The Experiment

The Helen Keller Exorcism


Listen Later

The fantasy writer Elsa Sjunneson has been haunted by Helen Keller for nearly her entire life. Elsa is Deafblind, and growing up, she couldn’t escape the constant comparisons. Then, a year ago, an online conspiracy theory claiming that Keller was a fraud exploded on TikTok, and suddenly, Sjunneson found herself drawing her sword and jumping to Keller’s defense, setting off a chain of events that would bring her closer to the disability icon than she’d ever dreamed she would be. For more than a year, Sjunneson, Lulu Miller, and the Radiolab team dug through primary sources, talked with experts, even visited Keller’s birthplace, Ivy Green, and discovered that the real story of Helen Keller is far more complicated, mysterious, and confounding than the simple myth of a young deaf-blind girl rescued by her teacher.

This story originally ran on Radiolab.

Further reading: “The Three Things Helen Keller Wished She Could See,” “Helen Keller’s Depression-Era Business Advice: ‘Put Your Husband in the Kitchen’

A transcript of this episode is available in text and braille-ready format. An ASL translation of the episode can be viewed here.

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at [email protected].

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The ExperimentBy The Atlantic and WNYC Studios

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

2,819 ratings


More shows like The Experiment

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,046 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,066 Listeners

The Brian Lehrer Show by WNYC

The Brian Lehrer Show

1,537 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,925 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,380 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

37,904 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,253 Listeners

To The Best Of Our Knowledge by Wisconsin Public Radio

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

904 Listeners

Rumble Strip by Erica Heilman / Rumble Strip, Erica Heilman

Rumble Strip

1,141 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,712 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,074 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,343 Listeners

Scene on Radio by Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

Scene on Radio

52 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,666 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

11,701 Listeners

Embedded by NPR

Embedded

11,958 Listeners

More Perfect by WNYC Studios

More Perfect

14,401 Listeners

Spooked by KQED and Snap Studios

Spooked

16,243 Listeners

The Anthropocene Reviewed by Complexly, John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed

9,279 Listeners

Decoder Ring by Slate Podcasts

Decoder Ring

2,031 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,801 Listeners

Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

Dolly Parton's America

16,314 Listeners

Radiolab for Kids by WNYC

Radiolab for Kids

973 Listeners