Greg Jenner, comedian Desiree Burch and Prof Shana L. Redmond from Columbia University discuss the astonishing life and legacy of Paul Robeson: the epitome of the American Renaissance man. Famous for his unparalleled bass-baritone voice and relentless struggle for civil rights, Robeson was an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, scholar and civil rights activist who the American government persecuted during the McCarthy era. Research: William Clayton Script: Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Project manager: Siefe Miyo Edit producer: Cornelius Mendez
My name's Joe Wilkinson, and I've managed to force Patrick Bamford to come on a podcast with me, and he's gonna slowly fall in love with me.
Do you go to the tip?
Believe it or not, yeah, I do.
Do you go to the supermarket?
No.
You know when all the shirts started getting tight on the players and they started selling them like that to the general public?
Yeah, yeah.
And everyone looked like sausages.
My mate's a footballer with me.
Patrick Bamford and Joe Wilkinson.
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Hello and welcome to you're dead to me, a BBC Radio four comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
My name is Greg Jenner.
I'm a public historian, author, broadcaster and chief nerd on the funny kids show horrible histories.
Today, we are taking the showboat back to the 20th century to get to know the american activist, actor, scholar and booming bass baritone Paul Robeson.
And to help me do that, I am joined by two very special guests in history corner.
She's a professor of English and comparative literature at the center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University in New York City.
She specialises in the intersection between music and politics, and you may have seen her in the accompanying documentary series for Forest Whittaker's tv drama Godfather of Harlem.
She's the author of several books, including Everything man, the form and function of Paul Robeson.