Richard Stengel on Mandela: The Lost Tapes

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nelson Mandela—born in South Africa in 1918—was an international freedom fighter and Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped overturn the apartheid system of racial segregation and usher in democracy for his nation. After being convicted of sabotage and serving 27 years in prison, Mandela was released, and soon after was elected president, becoming the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. He served as president from 1994 to 1999, overseeing the enactment of a new democratic constitution in 1996. After stepping down from power, he continued work on social justice issues. He died in Johannesburg in 2013. In this episode, Richard Stengel—former president of the National Constitution Center, and former editor of Time Magazine—joins to discuss his new podcast, Mandela: The Lost Tapes, which is available on Audible. These never-before-heard audio tapes come from Stengel’s years-long conversations with Mandela while collaborating with him on his remarkable memoir, Long Walk to Freedom. From the tapes, we learn about what democracy meant to Mandela, how his upbringing and inspirations led him to becoming a force for justice, and what lessons Mandela’s story holds for us today. Host Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National
0:07.8	Constitution Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of
0:11.3	constitutional debate.
0:13.0	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness
0:18.9	and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:28.0	Nelson Mandela was an international freedom fighter with courage, integrity, and devotion to freedom and justice for all. In this episode, it's an honor to welcome Richard Stengel, who is a friend and a former president of the National Constitution
0:36.0	Center, and he's here to discuss his wonderful new podcast, Mandela, The Lost Tapes, which is available
0:42.2	on audible. Rick, it is available on Audible.
0:43.4	Rick, it is wonderful to welcome you to We The People.
0:46.0	Jeffrey, great to be here with you.
0:48.9	I wish I was there with you in Philadelphia.
0:51.2	That would be wonderful, and I'm so looking forward to our conversation.
0:54.6	It's just amazing that you've collected these audio tapes, they've never been heard before
0:58.9	from your years of conversations with Nelson Mandela. You collaborated with him on this incredible
1:04.3	memoir Long Walk to Freedom. I thought we'd start with a clip from your podcast about his early life.
1:10.9	This was after the death of his father when Mandela's mother sent him away from his hometown
1:16.4	village to become the adopted son of the king of the Thembu.
1:21.2	Mandela was quiet. He observed how the regent carried himself, how he dressed, how he led his people.
1:27.0	Sometimes he attended council meetings. He noticed that the regent would listen and nod as one person after another spoke.
1:35.0	Only at the end would he rise to speak, and it was then to summarize what others had said
1:40.0	and try to find some consensus.
1:42.0	It was here that Mandela first learned of African history,
	...

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