Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants, once dreamed of justice on the streets of Oakland. Barack Obama, born to a Kenyan father and a Kansas mother, found his voice on Chicago's South Side. Against the odds, both rose from the margins to the Senate, ultimately shattering ceilings in the White House. But with the 2024 election looming, Harris stands on the precipice of another historic leap. The path Obama carved is now shadowed by fierce divisions and disillusionment. In a nation...

It's 1978, and Senator Edward Brooke is fighting for his political life. As the first Black U.S. Senator elected by popular vote, Ed broke barriers and reached the heights of power. But scandal and betrayal threaten to bring it all crashing down. Meanwhile, a young Carol Moseley Braun faces her own trials as she begins her journey to become the first Black woman in the Senate. From backroom deals to civil rights battles, two trailblazing Black senators navigate racism, party politics, and...

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 different ideas about gaining and maintaining power. One, leans on his faith and his God, the other on his wiles as he escapes near death. Both men come from two completely different walks of life, but their eyes are set...

Blackness is more than skin deep. This thing is cultural, and culture moves beyond what we can see. Franchesca and Conscious dive into the nuances between race and ethnicity while celebrating the contributions of Afro Latino people to Black history. And, because we ain’t gonna let Halloween pass us by without touching on the spooky, our hosts chat about the resurgence of Voodoo in some Afro Latino communities and its connection back to the African continent. See Privacy Policy at...

Woop! Woop! That’s the sound of da police! Conscious and Frankie welcome Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika – host of Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD. Dr. Kumanyika’s podcast is a deeply personal tale of his relationship to policing, the history of the NYPD and its long reaching impact in police departments across the nation. Are the police truly functioning as designed? Does their origin begin and end as slave catching patrols? Today’s conversation brings humor and depth to the...

As a child, Gwen Ifill watches the flickering images of 1960s America dance across her television screen. Journalists and news anchors covering the turbulent era look and sound nothing like Gwen, but she’s determined to leave her mark. From her internship at the Boston Herald American, to debate stages holding powerful politicians to account and town halls creating space for Black America’s pain and rage – Gwen Ifill carves a path all her own to the top of legacy media. Listen to Black...

The famous Brazilian footballer Pelé should never have climbed to the pinnacle of his sport. Young Edson, the kid who would become Pelé, grows up in poverty kicking around a football made of socks. And he lives in a country uncomfortable with his Black skin. Born with a dream too large for his small village to hold and the relentless determination to become the best footballer in the world, Pelé climbs from obscurity on the pitch and becomes the national treasure of his country and the...

Celia Cruz, dubbed the "Queen of Salsa" is one the the biggest Latin music stars of all time. From her humble beginnings in Cuba to her rise as a global icon, Celia’s voice and energy changed the game for Latin music. Fran and Conscious explore her journey, the racial barriers she broke, and the vibrant spirit she left behind. We’ll also dig into her strong stance against Fidel Castro, why she never returned to Cuba, and how that shaped her life and songs. ¡Azúcar! Listen to Black...

Black people’s accomplishments aren’t usually celebrated without creating some discomfort in the white cultural zeitgeist. There’s something about Black Excellence that often leads to knee jerk criticisms. From the complicated Jack Johnson, to the modern-day struggles of Serena Williams and Colin Kaepernick, this question in sports keeps popping up: why do Black athletes often have to fight for their humanity as much as they do for victory? This deep dive with Franchesca and Conscious unpacks...

Paul Bergrin is a hotshot criminal defense attorney in Newark, New Jersey. Seemingly unstoppable and with unorthodox methods, he’s built a reputation for getting his clients off the hook. But as Paul's legend grows, so do the suspicions swirling around him.  When FBI Agent Shawn Brokos starts investigating a major drug ring, she makes a shocking discovery: the gang's most powerful player is none other than Newark’s star attorney. Has the ex-federal prosecutor crossed the line and started...

“Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come.” Serena Williams said those words knowing how many perceived a young Black girl in a predominantly white sport. Her career might appear defined by luck on the outside, but the kid who grew up slamming tennis balls on Compton’s Courts always believed she’d be the G.O.A.T. Her journey to the top is filled with failures and...

Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, is known for two things: his brutal fists and fearless audacity. Before Muhammad Ali, Johnson shocked the world with his unrivaled boxing skills, shattering racial barriers and igniting racial tensions. On July 4th, 1910, in "The Fight of the Century," he defeated Jim Jeffries, the "Great White Hope," becoming the first Black World Heavyweight Boxing Champion and creating an uproar among racists. But Jack's legacy of rising from poverty and challenging...

Witnessing someone achieve greatness in multiple areas of life is pretty rare. Paul Robeson’s a rare type of man. Almost like Beyonce, he’s a Renaissance man. There isn’t a color line he can’t cross and excellence is his middle name. By the 1930’s, Paul’s graduated college as valedictorian, played professional football, and become the first Black actor to play Othello (don’t worry this gets addressed in the episode). But even with all the achievements, Paul’s still looked at as a nobody...

Football season’s back, and it’s still missing one of the game’s best quarterbacks: Colin Kaepernick. Colin grows up loving athletes like basketball player Allen Iverson, but he dreams of making it to the NFL. When the dream finally comes true, he takes the NFL world by storm in 2012 as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Almost four years later, everything changes. Images of police brutalizing Black people are inescapable. Colin kneels during the National Anthem to protest the...

You ever see someone laugh so hard it makes you crack a smile? Even though you’ve got no idea what they are laughing about? Contagious joy helps people survive. Especially Black people, because Black joy is a revolutionary act. In this bonus episode, Franchesca and Conscious discuss how reclaiming spaces for happiness and expression is vital when balancing stories about trauma and oppression. The hosts also give a history lesson on the roots of rock and roll. Spoiler alert - Black people are...

You never think a simple day by the water can turn deadly. Young Eugene Williams never thought his day at the beach would end in tragedy, either. But, his death at a segregated beach in Chicago sparks a fight to desegregate all American beaches. Activists like Dr. Gilbert Mason, take a courageous stand to transform public spaces across the nation. In order to enjoy peace and tranquility in the Sun, they rise up and clash with racist violent mobs and a legal system resistant to change. Their...

Summertime, and the livin’s easy. Unless you’re Black, and trying to hit up the beach, in early 19th-century America. Beaches, like the rest of the nation, are segregated by race. And of course Black people only have access to the most dangerous sands and waters. That begins to change when Frederick Douglass’ bougie son, Charles, buys land on the shores of Maryland. On the West Coast, Willa Bruce starts her own beach revolution, but her white neighbor’s aren’t happy and violence follows. If...

“I’ll sleep when I die.” That’s usually the sentiment of a laborer on the perpetual grind. Sure, hard work pays off, but when do we declare it’s time to rest? In this special episode, our hosts have a candid conversation about the drawbacks of hustle culture and how prioritizing high productivity puts pressure on workers. Franchesca Ramsey and Conscious Lee also speak to the inequalities Black creators face in the gig economy. So let your hair down; this is a safe space. Listen to Black...

Martin Luther King, Jr. is dead, and Samuel L. Jackson’s taken the entire Morehouse College Board of Trustees hostage. This includes the recently assassinated Civil Rights icon’s father – Martin Luther King, Sr. Soon, MLK, Sr’s. heart problems force them to make a stark choice: sacrifice his life for the Movement, or spare him out of a decency. Police violence has ended student protests across the nation, but Samuel and the other students refuse to back down. Their demands must be met, even...

Samuel L. Jackson’s got big plans when he arrives at Morehouse College in the late 1960s. He loves movies and he’s dreaming of a bright future as a marine biologist. But the world’s dreaming of other things.Tensions around the Civil Rights Movement are only increasing and protests against the Vietnam War are erupting on campuses around the nation. When these forces come to a head on campus, Samuel L. Jackson’s leading the charge. And his shocking actions change the history and the future of...

Few scandals in U.S. history have been as major and consequential as Watergate. What began as a small-scale burglary would eventually lead to the resignation of President Nixon. And, it was the scandal that launched a thousand ‘gates’.  On each episode of Wondery’s podcast The Big Flop, comedians join host Misha Brown to chronicle one of the biggest pop-culture fails of all time and try to answer the age-old question: who thought THIS was a good idea? The Watergate scandal was a multi-year...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Fannie Lou Hamer had her voting rights and reproductive rights infringed upon, but she stood on business to improve things for the future. So, why are we still fighting the same battles? Franchesca Ramsey and Conscious Lee make the connections between what Hamer went through over 50 years ago, and the struggles of medical racism, disenfranchisement, and the disintegration of reproductive rights that we face today.   Listen to Black...

After getting arrested by racist police and being beaten to near death, Fannie puts her fight for voting rights into high gear. With the help of fellow activists, Fannie forms her own political party, the MFDP (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party), and appears on live television - telling her story to millions of Americans. She wants to protect Black citizens from the dangers of racism, and she believes having the power to change legislation will do that. However, there’s one person standing...

Fannie Lou Hamer’s been a fighter her entire life. Growing up as a poor Black girl in Jim Crow Mississippi leaves her no other choice. Fannie’s not just fighting for herself, but for all Black people in the deep south. To her, the path to freedom lies at the ballot box, and the road she walks ain’t easy. Racists will do anything to stop her march for freedom and equality. Even the US government turns on her, and the fight for equal rights nearly costs Fannie Lou her life. Listen to Black...