Ma Rainey's Mic Drop

October 22, 1975. After traveling millions of miles through space, a Soviet spacecraft plunges through thick clouds of sulfuric acid to land on Venus. Its goal: take a photograph of another planet’s surface and send it back home—history’s first up-close glimpse at a world other t ...  Show more

October 12, 1820. John James Audubon—a failed shopkeeper, grist miller, and steamboat investor—sets off from Cincinnati on a flatboat down the Ohio River. He is bankrupt. The bank has taken everything except his clothes, his gun, and a portfolio of 62 bird drawings. His plan is t ...  Show more

Female blues singers from the 1920s, including: Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Eva Taylor, Mamie Smith, Ethyl Waters, Lucille Bogan, Alberta Hunter and Mary Johnson. Songs include: West End Blues, Careless Love, He's Your Dog, But He's Wearing My Collar, Bring It With You, Payroll Blue ...  Show more

Black women have been the heart and soul of blues music since its inception. We talk about some of the mothers, queens and empresses of the blues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

So much of today’s music takes inspiration from the Blues, but where did Blues music itself come from?Kate is joined by Lamont Jack Pearley - applied folklorist, ethnographer and historian of African American traditional music - who takes us through the history of Blues music, fr ...  Show more

The veteran singer showcases her soaring powerfully expressive voice in a performance that bridges several generations of classic soul.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferen ...  Show more