October 9, 1944. In California, 50 U.S. sailors are on trial for the Navy’s most serious crime, mutiny. It’s a rarely used charge, yet these 50 sailors—all of whom are Black—face the death penalty if convicted. But today, their chances of a fair trial get a little better. Thurgood Marshall enters the courtroom. He is the lead attorney for the NAACP, and beli ... Show More
Sep 21
The Man Who Taught America to Fear Fat
September 24, 1955. President Eisenhower is asleep in his bed at his in-laws’ house in Denver. At around 2 AM in the morning, he’s jolted awake by chest pains. No one realizes it until the morning, but Eisenhower has had a heart attack. His cardiologist calms the public and tells ... Show More
30m 16s
Sep 17
The Uprising: Why the Peasants Loved Their King (w/ Paul Greengrass and Dan Jones)
1381. In the English countryside, one peasant has had enough. His resistance leads tens of thousands of armed peasants to march on London. They’re furious about taxes, about wages held down by law, about a world that feels abandoned by God. But they aren’t marching to overthrow t ... Show More
29m 34s
Nov 2024
41 | Lord Give Me a Sign | It’s the Senate, and We in It
The Civil War’s over, countless Black people are making their way in a new and dangerous world, and their fight for equality and representation ain’t over. Two Black men – preacher Hiram Revels and the formerly enslaved Blanche Bruce – rise up during U.S. Reconstruction with diff ... Show More
38m 53s
Apr 2021
Desegregation By Any Means Necessary
A gun-toting Black Power advocate was made principal of a Marin County, California school during efforts to desegregate 50 years ago. As they try again, we recount his radical legacy.
As the Sausalito Marin City School District continues to grapple with school desegregation, Repo ... Show More
55m 20s
Jun 2018
American Pendulum Reprise
<p>What happens when the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, seems to get it wrong? <em>Korematsu v. United States</em> upheld President Franklin Roosevelt’s internment of American citizens during World War II based solely on their Japanese heritage, for the sake of nat ... Show More
46m 33s