It’s August 18th. This day in 1976, Alex Haley’s sprawling epic Roots hits the bookshelves. It quickly caused a sensation — and controversy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Haley’s work came together, the enormous impact it had, and the mix of fact and fiction that somewhat clouded the work. Check out Reconsidering Roots, the book Kellie edited about Haley and the Roots television miniseries. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices