P.T. Barnum is remembered as a pioneering entertainer and a master of marketing. His elaborate hoaxes shocked, thrilled and conned his audiences in equal measure, all in the pursuit of fortune. But beneath the pomp and pageantry, Barnum's success was built on trafficking curiosities to hungry audiences, regardless of how ethical it was.
To tell us all about the ambiguous life of P.T. Barnum, we're joined by Benjamin Reiss, author of The Showman and the Slave: Race, Death, and Memory in Barnum’s America.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann. Edited by Max Carrey with additional editing by Dougal Patmore.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.
We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
","author_name":"History Hit"}