get these nets
Veteran
*trailer for the series
A new podcast reminds listeners of Mandela's commitment to the Black struggle for freedom
December 3, 2022
All Things Considered
Michel Martin
NPR's Michel Martin talks with writer Richard Stengel about Mandela: The Lost Tapes, which features never-before heard audio of his conversations with Nelson Mandela from 1993.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
If I speak the name of Nelson Mandela, what comes to mind? A beloved grandfatherly figure, a globally celebrated statesman, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. To be sure, as South Africa's first Black president, the first elected in a fully representative democratic election, Mandela tried to steer his country to move beyond its violent, racist past. But a new podcast reminds us not just of Mandela's deep humanity but also of his unwavering commitment to the Black struggle for freedom. Here he is recounting how he had successfully dodged security police for nearly a year and a half, only to be caught with a gun.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "MANDELA: THE LOST TAPES")
NELSON MANDELA: I had a revolver which was unlicensed, and I first took it out and put it in between the seats. And at one time, I thought I could open the door fast and roll down, but I didn't know how long, you know, this thing was and what was there.
MARTIN: That's from a new Audible series, "Mandela: The Lost Tapes," where journalist, author and former diplomat Richard Stengel introduces us to the human being behind the icon. Stengel was the ghostwriter of Mandela's 1994 memoir, "Long Walk To Freedom." In preparation for it, he recorded hours and hours of tape with Mandela over the course of more than a year, and we're hearing many of them for the first time. And Richard Stengel is here with us now to talk about that experience. With that being said, Richard Stengel, welcome.