Why is Dolly Parton one of the few Americans almost everyone seems to agree on?
In this episode of Searching for America, I explore how a brassy country superstar with big hair, big humor, and even bigger generosity became an unlikely bridge across America’s political divide.
From “Dolly for President” T-shirts to write-in ballots, I look at why Dolly inspires affection on both the left and the right — and what her careful refusal to play partisan politics reveals about a country exhausted by extremes.
I reflect on my own encounters with Dolly’s America, from a family road trip through rural Tennessee to a day wandering Dollywood, and what I learned talking to people far outside my own bubble.
Dolly’s genius, I argue, lies in her ability to honor roots without resentment, values without judgment, and difference without division.
At a moment when the country feels fractured, Dolly Parton may be one of the last shared symbols reminding Americans that common ground — and a sense of humor — still exist.
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More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.
She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.
She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.
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