Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History

A podcast with Michael Harriot.


Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History, is a Black history lesson unlike any other. Equal parts funny and informative, each episode mixes comprehensive research, Harriot’s unrivaled comedic wit and an assortment of celebrity guests, including Yvette Nicole Brown, MSNBC’s Joy Reid and Charlamagne tha God to help bring Black stories you’ve likely never heard to life.


Podcast schedule page for Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History Also contains link to open podcast on your computer.


Drapetomania was the term coined by the racist doctor Samuel A. Cartwright who claimed that slaves wanting to escape bondage must be mentally ill because slavery much improved the lives of black people bought and sold into slavery. He published a paper on his racist concept.

When people talk of slavery not being that bad, or of "good" masters, or slavery being beneficial to those enslaved, you can see the concept of drapetomania running through such thinking. ("Why are those people complaining, slavery wasn't that bad?" - the implication being something must be wrong with black people to think slavery was bad. The are plenty other examples out there.)