Professor Jon Meacham, Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt, has joined Cadence13 to launch Shining City Audio, a podcast studio that will produce a history-focused series of shows. Meacham will serve as executive producer for the venture. 

Per Meacham, podcasts are an “engaging way to tell stories,” relating to his background as an author. He added that he plans to use Shining City Audio to elevate more voices surrounding historical events. 

“We need historical perspective so badly that I want to use whatever means I can to give people another angle of vision on what’s unfolding now,” Meacham said in an email to The Hustler. 

Meacham has previously worked with Cadence13 to create two history-focused shows: “Hope, Through History” and “It Was Said’. Per Deadline, Shining City Audio will begin by producing two new podcasts, “Fate of Fact” and “History is Us.”

“Fate of Fact,” written by Meacham, aired on April 28 on all streaming platforms. The first season will consist of five episodes, with one released every Wednesday until May 26. The series will focus on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

“[The series] will explore the question of how fear conquered truth, the history and origins of the strong grip misinformation and disinformation have on our politics, and how we got here today,” Cadence13 said. 

“History is Us,” the second podcast produced by the studio, will be written and narrated by Princeton University’s Department of African American Studies Chair Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. 

“[‘History is Us’ will] explore how American history, so indelibly shaped by race, haunts us, and how our past failures—and refusals to admit them—continue to shape the way we live our lives today,” Cadence13 said.

Shining City Audio will also expand “It Was Said” to explore significant sports-related speeches. This part of the series will be narrated by Doc Rivers, former NBA player and current coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.