By pure chance, the young economics student Phil Shapiro discovered the Alternatives Library in Cornell's Anabel Taylor Hall and chose it to become the venue for his live shows for WVBR radio. Today, more than five decades later, Phil is still doing shows there. There must be a reason why his audience, which he claims to be one of the best, most engaged live audiences in the world, has remained loyal to Bound for Glory all these years. We spoke to Phil in the summer of 2019 about his path to becoming host of North America's longest running live folk radio show, and learned about the magic formula for building community: music, tradition, and a shared space to gather and come together.
Special thanks to Hoot & Holler and Kora Feder who kindly gave permission to use excerpts from their live performances for our podcast.
For more info on Bound for Glory, visit their website at boundforglory.org.
