
TRAILER: Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier
From Radio Diaries by Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
February 9, 2026 · 5 min
About this episode
The episode introduces a new series about the attack on Isaac Woodard and its implications for desegregation in the military.
On February 12, 1946, an African American soldier heading home from WWII was attacked by a white police officer somewhere in South Carolina. The soldier's name was Isaac Woodard. No one knew the identity of the officer who attacked Woodard. No one even knew which town it had happened in. So when the famous radio host Orson Welles heard about the case, he vowed to solve it on the air. Radio Diaries and Radiotopia bring you a new series about a crime in a small southern town that led to the desegregation of the United States military. The first episode drops February 12th on the Radio Diaries Podcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
People in this episode
Hosts: Radio Diaries, Radiotopia
Topics covered
- crime
- military
- desegregation
- history
- radio
- society
Keywords
- Orson Welles
- Isaac Woodard
- WWII
- South Carolina
- desegregation
- military
- crime
Mentioned in this episode
Places: South Carolina
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