Rhode Island - Hope

It’s Janet Varney’s turn to present to John Hodgman; it’s the biggest little state in the union: Rhode Island!

While Rhode Island does have a limited presence in pop culture, it still has a lot of great songs devoted to it. And we’re happy to showcase a few.

We’ll find out what exactly a “stuffy” is and why this state motto is so simple and yet perfect.

Plus, we’ll hear from Julian Fellowes, creator of the shows “Downton Abbey” and “The Gilded Age.” The latter is filmed in Newport, Rhode Island. We’ll learn more about why Julian was so taken with the location and what he thinks of the Rhode Island state motto.

Special thanks to listeners Ryan Michney and Thomas Westgate for providing photos for this episode art. 

Produced by Julian Burrell.

Senior Producer at MaxFun is Laura Swisher.

Find E Pluribus Motto on Instagram and TikTok.

And send us a voice memo, message or photo about an upcoming state to Emailpluribusmotto@maximumfun.org.