Max Morath discusses his career, jazz music, and history.

Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Muhammad Ali discusses his book "The Greatest: My Own Story," touching on topics including his childhood and family, conversion to Islam, stance on the Vietnam War, and experiences in jail.

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Wynton Marsalis

Singer Harry Belafonte discusses Black music including spirituals and jazz and how it has contributed to American culture.

Interviewing jazz singer and songwriter Oscar Brown, Jr.

Part 1 of this program begins with Studs Terkel reading an excerpt from the book "Giants of Jazz" , which describes Dizzy Gillespie's early life. Gillespie discusses the following: the state of jazz; his fellow musicians; jazz contributors; jazz fundamentals; and his tours abroad. Gillespie's "Groovin' High" is played towards the end of this part of the program.

The blues and jazz are topics covered by Ralph Ellison. Ellison himself started to play the trumpet at the age of seven. Ellison said for him, when hearing classical music, he then had to go and find classical literature.