Ned Sublette has had a life long interest in New Orleans. He grew up North West of the city, during the bad old days of segregation and overt white supremacy, and developed a love of history and a desire to untangle the lies he was told in school. He does that in his new book, The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square, a book that is in many ways an alternative American history. In this interview Sublette talks about the competing imperial struggles that shaped New Orleans, the African slave trade, and the musical traditions that are such a central part of life in the Big Easy and that can still be heard there today.

In 2005 Sublette was the Tulane Rockefeller Humanities fellow and spent a year memorizing New Orleans’ history. He left just before the hurricane but in his book and his music provides a deep understanding of why New Orleans is a place of revealing. 37 percent of the African-American community is still in exile. They have not returned to the city. But there are still many musicians playing with tremendous conviction. Listen to Sublette’s live performance and to the full interview here.