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Apr 2026
41 m

Nat Turner's Rebellion

History Hit
About this episode

In 1831, a rebellion erupted in Virginia that sent shockwaves across the United States, and challenged the brutal system of slavery in a way that white slave-owners had long feared. Led by an enslaved man named Nat Turner, he and his followers carried out one of the most significant slave rebellions in American history.


To help us in the retelling of this event, we’re lucky to be joined by Dr. Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky, where she is the Associate Professor of History of African American & Africana Studies and serves as Director of the Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative. Her work includes the award winning ‘Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community.


Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.


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All music from Epidemic Sounds.


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