Last Witness: The Kerner Commission
Radio Diaries
Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2024
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Former Oklahoma senator Fred Harris died recently, at 94 years old. In 1967, Fred Harris and 10 senators came together and released the Kerner Report, a 1400-page explanation of the causes of the protests that filled American cities that summer. It was an instant — and unlikely — bestseller, selling over half a million copies in just three weeks, getting shoutouts by celebrities like Marlon Brando, and sparking debates on news programs throughout the country. The book talked about white racism at a time when that phrase was mostly used by Black activists, not white politicians. Fred Harris was the last surviving member of the Kerner Commission.
If you liked this episode, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries. Visit our website at radiodiaries.org.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Alex Schwartz. |
| 0:02.0 | I'm Nomi Fry. |
| 0:03.0 | I'm Vincent Cunningham, and this is Critics At Large, a New Yorker podcast for the |
| 0:07.6 | Culturally Curious. |
| 0:09.1 | Each week we're going to talk about a big idea that's showing up across the cultural |
| 0:12.4 | landscape, and we'll trace it through all the mediums we love, books, movies, television, |
| 0:16.9 | music, art. |
| 0:17.9 | And I always want to talk about celebrity gossip, too, of course. |
| 0:21.9 | What are you guys excited to cover in the next few months? |
| 0:24.7 | There's a new translation of the Elliot that's coming out Emily Wilson, really excited |
| 0:28.1 | to see whether I can read the Elliot again, whether I'm that literate, I mean, the jury |
| 0:33.0 | is out. |
| 0:34.0 | I can't wait to hear Adam Driver go again in an Italian accent in Michael Mann's Ferrari. |
| 0:38.6 | He can't stop. |
| 0:39.6 | I mean, and bless him. |
| 0:40.9 | I can't wait. |
| 0:41.9 | Molotobene. |
| 0:42.9 | Molotobene. |
| 0:43.9 | You hope you'll join us for new episodes each Thursday. |
| 0:49.0 | Follow Critics At Large today, wherever you get podcasts. |
| 0:52.8 | You really don't want to miss this. |
| 0:54.4 | Don't. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Radio Diaries & Radiotopia, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Radio Diaries & Radiotopia and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.