{"podcast":{"title":"This American Life","slug":"this-american-life-7814501","podcast_index_feed_id":7814501,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6951904/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/this-american-life--6951904","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/a8cc3fda8587d4c2f0051724d6c96553.jpg","author":"Wicoto","episode_count":31,"summary":"This American Life: The Full Visual Archive First-person stories and investigative journalism that capture the essence of the American experience. From quirky subcultures to high-stakes political dramas, we bring you the stories that shape our nation. 🌍 SEE THE STORIES: Access the original documents, historical photos, and witness profiles for each episode by following the link in our descriptions. 👇 The journey continues here : https://goo.su/XwNQm","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T02:19:38.723220+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501"},"episode":{"title":"885: Bless This Mess","slug":"885-bless-this-mess","published_at":"2026-04-12T22:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501/885-bless-this-mess","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/885-bless-this-mess--71324424","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71324424/default.mp3","summary":"At a time when the U.S. government is trying to make American history tidier, we try to learn from the mess. Including the untold, messy story of Paul and Essie Robeson. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Guest Host Emanuele Berry talks to Nichole Hill about the Black movie characters Nichole was curious about as a child. (7 minutes) Act One: A giant of the Harlem Renaissance, Paul Robeson was the most famous American of his day. Until he wasn’t. Nichole Hill tells the messy, complicated story of Paul and his wife, Essie Robeson. (38 minutes) Act Two: In 1865, a formerly enslaved man named Jourdan Anderson received a letter from his former enslaver, asking Jourdan to return to the plantation and work. Actor Laurence Fishburne reads Jourdan’s response. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices. 🎬 SEE THE STORY UNFOLD: Want to see the original photos, documents, and the faces behind this week's acts? 👇 View the visual archive for this episode here: https://goo.su/XwNQm (Updated for each story)","meta_description":"At a time when the U.S. government is trying to make American history tidier, we try to learn from the mess. Including the untold, messy story of Paul and…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3587,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/this-american-life-7814501/episodes/885-bless-this-mess/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501/885-bless-this-mess.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}