Sara Sidner on Protecting Your Humanity
About this episode
W. Kamau Bell interviews Sara Sidner about her experiences in conflict reporting and her commitment to humanity.
W. Kamau Bell opens the interview with Sara Sidner by giving her flowers and praising her long record of reporting from conflict zones. Sidner explains her attraction to covering conflict despite disliking it, seeing it as a way to witness honesty and possibly help resolution, a dynamic she connects to her family background. She describes being mixed race, the “quintessential person to hate” for white supremacists, and her commitment to showing her humanity even to those who hate her, insisting she does not truly hate anyone. The conversation turns to their shared experience as only children and Sidner’s deeply “country” childhood in North Florida: no shoes, many animals, and even picking up snakes, followed by a move to Miami Lakes and a more urban life. Her British mother from rural England ensured she knew her Black family and culture, giving her “double country” roots and vivid Southern Black church and music memories like “Great Balls of Fire.” She recounts early poverty in Florida with no electricity, running water, or TV, pumping well water and entertaining herself outdoors, which later made…
People in this episode
Host: W. Kamau Bell
Guest: Sara Sidner
Topics covered
- journalism
- conflict reporting
- race
- humanity
- childhood experiences
- personal history
Keywords
- Sara Sidner
- W. Kamau Bell
- conflict zones
- race
- journalism
- humanity
- childhood
- reporting
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: 60 Minutes, 20/20
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