PAY THE TAB: Reparations Now
America has never faced up to the atrocities its massive wealth was built on — or the racism that still plagues us today. It’s high time for reparations to Black Americans. In each episode, Harvard lawyers (and longtime friends) Tony and Adam expose a story of racial injustice — then explore creative ways to make it right. The show features special guests who are on the front lines fighting for justice. We're making the case for full national reparations, one story at a time.
Episodes
What used to be called “science fiction” is now our daily reality. The fringe right is in power, bombarding us with the openly fascist Project 2025. A key tactic is snuffing out all talk about our racist and corrupt system. But this is no time to back down! Truth-telling is more critical than ever. Tony and Adam catch up on the latest - and how we can all fight back.
SHOW NOTES
Trump Administration Scare Tactics:
News flash: Slavery didn’t end after the Civil War. Thanks to the massive loophole of the 13th Amendment, it’s still going strong - in the form of forced prison labor all across America. We take you to Louisiana, the world’s incarceration leader. Local historian Eric Seiferth tells about Louisiana’s barbaric prison labor system, where inmates are forced to toil in the same fields worked by enslaved people over 150 years ago. We’re ...
Money isn’t the only part of reparations - but it sure is a big one! We sit down with William Darity and Kirsten Mullen, the nation's leading reparations experts. They answer key questions: How big is the tab? Who gets paid? What good is money unless we first change our racist society? They also break down why they're hopeful that reparations will happen in America - and tell us about the transforming power of cold hard c...
Some of the greatest players ever were kept out of Major League Baseball for nearly 70 years - due to the collusion of the racist team owners. We visit with Bill Greason, 100, the oldest surviving Negro Leagues player, and baseball historian Larry Lester, to make the case for long-overdue reparations by MLB. We crunch some numbers and calculate the tab to right this historic wrong. It's time to play ball!
SHOW NOTES
Gu...
A dirty secret in U.S. history is how local property taxes have been used to steal massive amounts of land and money from Black people, for the last 160 years. The Black Tax, a new book by historian Andrew Kahrl, exposes these scams that helped create the colossal racial wealth gap of today. The damage to Black Americans? More than $600 billion in straight-up theft – and trillions in lost generational wealth!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Andre...
This is an exciting time in the fight for Black reparations! As momentum builds across the country, Pay The Tab is expanding in new directions - including the first-ever reparations course at UCLA Law School. In this special episode, Tony and Adam bring the latest news, answer your questions, and share things we all can do to disrupt America's toxic system of racism, denial, and capitalist greed.
Contact Tony & A...
The largest-ever court award for slavery reparations came from an unlikely plaintiff. Henrietta Wood was an enslaved woman who gained her freedom in the 1840s - only to be kidnapped and sold back into slavery for 15 more horrific years. Her heroic fight for payback is inspiration for today’s reparations battle. Join us with historian Caleb McDaniel, whose book telling Wood's story, Sweet Taste Of Liberty, won the Pulitzer Priz...
Rep. Justin J. Pearson blows away our live audience with his bold case for reparations - and for making change through multiracial solidarity. He speaks on the racist connections of gun violence and environmental pollution; and what we need to do to fix things. Also on video!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Rep. Justin J. Pearson
Rep. Pearson is one of the most exciting new progressive voices in America. He’s state rep...
Did you know Black Americans get about one hour less sleep each night than white people? Less sleep means serious health problems - and shorter life spans. We dive into this shocking “racial sleep gap” with a leading authority on the subject, Dr. Dayna Johnson. She breaks down where it comes from (spoiler alert: it’s all about racism) - and what we need to do to fix it!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Dr. Dayna Johnson
In the largest single act of mass incarceration in U.S. history, our government forced over 125,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps for three years during World War II. On this special live episode, two leading activists join us to expose the true story of this racist atrocity, the fight for reparations that followed, and the importance of racial solidarity in all movements for change. We know Black America can achieve repara...
Mass incarceration is a cancer that’s devouring Black communities. Writer and filmmaker Asia Johnson joins us and shares her experiences as a formerly incarcerated woman - and her visions for a new system of justice. Recorded with a live audience. Also on video!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Asia Johnson
Asia Johnson is a writer, filmmaker, and activist for the rights of incarcerated people. She is the Manager of Storytelling for zealo....
Why has it always been damn near impossible for Black Americans to make ends meet - let alone build wealth? Join us with Mehrsa Baradaran, law professor and a leading expert on the racial wealth gap. She speaks the truth and helps us bust the myths we’ve all been fed about race, money, and the American Dream. Mehrsa also has an innovative plan to bridge the gap real fast!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Mehrsa Baradaran
Mehrsa ...
Morgan Curtis discovered that her family’s wealth (and her large inheritance) were made from centuries of exploitation and suffering, including slavery. What she did in response is an amazing story of personal reparations - and reminds us of the power of facing hard truths and living our lives with purpose.
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Morgan Curtis
Morgan Curtis is a young white woman making personal reparations through givi...
Show notes:
The incredible Robin D. G. Kelley schools us on what true reparations could look like - and how to use our collective power to envision a better future. Recorded in Los Angeles with a live audience. See the video HERE!
Guest: Robin D. G. Kelley
Robin Kelley is a leading historian, author, and thinker of our time - or any time. His groundbreaking book Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagin...
Dr. J. Marion Sims is hailed as the Father of Modern Gynecology. But his reputation was built through inhumane experiments on enslaved young women. We talk with “creative extremist” Michelle Browder, who exposes the truth about Sims, the racism of the medical profession, and using art as a form of reparations.
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Michelle Browder
Michelle is a dynamic artist and activist based in Montgomery, Alabama....
Part 2 of our story on the Tulsa Race Massacre looks at the historic lawsuit for reparations going on right now. We have a riveting conversation with Hughes Van Ellis, 101, one of three living survivors – and a plaintiff in that case. Guests Eric Miller and Kristi Williams return to give us the inside scoop on the case and the government’s literal coverup of possible mass graves.
SHOW NOTES
Guests: Kristi Williams...
The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific events in U.S. history. Was it just a riot by an angry white mob - or an all-out war on Black Americans by their own government? Join us for the real story on what went down in 1921. Special guest: Kristi Williams, Tulsa activist and descendant of a massacre survivor.
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Kristi Williams
Kristi is a Tulsa-based activist, organizer, and “love advocate....
Big things are happening on the West Coast! The California Reparations Task Force is deep into its revolutionary work. We talk with chairperson Kamilah Moore, who gives us the inside scoop on how they’re hatching a real plan - one that can set the stage for reparations across the whole country!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Kamilah Moore
Kamilah is Chairperson of the California Reparations Task Force. She’s a reparat...
In the city famous for segregation and corruption, we’ll see how many hoops Black people had to jump through, just to get a place to live. This scam would make Al Capone blush: crooked banks, politicians and realtors conspired to rob Black Chicagoans of more than 4 billion dollars! Special guest: Amber Hendley, housing activist and reparations warrior.
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Amber Hendley
What’s so threatening about the sight of Black people relaxing? Tony and Adam tell the story of a thriving Black-owned beach resort near L.A. that was shut down by the government - with a dramatic new reparations twist. We also look at ways the city could get Black people to come back. Special guest: pioneering historian Alison Rose Jefferson.
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Alison Rose Jefferson
Aliso...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.