American singer, actor, and political activist
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A new book tells the story of how famed baseball player Jackie Robinson ended up testifying in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee to speak against fellow Black athlete, musician, and actor Paul Robeson. Author Howard Bryant discusses his book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. Bryant will be speaking Thursday evening at the Jackie Robinson Museum.
At the beginning of the Cold War in 1949, Jackie Robinson appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee to disavow the comments of another prominent Black American, actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson. That testimony is the subject of "Kings and Pawns" by Howard Bryant. Amna Nawaz sat down with Bryant to unpack the forces that ultimately pitted the men against each other. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
On what America misunderstands about Jackie Robinson and needs to understand about Paul Robeson. On what history can teach us about 2026 madness. On why the mythology of Branch Rickey is a departure from reality. On the modern approach to book PR.
Howard Bryant, author and ESPN journalist, discusses his new book, “Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
"Characters make books. Why are these guys in opposition? And were they actually really? How can you be in opposition with someone you never met? How can you be in opposition with somebody who's essentially sharing the same plight you're sharing in the country? And that brings in the other character. It's Branch Rickey. Branch Rickey is the puppet master of this entire book. Branch Rickey is the puppet master of that entire period," says Howard Bryant, author of Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.We've got Howard Bryant (@howardbryantbooks) back on the show for Ep. 509. Howard is the best-selling author of several books and his latest is Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. It's published by Mariner Books.Howard's book takes a new framing on two iconic Black American icons of the 20th century. Very few people know much about Paul Robeson, who was a brilliant football player, but perhaps more famous as a baritone singer and stage actor. Jackie Robinson was the first Black American to play major league baseball, breaking the color barrier in baseball.The two were separated by some twenty years, never met in person, but were pitted against each other during the second Red Scare, kings turned into pawns. The authoritarian, McCarythian overreach of the era very much echoes our current moment. Robeson's career, his life, was ruined. It's a complicated story brilliantly orchestrated by one of the best writers this country has on offer.Howard is the author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball, Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original, The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism, and Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field, and he also was the guest editor of The Best American Sports Writing Series. You're in for a treat. You can learn more about Howard at howardbryant.net and follow him on IG @howardbryantbooks.In this episode we talk about: When you know it's a book Who are your stars? How he reshaped the book by fixing the introduction How he bridged the gap between Robinson and Robeson's timelines How Branch Rickey, this vaunted angle of integration, wasn't exactly so holy And Howard's favorite thing about writingOrder The Front RunnerWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com
A fascinating conversation with Howard Bryant about his brand new book 'Kings and Pawns,' the intertwined legacies of Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson, how both remain hugely influential in American culture and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hour 1 features John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan recapping the 49ers’ season, addressing potential defensive coordinator candidates, and opening up about the strong bond that drives their partnership. We’re also joined by award‑winning author Howard Bryant to discuss his new book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, and the powerful intersections of sports, culture, and history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Howard Bryant joins the show to discuss his powerful new book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, exploring the cultural impact and complicated legacy of two American icons. He also breaks down how the Dodgers’ ownership has reshaped the modern baseball landscape and shares his perspective on this year’s new Baseball Hall of Famers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hour 1 features John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan recapping the 49ers’ season, addressing potential defensive coordinator candidates, and opening up about the strong bond that drives their partnership. We’re also joined by award‑winning author Howard Bryant to discuss his new book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, and the powerful intersections of sports, culture, and history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Howard Bryant joins the show to discuss his powerful new book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, exploring the cultural impact and complicated legacy of two American icons. He also breaks down how the Dodgers’ ownership has reshaped the modern baseball landscape and shares his perspective on this year’s new Baseball Hall of Famers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of "The Right Time," Bomani Jones engages in a deep conversation with Howard Bryant about his new book, "Kings and Pawns," which explores the intertwined lives of Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson. The discussion highlights the historical significance of both figures, particularly focusing on Robinson's testimony against Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. Bryant emphasizes the erasure of Robeson's legacy and the complexities of Robinson's role in the civil rights movement, illustrating how both men navigated their identities and the expectations society placed on them. The conversation also touches on the broader themes of race, patriotism, and the sacrifices made by Black Americans in their pursuit of equality. You can purchase the book at https://howardbryantbooks.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Award-winning and best-selling author and journalist Howard Bryant (Rickey, The Last Hero) joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss his book Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. To learn more about Howard Bryant, visit his official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.
Welcome to 2026, where we're going to go through the first 100 years of the American Musical from its earliest days until the present to track the changes along the way. As a musical once said, the beginning is a very good place to start, so we're starting with 1927's Showboat -- arguably the beginning of what we'd come to call the American Musical. Written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Showboat brought a seriousness of topic and of purpose to the musical stage while still incorporating elements of what had gone before. It was the smash of its day, running for well over 500 performances -- unheard of at the time for musicals. In this episode, we discuss one of that show's most enduring songs, "Ol' Man River," and how the song and its theme is intimately connected to what made Showboat such a groundbreaking show. All clips are from the 1936 film adaptation of Showboat faeturing Paul Robeson and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. N.B. This episode discusses matters of race and racism and alludes to racial slurs. Listener discretion is advised. Watch the scene from the film Listen to the original performer, Jules Bledsoe See Judy Garland performing the song in 1963 Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com Recommended Reading/Viewing: Ethan Mordden, Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theater (Mordden's other volumes are also excellent resources for more in-depth discussion) Broadway: The American Musical
We're a week away from launching our 2026 campaign, beginning with Howard Bryant, author of Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, but we wanted to dust off our feed and take a moment to celebrate a milestone in the Writer's Bone Podcast Network. Daniel Paisner's podcast As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast cracked 100 episodes a couple of months ago and we wanted to share it here and have Paisner on to talk about what it means for him. Original show notes: Nelson and Alex DeMille's The Tin Men is an electrifying read and a chillingly timely one," writes The New York Times best-selling novelist Megan Abbott of the third and final father-son collaboration in the Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor series. "[It's] both a master-class in suspense and a haunting exploration of the dangers and costs of a surrender to technology, an abandonment of the human." Yes, it is. It's also the final novel from legendary author Nelson DeMille, completed posthumously following his death in September 2024, and a follow-up to the duo's first two collaborations in the series—The Deserter and Blood Lines, both immediate New York Times best-sellers. Its publication offers Alex DeMille an opportunity to reflect on growing up under the influence of one of our finest storytellers—a backdrop that at first inspired Alex to become a filmmaker. A graduate of the MFA program in film at UCLA, Alex's films have won many awards and fellowships, and have played at festivals worldwide, including "My Nephew Emmett, " which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2018. "I want to thank my father," he writes in an emotional grace note to the new book, "who might be reading this somewhere among the stars with a good scotch in hand. Thank you for all you've given me, all you've taught me, for your love, your encouragement, for making me laugh and making me think. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for showing me the way. I hope this makes you proud." Learn more about Alex DeMille: Website Instagram Threads Twitter Facebook Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters' Gathering of the Ghosts Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount
Send us a textIntro: Tea For Two by Marion Harris (1925)5. Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra (1924)4. My Blue Heaven by Gene Austin (1927)3. Ol' Man River by Paul Robeson (1928)2. Ain't Misbehavin' by Fats Waller (1929)1. Swanee by Al Jolson (1920)Outro: Someone to Watch Over Me by Gertrude Lawrence (1927)
In this episode of 'Wait, What Is That' Podcast, hostsBrandon and Katie discuss the Peekskill Riots of 1949 with John Scott Bennett,a filmmaker who has chronicled this significant yet under-discussed event inAmerican history. The conversation centers on the riots that erupted duringconcerts by Paul Robeson, an African American singer, actor, and civil rightsactivist, who faced violent opposition from the Peekskill community and the KuKlux Klan. Bennett, a history graduate from Manhattanville College, sharesinsights into local history, how the riots were a reaction to Robeson'spolitical stance, particularly his support for the Soviet Union, and how theseevents have been systematically erased or undermined in local historynarratives. The episode also explores Robeson's legacy, his subsequentblacklisting, and the broader implications for civil rights and historicalmemory.00:00 Introduction and Hosts Introduction00:32 Introducing John Scott Bennett01:24 The Peekskill Riots: A Historical Overview02:40 Paul Robeson and His Impact04:11 Discovering Local History08:26 The Ku Klux Klan's Influence11:19 Economic and Social Tensions13:59 Paul Robeson's Legacy and Struggles36:51 The First Peekskill Riot40:49 Catholics Fight Back Against the Klan41:25 The Jewish Summer Camp Incident42:27 Obstacles in Documenting Peekskill History43:34 The Peekskill Museum Controversy45:34 Paul Robeson's Struggle and Legacy57:52 The Decline of the Klan01:03:15 Community Response and Support01:04:25 Creating the Documentary Series01:07:32 Personal Reflections and Future Plans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8E9TAk1LV8 George Korkovelos, Cultural Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (M-L), gives a short but powerful presentation of the lasting cultural legacy of the Great Socialist October Revolution of 1917. Lenin and the Bolsheviks, in revolutionising Russia, set culture the task of going amongst the working class and peasant masses to truly serve it. The masses must be elevated to the heights of culture. Culture should not be flattened to its lower level. The October Revolution was a true renaissance in human activity and this was reflected in the flowering of its culture. Turning from words to song: George introduces Comrade Eleanore who sings three beautiful songs, each of profound revolutionary significance. 1. “Song of the Volga Boatmen”. A timeless song lamenting the oppression of the toilers, sighing under the oppression of serfdom in the Russian Empire. When Robeson sung the song he united it with the masses of the oppressed throughout the world, in particular with the sufferings of the oppressed black workers and peasants in the USA itself. 2. "Whirlwinds of Danger," an English translation of the Polish socialist revolutionary song "Warszawianka". Paul Robeson recorded a version of this song, much loved by the English and Welsh miners and working class. It was a song sung by the revolutionary people's movements abroad Europe, from Poland to Russia, during the period of the 1880s until the October Revolution. 3. “Bravely, comrades, let's march”. Lyrics by the revolutionary poet Leonid Petrovich Radin, written in 1897 following his imprisonment in Moscow's Taganskaya prison for his dedication to the liberation of the working masses. This song led the Russian workers to October and, enduring the Civil War, resounded on all fronts as the marching anthem of the Red Army. Comrade Eleanore's beautiful voice brings these sacred hymns of the working class to life for us once more. Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/
Keller, Johanna www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Fazit
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies
Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War II and the Cold War--journalist, musician, and Christian activist Liu Liangmo, and Sino-Caribbean dancer-choreographer Sylvia Si-lan Chen. Charting a new path in the study of Sino-American relations, Gao Yunxiang foregrounds African Americans, combining the study of Black internationalism and the experiences of Chinese Americans with a transpacific narrative and an understanding of the global remaking of China's modern popular culture and politics. Gao reveals earlier and more widespread interactions between Chinese and African American leftists than accounts of the familiar alliance between the Black radicals and the Maoist Chinese would have us believe. The book's multilingual approach draws from massive yet rarely used archival streams in China and in Chinatowns and elsewhere in the United States. These materials allow Gao to retell the well-known stories of Du Bois, Robeson, and Hughes alongside the sagas of Liu and Chen in a work that will transform and redefine Afro-Asia studies. Hettie V. Williams Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University where she teaches courses in African American history and U.S. history.
On this week's Labor History Today: Justice Denied: David Gariff on “Ben Shahn and the Case of Sacco and Vanzetti.” Saul Schniderman remembers musician activist Elaine Purkey. From the Tales from the Reuther Library podcast, “When It Happened Here: Michigan and the Transnational Development of American Fascism.” And, on Labor History in 2: Paul Robeson, “The Voice of an Era.” Originally aired October 18, 2020; produced and edited by Chris Garlock and Evan Papp. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. We're a proud founding member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network; #LaborRadioPod
Paul Robeson’s stances on political and civil rights issues and his communist affiliations catalyzed protests that were fueled with an undercurrent of racism and antisemitism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When this playwright's grandfather faced a tough decision, “He sought the advice of Paul Robeson.” Of course he did. Who wouldn't? And it all worked out fine. Fine-ish. A writer, his family, his community. Presented with the Classical Theatre of Harlem. Music: Emery Mason, Melissa Mosley.
“Schools are the very center of communities—close a school and in three years you'll see what happens to the neighborhood.” From the first laugh about “getting lost in my own neighborhood” to hard truths about policy, Arlyssa Heard of 482Forward sits with Khary Frazier and maps a Detroit story stretching from Delray pulpits to Dexter & Fenkell porches and into Lansing's halls of power. She honors Southern roots (“Atlanta was becoming the Black mecca before our eyes”), a preacher father (“I'm a daddy's girl”), and a childhood of full blocks where “every house was occupied,” then names the turn: vacancies, blight, and the weaponization of policy—Milliken v. Bradley, white flight, and emergency management that left her son with “an entire year without an English teacher.” Heard walks us through the rise of African-centered schooling—Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Aisha Shule—and the organizing lineage of Helen Moore, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, and Queen Mother JoAnn Watson, reminding us that “Detroit families have always exercised choice,” but too often against rigged funding: “If you can't shut something down, starve it—don't fund it.” She distinguishes being anti–starvation from anti–charter, exposes post–Count Day push-outs, and puts receipts on how 482Forward helped “get DPSCD its board back” while blocking a New Orleans–style takeover. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com
Hammer has had a ridiculously long list of the finest talents the world has to offer (and Michael Medwin), and one that could literally tower above most of them is Paul Robeson. Here's Adam taking a look at one of early Hollywood's most beloved icons.“The House Of Hammer Theme” and incidental music - written and produced by Cev MooreArtwork by Richard Wells All the links you think you'll need & more! https://linktr.ee/househammerpod
Jeff Maulhardt, Founder and Director of the Oxnard Historic Farm Park & MuseumStogie Kenyatta, Playwright and Star of "The World Is My Home: The Life of Paul Robeson" is featured in the All Things 805 Artist spotlight.
Feliks Banel's guests on this SUMMER ENCORE EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY include roving correspondent Ken Zick LIVE from the historic Rancho Super Car Wash (aka "Elephant Car Wash") in Rancho Mirage, California; railfan Dan Bolyard of Coulee City, Washington on tracking down a trackside photo of his younger self from more than 40 years ago; Cindy Staats, VP of Marketing for Shakey's USA on the history of that pizza chain (whose Renton, WA location closed in January 2025); and now former King County Executive Dow Constantine with his remembrance of filmmaker/”Twin Peaks” co-creator David Lynch. We also listened to Paul Robeson's 1952 Peace Arch concert recording of “Joe Hill.” This encore broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, August 24, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and streaming live via www.space101fm.org at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. The original live broadcast was presented on January 26, 2025. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.
Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA's Murderous Targeting of SDS, Panthers, Hendrix, Lennon, Cobain, Tupac, and Other LeftistsDrugs as Weapons Against Us meticulously details how a group of opium-trafficking families came to form an American oligarchy and eventually achieved global dominance. This oligarchy helped fund the Nazi regime and then saved thousands of Nazis to work with the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA operations such as MK-Ultra pushed LSD and other drugs on leftist leaders and left-leaning populations at home and abroad. Evidence supports that this oligarchy further led the United States into its longest-running wars in the ideal areas for opium crops, while also massively funding wars in areas of coca plant abundance for cocaine production under the guise of a “war on drugs” that is actually the use of drugs as a war on us. Drugs as Weapons Against Us tells how scores of undercover U.S. Intelligence agents used drugs in the targeting of leftist leaders from SDS to the Black Panthers, Young Lords, Latin Kings, and the Occupy Movement. It also tells how they particularly targeted leftist musicians, including John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Tupac Shakur to promote drugs while later murdering them when they started sobering up and taking on more leftist activism. The book further uncovers the evidence that Intelligence agents dosed Paul Robeson with LSD, gave Mick Jagger his first hit of acid, hooked Janis Joplin on amphetamines, as well as manipulating Elvis Presley, Eminem, the Wu Tang Clan, and others.https://amzn.to/4fH3ZNDBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.
In this episode from the vault, LA Opera Connects' Dr. Andréa Fuentes sits down with Colombia University's Dr. Shana Redmond to talk about why La Bohème so deeply resonates with us. They discuss the friendships, the economic struggle, the resilience, and the gender paradigms that populate this timeless opera, and what gives it its enduring charm. They also travel trains of thought-- from RENT to Paul Robeson to grand visions for the future of the art form. Get your tickets to La Bohème now at LAOpera.org and don't forget to leave a comment, rating, or review on this episode.
Explore why acclaimed African American singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson became embroiled in controversy and denied a passport.
In this episode, we present a crossover of Guerrilla History and the Adnan Husain Show. Here, Dr. Gerald Horne joins Adnan and Henry to discuss his recent book, Armed Struggle?: Panthers and Communists, black Nationalists and Liberals in Southern California, Through the Sixties and Seventies. As ever, Professor Horne connects the histories of organizing and resistance against racial capitalism to the contemporary situation, including the LA uprisings against ICE raids and developments against neocolonialism and imperialism in West Asia. A wide-ranging conversation with the inimitable Dr. Horne ranged across the histories of class politics, struggles against racism, and geopolitics to consider the prospects for resistance locally and internationally in contemporary movements for justice. Gerald Horne is the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. His research interests are unbelievably varied, encompassing biographies of W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson, to The Haitian Revolution, to Hollywood in the '30s-'50s, to Jazz and Justice. Be sure to check out his bibliography, you're certain to find something that interests you! Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory We also have a (free!) newsletter you can sign up for, and please note that Guerrilla History now is uploading on YouTube as well, so do us a favor, subscribe to the show and share some links from there so we can get helped out in the algorithms!! *As mentioned, you will be able to find Tsars and Commissars: From Rus to Modern Russia soon on YouTube.
Langston Hughes, the great African American poet, said decades ago, “Fascism is a new name for that kind of terror the Negro has always faced in America.” Fascism can and has led to genocide. Progressive African American intellectuals, writers, poets, and musicians have had a long tradition and history of solidarity and resisting fascism and genocide, from Frederick Douglass to Gil Scott-Heron, from Sojourner Truth to Angela Davis, from W.E.B. Du Bois to John Lewis, from Paul Robeson to Amiri Baraka, from Ida B. Wells to Malcolm X, from Ella Baker to Dr. King, from Harry Belafonte to Sonny Rollins, from James Baldwin to Cornel West and up to the present moment where Robin D. G. Kelley warns “We're witnessing the consolidation of a fascist police state.” Recorded at the University of Massachusetts.
He was Martin Luther King, Muhammed Ali, Harry Bellafonte, and Malcolm X rolled into one. Paul Robeson was an extraordinary American singer, actor, and civil rights activist. The son of a slave, Robeson was Born in Princeton, New Jersey, and excelled academically. He became a star athlete earning a scholarship to Rutgers University, and a law degree from Columbia University. Robeson became a global sensation, using his recordings, films, and live performances, to fight racism in America and around the world. However, the more popular Robeson became, the more the U.S. government tried to silence him, with harassment, surveillance, congressional investigations, and finally confiscating his passport so he couldn't travel. But in 1957, Robeson used new technology to appear at a rally and concert supporting union coal miners in the U.K., without leaving New York City. We'll learn how Paul Robeson did it, from the BBC World Service program "Witness History", followed by this amazing rally in its entirety.More at http://krobcollection.com
Five years ago, I awoke to the horrifying news of the murder of George Floyd by a member of the Minneapolis Police Department. I had been working on cobbling together an episode on French Glamour, which quickly gave way instead to an impromptu episode of protest music through the ages which remains one of the Countermelody episodes of which I am most proud. Yesterday was the five-year commemoration of that horrific event, which sparked worldwide protests and which, for a while, seemed as if it might lead to systemic change. Five years later, we find ourselves in a true global nightmare. Almost everything that has changed has been for the worse, but my feelings about the system that has produced such calamity remains exactly the same as it has always been. For that reason, I am republishing that episode from five long years ago, in which I sought to “defer to those on the front lines to speak of their own experience and truth” in a program of protest music from the early twentieth century to the recent past. Nina Simone's song of rage “Mississippi Goddam” was a guiding force as I put the episode together, but we hear from a wide range of singers, from Donny Hathaway, Micki Grant, Pete Seeger, Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, to Joan Baez, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Paul Robeson, and Marlene Dietrich. If you don't want to hear a political program, for goddess's sake, keep away, but if you do want to be infuriated, engaged, and ultimately uplifted, please listen in. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.
We talk to John Potash about the MLK Assassination, Black Panthers and Malcom X in the first hour. We're joinned by Cisco Streetlove and continue the discussion.Drugs as Weapons Against Us meticulously details how a group of opium-trafficking families came to form an American oligarchy and eventually achieved global dominance. This oligarchy helped fund the Nazi regime and then saved thousands of Nazis to work with the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA operations such as MK-Ultra pushed LSD and other drugs on leftist leaders and left-leaning populations at home and abroad. Evidence supports that this oligarchy further led the United States into its longest-running wars in the ideal areas for opium crops, while also massively funding wars in areas of coca plant abundance for cocaine production under the guise of a "war on drugs" that is actually the use of drugs as a war on us. Drugs as Weapons Against Us tells how scores of undercover U.S. Intelligence agents used drugs in the targeting of leftist leaders from SDS to the Black Panthers, Young Lords, Latin Kings, and the Occupy Movement. It also tells how they particularly targeted leftist musicians, including John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Tupac Shakur to promote drugs while later murdering them when they started sobering up and taking on more leftist activism. The book further uncovers the evidence that Intelligence agents dosed Paul Robeson with LSD, gave Mick Jagger his first hit of acid, hooked Janis Joplin on amphetamines, as well as manipulating Elvis Presley, Eminem, the Wu Tang Clan, and others.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.
McCarthyism, Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Paul Robeson, House Un-American Activities Committee, the Smith Act, the Hollywood 10, the Joint Anti-Fascist Committee, the Truman Loyalty Program, the Blacklist, book burning, and communism – all subjects of controversy during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s here in the United States. Clay Risen, a reporter and editor at the New York Times, has a fresh look at all this in his book, "Red Scare." Mr. Risen writes in his preface that his grandfather was a career FBI agent who joined the Bureau during World War II, and he recounted stories of implementing loyalty tests for the federal government in the late 1940s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
McCarthyism, Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Paul Robeson, House Un-American Activities Committee, the Smith Act, the Hollywood 10, the Joint Anti-Fascist Committee, the Truman Loyalty Program, the Blacklist, book burning, and communism – all subjects of controversy during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s here in the United States. Clay Risen, a reporter and editor at the New York Times, has a fresh look at all this in his book, "Red Scare." Mr. Risen writes in his preface that his grandfather was a career FBI agent who joined the Bureau during World War II, and he recounted stories of implementing loyalty tests for the federal government in the late 1940s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Before he became a musician, Merle Haggard lived the kind of life that's often mythologized in song: Hopping freights and doing prison time. When he became a star, he acquired his own observation car. Now that coach is part of the Virginia Scenic Railway. Terry Gross spoke with Haggard in 1995. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two albums: one's a collection of recordings by Paul Robeson, and the other features the music of Paul Robeson, performed by singer Davóne Tines. Finally, Justin Chang reviews David Cronenberg's new thriller, The Shrouds.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
On today's show: we hear from a filmmaker who made a documentary about living with dwarfism, then musicians and poets will celebrate the late Paul Robeson, and a film questions if technology and money should outweigh the arts and people.
Feliks Banel's guests on this episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Jean Sherrard on his NOW & THEN column in this coming weekend's Seattle Times about the Cadillac Hotel/Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park; plus archival feature with the late Edward Saylor of Enumclaw, member of the famous Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942; and a conversation with Dr. Lindsey Swindall of the Stevens Institute of Technology on the May 18, 1952 concert by Paul Robeson at Peace Arch Park. This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 4pm Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, April 17, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via space101fm.org at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.
The Context of White Supremacy welcomes Racist Suspect Joel Whitney. Classified as a White Man, Whitney is a Brooklyn, NY writer whose work has been featured in The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Baffler, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Boston Review to name a few. He's "a former features editor at Al Jazeera America and a founder and former editor-in-chief at Guernica." Gus originally hoped to speak with Whitney about his 2016 publication, Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers. I'm not quite sure what my original motivation was for exploring this text - could have been Rev. Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple or Soundtrack to a Coup d'État. Anyway, by the time we got our calendars synchronized, Mr. Whitney had written another book, Flights: Radicals on the Run. Most of the featured subjects who had to flee oppression are Victims of White Supremacy like: Minister Malcolm X, Paul Robeson, Dr. Angela Davis, and Leonard Peltier - who recently benefited from a commuted sentence from departing President Biden. During the broadcast, Mr. Whitney repeated the tacky refrain that White people are also "held back" by Racism. He could only list two trifling ways that the System of White Supremacy holds him down. Whitney also engaged in another suspicious and common practice amongst Racist Suspects: Citing the work of Ibram X. Kendi, a Victim of White Supremacy, to confuse non-white people about what it means to be classified as White. #LorraineHansberry #FarceOnWashington #TheCOWS16Years INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 605.313.5164 CODE: 564943#
Muhammad Ali risked his career and even his freedom to take a stand against the Vietnam War. He followed in the footsteps of men like baseball great Jackie Robinson and singer Paul Robeson, who started out playing football. These Black athletes are all part of a heritage of working for social justice, according to journalist Howard Bryant. Today, Bryant joins Lindsay to talk about his book The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism. Be the first to know about Wondery's newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Paul Robeson, an enduring and multitalented figure, broke color barriers in sports, music, film and theater. He was an internationally famous singer and actor yet in the U.S. he was persecuted and blacklisted for his political beliefs. He died impoverished and in obscurity. His singular life is a model of courage and steadfastness in the face of racial and political prejudice. He said, “The artist must fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.” This program includes Paul Robeson singing in his magnificent bass-baritone voice "Joe Hill" and "Ol' Man River." Recorded at Columbia Law School.
"THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS: CLASSIC CINEMA STARS OF THE MONTH" The Nicholas Brothers, FAYARD and HAROLD, are arguably two of the greatest dancer to ever hit Hollywood. Born to musician parents, they learned their craft working the vaudeville scene and appearing at the famous Cotten Club during the Harlem Renaissance before landing in Hollywood. In Tinseltown, they made movie magic dancing in some of Hollywood's biggest musicals. The brothers mixed tap-dancing with acrobatics to perfect thrilling routines that we're still win awe of today. They also had to endure the limits put upon them by the racism of the day. Join us this week, as we celebrate these icons of dance who are our Stars of the Month. SHOW NOTES: Sources: Brotherhood in Rhythm: The Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers (2002), by Constance Valis Hill; Dorothy Dandridge: An Intimate Biography (1970), by Earl Mills; “The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold: Tap Dance Legends,” February 17, 2024, Dance Mogul magazine; “The Incredible Nicholas Brothers: A Classic Hollywood Black Dance Duo Everyone Should Be Obsessed With,” October 30, 2022, by Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly; “The Nicholas Brothers: Every Generations Dance Heroes,” February 17, 2020, by Najja Parker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; “Celebrating The Nicholas Brothers,” September 16, 2011, by Daniel Eagan, Smithsonian magazine; www.nicholasbrothers.com TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; AcademyMuseum.com Movies Mentioned: Pie Pie Blackbird (1932) - starring Nina Mae McKinney & The Nicholas Brothers; Stoopnocracy (1933), starring Budd Hulick & Harold Nicholas; The Emperor Jones (1933), starring Paul Robeson & Harold Nicholas; Kid Millions (1934), starring Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, & Ethel Merman; Jealousy (1934), starring Nancy Kelly & George Murphy; The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935), starring Jack Oakie, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bing Crosby, & Ethel Merman; Coronado (1935), starring Johnny Downs; My American Wife (1936), starring Francis Lederer & Ann Sothern; Don't Gamble with Love (1936) starring Ann Sothern; Babes in Arms (1937), starring Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland; Down Argentine Way (1940), starring Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, & Charlotte, Greenwood; Tin Pan Alley (1940), starring Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Jack Oakie, & John Payne; The Great American Broadcast (1941), starring Alice Faye & John Payne; Sun Valley Serenade (1941), starring Sonja Henie & John Payne; Orchestra Wives (1942), starring George Montgomery & Ann Rutherford; Stormy Weather (1943), starring Lena Horne; Reckless Age (1944), starring Gloria Jean & Harold Nicholas; Carolina Blues (1944), starring Kay Kyser & Ann Miller; The Pirate (1948), starring Judy Garland & Gene Kelly; Botta e Riposta (1950); El Mensaje le la Muerte (1953); Musik I'm Blut (1955); L'Empire de la Nuit (1964); The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970), starring Lee J. Cobb, Roscoe Lee Brown, & Fayard Nicholas; Uptown Saturday Night (1974), starring Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, Harry Belafonte, & Harold Nicholas That's Entertainment! (1974); That's Dancing (1985); Tap (1989); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Edna Lewis was a legendary American chef, a pioneer of Southern cooking and the author of four books, including The Taste of Country Cooking, her memoir cookbook about growing up in Freetown, Virginia, a small farming community of formerly enslaved people and their descendants established in 1866. Before she began writing books, Edna had been a celebrated chef at Cafe Nicholson in New York City in the 1950s where Eleanor Roosevelt, Paul Robeson, Marlon Brando, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Marlene Dietrich all came for her Southern food and legendary chocolate soufflé.The Taste of Country Cooking chronicled the traditions and recipes of the community where she grew up — a rural settlement that celebrated the events and traditions of daily life across each year with special suppers and ritual meals — Emancipation Day Dinner, Early Spring Dinner after Sheep Shearing, Morning After Hog Butchering Breakfast, Christmas Eve Supper and Christmas Dinner to name but a few of the dishes and stories that fill this book.In 1983 The Kitchen Sisters went to talk to Ms. Lewis about her life and the Christmas traditions in the tight-knit Virginia farming community where she came of age.For Christmas, The Kitchen Sisters Present... Edna Lewis: Christmas in Freetown
For Day 2 of Black History Bootcamp, we're honoring Paul Robeson—a man who stood at the crossroads of “radical or responsible” and chose a path that changed history. His life was a series of powerful choices shaped by loss and love, from the early death of his mother to the unwavering support of his wife, who fueled his fight for justice and equality. Paul didn't shy away from taking bold, unapologetic stands for his people, even when it cost him greatly. He taught us that there is courage in being both radical and responsible, living with purpose and conviction.