Sojourner Truth: American abolitionist, suffragist, preacher

You're Dead to Me

BBC

Comedy, History

4.7 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-Century America by Dr Michell Chresfield and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery in a Dutch-speaking area of New England, Sojourner Truth fought to free herself and then others, becoming one of the best-known abolitionist activists in America. She even succeeded in freeing her son, making her the first Black American woman to win a court case. A devoutly religious woman, Truth felt that God had called her to travel the country, preaching and advocating for the end of slavery, women’s rights and universal suffrage. Along the way, she rubbed shoulders with abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, and politicians including Abraham Lincoln himself. This episode tells the story of her incredible life, beliefs and fight for justice, and even examines the true story behind her famous “ain’t I a woman?” speech.

If you’re a fan of inspirational activists, courtroom drama and questionable cults, you’ll love our episode on Sojourner Truth.

If you want more from Desiree and Michell, check out our episodes on Harriet Tubman and Josephine Baker. And for more abolitionist history, listen to our episode on Frederick Douglass.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Madeleine Bracey Written by: Madeleine Bracey, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook

Transcript

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0:00.0	On Radio 4, the more you listen, the more you see.
0:04.7	Hello, I'm Brian Cox.
0:05.7	And I'm Robin Ince, and this is The Infinite Monkey Cage.
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0:10.9	I feel like Jupiter wins.
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0:16.0	We're talking about your bog standard.
0:17.9	Ice, not the fancy one.
0:20.2	Science with funny bits.
0:22.0	The new series of The Infinite Monkey Cage.
0:24.2	Listen on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
0:29.2	BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:34.3	Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me,
0:36.6	the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
0:39.3	My name is Greg Jenner and I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
0:43.4	And today we are strapping on our sturdiest walking boots and hiking across America
0:47.5	to learn about renowned 19th century abolitionist, orator and civil rights activist, Sojourna Truth.
0:53.8	And to help us, we have two very special guests.
0:56.7	In History Corner, she's an assistant professor in African American history at Cornell University.
1:01.7	Her research focuses on black and indigenous histories, including the history of racial formation and identity in America.
1:07.5	And you might remember her from our previous episodes of this show about Harriet Tubman
1:11.4	and Josephine Baker. It's Dr. Michelle Crestfield. Welcome back, Michelle. Thank you for having me.
	...

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