Episode 17: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Sugar Tax and Prince Andrew

Imagine if there was a network of secret passages, a rail transport system with safe houses, conductors and secret routes through out America that could help slaves escape bondage. A way for them to get into the free states and Canada while avoiding captivity. This is called alternative history.

Set during the 19th century, Colson Whitehead takes us to the plantations of the southeastern United States, expertly re-creating the unique terrors felt by black Americans pre-civil war. Our protagonist is Cora, a determined teenage slave who makes a bid for freedom with the help of Caesar, a new arrival from Virginia. There are abolitionists, there are loyalists, slave catchers and sympathisers a plenty. In this ingenious conception, we make our harrowing journey through USA via Cora, encountering a different world with its own horrors in each state.

In reality, The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad but rather a secretly organised means of movement.