logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
51m 44s

The Harlem Renaissance

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

In the first of five special episodes on US history, Greg Jenner is joined by Prof Emily Bernard and Roy Wood Jr in 1920s New York as they take a look at the movers and shakers of the Harlem Renaissance. Walk through one of Harlem's infamous rent parties and meet the greatest icons and minds from music, politics and the literary world during a cultural revolution.

Produced by Cornelius Mendez Script by Greg Jenner and Emma Nagouse Research by Harry Prance, Jess White, Tim Galsworthy

A production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.

Up next
Mar 13
Epic of Gilgamesh: myths and heroes in ancient Mesopotamia
Greg Jenner is joined in the ancient world by Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid and comedian Marjolein Robertson to learn all about the famous Mesopotamian poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Sumerian poems about a legendary king called Gilgamesh began to be composed sometime in the third millennium, ... Show More
58m 41s
Mar 6
Hypatia of Alexandria: mathematician, martyr and feminist icon
Greg Jenner is joined in late antique Egypt by Professor Edith Hall and comedian Olga Koch to learn about the life of mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria. An important mathematical and astronomical thinker, Hypatia is best known today for her brutal death at the hands of Christia ... Show More
55m 21s
Feb 27
Geoffrey Chaucer: the medieval father of English literature
Greg Jenner is joined in medieval England by Professor Marion Turner and comedian Mike Wozniak to learn all about Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales. Since the fifteenth century, Chaucer has been referred to as the father of English literature. He was one of the fir ... Show More
58m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
ENCORE: Harlem on My Mind, Ep 1: Jacob Lawrence (2021)
<p>Into America was nominated for a 2022 NAACP Image Award! We’re finalists in the Outstanding News and Information Podcast category, and we need your vote. Go to <a href="https://vote.naacpimageawards.net/">vote.naacpimageawards.net</a> to cast your ballot today.</p><p>In Februa ... Show More
34m 17s
Aug 2021
Kevin McGruder, "Philip Payton: The Father of Black Harlem" (Columbia UP, 2021)
What was Harlem before its Renaissance, and how did it come to be? In Philip Payton: The Father of Black Harlem (Columbia University Press, 2021), historian Kevin McGruder, Associate Professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, explores the life of the remarkable Philip ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2024
The Roots of the Harlem Renaissance—and Its Power Today
The words the “Harlem Renaissance” have immense magnetism for vast numbers of people. In art history, however, the Harlem Renaissance has often been treated as a footnote to the main story of 20th century art. It’s often been given scant attention in textbooks, and even U.S. muse ... Show More
51m 2s
Nov 2023
The Harlem Globetrotters: American Treasures
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American entertainment institution. Their story may not be quite what you think either. Hint, they didn't originate in Harlem. Tune in now to learn their fun, fascinating story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
53m 56s
Apr 2023
Hudson River: America's First Art Movement
<p>English-born artist Thomas Cole emigrated to the United States in 1818. Six years later he began what is now known as the Hudson River School, which became the first art movement of the United States.. Betsy Jacks, director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, tells Don ... Show More
27m 50s
Jan 2023
Second Place Finishers: Larry Doby, Judith Resnik & The Dave Clark Five
We love historical “Firsts” so much that we end up ignoring the people who come right after them. But without these runners-up, the trailblazers are just one-offs or oddities––instead of the beginning of big change. Mo celebrates the Black baseball great who joined the major leag ... Show More
47m 1s
Oct 2020
British black history special
<p>We present five eyewitness accounts of moments in British black history. Including the late Sam King remembering the voyage of the Empire Windrush, plus Britain's first black headteacher Yvonne Conolly, Dr William Lez Henry on confronting the Far Right in the battle of Lewisha ... Show More
50m 35s
Jun 2021
Remaking Radicalism with Dan Berger, Emily Hobson and Barbara Smith
<p>In this episode are joined by Dan Berger, Emily K. Hobson and Barbara Smith to discuss the recently published book <a href= "https://www.remakingradicalism.org" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><em>Remaking Radicalism: A Grassroots Documentary Reader of the United States, 1973- ... Show More
1h 33m
Feb 2024
Revivals
This week, Damon Galgut praises Diane Oliver's exceptional short stories, newly published over half a century after her death; and Rosemary Waugh on theatre director Yaël Farber's visceral engagement with Shakespearean tragedy.'Neighbors and Other Stories', by Diane Oliver'King L ... Show More
48m 42s