Billie Was a Black Woman

Audible Originals

Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today.

The full series will release on April 7, 2021.

Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

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Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman

Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman

Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today. The full series will release on April 7, 2021. Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

Episodes

Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman

Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman

Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today. The full series will release on April 7, 2021. Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

Episode 1: Andra & Billie

Episode 1: Andra & Billie

Jazz legend Billie Holiday meant a lot of things to a lot of people. But at the end of the day, Billie was a Black woman. Academy Award nominated actress and Grammy-award winning singer Andra Day, who plays the iconic songstress in the film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, talks with host Rebecca Carroll about what it was like to inhabit Billie’s universe, the power of her most famous song “Strange Fruit,” and the fullness of her complicated humanity.

Episode 2: Music as Salvation

Episode 2: Music as Salvation

For Billie Holiday, music extended far beyond the performance - it was who she was, what she became, and how she navigated an often hostile world. Host Rebecca Carroll sits down with multi-platinum recording artist Mariah Carey to discuss her deep affinity with Billie, and with The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels about the responsibility of bringing the singer’s story to life.

Episode 3: Black Bodies

Episode 3: Black Bodies

The bodies of Black women have always been deified and dismissed; sexualized and commodified - and Billie Holiday was no exception. In this episode, host Rebecca Carroll and iconic political activist Dr. Angela Davis explore Billie's relationship to and with her body, and how the singer sought control over her image by using her body her way.

Episode 4: Strong, Beautiful & Black

Episode 4: Strong, Beautiful & Black

Before the Strong Black Woman stereotype ever existed, there were strong Black women like Billie Holiday who dared to live on their own terms. In this episode, host Rebecca Carroll talks with award-winning actress and transgender rights activist Laverne Cox about what it means, and what it feels like, to be a strong, Black woman.

Billie Knew: A Special Encore Episode

Billie Knew: A Special Encore Episode

In this special encore episode, host Rebecca Carroll looks back on the series, reflecting on the many lessons Billie Holiday left behind during the course of her extraordinary life. Billie’s impact is deep and far-reaching. And so, in celebration of all that she was, Rebecca is also joined by a few friends of the podcast to reflect on the singer’s influence on their own lives: contemporary harpist Brandee Younger, supermodel Naomi Campbell, award-winning author Terry McMillan, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels.