Mary Ellen Pleasant: Black Capitalist (featuring Touré, Diamond Stylz, and Jody Simms)

Mary Ellen Pleasant: Black Capitalist (featuring Touré, Diamond Stylz, and Jody Simms)

Author: OTHERtone / Michael Harriot / Sony Music Entertainment October 24, 2023 Duration: 35:36
Can you name the 19th century Black woman entrepreneur who funded hundreds of Black people to flee from slavery?  Mary Ellen Pleasant reported in 1875 a net worth of 30 million US dollars. Which today would be worth just shy of one billion dollars.  Join the students at Drapetomaniax Agricultural and Technical State University School as they learn all about this self-made millionaire abolitionist. Drapetomaniax is created by Michael Harriot in collaboration between OtherTone, Sony Music Entertainment and Queer Media. This episode features: Professor MX Fa Rizzle               Diamond Black Billionaire Aspirant Guy  Toure City Girl                                          Jody Simms Special thanks to our voice actors: Mary Ellen Pleasant    Leila Gray or LaPorshe Thomas Aunt April                      Ola Ronke Aunt May                       Kim Baum Aunt June                    Allegra White Free person of color  John Etienne Quaker Friend              David Easton Marie Laveau               Sabine Blaizin Bank Teller                   Noleca Radway Executive Producers Pharrell Williams, Scott Vener, Noleca Radway, and Moses Soyoola Senior Producer Janicia Francis Managing Producer JoAnn DeLuna Production Coordinator Homero Radway Production Assistant Gilianne Roberts-Atkinson Writers Taylor Le Melle, Dallas Rico, Roderick Morrow, Danielle Solomon and Randolph Terrence Audio Engineer  Toni Paulsen Fact checker LaPorsche Thomas Music Supervisor  Patricia Kihoro Theme Song  Freedom by Pharell Williams Songs featured in this episode include: Wicked Cinema - Cold Case, Hitstreak - Michael Briguglio, Messages and Portraits - O Mio Babbino Caro, come to find out. - Le Melle, Ethos by Johannes Bornlof, Learn to Let Go - Ben Elson, El Baile del Barrio - El Equipo Del Norte, 80’s Horror Movie by DJ Denz The Rooster, and music by Chad Milner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forget the dry, sanitized history lessons you remember from school. Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History is a vibrant, necessary correction to the record, hosted by writer and cultural critic Michael Harriot. This isn't a lecture; it's a reclamation project delivered with the wit, depth, and unfiltered conversation you'd find among friends. Each episode digs into the stories, figures, and movements that were systematically omitted or distorted, piecing together a more complete and authentic narrative of the past. Harriot brings his signature blend of meticulous research and barbershop-style humor to the forefront, creating a space where learning feels dynamic, engaging, and often laugh-out-loud funny. He’s joined by a rotating roster of insightful guests-thinkers, artists, and experts-who add their own layers of perspective and personality to the dialogue. Listening to this podcast means hearing history told with passion, context, and a critical eye, transforming it from a static subject into a living, breathing conversation about power, culture, and resilience. It’s for anyone ready to challenge what they think they know and discover the compelling, unvarnished truths that shape our present. Tune in for a journey that is as intellectually rigorous as it is genuinely entertaining.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 18

Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History
Podcast Episodes
Making Black AF History (featuring Pharrell Williams and John Legend) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:07
In this episode before the season finalé… Join Michael as he goes behind the scenes to meet the people who make the Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History podcast at the cast’s wrap party. Drapetomaniax is created by Michael…
For Us, By Us [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:05
In this special behind the scenes episode, Drapetomaniax producers Gillianne, Janicia and Noleca answer some of our biggest listener questions, and discuss the politics behind making this groundbreaking Black History con…
What is Drapetomania??? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:11
What is Drapetomania??? In a conversation with writer, comedian Roderick Morrow & Karen Morrow of ‘The Black Guy Who Tips’, Michael defines ‘drapetomania’ and explains how this subversive and comedic history podcast came…