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That wasn't going to heal anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.02,0:03:41.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And maybe I was relying\Ntoo much on science to find the truth.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.92,0:03:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it really did feel, at that moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.80,0:03:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there were a lot\Nof truths in the room,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.90,0:03:47.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we were only looking at one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.86,0:03:50.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I thought, "I've got to get\Nbetter at this."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.08,0:03:51.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so for the next eight years,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.67,0:03:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I committed myself to doing stories\Nwhere you heard truths collide.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.25,0:03:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We did stories\Nabout the politics of consent,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.42,0:04:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you heard the perspective\Nof survivors and perpetrators
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.32,0:04:01.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose narratives clashed.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.55,0:04:02.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We did stories about race,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.83,0:04:05.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how black men are systematically\Neliminated from juries,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.48,0:04:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet, the rules that try\Nand prevent that from happening
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.33,0:04:09.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only make things worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.55,0:04:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Stories about counter terrorism,\NGuantanamo detainees,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.12,0:04:13.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stories where everything is disputed,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.92,0:04:16.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all you can do is struggle\Nto try and make sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.28,0:04:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this struggle\Nkind of became the point.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.03,0:04:22.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I began to think, "Maybe that's my job."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.45,0:04:24.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To lead people to moments of struggle.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.02,0:04:26.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's what that sounded like:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.51,0:04:28.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Various voices) "But I see -- I, like --"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.62,0:04:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Uh, I --" (Sighs)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.94,0:04:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, so, like, huh --"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.96,0:04:33.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"That, I mean, I --"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.40,0:04:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You know -- golly -- I --" (Sighs)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.57,0:04:40.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: And that sigh right there,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.38,0:04:43.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to hear that sound\Nin every single story,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.14,0:04:46.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that sound\Nis kind of our current moment, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.20,0:04:50.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We live in a world where truth\Nis no longer just a set of facts
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.59,0:04:51.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be captured.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.78,0:04:52.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's become a process.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.97,0:04:55.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's gone from being a noun\Nto being a verb.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.34,0:04:57.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But how do you end that story?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.44,0:05:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, what literally kept happening\Nis we'd be, you know, telling a story,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.32,0:05:03.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cruising along,\Ntwo viewpoints in conflict,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.53,0:05:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you get to the end and it's just like --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.25,0:05:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, let me see.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.43,0:05:08.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do I say at the end?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.74,0:05:09.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, my God.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.92,0:05:11.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do you -- how do you end that story?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.98,0:05:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't just happily-ever-after it,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.77,0:05:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that doesn't feel real.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.30,0:05:16.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.48,0:05:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you just leave people\Nin that stuck place,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.89,0:05:20.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like, "Why did I just listen to that?"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.75,0:05:23.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, it felt like there had to be\Nanother move there.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.33,0:05:25.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Had to be a way beyond the struggle.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.97,0:05:29.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is what brings me to Dolly.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.25,0:05:32.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or Saint Dolly, as we like\Nto call her in the South.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.80,0:05:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to tell you about one little\Nglimmer of an epiphany that I had,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.47,0:05:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing a nine-part series\Ncalled "Dolly Parton's America" last year.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.66,0:05:41.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a bit of a departure for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.36,0:05:44.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I just had this intuition\Nthat Dolly could help me
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.56,0:05:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figure out this ending problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.34,0:05:48.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here was the basic intuition:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.12,0:05:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You go to a Dolly concert,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.42,0:05:52.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you see men in trucker hats\Nstanding next to men in drag,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.14,0:05:54.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Democrats standing next to Republicans,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.06,0:05:55.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,women holding hands,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.23,0:05:57.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every different kind of person\Nsmashed together.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.51,0:06:00.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of these people that we are told\Nshould hate each other
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.40,0:06:02.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are there singing together.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.15,0:06:05.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She somehow carved out\Nthis unique space in America,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.59,0:06:07.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I wanted to know, how did she do that?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.01,0:06:12.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I interviewed Dolly 12 times,\Ntwo separate continents.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.73,0:06:14.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She started every interview this way:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.52,0:06:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Audio) Dolly Parton: Ask me\Nwhatever you ask me,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.89,0:06:19.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm going to tell you\Nwhat I want to hear.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.11,0:06:20.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.14,0:06:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: She is undeniably a force of nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.82,0:06:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the problem that I ran into
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.13,0:06:29.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that I had chosen\Na conceit for this series
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.64,0:06:32.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that my soul had trouble with.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.08,0:06:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dolly sings a lot about the South.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.04,0:06:35.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you go through her discography,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.70,0:06:37.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you will hear song after song\Nabout Tennessee.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.99,0:06:40.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Music) DP: (Singing, various songs)\NTennessee, Tennessee...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.90,0:06:42.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tennessee homesick ...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.15,0:06:47.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've got those Tennessee homesick blues\Nrunnin' through my head.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.68,0:06:49.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tennessee.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.82,0:06:52.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: "Tennessee Mountain Home,"\N"Tennessee Mountain Memories."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.68,0:06:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I grew up in Tennessee,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.44,0:06:56.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I felt no nostalgia for that place.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.48,0:06:59.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was the scrawny Arab kid
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.50,0:07:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who came from the place\Nthat invented suicide bombing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.81,0:07:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spent a lot of time in my room.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.09,0:07:06.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I left Nashville,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.71,0:07:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I left.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.87,0:07:10.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember being at Dollywood,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.35,0:07:14.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,standing in front of a replica,\Nreplica of her Tennessee Mountain Home.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.17,0:07:15.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People all around me were crying.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.94,0:07:18.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a set.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.70,0:07:19.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why are you crying?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.90,0:07:22.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't understand\Nwhy they were so emotional,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.21,0:07:24.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially given\Nmy relationship to the South.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.36,0:07:27.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I started to honestly have\Npanic attacks about this.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.02,0:07:30.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Am I not the right person\Nfor this project?"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.49,0:07:32.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then ...
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.30,0:07:34.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,twist of fate.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.47,0:07:36.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We meet this guy, Bryan Seaver,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.32,0:07:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dolly's nephew and bodyguard.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.59,0:07:41.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on a whim, he drives\Nproducer Shima Oliaee and I
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.98,0:07:43.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of Dollywood,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.28,0:07:45.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,round the back side of the mountains,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.29,0:07:46.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up the mountains 20 minutes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.72,0:07:48.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down a narrow dirt road,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.17,0:07:51.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through giant wooden gates\Nthat look right out of "Game of Thrones,"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.39,0:07:54.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and into the actual\NTennessee Mountain Home.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.05,0:07:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the real place.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.42,0:07:59.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Valhalla.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.60,0:08:01.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The real Tennessee Mountain Home.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.20,0:08:03.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm going to score\Nthis part with Wagner,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.38,0:08:05.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you've got to understand,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.03,0:08:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Tennessee lore,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.22,0:08:09.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is like hallowed ground,\Nthe Tennessee Mountain Home.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.03,0:08:11.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I remember standing\Nthere, on the grass,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.81,0:08:13.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,next to the Pigeon River,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.67,0:08:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,butterflies doing loopty loops in the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.07,0:08:18.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I had my own moment of wonder.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.01,0:08:21.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.78,0:08:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looks exactly like my dad's home\Nin the mountains of Lebanon.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.02,0:08:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her house looks just like\Nthe place that he left.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.28,0:08:33.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that simple bit of layering\Nled me to have a conversation with him
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.60,0:08:34.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'd never had before,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.88,0:08:36.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the pain he felt leaving his home.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.02,0:08:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And how he hears that in Dolly's music.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.08,0:08:42.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then I had a conversation with Dolly\Nwhere she described her songs
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.92,0:08:44.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as migration music.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.21,0:08:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even that classic song,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.12,0:08:48.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Tennessee Mountain Home,"\Nif you listen to it --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.61,0:08:51.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Dolly Parton "Tennessee Mountain Home")
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.60,0:08:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Sittin' on the front porch\Non a summer afternoon
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.57,0:09:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a straight-backed chair on two legs,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.35,0:09:03.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaned against the wall."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.36,0:09:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about trying to capture a moment\Nthat you know is already gone.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.76,0:09:12.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you can paint it, vividly,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.53,0:09:16.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe you can freeze it in place,\Nalmost like in resin,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.17,0:09:18.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trapped between past and present.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.04,0:09:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is the immigrant experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.80,0:09:24.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that simple thought\Nled me to a million conversations.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.98,0:09:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started talking to musicologists\Nabout country music as a whole.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.95,0:09:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This genre that I've always felt so
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.39,0:09:33.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having nothing to do\Nwith where I came from
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.48,0:09:36.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually made up of instruments\Nand musical styles
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.36,0:09:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that came directly from the Middle East.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.31,0:09:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, there were trade routes\Nthat ran from what is now Lebanon
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.11,0:09:44.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right up into the mountains\Nof East Tennessee.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.01,0:09:48.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can honestly say, standing there,\Nlooking at her home,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.84,0:09:51.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the first time I felt\Nlike I'm a Tennessean.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.96,0:09:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is honestly true.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.80,0:09:56.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this wasn't a one-time thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.51,0:09:57.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, over and over again,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.90,0:10:01.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she would force me\Nbeyond the simple categories
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.85,0:10:03.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had constructed for the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.40,0:10:06.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember talking with her\Nabout her seven-year partnership
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.25,0:10:07.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Porter Wagoner.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.45,0:10:11.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1967, she joins his band,\Nhe is the biggest thing in country music,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.68,0:10:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she is a backup singer, a nobody.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.14,0:10:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within a short time, she gets huge,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.63,0:10:17.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he gets jealous,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.81,0:10:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he then sues her for three million dollars
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.63,0:10:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when she tries to leave.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.86,0:10:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it would be really easy\Nto see Porter Wagoner
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.81,0:10:28.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as, like, a type: classic,\Npatriarchal jackass,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.09,0:10:29.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to hold her back.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.43,0:10:31.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But any time I would suggest that to her,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.49,0:10:32.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like, come on.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.67,0:10:35.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Audio) This is a guy, I mean,\Nyou see it in the videos too,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.52,0:10:37.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he's got his arm around you.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.41,0:10:41.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a power thing happening, for sure.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.37,0:10:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,DP: Well, it's more complicated than that.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.93,0:10:45.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, just think about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.71,0:10:47.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had had this show for years,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.32,0:10:50.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he didn't need me to have his hit show.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.48,0:10:54.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wasn't expecting me\Nto be all that I was, either.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.35,0:10:57.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a serious entertainer,\Nhe didn't know that.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.34,0:11:00.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He didn't know how many dreams I had.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.61,0:11:02.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JA: In effect, she kept telling me,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.31,0:11:05.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Don't bring your stupid way\Nof seeing the world into my story,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.36,0:11:06.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that's not what it was.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.88,0:11:09.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, there was power,\Nbut that's not all there was.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.85,0:11:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't summarize this."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.50,0:11:15.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alright, just to zoom out.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.04,0:11:16.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do I make of this?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.34,0:11:20.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I think there's something in here\Nthat's a clue, a way forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.56,0:11:22.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As journalists, we love difference.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.29,0:11:23.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We love to fetishize difference.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.91,0:11:26.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But increasingly, in this confusing world,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.37,0:11:29.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to be the bridge\Nbetween those differences.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.24,0:11:30.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But how do you do that?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.26,0:11:34.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think for me, now, the answer is simple.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.09,0:11:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You interrogate those differences,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.47,0:11:38.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you hold them for as long as you can,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.02,0:11:42.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until, like up on that mountain,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.21,0:11:43.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something happens,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.44,0:11:45.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something reveals itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.80,0:11:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Story cannot end in difference.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.73,0:11:49.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's got to end in revelation.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.28,0:11:52.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And coming back\Nfrom that trip on the mountain,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.02,0:11:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a friend of mine gave me a book\Nthat gave this whole idea a name.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.86,0:11:59.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In psychotherapy,\Nthere's this idea called the third,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.47,0:12:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which essentially goes like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.41,0:12:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Typically, we think of ourselves\Nas these autonomous units.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.69,0:12:07.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I do something to you,\Nyou do something to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.38,0:12:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But according to this theory,\Nwhen two people come together
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.22,0:12:12.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and really commit to seeing each other,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.79,0:12:15.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that mutual act of recognition,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.45,0:12:17.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they actually make something new.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.56,0:12:20.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A new entity that is their relationship.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.01,0:12:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can think of Dolly's concerts\Nas sort of a cultural third space.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.12,0:12:27.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The way she sees all the different\Nparts of her audience,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.85,0:12:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the way they see her,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.06,0:12:31.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,creates the spiritual\Narchitecture of that space.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.29,0:12:35.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think now that is my calling.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.24,0:12:37.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That as a journalist,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.84,0:12:39.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a storyteller,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.75,0:12:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as just an American,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.70,0:12:45.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living in a country struggling to hold,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.12,0:12:48.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that every story I tell\Nhas got to find the third.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.00,0:12:52.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That place where the things\Nwe hold as different
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.37,0:12:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,resolve themselves into something new.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.79,0:12:56.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.