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‘You use the white man’s bigotry against him.’
In this 1970 interview resurrected for PBS’s animated series Blank on Blank, the US writer and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou recalls the ‘education’ she received from her stepfather – a pool- and gambling-hall owner who ‘lived by his wits’ – and his con-man friends. Growing up at the height of the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, the men had few prospects for jobs in which they could use their intelligence to contribute to society. Instead, they made ends meet by running elaborate, large-scale cons on greedy white ‘marks’, who would incorrectly assume that there was no way a black man could outsmart them.
Animator: Patrick Smith
Producer: Amy Drozdowska, David Gerlach
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Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
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Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
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Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
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The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes