Tara Roberts Goes "Into the Depths" with New National Geographic Podcast About Black Divers Looking for Slave Ship Wrecks
Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with Tara Roberts from National Geographic. Her podcast, "Into the Depths," explores the complex history of the global slave trade as Roberts follows a group of Black divers who find and document slave ship wrecks.
Prior to the interview, I listened through the first four episodes of the six-part series. I was immediately struck by how the major themes of the podcast struck a chord within me. Despite the specific subject matter, the themes regarding the importance of uncovering family history, who tells history, and how knowing where you came from opens up the possibilities who you can be.
As an Asian American, these ideas resonated with me, and I connected with them due to my family's unwillingness to talk about their painful past and the limited coverage of Asian American history in U.S. History courses.
When talking about how she felt uncovering Black history, Roberts spoke about how she was at first afraid to delve too deep, saying, "That was my fear of this work. Like going back into the past would be very painful and traumatic. But what I found was that there was actually something really healing in this work. There's something about engaging with that history head-on, and engaging with it in a sensitive, thoughtful, inclusive way that gives you an intersection into it that otherwise wouldn't have been possible."
During our talk, Roberts opened my eyes to exactly how impactful the global slave trade was, and how it changed the course of history. To Roberts, engaging with and understanding that period of history is pivotal to us understanding ourselves, even though the subject matter can be difficult. Her work is a testament to the light you can find in a dark subject.
It was inspiring to see Roberts recount her experiences and talk about how her work has helped her reconnect with her past and also take pride in where she came from. Of discovering a not-known strong aquatic tradition among West Africans, Roberts says that she learned that "I'm not from a sad, pitiful group of folks. I'm from people who were courageous, who were strong, who fought back! Who rebelled!"
After the interview, I went home and listened to the remaining two episodes of "Into the Depths." Honestly, it's a very engaging listen that feels like a healing session. Filled with awe-inspiring stories and using creative storytelling techniques through audio, "Into the Depths" connects us to world history and allows us to understand ourselves better.
Tune in to the "Into the Depths" podcast starting on January 27, 2022 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Amazon Music, or wherever you like to listen.
You can learn more about "Into the Depths" at: natgeo.com/intothedepths
If you'd like, host COVID-safe listening parties with your church congregation, sorority, fraternity, with select friends, or with family. NatGeo has developed a listening party toolkit that you can use at that website.
Finally, get more on this incredible story about this pivotal moment in world history through the cover feature in the March issue of National Geographic magazine, available February 7th, and National Geographic's documentary "CLOTILDA: LAST AMERICAN SLAVE SHIP," premiering Monday, February 7th, 10/9c on National Geographic and available to stream next day on Hulu.
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