

100 Objects #5: Blue Back Speller
In this episode, Roman and historian Imani Perry follow the Webster Blue Back Speller from the early days of the United States, to the heart of Black intellectual life. Through the lives of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, Roman and Imani uncover how a single object became a gateway to literacy,…
We score an episode from what we can actually measure — its reach and engagement, what listeners say about it, and what it covers. We don't have those signals for this one yet, so it doesn't get a number.
Buzzmeter says it's buzzing across platforms — the Hive Vote says whether the people who actually listened liked it.
Rate this episode
Add your vote to the Hive — listeners rate every episode after they finish.
- No reviews yet — be the first.
Similar episodes from other shows
More like 99% Invisible →
A history of the US in 100 unexpected objects

The Great Textbook War

Presenting Throughline: 'James Baldwin's Fire'

99 Percent Invisible: The White Castle System of Eating Houses
One great episode in your inbox, daily — free.
One email a day, unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.


