History's Toughest Heroes: Ida B. Wells and the Red Recorder
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History's Toughest Heroes: Ida B. Wells and the Red Recorder

28:09 Dec 9, 2025
About this episode
With lynchings of Black Americans on the rise, a reporter begins documenting the crimes, sending her on a dangerous journey through the violence of the Jim Crow South.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.After a humiliating standoff with a train conductor in the American South, the young Ida B Wells decided to make a stand. Racism was rife, and Lynchings of Black people were increasingly common. A talented writer at a time when most people were unable, or too afraid to speak out, she used journalism to expose the horrible truth of the violence and injustices being perpetrated. It put a target on her own back. A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Michael LaPointe Executive Producer: Paul Smith Written by Imogen Robertson Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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