One of the earliest cycling champs was a Black man named Marshall "Major" Taylor. By the late 1880s, the bicycle had taken the world by storm, making cycling the biggest and most popular sport. In Indianapolis, Indiana, a young amateur cyclist with heaps of natural talent set out to make his mark. But there was a problem... Black men like him weren’t allowed to compete. His faith and determination would see him ride past that barrier and every other obstacle that stood in his way. Today, Major Taylor's pioneering path to becoming one of the greatest professional cyclists the sport has ever see ..read more

It’s 1914 and chemistry student Alice Ball arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii. She doesn’t know it yet, but her knack for solving problems in the chemistry lab is about to change the lives of thousands of people with leprosy aka Hansen’s Disease. But thanks to just one man’s greed, Alice won’t get credit for her work until long after she’s gone. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visi ..read more

Ons Jabeur plays some of the most exciting tennis out there. But for most of her career, Ons has been told that to succeed, she needs to change—to conform to how the mostly white western bubble of tennis approaches the game. But Ons has consistently stuck with her Tunisian team. In the last few years, Ons has been climbing the rankings. And she's been doing it with her own team, by following her own playbook. In this episode, we get into Ons' story, and ask, is it possible that your greatest obstacle could also be your greatest strength? A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else productio ..read more

Our host, Takara Small, quizzes two producers on their knowledge of everything from Black pop culture to Black history legends that deserve to have their praises sung. From Oprah’s net worth to the first Black woman on a banknote… we're covering Black inventors, artists and business extraordinaries that changed the game. Our contestants put their competitive streak to the test, including the host! So we invite you to play along with us, and we are not playing any games. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusi ..read more

James Hemings innovated mac and cheese and brought vanilla ice cream, crème brûlée and french fries to the United States from Paris in the late 18th century. And while most of us don’t know Hemings, we do know his brother-in-law and enslaver, the 3rd president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Hemings was an American culinary founding father. He and other enslaved chefs invented fine dining in America. So why haven’t they gotten a seat at their own table? To learn more, watch Chef Ashbell McElveen’s documentary, ‘James Hemings: Ghost in America’s Kitchen’, available to stream on Amazon P ..read more

100 years before Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, there was Elizabeth Jennings. In 1854, Elizabeth refused to leave the streetcar she’d boarded after being told to wait for one designated for Black riders. When her fierce determination leads to an unwarranted physical assault at the hands of the conductor, Elizabeth takes her fight to the New York State Supreme Court. Her game-changing victory would lead to the desegregation of the New York City transit system and cause a ripple effect that would be felt for over a century. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more g ..read more

Happy holidays! As a little gift from us to you, we’ve put together some of our favorite moments from this season. And if you have ideas for lost histories, we want to hear from you! Write to us at theydidthat@sonymusic.com and tune back in on January 5th for our next episode. Stay safe and warm! See y’all in the new year… A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices ..read more

Those instant noodles that kept you alive in college? Turns out they were invented during World War II to stave off hunger in Japan. But they weren’t developed by the government or some big corporation. We have just one guy to thank for dreaming up Chicken Ramen and Cup Noodles—and perfecting them in his backyard shed. Today, the story of Momofuku Ando, a serial entrepreneur in Japan who was struggling to find his big hitter…until the devastation of World War II sparked his greatest invention. A Sony Music Entertainment and Somethin' Else production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music E ..read more

From Dean of Black Twitter, Michael Harriot, comes a Black history podcast like you've never heard before. Using a recipe that includes detailed research, barbershop humor and a little seasoned salt, a parade of cookout-certified celebrity guests helps Michael Harriot serve up a compelling, hilarious and more accurate version of Black history that was conveniently whitewashed from your social studies book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

Without Judy Heumann, it’s hard to see how we would ever have achieved the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disabled by polio at just 18 months old in 1949, Judy grew up in a time when nothing prevented discrimination against people with disabilities. In fact, so-called “ugly laws” even outlawed the appearance in public of people who were “diseased, maimed or in any way deformed.” But Judy didn’t let any of this stop her. Instead, she became a trailblazer that transformed the state of disability rights in the United States and the rest of the world. In this special episode, we speak with ..read more