This show is brilliant and such a captivating listen! What an amazing archive of our history.

Beautifully produced! And the stories are captivating, intimate glimpses into Black American lives.

One of my favorite new podcasts! It’s as entertaining as a gossip podcast, while being extremely informative and at times moving. I really hope this podcast continues - I’m obsessed!

I love this show. Nichole does a fantastic job of bringing history to life. More episodes, please.

I can't believe how much I enjoy this podcast on a regular basis. The format is perfect, the storytelling is excellent, and I learn something about Black history from every episode. And it's incredibly funny? I really hope media companies wake up and someone funds a second season. An absolute gem.

This podcast is amazing! All history should be told like this... it would make it so much more interesting!

Think you do not enjoy history? Guess again! This podcast is interesting, dramatic, relatable, funny, and educational! How many things can you say that about? Give it a listen, you won’t regret it.

Love this podcast so much

I have been so wrapped up in this podcast! I’m hoping another season can happen because it’s not just historical, it’s entertaining and hilarious! I’ve been listening to your journey to this point Nichole and I pray this continues for you!

Absolutely LOVE the pod. Love the stories, love the guest interactions, love it all. I hope we’re able to hear more episodes!!

I’ve loved listening to season one and even revisiting a couple of episodes to capture all the details and share with others. I’m so impressed with the research, dynamic storytelling, and thoughtful connections between each story and iconic figures and events. I’ve learned so much and had many laugh out loud or full gasp moments. This is really a treasure.

I am such a fan. This is the best of history, storytelling, and Black celebrity gossip rolled into one. I have no money but I SINCERELY hope someone with cash can help Nichole keep this podcast going for a long time. We need this for our archives and preserving our history.

I love this show. Nichole is a fantastic, capable, and smart host and the show straddles the line so well between education, entertainment, and fun banter. Highly highly recommend.

This podcast masterfully weaves together storytelling, history, and cultural reverence. With thoughtful commentary, solid research, and an infectious passion for the subject matter, the host and her guests unearth powerful, overlooked stories from Black history and bring them to life. Do yourself a favor- subscribe, listen, and share. This podcast is so much more than a history lesson; it’s a tribute to the resilience, brilliance, and enduring legacy of Black excellence.

I can’t get enough of this podcast! So engaging, interesting, juicy and informative. A perfect mix of history and tea. Nicole’s voice is one I could listen to all day.

I love this podcast so much. I love the drama, the social commentary, the history. Nichole Hill is everything I want in a host- witty, intelligent, and a great storyteller. Can’t wait for more!

From Ryan Coogler to Madea (ugh) and now this! We are in a new Renaissance of black storytelling for all of us! We need it all.

I’m caught up on all episodes and can’t wait for more! This is genius… an unforgettable way of learning black history!

I’m Puerto Rican, but love listening to any Historical podcast. Especially when they are told like Nichole does here in this podcast. Stories are relatable, and her dynamic with her guests is so much fun. I’m bummed I binged them all already. Guess I’ll have to listen again.

You are an award winning show! Where can I submit my nomination for you and your show, Nichole!? Elizabeth Walker

This show offers great wisdom, history, and entertainment for people of every age and ethnic background. Thank u!

Thank you for your work. This is essential listening for a broad variety of interests so give it a chance before passing because you don’t like history or aren’t Black. Listen to educate and enrich your life or even just for the incredible production quality and vibes.

Like an amazing mix of You Must Remember This, Normal Gossip, and The Stoop. I can’t wait for more.

100% recommend, love the audio mixing, love the stories, such an amazing idea for a show and done so well! Please keep making more!!!

I enjoyed every episode!

This was the podcast I've been searching for. Love the episodes on Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. The hosts were engaging and the storytelling was amazing. I couldn't pick sides and then...I didn't want the fight to end. Power to the people.

I adore this show!

And not just a good story- a good story told well! Such a fun take on history.

Wonderful series about real lives of real people - unabashedly and delightfully about the history of Black Americans.

I enjoy the history, the approach, the storytelling. The conversation between the host and guest is also very interesting and enjoyable.

This show is awesome! It is so creative and it made me for real LOL. I love stories, especially our Black stories, and what you’ve done here is incredible. Thank you!

Everyone knows that the best part of history is the messy part. We rarely get to hear these stories but not only are they so interesting, they’re important parts of the fabric of American history. Also the storytelling skills, editing, and sound work are amazing.

Found this gem while listening to Nobody Should Believe Me and am already hooked! As a single 43yr old white mother of a biracial 18yr old young woman, I found these stories of black history beautiful and so informative. This MUST be heard as it’s never been taught in school. I will definitely be talking this one up to everyone and especially my daughter. Excited to see how far this goes!

This podcast is perfect. No notes.

I never rate or write a review for a podcast but I want this podcast to get the recognition it deserves. As a black person I know we tend to think of the older generations and our leaders as Gods who were perfect. It is blasphemous to even critical think their choices. I don’t think this attitude serves us. It is educational, entertaining, and inspiring to know are ancestors were just as messy and toxic as we are. They not only survived but thrived in trying times. That gives me hope. Thank you for this podcast. You deserve all the sucess coming to you.

I love this podcast! Great storytelling, an engaging host, fun guests! The only downside is I can’t do dishes and listen because I have to keep pausing to look for photos. So glad to have found this!

Old white lady here, truly appreciating the stories of black culture and society, deliciously delivered with excellent narration and production. Made my day! Thanks Andrea (Nobody Should Believe Me) for featuring.

Fun, funny and easy to listen to!

Thank you Nicole and team. Your approach to storytelling is beautiful- the score, how you incorporate the history of the newspapers, the rapport with your guests, and the curation of the stories, themselves. A real joy to listen to.

Much anticipated stop Lives up to lofty expectations stop Telling everyone while awaiting next installment stop -Sophia

Nic you’re a genius! I’m obsessed and I can’t wait for more episodes. I love history and people being messy and you’ve perfectly combined the two. You also have the best voice for podcasting. I never leave reviews on anything but you deserve all of your flowers!

This series is BRILLIANT! The storytelling, the reflections, the guests—-I’ve learned so much about these messy ancestors, but I’m also learning to be more compassionate with myself and others as we continue to fight for our rights, freedoms, and dreams.

Waiting a year for this series!!! Love the research based tea!

This show is everything I could want in a podcast.

This is such a simultaneously easy and engaging listen! Love the interwoven conversation, the reflecting and debriefing, the scoring, and definitely love being reminded that humans have ALWAYS been messy. ✨

Gossip is such an excellent delivery system for history—genius move, Nichole Hill! I love so much about the format and it’s a relief and a pleasure to learn about the lives of ancestors without centering trauma. I also am here for the blend of contemporary and historical word choices and reactions! While some “comedy” pods strain to be funny (and end up just being crass and annoying), this one relaxes and assumes we can follow a layered set of references. So excited for future episodes!!

Devastated that there aren’t more episodes to binge right now. Every ancestor’s story is an epic one on some level, and Ms. Hill is delivering ones that are both wildly entertaining and full of important historical context that helps explain how folks makes stories and are stories, then, now, likely forever into the future. I have never left a review on a podcast before and I loved this format and content so much that I got brave enough to tell y’all that you cannot miss this show. ❤️

I’m obsessed with this: hits the spot for so many reasons. All history should be delivered as gossip!

I just listened to the first episode of The Ancestors Were Messy, and I’m already hooked. Nichole Hill blends history, storytelling, and cultural reflection in a way that resonates far beyond any one lineage. While these aren’t my ancestors, the themes of legacy, identity, and the complexity of history deeply connect with me. This podcast challenges the neatly packaged versions of the past we’re often taught and instead embraces the reality that history is full of contradictions, imperfections, and hard truths. Nichole creates a space that is both thought-provoking and engaging, weaving together personal reflections, historical analysis, and humor to bring these stories to life. What I appreciate most is how she invites listeners—regardless of background—to sit with the messiness of history, to reflect on its impact, and to consider how it shapes our present and future. If you’ve ever side-eyed the simplified versions of history we’re often given, this podcast is for you. It doesn’t just tell stories—it makes you rethink what it means to honor those who came before us. And if you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and check out Nichole’s other podcast, The Secret Adventures of Black People. She has a gift for giving the audience a peek into people’s lives and leveraging her storytelling to make each episode feel both intimate and expansive at the same time. I can’t wait to hear more from The Ancestors Were Messy—this first episode was just the beginning, and I know it’s going to be something special. Highly recommend!

Banger