Iowa doesn’t exactly have a reputation as a blues hotbed, but it was the blues that inspired Iowa-bred Bo Ramsey to play the guitar seriously. “It’s Muddy Waters’ fault. He messed me up, man,” Ramsey says. “But that music moved me to play guitar, to try and play seriously, and it’s been a constant source of inspiration to me. It’s just such a huge part of American music. I think it’s essential.”

String Theory is a podcast series filled with stories like Bo’s, celebrating music's most iconic instrument: the guitar. Capturing the passion guitar players have for their instrument—the history, the sound, the mythology, the gear—these short-form audio documentaries explore the hold the guitar has on music culture, the far corners of the guitar galaxy, and the impact the humble guitar has had on so many lives.

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