Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise

Documentary series on the Reconstruction era and its impact on American AI summary

Higher Ground Visit website › History · EN · 10 episodes · latest 2026-07-16

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What it is about

Reconstruction begins where, for most Americans, the story of the Civil War ends: The North is victorious and slavery is abolished. But what happened next was one of the most important decades in American history, a moment when our country grappled with its original sin and imagined — and briefly enacted — a more perfect union. Drawing from archives, letters, diaries, court records, eyewitness testimonies and some of America’s most accomplished scholars and storytellers, Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise explores this unprecedented historical moment in rich, kaleidoscopic detail. The series unpacks a time when a determined band of reformers attempted to radically reimagine American society — from the Constitution to the roots of its economy to the very nature of citizenship itself. Reconstruction was a time when Americans struggled over fundamental questions about our country. Who gets to be a citizen? Who has the right to vote? Who can own property? In short, who belongs? Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise explores what America might have looked like if Reconstruction had truly succeeded, and how the ultimate backlash to Reconstruction prevented our country from becoming a truly multiracial democracy. Guiding us through this extraordinary moment in American history is best-selling author and host of Revisionist History Malcolm Gladwell. He’ll have help from luminaries, historians, and storytellers such as President Barack Obama, Jelani Cobb, Wyatt Cenac, David Blight, Kai Wright, Kellie Carter Jackson, Ashley C. Ford, Manisha Sinha, Kidada Williams, and Eric Foner. This is a series about why America has yet to make good on the promise of Reconstruction, and how it still might.An Audible Original in partnership with History Channel. Produced by Higher Ground and Pushkin Industries.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
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Latest episodes

The Forever Culture Wars

2026-07-16 · 40 min · Episode 9

Comedian Wyatt Cenac considers how movies, cartoons, and even theme park rides have shaped our cultural memory of Reconstruction. Plus, President Obama joins Malcolm to discuss why our current world owes everything to…
Peace Among The Whites

2026-07-09 · 22 min · Episode 7

Following one of the most contentious presidential elections in US history, representatives of the North and South met in a posh Washington DC hotel. The result of their backdoor dealings spelled the end of progressive…
A History of Democracy, Revised

2026-07-09 · 29 min · Episode 8

Soon after Reconstruction began to wind down, American historians wrote the era off as a failure. But that narrative didn’t emerge by accident — it was engineered by a celebrated historian named William Dunning, whose…
Truth Without Reconciliation E

2026-07-02 · 39 min · Episode 5

As Black citizens exercised newly won rights in America, a vigilante backlash shook the South. In response, Congress summoned more than 500 witnesses to testify about the violence they had experienced. Historian Kidada…
The Betrayal of Frederick Douglass

2026-07-02 · 42 min · Episode 6

In 1874, with emancipation and Black citizenship finally written into the Constitution, Frederick Douglass set his sights on the next frontier of freedom: economic self-reliance. But in this pursuit, he was ensnared in…
Love and Sacrifice

2026-06-25 · 37 min · Episode 3

In 1865, Rebecca Primus left the comfort of her Northern home to help establish a school in the South. She exchanged intimate, sometimes romantic letters with her friend Addie Brown. Their correspondence offers a window…
Nine Black Men

2026-06-25 · 34 min · Episode 4

Alabama State University is one of America's earliest historically Black colleges. Historian Kellie Carter Jackson shares the institution’s hidden origins. Founded during Reconstruction by nine formerly enslaved men,…
Prologue: Malcolm Gladwell and President Obama

2026-06-18 · 18 min · Episode 1

Malcolm Gladwell and President Barack Obama introduce us to one of the most chaotic, complicated, and fascinating times in American history, revealing why Reconstruction still defines our country today. See Privacy…
After the War

2026-06-18 · 53 min · Episode 2

Frederick Douglass was one of the few activists to see his goal achieved within his lifetime — the abolition of slavery. Journalist Kai Wright shares how Douglass discovered a new purpose after President Lincoln’s…
Introducing Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise

2026-06-18 · 3 min

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Publisher details

Owner: Jenna Levin
Oldest episode in feed: 06/2026
Typical length: 32 min
Format: Serial Meant to be heard in order

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