Today's episode is about an incredibly impactful moment in world history – one that reshaped not only the African continent but also the Western world. It influenced the development of modern Europe and the formation of Black diasporas across the globe. 

Today's episode is about the Berlin Conference: perhaps one of the most famous events in the West tied to Africa – yet also one of the most misunderstood.

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Today's episode of the Black History Unveiled podcast is about one of pre-colonial Africa's most famous regents. A woman who, for several decades, resisted Portugal's attempt to conquer her country. A woman whose actions throughout history have been both demonized and glorified. 

Today's episode is about Njinga – the mother of Angola – and the woman who, in the 17th century, was prepared to do everything to avoid losing her country.

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In today's episode of the Black History Unveiled podcast, I interview Rwandan-French author Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse about her book "All Your Children, Scattered". It is a novel about the aftereffects of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, told through three generations. 

Beata's latest book, "The Convoy", is about her own experiences of the genocide. She was only a teenager when it happened, and the book tells the story of how she escaped the killings and how she, as an adult, tries to piece together the accounts of other survivors. 

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The last main episode of Black History Unveiled explored the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Kongo—a powerful Central African state that met a devastating blow at the hands of the Portuguese in 1665. In the aftermath, Kongo not only lost its king but also saw much of its nobility captured, enslaved, and forcibly taken across the Atlantic.

Most of them vanished into the brutal anonymity of the transatlantic slave trade, their names erased from history. But not all. Some survived the passage of time. One such figure is Ganga Zumba.

Leading a daring escape, he and other fugitives from slavery carved out a stronghold deep in the jungles of Brazil.

This is the story of how enslaved Africans fought back, built their own nation, and came close to toppling the Portuguese colonial power.

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The conversation around Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance is in full swing. Every detail is being dissected, from his set list and relentless jabs at Drake to his vision for the future of hip-hop. Fans and critics alike are also trying to unpack the layers of symbolism woven into his set. 

One phrase, in particular, has sparked a wave of questions: "40 acres and a mule." What's its history, and why does it still resonate today? I break it down in today's episode.

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Today's episode of the Black History Unveiled Podcast marks the third and final part of the Haitian Revolution series. In the previous episode, we witnessed the outbreak of the revolt and the successful expulsion of the invading British and Spanish forces by the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue. 

However, instead of peace, the so-called "War of the Knives" ensued, with leaders of the newly liberated population vying for control of the colony. After two years of conflict, the former slave Toussaint Louverture emerged as the victor. But what had he really won? Officially, Saint-Domingue still remained under French sovereignty.

Our story picks up when the French are gearing up to assert their authority. Louverture and the rest of the freed slaves are faced with an overpowering enemy and impossible odds, with the violence in Saint-Domingue reaching apocalyptic levels. The episode also provides keys to understanding why Haiti is in such a vulnerable position today.

You can find Black History Unveiled wherever you get your podcasts. 

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This is the second episode of our three-part series about the Haitian revolution: one of history's biggest upsets, a classic David and Goliath moment. 

In the first episode – which I recommend you listen to if you haven't already – we covered the creation of the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue, which, from the late 17th century onwards, was the primary source of all coffee and sugar consumed in Europe. To make this possible, imported Africans were subjected to a particularly hideous form of slavery.

As this episode begins—late summer 1791—the slaves—the island's majority population—are preparing to give their lives for a chance at freedom.

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Today's episode touches on one of the most fascinating events in history. It's a story containing incomprehensible evil, incredible courage, and inspiring resistance. 

By understanding this story, you also understand more about why things look the way they do today. How, for example, can two neighboring Caribbean countries – sharing an island – have such enormously different conditions? How can there be prosperity, investment, and hope for the future on one side of the border, while on the other, there is mainly talk of societal collapse, poverty, and suffering?

Many of the answers can be found here.

The episode is about the colonization of a Caribbean island and the particularly brutal slavery that followed. But also about the revolt that culminated in creating what is usually called "the world's first black republic" – Haiti.

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Today's episode is about an East African kingdom that, in the 2nd century CE, was described as one of the world's foremost powers, along with Rome, Persia, and China. A kingdom that erected grand monuments and whose coinage spread throughout the world. It was not only among the first in history to convert to Christianity – a couple of hundred years later, it may have played a decisive role in the survival of Islam as a religion. 

Today's episode is about Aksum.

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Those of you who've been listening to the podcast know that I often caution against the pitfalls of drawing parallels between various forms of slavery, especially when such comparisons are rooted in misleading or deceptive reasoning. 

In this episode, I'm spotlighting a recent instance of this very issue. It's a striking example of a comparison that seeks to downplay the sheer scale and catastrophic impact of transatlantic slavery. It's whataboutism to an extraordinary degree.

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Today's episode is about the transatlantic slave trade, which is probably what many people think of first when they think of the history of Black Africa. Even so, it's a subject marked by misconceptions. People usually know that it happened, but not so much about why, how it started, or how far-reaching the consequences of it were. 

Therefore, the following two episodes are a deep dive into transatlantic slavery. Part two will be more about the golden age of the slave trade, what life was like for those enslaved, and the obscene amounts of money the slave traders made. 

In part one, we instead take a closer look at how the money that the Portuguese made from the West African gold trade pushed the Spanish to try to find their own sources of gold. But also on slavery as an institution and how the transatlantic slave trade first arose: how Portugal's exploration of Africa and the European so-called discovery of America worked together to create this tragic chapter in human history.

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Before the podcast leaves Mali, I will address two allegations of plagiarism leveled at Disney. The first and weaker of the two claims is that Disney stole large parts of Mali's national epic, "The Epic of Sundiata," in creating the plot of the mega-hit "The Lion King."

The second is about one of the film's signature songs, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The original version was written in 1939 by a South African man named Solomon Linda, who was paid pennies for the recording and died destitute, while American renditions of his song brought in millions.

The episode also highlights the battle against Disney that Linda's daughters have been waging to access missing royalties and have Solomon Linda's name recognized as the original composer.

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