Richard McLanathan discusses his book "The American Tradition in the Arts" and takes Studs on a sprawling journey through artistic breakthroughs in architecture, painting, literature, and more while touching on dozens of artists and their works.

Studs interviews Jabbo Smith and presents some of his musical performances. The musical pieces are removed from this edited version of the original recording. Smith shares the story of his childhood in the Jenkins Orphanage and how he came to learn music there. He discusses the songs he wrote and people he played with throughout his career and how he came out of retirement in Holland on the trombone.

Saxophonist Lawrence "Bud" Freeman discusses his career at the time of his book, "You Don't Look Like A Musician," with talk of his music and his colleagues in The World's Greatest Jazz Band.

Studs interviews Bud Freeman about his career in Jazz and his book, "Working" as well as his album, "Complete Bud Freeman." Freeman shares stories about his dad and brother during his childhood. He discusses various songs from his album and shares stories about his interactions with other jazz musicians. Studs reads a few passages from Freeman's book. They discuss how Freeman's creative practices and how his music has changed over the years. Musical pieces are removed from this edited version of the original recording.

Studs interviews Lawrence Freeman about his career in jazz. Studs notes that he first interviewed Freeman in 1939 as his first guest on his radio program with WGES. Freeman shares the names and events of influences in his life. He describes his interactions with other jazz musicians throughout his career and shares some stories about his brother, father, and childhood. Studs quotes Mark Miller of the Toronto Globe, music critic, for what he notes about Freeman.