Best Of: Actor Leslie Uggams / Martha's Vineyard's Indigenous Past & Present

Fresh Air

NPR

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 July 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Actor and singer Leslie Uggams talks about her remarkable career, which started when she was 6. She was later the first Black woman to host a TV variety show. In the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, she played Kunta Kinte's daughter. More recently she's been in Empire, American Fiction, and the Deadpool films — and is still going strong at 82.

Also, writer Joseph Lee talks about what it means to be a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe from Martha's Vineyard. His new book, Nothing More of This Land, peels back the postcard image of the Vineyard to reveal a powerful story of Indigenous identity and survival.

Plus, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new music from the band HAIM and Addison Rae.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's been six months of the Trump administration and almost daily headlines about big policy changes.
0:05.7	This week, on Consider This, we're taking stock of what's really changed and what hasn't, from immigration to education.
0:12.5	And we're going to unpack the controversy around Trump's nominee to a powerful federal court and a possible shift in his approach to appointing judges.
0:19.9	Listen to Consider This on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:24.6	From W.HYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley.
0:30.3	Today, actor and singer Leslie Uggams talks about her remarkable career, which started when she was six.
0:37.0	By age nine, she was performing at the
0:39.0	Apollo. She wanted Tony for her performance in the 1967 Civil Rights musical Hallelujah Baby,
0:45.7	and soon after became the first black woman to host a TV variety show. In the 1977 TV miniseries
0:53.2	Roots, she played Kuntikinti's daughter.
0:56.1	And more recently, she's co-starred in Empire, American Fiction, and The Deadpool Films.
1:02.1	Also, journalist Joseph Lee talks about what it means to be a member of the Aquana-Wampanag tribe from Martha's Vineyard.
1:09.9	His new book, Nothing More of This Land, peels back the postcard image from Martha's Vineyard. His new book, Nothing More of This Land, peels back the
1:13.3	postcard image of Martha's Vineyard to reveal a powerful story of indigenous identity and survival.
1:20.5	That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.
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1:41.3	The Fantastic Four are back again in a new movie, and it's an eye-popping good time.
1:45.9	We've seen the story before, but this time the vibe is different. It's brighter, set in a
1:49.5	retro future with flying cars. Plus it stars Pedro Pascal and works for casual viewers and nerds
1:54.6	alike. We'll tell you why on pop culture happy hour. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get
	...

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