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American Anthem: The Complete Series

Explore the stories and music of NPR's American Anthem series.
Chris Hackett
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Getty Images/Tetra Images RF
Explore the stories and music of NPR's American Anthem series.

NPR's American Anthem series launched on July 4, 2018 with a simple goal: To tell 50 stories about 50 songs that have become galvanizing forces in American culture, each representing a cause or group or identity through music. Those stories are gathered here, along with a handful of web-exclusive essays and a streaming playlist of every featured song in order. Explore the entirety of the series below.

50 Radio Stories

  • The Battle Hymn Of The Republic (July 4, 2018)
  • Seven Nation Army (July 11, 2018)
  • Fanfare for the Common Man (July 19, 2018)
  • Dancing in the Street (July 28, 2018)
  • This Little Light of Mine (Aug. 6, 2018)
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing (Aug. 16, 2018)
  • Like a Virgin (Aug. 20, 2018)
  • We're Not Gonna Take It (Aug. 27, 2018)
  • The Star-Spangled Banner (Sept. 6, 2018)
  • God Bless the U.S.A. (Sept. 11, 2018)
  • Dixie (Sept. 20, 2018)
  • The Times They Are A-Changin' (Sept. 24, 2018)
  • Adam's Song (Oct. 4, 2018)
  • You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (Oct. 8, 2018)
  • La Bamba (Oct. 14, 2018)
  • I Am Woman (Oct. 24, 2018)
  • Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Oct. 30, 2018)
  • America (Nov. 13, 2018)
  • 'New World' Symphony (Nov. 24, 2018)
  • Whittier Blvd. (Nov. 29, 2018)
  • Fight the Power (Dec. 7, 2018)
  • Sweet Home Alabama (Dec. 17, 2018)
  • The Songs of George M. Cohan (Dec. 20, 2018)
  • To Be Young, Gifted and Black (Jan. 8., 2019)
  • Quiet (Jan. 14, 2019)
  • Let It Go (Jan. 22, 2019)
  • Born This Way (Jan. 30, 2019)
  • No Scrubs (Feb. 1, 2019)
  • Adagio for Strings (Feb. 13, 2019)
  • For What It's Worth (Feb. 20, 2019)
  • Black, Brown and Beige (Feb. 22, 2019)
  • This Land Is Your Land (March 14, 2019)
  • Born in the U.S.A. (March 26, 2019)
  • Indian Red (March 31, 2019)
  • America the Beautiful (April 4, 2019)
  • Get Together (April 10, 2019)
  • Smells Like Teen Spirit (April 23, 2019)
  • I Won't Back Down (May 8, 2019)
  • Mind Playing Tricks on Me (May 29, 2019)
  • Dancing on My Own (June 10, 2019)
  • En Mi Viejo San Juan (June 20, 2019)
  • You Don't Own Me (June 26, 2019)
  • 9 to 5 (July 11, 2019)
  • I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (July 26, 2019)
  • We're a Winner (Aug. 2, 2019)
  • Rebel Girl (Aug. 12, 2019)
  • Alright (Aug. 26, 2019)
  • Don't Stop Believin' (Sept. 16, 2019)
  • I Will Survive (Sept. 24, 2019)
  • My Way (Nov. 19, 2019)
  • Web-Only Features

  • Regional Anthems (July 26, 2018)
  • Since U Been Gone (Aug. 30, 2018)
  • Good as Hell (Nov. 28, 2018)
  • No Children (Oct. 10, 2018)
  • Series Extras

  • Morning Edition kickoff segment (May 28, 2018)
  • All Songs Considered podcast special (July 3, 2018)
  • American Anthem: The Playlist (July 1, 2019)
  • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.