Bless This Mess
4/12/20261 hr 2 min
At a time when the U.S. government is trying to make American history tidier, we try to learn from the mess. Including the untold, messy story of Paul and Essie Robeson.
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Prologue: Guest Host Emanuele Berry talks to Nichole Hill about the Black movie characters Nichole was curious about as a child. (7 minutes)Act One: A giant of the Harlem Renaissance, Paul Robeson was the most famous American of his day. Until he wasn’t. Nichole Hill tells the messy, complicated story of Paul and...
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:01
Support for This American Life comes from Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which, uh, means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home. Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents, so when you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get started at redfin.com. Own the dream. To make our newest bonus episode of This American Life, [door opening] Ira Glass went digging.
Ira Glass· Host0:35
Okay, we're in.
Speaker 00:36
Digging for an old recording in a storage space with 70 boxes of old tapes.
Ira Glass· Host0:41
[laughs] Oh my God.
Speaker 00:43
And as luck would have it...
Ira Glass· Host0:44
I can't believe it. This is the one, two, three. This is the fourth box I'm opening, and literally right here. [boxes rattling] [gentle music] I think this is exactly what I was looking for.
Speaker 00:54
To hear what he found, plus dozens of other exclusive bonus episodes, and most importantly, to help us keep making the show, subscribe at thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.
Ira Glass· Host1:04
Okay, I really am stunned.
Speaker 01:06
That link is also in the show notes of this episode. Thanks.
Speaker 21:10
First floor.
Emanuele Berry· Host1:12
From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. I'm Emmanuel Berry, sitting in for Ira Glass. As a middle schooler, there was always one channel I wanted to watch: TCM, the Turner Classic Movie Channel, an entire