The true origins of country music contain a rich multicultural past. On this episode of the Quantum Potential podcast, Alice Randall, award-winning country music songwriter, New York Times-bestselling novelist, professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and Vanderbilt writer-in-residence, talks with Provost C. Cybele Raver about country music’s Black roots.

Randall’s newest book, My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future, explores the often-overlooked history of Black artists who helped create one of America's defining musical traditions, while asking profound questions about belonging, identity, and the ways we individually and collectively shape American culture.

Randall also talks about her role in the Southern Festival of Books, one of the nation's oldest and largest literary festivals, presented in partnership with Humanities Tennessee and Vanderbilt University. The festival celebrates the power of books and storytelling to bring communities together through new ideas and different perspectives.

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This episode was produced by Vanderbilt University and created through the collaboration of Randolph Infinger, Sydney Jones-Wright, Amber Palmer-Halma, Patrick Sams, Jennifer Stevens, Maisie Wilson, and Amy Wolf, with original music by Steven Matthew Carter.

This episode was edited and mixed by the team at Sound On // Sound Off. You can learn more about their work at SoundOnSoundOff.com.

Special thanks to Jad Abumrad, Vanderbilt University Distinguished Research Professor of Communication of Science and Technology and the executive producer of the Quantum Potential podcast and video series.

Copyright 2026, Vanderbilt University.

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or Vanderbilt University.

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