AGENT JOSEPHINE: AMERICAN BEAUTY, FRENCH HERO, BRITISH SPY

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2022

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Prior to WWII, Josephine Baker was a music hall diva renowned for her singing and dancing, her beauty and sexuality, and she was the highest paid female performer in Europe. When the Nazis seized Paris she was banned from the stage along with all "negroes and Jews"- but she refused to return to America- instead, she vowed to stay and fight the Nazis with every fiber of her being. She became a master spy for the French, serving British and Allied intelligence as well, providing crucial information she was able to get through her network of important contacts and her ability to travel when she began performing again in southern France and neutral countries. Agent Josephine has been optioned for a multi episode tv series. This interview with Damien Lewis will keep WWII and espionage fans glued to their listening devices. ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Google Podcasts FREE: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20radio%20days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vQURMNzU3MzM0Mjg0NQ== 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries at Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20heroes 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories (& Tales from Arthur Conan Doyle) https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20sherlock%20holmes 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20ghost%20stories 1001 Stories for the Road on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20stories%20for%20the%20road Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20greatest%20love%20stories 1001 History's Best Storytellers: (author interviews) on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/1001-historys-best-storytellers APPLE USERS Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2 Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at Apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at Apple Podcast now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 NEW 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre is now playing at Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 NEW Enjoy 1001 History's Best Storytellers (Interviews) on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 NEW Enjoy 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories and The Best of Arthur Conan Doyle https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-sherlock-holmes-stories-best-sir-arthur-conan/id1534427618 Get all of our shows at one website: https://.1001storiespodcast.com REVIEWS NEEDED . My email works as well for comments: [email protected] SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! https://.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	.
0:31.0	Welcome back everyone to one thousand one heroes legends histories
0:35.0	and mysteries podcast. This is your host John Haggadorn and it's great to be with you today.
0:40.0	I'm really looking forward to today's interview with filmmaker and author Damien Lewis
0:45.0	about his new book Agent Josephine American Beauty French Hero British Spy.
0:51.0	It's a blockbuster true story about Josephine Baker, a huge stage celebrity for decades in Europe
0:57.0	who served French and British intelligence during World War II.
1:00.0	Using her cover as a popular singer and actress while she used her contacts
1:04.0	which included diplomats heads of state and foreign ministers to green information
1:09.0	which proved highly valuable to allied intelligence.
1:12.0	This story is so good that it's been option for a TV series.
1:16.0	But I don't want to give up too much, which is why we have Damien Lewis with us today.
1:20.0	Damien, this story is a blockbuster. It's great to have you with us today.
1:26.0	Thank you very much. It was a fantastic introduction.
1:28.0	Can you share some of your background first and then jump into how you were inspired
1:32.0	to cover Josephine Baker's story?
1:35.0	Sure. So I spent 20 years reporting from dangerous parts of the world as a large
1:44.0	as a war reporter, a really a war and conflict reporter.
1:47.0	Though I tended to focus on civilian suffering, that kind of side of war.
1:53.0	And that was TV, largely, although I was also reporting from newspapers, mainly TV.
1:58.0	So for the BBC and CNN and other broadcasters.
2:01.0	And then I wrote my first book about 15 years ago.
	...

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