They Did That

From Dean of Black Twitter, Michael Harriot, comes a Black history podcast like you've never heard before. Using a recipe that includes detailed research, barbershop humor and a little seasoned salt, a parade of cookout-certified celebrity guests helps Michael Harriot serve up a compelling, hilarious and more accurate version of Black history that was conveniently whitewashed from your social studies book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Without Judy Heumann, it’s hard to see how we would ever have achieved the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disabled by polio at just 18 months old in 1949, Judy grew up in a time when nothing prevented discrimination against people with disabilities. In fact, so-called “ugly laws” even outlawed the appearance in public of people who were “diseased, maimed or in any way deformed.” But Judy didn’t let any of this stop her. Instead, she became a trailblazer that transformed the state of disability rights in the United States and the rest of the world. In this special episode, we speak with the legend herself: Judy Heumann. Judy Heumann passed away on March 4th, 2023. Her life’s work has sparked a growing movement that continues to this day. You can learn more about Judy’s legacy in her memoir Being Heumann, the documentary Crip Camp, and her podcast the Heumann Perspective. May her memory be a blessing. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Ellen Pleasant was a Black conductor of the Underground Railroad, and she was on the run. But in 1852, when her boat arrived on the shores of Gold Rush-era San Francisco, she walked off as someone else. Someone white. Her mission: Expand the Underground Railroad westward—and use her ability to pass to get it done. She’d spend the next decade living a mysterious double life and would go on to be known as “The Black City Hall” of San Francisco. Today, the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant, the double-agent abolitionist who shook up the west coast in the name of liberation. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Michelle Yeoh’s historic win at the Oscars, there was another Asian actress nominated for the prize. Merle Oberon, the famous Golden Age actress, was the first Asian woman to ever be nominated for her performance in the 1935 film, “The Dark Angel.” The only thing was - no one knew she was Asian... In this episode we get into Merle’s complicated but fascinating story and learn about the problematic systems within Hollywood that caused Merle Oberon to hide her Asian identity to get cast in leading roles.  A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ons Jabeur plays some of the most exciting tennis out there. But for most of her career, Ons has been told that to succeed, she needs to change—to conform to how the mostly white western bubble of tennis approaches the game. But Ons has consistently stuck with her Tunisian team. In the last few years, Ons has been climbing the rankings. And she's been doing it with her own team, by following her own playbook. In this episode, we get into Ons' story, and ask, is it possible that your greatest obstacle could also be your greatest strength? A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Darwin and evolution, there was Mary Anning and her mysterious fossils. Mary was a working class girl on the Jurassic Coast of England, and she loved to hunt for fossils on the beach. But when her dad died unexpectedly, Mary was forced to turn her hobby into a job. Her discoveries were so big they called theories about life on earth and even God into question. On this episode, the story of the mother of paleontology: Mary Anning. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our host, Takara Small, quizzes two producers on their knowledge of everything from Black pop culture to Black history legends that deserve to have their praises sung. From Oprah’s net worth to the first Black woman on a banknote… we're covering Black inventors, artists and business extraordinaries that changed the game. Our contestants put their competitive streak to the test, including the host! So we invite you to play along with us, and we are not playing any games. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before open heart surgeries became an everyday thing, the heart was totally and completely off-limits. Operating on a beating heart was just about the most taboo thing you could do. But in 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a surgeon in Chicago, got a patient with a stab wound to the heart. And it was clear that without surgery, he was going to die. Dr. Williams had never heard of anyone doing heart surgery, but he decided he would be the first to try. And he was going to do it in his own hospital. The first Black-owned and operated hospital in the United States. We talked with Dr. Alisha Jefferson and Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, author of Heart: A History. Dr. Jauhar has a new book, “My Father’s Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer’s,” which you can pre-order on Amazon. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joseph Bologne put French classical music on the map, was a favorite of Marie Antoinette, and influenced the kings of strings we celebrate today, Mozart and Beethoven. An unbelievable feat for a man born in Guadeloupe to his enslaved mother and a French plantation owner. His talents made him untouchable, enviable even. So how did he go from star composer at the top of the charts to obscurity? Today, the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. To learn more about our contributor Marlon Daniel and his work to elevate the music of Joseph Bologne through the Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges visit https://saintgeorgesfestival.com/. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Hemings innovated mac and cheese and brought vanilla ice cream, crème brûlée and french fries to the United States from Paris in the late 18th century. And while most of us don’t know Hemings, we do know his brother-in-law and enslaver, the 3rd president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Hemings was an American culinary founding father. He and other enslaved chefs invented fine dining in America. So why haven’t they gotten a seat at their own table? To learn more, watch Chef Ashbell McElveen’s documentary, ‘James Hemings: Ghost in America’s Kitchen’, available to stream on Amazon Prime. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year! They Did That will be taking a short break for the rest of this month but will be back on February 2nd with our next episode. In the meantime, if you have any ideas for lost histories, we want to hear from you! Write to us at theydidthat@sonymusic.com. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

100 years before Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, there was Elizabeth Jennings. In 1854, Elizabeth refused to leave the streetcar she’d boarded after being told to wait for one designated for Black riders. When her fierce determination leads to an unwarranted physical assault at the hands of the conductor, Elizabeth takes her fight to the New York State Supreme Court. Her game-changing victory would lead to the desegregation of the New York City transit system and cause a ripple effect that would be felt for over a century. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The “Godmother of Rock-n-Roll,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe, contributed to the DNA of rock ‘n’ roll and even inspired the British Invasion of the 1960’s. Born into an evangelicalChristian family in the segregated South in 1915, Sister Rosetta brought the sounds of the Black gospel church to the mainstream. By the time she was six she was a guitar prodigy - and by the time she was 30 she was performing in front of Black and white audiences across the country. She has inspired legendary artists like Elvis, Keith Richards, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, and Aretha Franklin - and the list goes on. So why was her musical genius overlooked for decades? In this episode, the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the revolutionary rocker. To learn more about our contributor Erin White and her writing visit https://www.clippings.me/users/eewhite. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays! As a little gift from us to you, we’ve put together some of our favorite moments from this season. And if you have ideas for lost histories, we want to hear from you! Write to us at theydidthat@sonymusic.com and tune back in on January 5th for our next episode. Stay safe and warm! See y’all in the new year… A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Those instant noodles that kept you alive in college? Turns out they were invented during World War II to stave off hunger in Japan. But they weren’t developed by the government or some big corporation. We have just one guy to thank for dreaming up Chicken Ramen and Cup Noodles—and perfecting them in his backyard shed. Today, the story of Momofuku Ando, a serial entrepreneur in Japan who was struggling to find his big hitter…until the devastation of World War II sparked his greatest invention. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before 1967, "paramedic" wasn't a word and few first responders had training that went beyond basic first aid. That would all change with Freedom House Ambulance Service. Established in and by an overlooked Black community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Freedom House Ambulance Service created the life-changing and lifesaving mobile emergency medical care we all benefit from today. Their knowledge would go on to be embraced and practiced all around the world, but the pioneering group would be lost to history…until now. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surrealist artists Pablo Picasso, Lee Miller, Man Ray and Roland Penrose were so enamored by Ady Fidelin, a Guadeloupan dancer in a Paris cabaret, that she became one of them, going on holiday with them and posing in their nearly 400 photographs and paintings. One of those photographs landed in the pages of Harper's Bazaar, making Ady the first black model in an American major fashion magazine. So how come Ady was written out of books, publications and didn't see any fame for her contribution? And where would Man Ray be without her? In this episode, the story of Adrienne Fidelin, the magnificent muse. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elijah McCoy revolutionized technology forever—from trains to the factory floor—by allowing steam engines to keep running without frequent manual intervention. In 1872, he invented a device that made steam engines infinitely more productive, but his peers refused to give him credit. They even tried passing off their own attempts, none of which worked as well—leading folks to say in frustration, “I want the Real McCoy!” Elijah was almost lost to history. But thankfully, his wife and a strong community of black activists in Detroit—and Andrew Moodie, a playwright in McCoy’s native Canada—swooped in to save his legacy. Today, the story of how Elijah McCoy became “The Real McCoy.” A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the earliest cycling champs was a Black man named Marshall "Major" Taylor. By the late 1880s, the bicycle had taken the world by storm, making cycling the biggest and most popular sport. In Indianapolis, Indiana, a young amateur cyclist with heaps of natural talent set out to make his mark. But there was a problem... Black men like him weren’t allowed to compete. His faith and determination would see him ride past that barrier and every other obstacle that stood in his way. Today, Major Taylor's pioneering path to becoming one of the greatest professional cyclists the sport has ever seen. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Patients’ Bill of Rights is something so common you see it in every hospital—and we have a group of young revolutionaries in the South Bronx to thank for it. In the late 1960s, the Young Lords and the Black Panthers were working hard to challenge the dismal healthcare standards plaguing their community. It was so bad that Lincoln Hospital, the only hospital in the area, was called the Butcher Shop of the Bronx. So, the Young Lords took it over. And in the aftermath of that action, they drafted a document that would re-shape healthcare, giving us permission to advocate for the care we rightfully deserve: the Patients’ Bill of Rights. Who were they? Today, the story of The Young Lords. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices