New Podcast Series Covers The Black, Latino, And South Asian Insurrection Investigators Of The January 6th Committee

A substantial number of January 6 Committee investigators were individuals of Black, Latino, or South Asian descent, including three of the five team leaders.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol alleging that the presidential election had been rigged in favor of Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump in the White House. Americans watched in fascination and horror as one of the most safeguarded buildings in the country became a scene of violence; world leaders condemned the attack en masse.

The insurrection, which was live-broadcasted on national television, lasted nearly four hours, according to NPR. However, its ramifications are still being felt today, leading journalist and Our Body Politic podcast creator-host Farai Chideya to investigate the rise of white supremacy within the country and how democracy must be preserved as it continues to be attacked from all angles. Featuring exclusive interviews with congressional staffers from varied backgrounds, Chideya’s new audio documentary, January 6th: An American Story, chronicles the vital role government employees played in understanding the Jan. 6 riot and holding its perpetrators accountable.

A substantial number of those investigators were individuals of Black, Latino, and South Asian descent, including three of the five team leaders. January 6th: An American Story sheds light on the contributions of these Black and brown legal experts within the January 6 Committee.

The documentary, hosted by Chideya, provides insights from three of the investigators, who shared their experiences and shed light on the challenges they faced in preserving our democracy.

“As a longtime journalist, I’ve spent much of my career covering domestic violence extremism and the dangers such violence poses,” Chideya says in Episode 1, “Legal Fees.”

“It’s my small contribution to building a better future and strengthening American democracy. So it made perfect sense that I and my team would tackle the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s what we’ve always done at Our Body Politic. Our work is also an American story.”

Released on Jan. 5, 2024, the six-episode podcast provides insight into the journalists who covered the riot, exposing a story of the immoral practices, Christian nationalist beliefs, and flagrant misinformation that culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Chidey invited the diverse team behind the investigation to discuss their own journeys into the field and explain why they have positioned themselves as defenders of democracy. The expansive podcast offers listeners an up-close look at the case against Trump, including an overview of the “Book of Purple,” a body of research that probed more than 50 documents and testimonies that proved vital to the government’s prosecution and was headed by Deputy Attorney General for Policy and Legislative Affairs Candyce Phoenix.