1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. And today 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: on the podcast, we have an interview with Dr Henry 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: Lewis Gates Jr. Dr Gates is the director of the 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: He's a prolific content creator across multiple disciplines, including but 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: not limited to filmmaking, journalism, in literary scholarship. This is 9 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: like the most paired down version of his CV you 10 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: could possibly have. And normally we have often said like, 11 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: we don't usually do specific program programming for Black History 12 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: Months because we try to make Black History happen year round, 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: so all the year. Because people had reached out to 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: us and they were very interested in doing a Black 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: History Month related discussion, uh, and since it's the last 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: podcast of Black History Months, we figured why not? This 17 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: would be fantastic because he is a great interview. Yes 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: that as soon as we got the email. The original 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: time was the time that I was going to be 20 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: physically on an airplane, and I emailed Holly immediately and 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: and said, hey, I want us to do this, but 22 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: I personally cannot do it. I said, I will do it, 23 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: like it was some big burden to me, Like I 24 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: was so excited too. Yeah, we're both very obviously, we're 25 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: still very excited. So his work has won so many awards, 26 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: including an Emmy for PBS series The African Americans, Many 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:40,199 Speaker 1: Rivers to Cross in he was awarded the National Humanities Medal, 28 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: making him the first African American recipient of that honor. 29 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: He was actually just awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: last year. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He I mean, 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: his contributions to UH history, scholarship in African American history 32 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: in particular and African history cannot be oversold. And he 33 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: is currently working on a whole lot of projects. He's 34 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: in the middle of filming the fourth season of Finding 35 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: Your Roots for PBS, which is a series that explores 36 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: the genealogy and family histories of famous guests like people 37 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: that are influencers in society, and debuting tonight if you're 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: listening to this on the day we release it, is 39 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: his new series Africa's Great Civilizations, which I am incredibly, 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: incredibly excited about because Dr Gates visits some amazing locations 41 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: while exploring two hundred thousand years of history. I'm I 42 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: have like rabies level excitement for this, and he too well. 43 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: And that's one of the things that was so exciting 44 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: when we got the original email about all of this 45 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: was that that is uh an area of history that 46 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: it can be hard to research from here because the 47 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: resources available to us are kind of limited. So being 48 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: able to go directly to the source super exciting. Yeah, 49 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: and he's also promoting a T and TA twe eight 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: Days a Celebration of Black History, which is a project 51 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: that features all kinds of cool interactive content that celebrates 52 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: black history pioneers past in present, and shares the view 53 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: that we always talk about on the show that black 54 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: history doesn't need to be confined to one month of 55 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: the year. It can be celebrated year round. So for 56 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: more information on that project, which also includes cool sweep 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: stakes that they are running as part of that where 58 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: you can win a trip to the National Museum of 59 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: African American History and Culture, which sounds amazing. So you 60 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: can get more info on all of that at a 61 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: t T dot com slash twenty eight days If you 62 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: want to watch some of those really amazing videos and 63 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: take in all of the seriously wide breath content that 64 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: they have to offer there. Dr Gates is so good 65 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: at bringing history to life. So we're going to wrap 66 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: up this introduction of him and jump right into the interview. 67 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: You are really focused on this wonderful, full spectrum approach 68 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: to sharing Black history by both looking at the past 69 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: and at the future while still staying engaged in the present. 70 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: And I wonder what you think is the most important 71 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: thing that we can do as a society and as 72 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: people that are interested in history to make sure that 73 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: none of us forget the past as we're making the 74 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: big decisions that shape the future. That's a great question. 75 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: I think that's the place in America traditionally where we 76 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: become citizens. The place the institution most responsible for shaping 77 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: citizenship is our schools. When I went to school, I 78 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: don't know about your generation, but we had to learn 79 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: my country ticity. You know, America, the beautiful I pledged. 80 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: It leads it to the flag. And the teacher didn't 81 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: say today is citizenship Day, and I'm going to teach 82 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: you how to be a citizen. They just did it. 83 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: They did it every day invisibly oustmotically. It was like 84 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: the air that you breathe, and so why what's that? 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: Of been? Two? We need to integrate the content of 86 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: the contributions of black women and black men, both in 87 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: this country on the African continent first and then throughout 88 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: the diaspora, into the curriculum, into every subject where it's relevant, 89 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: so that we're not just teaching it or exclaiming it 90 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: in this wonderful month of February of the Black History Month. UM, 91 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: it needs to be there every day. Every day has 92 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: got to be Black History Month. It's got to be 93 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: part of the story that every person who sits in 94 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: the classroom gets about the subject that they're studying. What 95 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: were the black contributions, What are the contributions of gay people, 96 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: what are the contributions of women, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So 97 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: I see my job as providing the research and then 98 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: to translating the research that I do and my peers 99 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: fellow scholars do for a broader audience through the wonderful 100 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: venue or outlet of of PBS and and and other 101 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: journalistic organs like that. UM. I want to be able 102 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: to tell the story to other scholars in complex ways, 103 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: but then to break it down, make it plain, as 104 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: Malcolm would say, um, and try to make it compelling. 105 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: And that's what I'm trying to do with the new 106 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: six hour series African's Great Civilizations, which I'm so excited about. 107 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: And I'm going to ask you about that in just 108 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: a minute, but first I wanted to ask you a 109 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: little bit about the Finding Your Roots series that you've 110 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: worked on to the last several years. Um, okay, I 111 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,279 Speaker 1: know that of course in every situation, the participants that 112 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: you are helping discover their past are often met with 113 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: moments of surprise, but I have to wonder if there 114 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: have been any moments of discovery that really caught you 115 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: off guard along the way. Yes, it's a great question. 116 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: We were filming season four Finding your Roots now. Um, 117 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: I'm very very excited about that, and um, I think 118 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: in one of the biggest surprises was from the hip 119 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: hop star are l O cool j Um, who is 120 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: Todd Smith, who's a very old friend of mine, and 121 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,839 Speaker 1: Todd was very is very close, well was very close. 122 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, because his grandparents were dead to his grandparents 123 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: who took his grandparents took Todd and his mother in 124 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: after Todd's parents split up, and he you know, even 125 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: in um my mom will knock you out, you know, 126 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: his first rap video, his grandmother comes down the stairs 127 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: at the end and says, Todd, take the garbage out. 128 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: You know, it's really funny. He's down in the basement. 129 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: But and when it turns out that lady was not 130 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: his biological grandmother, the people who raised him in whom 131 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: he loved so much and who nurtured him so deeply 132 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: and profoundly, were not his biological grandparents. His mother, it 133 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: turns up, was adopted and Todd did not know this, 134 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: and neither did his mother, and I had to call 135 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: him tell him, um yeah, And we found out through 136 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: DNA and then you ready for this. We found his 137 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: biological grandmother, an eighty nine year old lady who was 138 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: living in a nursing home, and we tracked her down 139 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: and we didn't film this because it's very private, and 140 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: we arranged for Todd's local, Jay's mother and l l 141 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: to meet um Ella's mother to meet her mother. She 142 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: had had a baby in I believe, and put her 143 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: up for adoption, and they we ranged the family and 144 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: now they're really close and well, that's a heavy that's 145 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: a heavy root story. I'm gonna tell you that. And 146 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: I had to call him. He goes, what what are 147 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: you talking about? You know it was he had no idea, 148 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: no inkling, no inclination, and I had to be the 149 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: one to tell him, and he goes, are you sure? 150 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: Are you sure? It's very upset. And now, of course 151 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: he's very happy that that had happened, and he one 152 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 1: of the things we learned when the morals of the 153 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 1: story is that families, you can have a so she 154 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: constructed family, and you can have a biological family. And 155 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: he so now he's busy just covering his biological grandmother. 156 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: And thank god, um, this happened before it was too late. 157 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: And I never anticipated this kind of thing could possibly 158 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: happen through finding your roots, but it did. Yeah, I 159 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: can't brother say on the street, DNA lie. I can't 160 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: imagine what it must be like for his biological grandmother 161 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: to be like, oh, by the way, you are l 162 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: cool grandmother, no man, And there he's We had dinner 163 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: about two weeks ago in l A and I met 164 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: his daughters and the he sell me some pictures of 165 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: the family reunion and it's amazing. And then you can 166 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: see the family resemblance. And and remember I said that 167 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: Todd was boxing in the basement. His biological grandfather was 168 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: a light heavyweight champion of the world. He was a 169 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: famous boxer and then became a boxing trainer. Go figure, 170 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: you know. And he had no idea, none, zero. That 171 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: is a wild story. Uh, and then wild story. We'll 172 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: mention your next big project, which I am so excited about, 173 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: which is Africa's Great Civilizations that is about to premiere 174 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: on PBS. And similarly, I have to wonder what the 175 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: most memorable or surprising discoveries were that you made while 176 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: making that series, because it is a lot of content. 177 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: It's a lot of content. It's two hundred thousand years 178 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: of African history. So we start with mitochondrial Eve, who 179 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: is our common great great great great grandmother. For all 180 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: human beings. All human beings, whether they're black, yellow, red, white, brown, 181 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,719 Speaker 1: all descend from African people in the African continent. This 182 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: is an indisputable fact. Fifty eight thousand years ago, a 183 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: handful of anatomically modern human ancestors walked out of Africa. 184 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: So everybody is ultimately descended from an African. We're all Africans, 185 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: and I'll tell you three amazing things. Um one the 186 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: third country in the world to convert to Christianity. The 187 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: first was Rome, the second one was Armenian. The third 188 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: Ethiopia in three fifty a d. Before Ireland, England in 189 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: any of those places, and some of the players didn't 190 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 1: even exist. The Ethiopians became the king Isana became a 191 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: Christian in three fifty a d. Second amazing fact, the 192 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,599 Speaker 1: richest man in the history of the world was the 193 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: Emperor of Moli. His name was Mansa m A n 194 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: s A Musa m U s A. He was the 195 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 1: Emperor of Moli, and in thirteen twenty four. He was 196 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: so rich because they had one of the world's great 197 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: sources of gold. We don't realize that most of the 198 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: gold of Europe between one thousand a d and d 199 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: came from West Africa. The Sera Desert wasn't a very 200 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: it was a highway, a trading highway back and forth 201 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: between across the Sahara, across the Mediterranean, up the Red Sea, 202 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: up the Nile, down the Nile. And so he had 203 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: all their gold and he made a pilgrimage in Mecca 204 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: because he's a Muslim. He did the Hajj, as it's called, 205 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: and he had so much gold when he passed through 206 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: Cairo it devalued. He was a given gold away and 207 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: at the value the gold market for years and years 208 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: and years. He could go to networth dot com and 209 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: check it out as according to networth dot com at 210 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 1: least the last time I looked. And the third thing 211 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: is every woman named Candice. Do you have any friends 212 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: named Candice? Every woman named Candice got their name. Their 213 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: name derives from the Nubian or Meroittic name for queen, 214 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: which is Candycki k a and d a k e. 215 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 1: The queen of Merriway, which was the successor kingdom to 216 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Cushion Nubia. There continuous um kingdoms was called the Candycki 217 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: and Uh. In the Book of Acts in the New Testament, 218 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,079 Speaker 1: Philip is walking along the road and he runs into 219 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 1: this um the the Candice's treasurer, who was a eunuch, 220 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: and it's called her the Queen of Ethiopia. But Ethiopia 221 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: was just the name at that time used for the 222 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: land of black people. It's just the name used for Africa. 223 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: But we happen to know that this man was the 224 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: treasurer for a queen called Amani Renus and Amanti Renus 225 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: in twenty BC. She dressed like a man, had one eye, 226 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: and she sister was bad. He defeated the Romans. She 227 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:35,439 Speaker 1: defeated the Romans. Roman taken over Egypt. She took him 228 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,959 Speaker 1: on in battle and defeated him. Took a statue of 229 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: Augustus Caesar back to her kingdom, buried in front of 230 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: her throne, so everybody came to see there, had to 231 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: see him, see her, had to step on his head. 232 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: That is one of the great queens in in history. 233 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: The candicki Amani Renus, and that is the source of 234 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: the name of every woman named Candice, whether they're black, white, red, yellow, 235 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: or whatever. That is your amazing Black history facts for today. 236 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,319 Speaker 1: We know because we do a history podcast twice a 237 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: week that it can be really, really tricky sometimes to 238 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:18,839 Speaker 1: get good primary source material for African history. So I'm 239 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: wondering how you structured your research to ensure that you 240 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: were truly capturing that African perspective. Well, we I end 241 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: um over a dozen fifteen academics, professors who are experts 242 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: of various phases of African history. No one person could 243 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: master African history because African history. Who couldn't master fifty 244 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: thou years of history or two d years? And Africa 245 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: is the most genetically diverse continent in the world, in 246 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: the second most linguistically diverse, So you need different kinds 247 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: of specialists. And even fifteen is not enough, but that, 248 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: you know, is the best that we could do, plus 249 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: a lot a lot more academics I interviewed, as you 250 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: will see in the film. And so what my job 251 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: is is to translate into film the great scholarly work 252 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: done by range of of African nous professors of African studies, black, white, male, female, 253 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: African and African American, you know whatever, whoever was doing 254 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: the best work in the field, and I put him 255 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: on camera, gave him full credit, and that's what we've done. 256 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: And then John Thornton and Lynda Haywood, who are very 257 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: prominent in the film, and they're my colleagues at BEU 258 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: across the river here in Massachusetts. UM, the two of them, 259 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,280 Speaker 1: their husband and wife, and I are writing a companion 260 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: book to the series. UM. But the probably one of 261 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: the best books available for anyone listening is by Professor 262 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: Professor Christopher Ritt E h R E. T. And it's 263 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: called UM African Civilizations and it's in paperback. He's got 264 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: a new addition out now, I think at the University 265 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: of Virginia, and it's very readable and it tells the 266 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: it's called The Civilizations of Africa, A History to eight 267 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: hundred and he just publish a new edition. We will 268 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: include the information on Christopher Eyrett's book in our show notes, 269 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: so you will have that ready in handy if you 270 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: want to follow up on Dr Gates's advice to look 271 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: at it. And I will confess that, as we alluded 272 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: to a little earlier, I am incredibly envious of Dr 273 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: gates team of fifteen scholars of African history. Yeah. When 274 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: he was talking about the show and I asked how 275 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: they ensured that they got, you know, this, this true 276 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: depth of information in the African experience, he was like, well, 277 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: I have all of these people, and I was like, oh, 278 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: may we have all those people? Um, And we actually 279 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: had to stop the interview there where we just broke 280 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: because Dr Gates had to run and catch a flight. 281 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: But very fortunately he and his team we're kind enough 282 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: to work out a second session for us to keep chatting. 283 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: So we're going to get to that, but first we're 284 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: going to pause for a word from one of our 285 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: fantastic sponsors. Next up, Dr Gates shares stories of the 286 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: amazing travels that were part of the production of Africa's 287 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: Great civilizations and how the team selected the featured location. 288 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: So my next question is, uh, when you have this 289 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: amazing wealth of opportunity and potential topics to cover, how 290 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 1: did you select the locations that ended up being featured 291 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: on the show. Oh, that's a great question. Well, remember 292 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: I had a board of fifteen professors from all over Africans, Americans, Europeans, 293 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 1: people who were the most outstanding, some of the most 294 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: outstanding people in their field, each one excellent, representing different 295 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,640 Speaker 1: time periods in different regions. Africa is so big, They're 296 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: over fifty countries and we're talking about two hundred thousand 297 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: years of African history. The early history courses. Prehistory is 298 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: based on genetics and archaeology from the um a cent 299 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 1: of human beings and their outmigration from the African continent 300 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: and fifty thousand years ago, and then genetically from mitochondrial 301 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,440 Speaker 1: eve our common female ancestor two hundred thousand years ago. 302 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,639 Speaker 1: We're all descended from this woman, and we're all descended 303 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: from those um small group of Africans who left the 304 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: continent at some fifty and eighty thousand years ago. But 305 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: when we then, when we get to Egypt, you know, 306 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: we pick it up about three thousand BC b C. 307 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: And that's five thousand years of of written history. It's 308 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: a long, long um time period to cover. So what 309 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: I did. I wrote to all these people and a 310 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: lot of other people, and I said, give me a 311 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: wish list. If we had all the time in the world, 312 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: what would be the most important stories that you would 313 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: think that would be essential to knowing the full history 314 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: of Africa. And I'm not talking about just subsidiary in Africa. 315 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about just West Africa, South Africa. I'm 316 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: talking about Africa, because as you know, there was a 317 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 1: long tradition of acting like Egypt was some part of Europe. 318 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: I didn't have anything to do with black people. We know, 319 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: that's a lot um so and then I got lists, 320 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: oh my god, list of hundreds of hundreds and hundreds 321 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: and hundreds of stories. But you know, you can only 322 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 1: tell about ten to twelve stories in a one hour 323 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: TV show. In fact, the next time you watch a documentary, 324 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: just look at your watch, and every every five six 325 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: minutes there's a news story. That's how the logic works. 326 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: There like chapters. So then I had to group them 327 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: by time period, so say of three thousand BC to 328 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: the Birth of Christ one period, and then from one 329 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,919 Speaker 1: a D to one thousand a D. You know, we 330 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: had to do it like that. And then we also 331 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 1: had to figure out what we could shoot because I 332 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: made a film series about African called Wonders of the 333 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: African World. I went anywhere I wanted to go, including 334 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: tim Buck two and in Molly and the Great Moscot 335 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,479 Speaker 1: Jenny in Molly, Um. The problem is tim buc two 336 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: dollars dominated by je Hottists, so you're forbidden from going there. 337 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,120 Speaker 1: You know, no insurance company will back you. The American 338 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: government doesn't want you to go there. I mean you 339 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: literally cannot go um and you can't take a film 340 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,159 Speaker 1: crew there, so I couldn't film there when we had 341 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,959 Speaker 1: to use certain stock kind of footage. So you will 342 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 1: see me this time standing at the Great Mosque, the 343 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 1: Sanka a Mosque and Kimbuctoo, which was the site of 344 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: the great university of one of the great universities of 345 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,360 Speaker 1: the African continent. So we had to um take into 346 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: consideration practical concerns such as that. But over that's why 347 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: I took five years. It took four years to planet 348 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: research it and planet and then one year to shoot it. 349 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 1: I took a sabbatical from Harvard last year and I 350 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: went to twelve countries with film crew and you know, 351 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,439 Speaker 1: sometimes we slept in tents, and sometimes we slept in 352 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: nice hotels, and sometimes we had to use um what 353 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: used to be called old houses and and the others 354 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: shall be saying other less fancy methods, and other times 355 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: we stayed in five star hotels. Um. We went from 356 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: Nigeria and Ghana and Benin to the Soudan and the 357 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: Sudan the American government sent the ambassador and a security 358 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: team with us, and we camped down in a hotel, 359 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: which is all tense, um because you know, you never 360 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,679 Speaker 1: knew what was going to happen, and we had seven 361 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: protection so it was complicated, and went all over South Africa, Zimbabwe, 362 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: Tanzania's and Zabar. It was wonderful really and for me 363 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: I've been now I think to African countries. They're over 364 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: fifty African countries, so I got a long way to go. 365 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: I hope, I hope the series is successful so I 366 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,680 Speaker 1: can make more great African civilization because I love Africa 367 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: and I want to help and and I want this 368 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: story to be told. It's just not fair what happened 369 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: to our people. I know how trite that sounds, but 370 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 1: you know, in addition to being enslaved, when finally we 371 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: get rid of slavery, then comes colonialism. After eighteen eighty 372 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: four when the European nations took a big map of Africa. 373 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 1: They were in Berlin at a conference, and they cut 374 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: it up like you carve up a pizza pie and 375 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: just passed out slices to each other. And then finally 376 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: we get rid of colonialism nineteen fifty six, who Dan 377 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: becomes independent nineteen fifty seven, Ghana in nineteen sixties seventeen 378 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 1: African nations become independent, etcetera. But they what they did 379 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 1: was wiped out our history, so that even Africans don't 380 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: know the history of their own civilizations in in what 381 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: today are their own countries, let alone. Let's say if 382 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,880 Speaker 1: you're in Nigerian what was happening in Ghana or what 383 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: was happening in South Africa. When as an African American, 384 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 1: as you well understand, when we look at Africa, it 385 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: looks like one place. Um. You know, all these little 386 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 1: differences between God and Nigeria and Togo and Guinea are 387 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,959 Speaker 1: irrelevant to us. What we want is to know the 388 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: history of the African continent. M Why because New World 389 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: Black people are the true Pan African people. Our ancestors 390 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: came from a wide range of cultures and ethnicities, from 391 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:12,120 Speaker 1: Santa Gambia down through Angola and even over to Madagascar Mozambique. 392 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,199 Speaker 1: So our answers didn't come from every place. None of 393 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: our answers came from Ethiopia or the Sudan etcetera. But 394 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: they came from a wide range of countries and cultures 395 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 1: and created a new black people, a Pan African people. 396 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,479 Speaker 1: So we are the first Pan African people. And I 397 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:32,120 Speaker 1: want to tell the Pan African story. That's so excellent, 398 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: and you're right it is. Africa's history is so left 399 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,439 Speaker 1: out of the history books that I'm so excited that 400 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: we're going to get to see it. Uh, And I wonder, 401 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: and you know what's what if I may. I just 402 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 1: want to say I didn't get a chance to say 403 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 1: to see less. That's why I'm glad that this program 404 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: is sponsored by ten. It's twenty eight days celebrating Black History. 405 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,959 Speaker 1: And I want us to think of black history as 406 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: encompassing the African American variants in North America, but also 407 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: the Afro Latin and Caribbean experiences as well as the 408 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: experiences of black people on the African continent. We have 409 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: to think of ourselves as part of a worldwide movement 410 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: of black people, and their history is our history, and 411 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: our histories their history. I have to wonder if, in 412 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 1: the midst of all of this travel uh and filming, 413 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: if there was a particular location that really touched you 414 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,199 Speaker 1: or moved you in some way, or just it was 415 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: your favorite. Oh man, that's like asking you to choose 416 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: among your children. But I tell you that when you 417 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: go to the Sudan, and many people won't go there 418 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: because um it's under Shariah law and as the President 419 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: administration is one of the countries it seeks to ban 420 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: immigration from is the Sudan. But there is a rich 421 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: history of Islamic civilization and culture and pres Lamic civilization 422 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: culture going back to the Kingdom of Cush, and that's 423 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: the kingdom Cush that you read about in the Bible 424 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: is the black trading partner and rival to Egypt. And 425 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 1: they fought with each other, they made love with each other, 426 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: they colonized each other, they traded with each other, push 427 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: conquered Egypt and seven fifty BC, so that there were 428 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: seven pharaohs who were absolutely black. And the archaeologist Charles 429 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: Burnet I think in the year two thousand three or 430 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: two thousand four unearthed the very statues of these brothers 431 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: with clearly African features. I mean, there's no doubt about 432 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: you know, people say, well, the Egyptians were more mixed 433 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: or they looked like Egyptians today these are like bad 434 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 1: black brothers as they stay at the barbershop. So no 435 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,959 Speaker 1: no argument there. And um, they had their own pyramids 436 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: and their own continuous civilization going back from at least 437 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 1: three thousand BC up through at a Christian period. Listening 438 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,920 Speaker 1: to the story of the logistics for filming Africa's great civilizations, 439 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: all I could think of was that it sounded very 440 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: intense to try to figure out what they were going 441 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: to do and how it was going to work. I'm 442 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:21,960 Speaker 1: particularly excited, and I bet Tracy is too to see. 443 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 1: Great Zimbabwe featured on the show absolutely, Yeah, which we 444 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,440 Speaker 1: didn't get to talk about in the interview, but it's 445 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:29,239 Speaker 1: one that I'm really excited about since we did an 446 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: episode on it. Yeah, and the you know, I've seen 447 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 1: video footage and lots and lots of photographs of it, 448 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 1: but I am sure this will be incredible. Next up, 449 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: we will talk about how history, and particularly African history, 450 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: has inspired Dr Gates since he was a kid. But 451 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: first we will pause for another word from a sponsor. Okay, 452 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:58,800 Speaker 1: let's hop right back into the last segment of Dr 453 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: Gates's interview, in which we're going to talk about his 454 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: inspiration and what gives him hope for the future. I 455 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: have to wonder what you what you find the most 456 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 1: inspiring about all of this history? What I find about 457 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: the first the thing that gives me the rush, even 458 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,800 Speaker 1: when you just asked me that question, was that I 459 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: was a really good student. And I remember when I 460 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 1: was ten, that was sixty the year the Africa became independent, 461 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 1: and just for whatever reason, nobody could figure it out 462 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,160 Speaker 1: in my household because it wasn't exactly like my family 463 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,600 Speaker 1: was wearing dashikis and growing afros, you know what I mean. 464 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: But I became really interested in in Africa, and I 465 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: started searching and of course in our textbooks, and that 466 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,440 Speaker 1: there was nothing about Africa except that our ancestors were 467 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: savages quote unquote, primitive quote unquote, waiting on Europeans to 468 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:01,480 Speaker 1: rescue them from there. He instate, he the state, and 469 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: you know, make them civilized. This is a lie. This 470 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,000 Speaker 1: is one of the worst lies ever told in human history. 471 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: The second, the third nation to convert to Christianity was 472 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: the Empire of Ethiopia. Rome converted first. Jesus is crucified. 473 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 1: Rome becomes the center of Christianity. The second nation to 474 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: convert is Armenia. The third nation is Ethiopia. In the 475 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: year three fifty a d long before many many places 476 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: in Europe, but long before any place except Armenian, Rome 477 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,560 Speaker 1: converted to Christianity. The emperor is Zana converted to Christianity. 478 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: And when you go to Ethiopia, you realize it's been 479 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: a continuous civilization for thousands of years, and they have 480 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:50,480 Speaker 1: castles and and kings and queens and bishops too, And 481 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: you know it means as of black saints and black 482 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: marries and black Jesus. Is it's beautiful, you know, it's 483 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 1: really moving. But also being in Nubia, the king them 484 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: of Kush, which I read about in the Bible, I 485 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: had no idea where it was, and knowing that that's 486 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: been a continuous civilization from three thousand BC. And they, 487 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 1: the elite, would bury themselves, have themselves buried in pyramids 488 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: which are still there in the desert. They developed a 489 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: written language. Europeans said that our ancests in Africa didn't 490 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,479 Speaker 1: have writing. That's not true. They had their own language 491 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: called Merowittic, which no one has even been able to 492 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: decipher yet there's still with all our computer technologies, they're 493 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: still trying trying to translate m meroitic Um into English 494 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 1: and they can't do it, but they'll crack it one day. 495 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: That uh. And also the fact that these African kingdoms 496 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 1: they traded with Europe, They sent delegations to Europe, they 497 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 1: had embassies in Europe. Um, the myth of our ancestors 498 00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: being cut off was until um Stanley found the Livingstone. 499 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: You know, Dr Livingston, I presume we all know that 500 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: story is just wrong. Africans were trading across the continent 501 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 1: with each other, and they were trading with the larger world. 502 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 1: You have to see the Sahara Desert, the Nile River, 503 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: the Red Sea, Indian Ocean as highways. And our ancestors 504 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 1: were just as curious about what was on the other 505 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 1: side of the sea, or as the song went, when 506 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: we were kids, on the other side of the mountain, 507 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 1: as Europeans or Asians were. The king of the Emperor 508 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: of Great Zimbabwe in the thirteenth century dined off porcelain 509 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: plates made in China. Now, how did those plates get 510 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: from trade? And you know, because people traded. They traded. 511 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: What's some some astronaut drop him out of this guy. 512 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 1: They traded with the Chinese, they traded with Indians, and 513 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:02,800 Speaker 1: so we have. Africa was a cosmopolitan place from time immemorial. 514 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: But Europeans created a fiction of our ancestors as being stupid, ugly, dumb, 515 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: savage heathen. You picked the negative adjective and it was 516 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: applied to our ancestors. And they did it to justify slavery. 517 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: They did it to justify colonialism, to say, look, we're 518 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: doing these people's favor. And often you know, casting a 519 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 1: spursion on our people by saying some of bird cannibals, 520 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: I mean, really, please come on that. And now our job, 521 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: the job of those of us were part of the 522 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: Black Studies revolution, And I started Yale sixty nine, which 523 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,440 Speaker 1: is the year that, except for San Francisco State would 524 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 1: start in sixty eight, Black studies are born in nine. 525 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: And now all these years later, people like me, my 526 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 1: colleagues and are in a position to tell the story 527 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,800 Speaker 1: not only to each other, to other scholars, and to 528 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: journalists like you, but to students and even to integrate 529 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 1: the curricula from pre k kindergarten, junior high in high school, 530 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: because that's how you what we call naturalize the story. 531 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,080 Speaker 1: You know, we need the story of our ancestors on 532 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: both sides of the Atlantic, in Africa, in the Caribbean, 533 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: Latin America, and in North America to be integrated into 534 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 1: the history of civilization, so that are all kids would 535 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,520 Speaker 1: know that the first iron technology in the world was 536 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 1: developed by black people in African eight BC. The second 537 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: earliest invention of ceramic technology twelve thousand years ago in Africa, 538 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: three thousand years before the Middle East, four thousand years 539 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: before Europe only China is is older and cotton textile 540 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 1: weaving developed in the Sudan in five thousand BC as 541 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 1: early as it did in India. I remember learning the 542 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: history of each of those technologies. Back in the day, 543 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 1: Africa was nowhere in sight man. Nobody even drew putting 544 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 1: Africans on a list of technological innovators. So we have 545 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: to tell the truth. And you know, there's a tendency 546 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: sometime among our people to do toothings one to exaggerate 547 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,800 Speaker 1: what we did, or to leave out the bad stuff, 548 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,440 Speaker 1: like the African elites roll in the slave trade. You 549 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,640 Speaker 1: can't do that. Have to tell the story with warts 550 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 1: and all, because our ancestors just as complicated, just as 551 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: human as any other people. You know, there were good 552 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: people and bad people, and some people did great things 553 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,239 Speaker 1: and some people did some mean things, and we have 554 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,800 Speaker 1: to tell the full story. Um taka Zulu became the 555 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: great leader of the Zulu people. Um, well, someone was 556 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 1: on the throne before him. He was illegitimate. Well let's 557 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,200 Speaker 1: just say his half brother happened to a bit assassinated 558 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:52,799 Speaker 1: to make room for Takazul. Now, I know all of us, 559 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: at one point another one to kill our brothers, but 560 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 1: he did. It makes the story interesting, That makes the 561 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:07,840 Speaker 1: human being much more complicated, more fascinating. And the last question, 562 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 1: and then I will let you go. H We are, 563 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,200 Speaker 1: of course in a really tumultuous time. Bigotry is kind 564 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: of front and center in the public conversation. So I 565 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,680 Speaker 1: have to wonder if there is something from the past 566 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: that you draw on to give you hope for the future. 567 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:25,880 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, when um, um, the greatest period of black 568 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,719 Speaker 1: freedom before the Civil Rights here, after the passage of 569 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: the Well sixty four the passage of the Civil Rights Act, 570 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 1: and sixty five the Voting Rights Act. Historically, before that, 571 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,879 Speaker 1: the greatest period was reconstruction, as you know. But reconstruction 572 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 1: only lasted ten years, and in eighteen seventy seven the 573 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:49,279 Speaker 1: Hayes Tilden Compromise ended reconstruction. So I think many of 574 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 1: us feel a little bit like say Frederick Douglas Um 575 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:57,600 Speaker 1: felt when he realized that Jim Crow Dejerre segregation was 576 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 1: being re what was being imposed on the United States 577 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: in an attempt to strip away all the rights that 578 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: black people had gained from the end of the Civil 579 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: War in eighteen sixty five to the end of reconstruction 580 00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 1: and near the end of his great, long and noble 581 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:19,320 Speaker 1: and glorious life. A journalist asked Frederick Douglas, what message 582 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: would you leave for black people in the future, What 583 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: what words of wisdom? You know what? Douglas said, I'm 584 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:31,239 Speaker 1: gonna leave them with three words. Agitate, Agitate, agitate, And 585 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:32,960 Speaker 1: that's what we have to do. I love the fact 586 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,600 Speaker 1: that the town halls are erupting all over the country, 587 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: the Women's March with all these millions of activists UM 588 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,320 Speaker 1: coming out to protest, the challenge to the right of 589 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,760 Speaker 1: a woman to control our body, the threats to voting 590 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: rights UM, the unlawful deportation of immigrants, the banning of 591 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:58,000 Speaker 1: the sort of Islamophobia that is being generated, which is 592 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,760 Speaker 1: just disgusting, you know, and any of us love freedom 593 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:05,279 Speaker 1: and and who love the UM you know, the Universal 594 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,000 Speaker 1: Declaration of Human Rights. We all have to stand and 595 00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: stand against the enophobias, stand against Islamophobias, stand against discrimination 596 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:21,000 Speaker 1: against our trans um, our trans fellow citizens, and we 597 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:23,720 Speaker 1: have to stand against anti Semitism. We have to stand 598 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:28,680 Speaker 1: against um um any form of discrimination that we cannot 599 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,640 Speaker 1: let the rights. You see. I was on the view 600 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 1: yesterday and it occurred to me, I said, you know, 601 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,279 Speaker 1: under Barack Obama, we thought that the millennium had come. 602 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,680 Speaker 1: We went to sleep, We thought that that nothing could change, 603 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 1: and Barack Obama's administration seemed like a thousand years ago now, 604 00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 1: and so we have to organize and know that we're 605 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,320 Speaker 1: we're in a battle, and it's another civil rights movement, 606 00:37:54,400 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 1: and that's where we have to put our minds. I 607 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,440 Speaker 1: so deeply love the passion and excitement that Dr Gates 608 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,319 Speaker 1: just exudes when he talks about Africa's rich history and 609 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:14,879 Speaker 1: how important it really is to get that history into 610 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: the conversation of global history. Yes, for that reason, I 611 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,640 Speaker 1: am so so excited about Africa's great civilizations, which, as 612 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,200 Speaker 1: we said earlier, if you're listening to this podcast on 613 00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: the day that we released it, it starts tonight February 614 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:31,399 Speaker 1: nine pm eight Central on PBS. And so so much 615 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,799 Speaker 1: thanks to Dr Gates for making the time to talk 616 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: to Holly two different times. Yes, I'm very very grateful. 617 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:40,719 Speaker 1: We would have we would have been really stretching to 618 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:42,920 Speaker 1: try to make an episode out of just that first segment. 619 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,680 Speaker 1: So yeah, well, and I I love his work so much. 620 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 1: I have relied on it for numerous episodes. If you 621 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,840 Speaker 1: look in our show notes, you will find many many 622 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: references to things that he has written and talks that 623 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,160 Speaker 1: he has given. So thank you, so so much, Dr 624 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:01,319 Speaker 1: Gates for being on our show and for taking the 625 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,960 Speaker 1: time talk to Holly. Yeah, it was amazing. So now 626 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: we can hop right into listener mail. And it's a 627 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,160 Speaker 1: listener mail that's so sweet. I love, love love it. 628 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: It's it's one of my current favorites. I know I 629 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:13,400 Speaker 1: say that all the time, but we get a lot 630 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 1: of good stuff. Uh So this one is from our 631 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:19,399 Speaker 1: listener Stacy, and she writes, Dear Holly. When I found 632 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,400 Speaker 1: out a fellow teacher was going to Hong Kong, the 633 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,880 Speaker 1: first question I asked was are you going to Disney, 634 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:26,239 Speaker 1: explaining that if he went, he had to bring home 635 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,560 Speaker 1: a souvenir from Mystic Manner so that I could send 636 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 1: it to a podcaster who I had or involved, explaining 637 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,919 Speaker 1: podcast Disney obsession and what exactly Mystic Manner was all 638 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,080 Speaker 1: worth it because he came through with this little fellow. 639 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:41,400 Speaker 1: This is Lord Mystics, mischievous monkey Albert, who unleashes the 640 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: mayhem of a magic music box and he is very 641 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:45,640 Speaker 1: happy to be living with you. Now, this is the 642 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,600 Speaker 1: cutest thing ever. Mystic manner is one of my bucket 643 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,439 Speaker 1: list items because it looks so gorgeous and the track 644 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,360 Speaker 1: system is super fascinating. Uh, and it's just luscious and 645 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: it has a Danny Elfman soundtrack, So I super want 646 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 1: to go get on that ride. But in the mean time, 647 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 1: I have this adorable little Albert. But it is so sweet. 648 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,480 Speaker 1: It is incredibly cute. It's painfully cute. So I will 649 00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:08,239 Speaker 1: post a picture of that on our social as well. 650 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,720 Speaker 1: She goes on, thank you for countless hours of intelligent 651 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,239 Speaker 1: and thoughtful content. Please let Tracy know that if the 652 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:15,800 Speaker 1: perfect thing ever presents itself, I will gladly send it 653 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,040 Speaker 1: along to her as well. Until then, you both have 654 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:20,759 Speaker 1: my gratitude for being the amazing, brilliant, brilliant friends I 655 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,839 Speaker 1: keep tucked in my pocket while walking the dog, doing 656 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 1: the dishes, waiting in lines, and other mundane life tasks. 657 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,319 Speaker 1: Your company enriches my days and also makes me look 658 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,440 Speaker 1: like a super smarty pants in the teacher's lounge when 659 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:33,799 Speaker 1: I pull out obscure info from past episodes. Stacy, and 660 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,560 Speaker 1: thank you so much. This is so sweet and so thoughtful, 661 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,239 Speaker 1: and I'm so touched that gift traveled halfway around the 662 00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:42,839 Speaker 1: world just to get to me because of your mock 663 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,520 Speaker 1: nations and maneuvering. That was incredibly thoughtful and sweet and 664 00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 1: I love it. So thank you, thank you, thank you. 665 00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:49,680 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 666 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:52,359 Speaker 1: do so via email at History podcast at how stu 667 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 1: works dot com. You can also reach us across the 668 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,200 Speaker 1: spectrum of social media as missed in History, so that's 669 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,040 Speaker 1: on Twitter, as at missed in History, Facebook dot com, 670 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:05,839 Speaker 1: slash missed in History, missed in History, dot tumbler dot com, 671 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,879 Speaker 1: pinterest dot com slash missed in History, and Instagram at 672 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:12,759 Speaker 1: missed in History. If you would like to research a 673 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:14,880 Speaker 1: little bit of your own interests, you can go to 674 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:16,680 Speaker 1: our parents site, which is how Stuff Works. Type in 675 00:41:16,719 --> 00:41:19,080 Speaker 1: almost anything in the search bar and you're going to 676 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:21,440 Speaker 1: come up with so much content you will be busy 677 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,319 Speaker 1: and entertained for a long time. You can visit me 678 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:26,759 Speaker 1: and Tracy at missed in history dot com, where you 679 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:29,960 Speaker 1: can find episodes along with show notes of all of 680 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:32,520 Speaker 1: the episodes we've worked on together. And we're making a 681 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,600 Speaker 1: little change right now where we used to publish show 682 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,919 Speaker 1: notes and episodes separately. Now they're going to be merged 683 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,200 Speaker 1: into one page. Just f y I. If you go 684 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: looking uh and you can also find a back catalog 685 00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:45,440 Speaker 1: of every episode of the show that has ever existed 686 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: in any of the previous host incarnations, from the beginning 687 00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:51,239 Speaker 1: all the way to present day. So we encourage you 688 00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:53,600 Speaker 1: please come and visit us at missed in history dot 689 00:41:53,680 --> 00:42:01,240 Speaker 1: com and our parents site, how stuff works dot com. 690 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:03,919 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 691 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.