Logo for The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass

The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass

PRX

The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester, New York in the 1840s, they were full of hope and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested. Follow these brilliant, flawed, and rebellious activists with host Ashley C. Ford. Their message still matters.

This six-part podcast is based on the play The Agitators; playwright Mat Smart used historical documents to imagine Susan and Frederick’s conversations. The Agitators is brought to listeners by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the National Park Service, and PRX.

The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester, New York in the 1840s, they were full of hope and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested. Follow these brilliant, flawed, and rebellious activists with host Ashley C. Ford. Their message still matters.

This six-part podcast is based on the play The Agitators; playwright Mat Smart used historical documents to imagine Susan and Frederick’s conversations. The Agitators is brought to listeners by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the National Park Service, and PRX.

2hr 27min
Thumbnail for "Trailer: The Agitators, an adaptation of the play by Mat Smart".
A theatrical podcast based on the play by Mat Smart
October 28, 20203min 59sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 1. Beginnings: 1849 and 1861".
Susan and Frederick meet on Susan's father's farm.
November 18, 202028min 6sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 2. from Bondage to Freedom: 1861".
Frederick and Susan wait for Harriet Tubman to arrive with African-Americans escaping slavery,
November 18, 202025min 18sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 3. Reconstruction: 1867 and 1869".
In the years after the Civil War, Frederick and Susan fight to make the United States a country for all, where everyone can vote. 
November 25, 202020min 39sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 5. Infinite Light: 1883 and 1888".
As Frederick’s hopes are sidetracked by personal loss, Susan attempts to help him find his way back.
December 9, 202021min 16sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 6. “Fight for my rights, Aunt Susan”: 1894 and 1895".
Will Susan and Frederick finally see eye-to-eye on not only the past, but on how to agitate for a better future?
December 16, 202025min 30sec
Thumbnail for "Episode 4. Seeing Anew: 1870 and 1872".
At an integrated baseball game in 1870, Susan and Frederick attempt to repair the rift between them.
December 2, 202022min 6sec

Episode 1. Beginnings: 1849 and 1861

Thumbnail for "Episode 1. Beginnings: 1849 and 1861".
November 18, 202028min 6sec

When Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony met in the late 1840s, he was one of the most well-known people in the United States and she was an unknown schoolteacher who had just quit her job because of unequal pay.  Not long after, Frederick recruited Susan to be a lecturer with him in the Anti-Slavery Society and their friendship deepened.