Pushkin.

The most powerful thing a person can do is tell the truth in a room that isn't ready for it.

Comedic legend Richard Pryor did just that.

We talk a lot on revisionist history about moments that get misrepresented. Richard

Pryor had many of those moments. He's called one of the greatest comedians who ever lived,

as if what he was doing was simply funny. But it was more than that. It was a confession.

It was a man standing on a stage and saying things that people were not prepared to reckon

with about race, about pain, about desire, about what it costs to be honest in a dishonest

world.

Today I'm sharing a preview of a new podcast that reexamines the icons we think we understand,

including Richard Pryor.

It's called Big Lives, hosted by journalists

Kairite and Immanuel Josie. They dig into the BBC archives to explore the story behind the icons

who shape our culture. Trailblazers like David Bowie, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, and Tina Turner

to better understand how each legend set the stage for our contemporary cultural landscape.

Their episode on Richard Pryor refuses the easy version of the story.

Kai and Emmanuel trace Pryor's life from a childhood in a Peoria brothel to his complex rise to fame,

and they don't flinch from any of it.

The racism he survived, the self-destruction, the volcanic honesty that cost him everything.

Here's a preview. If you like what you hear, find more episodes of Big Lives wherever you get podcasts.

Just let you know there's discriminatory language and content in this episode. big lives wherever you get podcasts.

Just let you know there's discriminatory language and content in this episode.

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