Listen to NPR Podcast About Nelson Mandela’s Legacy in South Africa | The Mandela Effect

NPR just dropped a podcast episode about anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela featuring huge names in South African academia and literature. Released on May 16, the episode titled “The Mandela Effect” is a fascinating listen for all the history buffs out there.

National Public Radio, or NPR is an American non-profit media organization founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970. Its history podcast Throughline explores the question, “How did we get here?” in each episode examining ancient civilizations to forgotten figures. It is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.

Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and statesman who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first Black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. As an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

In this 60-minute podcast, the two hosts and four guests discuss a variety of topics ranging from Mandela’s childhood and youth years, the place of violence in resistance movements, Mandela’s wife and her achievements, and much more. Read the full description of the episode below:

For nearly thirty years, the South African government held a man it initially labeled prisoner number 46664, the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. But in 1994, Mandela transformed from the country’s ‘number one terrorist’ into its first Black president, ushering in a new era of democracy. Today, though, many in South Africa see Mandela’s party, the ANC, as corrupt and responsible for the country’s problems. It’s an ongoing political saga, with all sides attempting to weaponize parts of the past – especially Nelson Mandela’s legacy. On today’s episode, we tell Mandela’s story: the man, the myth, and the cost of freedom.

The guests featured on the podcast include Sean Jacobs, professor of international affairs at The New School; Tshepo Moloi, senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Johannesburg; Sisonke Msimang, author of The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela; and Richard Stengel, collaborated with Nelson Mandela on his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

Listen to the podcast here.