7 episodes

In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the 250 years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is time to tell the story.
“1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

1619 The New York Times

    • News
    • 4.7 • 851 Ratings

In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the 250 years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is time to tell the story.
“1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy

    Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy

    America was founded on the ideal of democracy. Black people fought to make it one.

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    This episode includes scenes of graphic violence.

    • 41 min
    Episode 2: The Economy That Slavery Built

    Episode 2: The Economy That Slavery Built

    The institution of slavery turned a poor, fledgling nation into a financial powerhouse, and the cotton plantation was America’s first big business. Behind the system, and built into it, was the whip. On today’s episode: Matthew Desmond, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the author of “Evicted,” and Jesmyn Ward, the author of “Sing, Unburied, Sing.”

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    This episode includes scenes of graphic violence.

    • 31 min
    Episode 3: The Birth of American Music

    Episode 3: The Birth of American Music

    Black music, forged in captivity, became the sound of complete artistic freedom. It also became the sound of America. On today’s episode: Wesley Morris, a critic-at-large for The New York Times.

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    This episode contains explicit language.

    • 34 min
    Episode 4: How the Bad Blood Started

    Episode 4: How the Bad Blood Started

    Black Americans were denied access to doctors and hospitals for decades. From the shadows of this exclusion, they pushed to create the nation’s first federal health care programs. On today’s episode: Jeneen Interlandi, a member of The New York Times’s editorial board and a writer for The Times Magazine, and Yaa Gyasi, the author of “Homegoing.”

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    • 39 min
    Episode 5: The Land of Our Fathers, Part 1

    Episode 5: The Land of Our Fathers, Part 1

    More than a century and a half after the promise of 40 acres and a mule, the story of black land ownership in America remains one of loss and dispossession. June and Angie Provost, who trace their family line to the enslaved workers on Louisiana’s sugar-cane plantations, know this story well. 

    On today’s episode: The Provosts spoke with Adizah Eghan and Annie Brown, producers for “1619.”

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    • 29 min
    Episode 5: The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2

    Episode 5: The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2

    The Provosts, a family of sugar-cane farmers in Louisiana, had worked the same land for generations. When it became harder and harder to keep hold of that land, June Provost and his wife, Angie, didn’t know why — and then a phone call changed their understanding of everything. In the finale of “1619,” we hear the rest of June and Angie’s story, and its echoes in a past case that led to the largest civil rights settlement in American history.

    On today’s episode: June and Angie Provost; Adizah Eghan and Annie Brown, producers for “1619”; and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a professor of history, race and public policy at Harvard University and the author of “The Condemnation of Blackness.”

    “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at nytimes.com/1619podcast.

    • 36 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
851 Ratings

851 Ratings

Flowergirl_94 ,

Absolutely fantastic

Highly recommend

Martifred ,

Profoundly revealing

Thank you! I am moved. I feel empowered with this - for me - new information. Our society is buoyed up by racism. Let’s recognise it, name it when we see it. Let’s look hard! Let’s speed up the process of liberating our society from racism and discrimination of any kind!

Awind269 ,

Read different perspectives- always. It’s not this simple.

I thought it very good the first time I listened. Then I started reading the historians‘ view as opposed to the journalists’. It was a bit of an eye opener. I would respect it they defended their position in a public debate with people like Ronald Coleman. However they now seem somewhat frail and a little Soviet in their revisionism. It‘s not my country but if I was American I don’t think I would simply buy it hook, line, and sinker. The trouble is that the attached NYT label gives them an unchallenged platform. Perhaps additional footnotes on their subsequent edits and error corrections would be helpful ? See what you think but be very sceptical, alert, and critical.

Ps I mean Coleman Hughes!! Not the 1940s Hollywood star. Foolish me.

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