The discussion moves through the crisis facing small agriculture, with Nelson detailing how corporate interests and predatory lending have reduced family farms from eight million to fewer than two million. He makes an impassioned case for hemp legalization, explaining how petrochemical lobbyists engineered its prohibition to eliminate competition. Nelson also shares his views on reincarnation, his four marriages, life on the road, and what it takes to perform 200 shows a year.
Callers from across the country phone in with personal stories about Nelson's concerts, his charitable prison performances, and his impact on their lives. From songwriting advice to his thoughts on world government, Nelson reveals himself as both a deeply philosophical thinker and a man who found freedom by simply letting go of expectations.
Key Moments
$8 with the Bohemian polka band at age 9: Willie pinpoints the moment he became a star: making $8 playing with a Bohemian polka band when he was nine years old, after picking cotton, corn, and baling hay.
The IRS's $32 million bill: Willie recounts the IRS taking 14 years to come after him, then claiming he owed $32 million.
Hemp made the Declaration, Levi's, and ship sails: Willie lays out hemp's American history: the first Levi's were made of hemp, the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper, and the word 'canvas' comes from cannabis.
Paul English and the joint that replaced the bottle: Willie describes how drummer Paul English would hand him a joint whenever he was too drunk to function, and how that swapped pot in for alcohol in his life.