Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast

Proximity, 99% Invisible, and Warner Bros. present the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” an official film companion from the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.

This episode contains spoilers. Watch the film and come back here to listen to all the fascinating behind the scenes details.

This is the last episode of our companion series. We’ll talk to Che Brooks and Stan McKinney - Black Panthers from the Illinois chapter who knew Chairman Fred. But first - Dominique Fishback. She stars as Deborah Johnson, whose name today is Mama Akua Njeri.

Proximity, 99% Invisible, and Warner Bros. present the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” an official film companion from the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.

This episode contains spoilers. Watch the film and come back here to listen to all the fascinating behind the scenes details.

The very first face we see in Judas And The Black Messiah is not Chairman Fred Hampton’s. It’s the character of William O’Neal, played by LaKeith Stanfield. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at William O’Neal - the career criminal turned FBI informant who betrayed the Black Panthers and Chairman Fred Hampton.

Proximity, 99% Invisible, and Warner Bros. present the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” an official film companion from the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.

This episode contains spoilers. Watch the film and come back here to listen to all the fascinating behind the scenes details.

Of all the relationships Chairman Junior built during his time on the film set, the one with Daniel Kaluuya was unique. Daniel stars as Chairman Fred Hampton Senior - the father Chairman Junior never met because he was assassinated three weeks before he was born. 

For much of Chairman Junior’s adult life, he’s been protective of his father’s legacy. So it was important to him that Daniel channel the spirit and power Chairman Senior was known for.

Proximity, 99% Invisible, and Warner Bros. present the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” an official film companion from the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.

This episode contains spoilers. Watch the film and come back here to listen to all the fascinating behind the scenes details.

Judas and the Black Messiah producer Ryan Coogler bonded with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr when the filmmakers first approached the Hampton family, asking for their blessing to make the film. It still took 18 months of convincing. The pair talk about the back and forth of presenting the history correctly and honoring Chairman Sr.’s legacy. Host Elvis Mitchell then talks with Chairman Sr.’s widow, Akua Njeri about her take on the process and what the film got right and which details were changed.

Proximity, 99% Invisible, and Warner Bros. present the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” an official film companion from the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.

In the “Judas and the Black Messiah Podcast,” host and critic Elvis Mitchell of KCRW is joined by Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. — son of Chairman Fred Hampton and head of the Black Panther Party Cubs — as well as the film’s actors and creative team, and by members of the Black Panther Party who knew Chairman Fred Hampton. Together, they look at the true stories behind the events portrayed in the film.

In episode 1, we get the real story of how Fred Hampton became The Chairman.

Watch the film and subscribe to the rest of the series here:

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Chairman Fred Hampton was the leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party until his life was cut short on December 4, 1969, when more than a dozen law enforcement officers busted in his West Chicago apartment in a pre-dawn raid. Hampton was shot to death in his bed. He was 21 years old.

His life inspired the new film Judas and the Black Messiah, coming out February 12 in theaters and HBO Max. In this official podcast series, produced by 99% Invisible and Proximity Media, in partnership with Warner Bros, we’re looking at the “black messiah” at the center of this film. The REAL story of Chairman Fred Hampton.

What made Hampton so special that he was anointed as a leader at such a young age, and then targeted in a federal assassination?

Join host Elvis Mitchell as we go behind the scenes with the film’s creators, including director Shaka King and producer Ryan Coogler, who wrote and directed the 2018 blockbuster, Black Panther. 

We’ll also talk to co-stars Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, and Dominique Fishback. And, to real Black Panthers who knew Chairman Fred - including his widow, Akua Njeri. And our number one guide through this whole series will be Chairman Fred Hampton Junior. He was born three weeks after his father’s assassination and has spent his life protecting his father’s legacy.