Slow Burn - One Year: 1990 | 2. Mandrake the Magician

What this episode covers

A middle-aged single dad in Chicago was outraged by all the cigarette billboards popping up in Black communities. In 1990, he picked up a paint roller and became an anti-tobacco vigilante. And he did it all under a secret identity.This episode was written by Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.This episode was produced by Kelly Jones, Olivia Briley, and Evan Chung. It was edited by Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. We had mixing help from Kevin Bendis.Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Slow Burn?

This episode is 46 minutes long.

When was this Slow Burn episode published?

This episode was published on November 30, 2023.

What is this episode about?

A middle-aged single dad in Chicago was outraged by all the cigarette billboards popping up in Black communities. In 1990, he picked up a paint roller and became an anti-tobacco vigilante. And he did it all under a secret identity.This episode was...

Can I download this Slow Burn episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.