EDGAR: I AM ED WICKHAM B HERMANN THE THIRD.

WITH U.S. FINANCIAL SYSTEMS REELING OVER RECENT BANK COLLAPSES, WE WILL DIG INTO THE FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY THAT TRACES THE CHAOS WE ARE SEEING, BACK TO DECISIONS THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK MADE DURING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS.

THEN, THE LOCAL YOUTUBER TAKING DEEP DIVES INTO BLACK HISTORY IN MASSACHUSETTS, HIGHLIGHTING LESSER-KNOWN FIGURES WHO HELP SHAPE THE STATE WE KNOW TODAY.

THE BANKING INDUSTRY IS STILL IN A STATE OF TURMOIL, EVEN AFTER A HASTILY ARRANGED BUYOUT OF CREDITS WE SPANK, WHICH WAS AIMED AT SHORING UP THE FINANCIAL SECTOR AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE U.S.-BASED OF SILICON VALLEY AND SIGNATURE BANKS IN LESS THAN A WEEK.

THE FEDERAL RESERVE HAS BEEN IN DAMAGE CONTROL IN THE DAYS SINCE, AND IN THE MONTHS BEFORE THE COLLAPSE.

THE INSTITUTION HAVE BEEN STEADILY RAISING INTEREST RATES IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP INFLATION UNDER CONTROL, AN EFFORT THAT BY ALL ACCOUNTS, WAS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE BANK'’S DEMISE.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

A NEW DOCUMENTARY FROM FRONTLINE TRACES A LINE FROM OUR PRECARIOUS ECONOMIC MOMENT, ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE DECISIONS THAT THE FED MADE IN RESPONSE TO THE 2008 ECONOMIC CRISIS.

>> AMID THE CRISIS, FED OFFICIALS DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING THEY HAD NOT DONE IN HALF A CENTURY.

THEY BEGAN DROPPING RATES, EVENTUALLY TO ALMOST ZERO.

>> IT IS ALMOST LIKE ALCHEMY.

YOU CAN CREATE MONEY OUT OF THIN AIR IF YOU ARE A CENTRAL BANK.

CREATING MORE MONEY PUTS MORE MONEY IN THE BANKING SYSTEM.

PUT MORE MONEY OUT THERE FOR THE ECONOMY TO TAKE IT AND PUT IT TO WORK AND GROW.

AND TO RESTORE ITSELF.

>> THEIR HOPE WAS THE NEW MONEY WOULD HELP SHORE UP THE FAILING BANKS AND GET THEM LENDING AGAIN.

IT WOULD BECOME THE HEART OF THEIR EASY MONEY POLICIES.

EDGAR: THE FILM IS CALLED "AGE OF EASY MONEY."

DIRECTOR JAMES JACOBY JOINS ME KNOW.

JAMES, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH ME.

JAMES: IT IS GREAT TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU.

EDGAR: THIS FILM, TWO HOURS WORTH OF AN EXAMINATION OF WHAT YOU CALL THE AGE OF EASY MONEY.

WHAT IS EASY MONEY?

WHAT MAKES MONEY EASY?

JAMES: WHAT MAKES MONEY EASY, WELL, THE FEDERAL RESERVE CONTROLS INTEREST RATES, AS YOU SAID A SECOND AGO.

BASICALLY WHEN INTEREST RATES ARE REALLY LOW, IT MEANS MONEY IS EASY, IT'’S CHEAPER, EASIER TO BORROW.

MORE PEOPLE CAN BORROW CHEAPLY, AND IT IS MEANT TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

MORE PEOPLE BORROWING, MORE PEOPLE SPENDING, MORE COMPANIES BORROWING AND SPENDING.

FOR THE PAST 14 YEARS, SINCE THE GREAT FINANCIAL CRISIS, HAVE HAD THE FED DOING VERY EASY MONEY POLICIES, MEANING INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY LOW FOR THE PAST 14 YEARS, UP UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, AND THEY HAVE BEEN USING ALL SORTS OF EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO TRY TO KEEP RATES LOW AND MOEY FLOWING IN THE SYSTEM.

EDGAR: THIS DOCUMENTARY, TWO YEARS OF WORK MAKING THIS.

WHAT WAS YOUR THESIS GOING IN?

DID YOU HAVE A HANDLE ON THIS AND KNOW THIS WAS THE STORY YOU WOULD BE TELLING TWO YEARS AGO?

OR HAS IT DEVELOPED OVER THE COURSE OF THAT TIME?

JAMES: IT HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE COURSE OF THAT TIME.

WE HAD DONE A FILM IN FRONTLINE CALLED "POWER THE FED."

WE HAVE TAKEN BITS AND PIECES FROM THAT OLD FILM, AND THAT FILM WAS REALLY DONE AFTER COVID, AFTER THE FED HAD COME IN TO AN ENORMOUS DEGREE WITH TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO RESCUE THE MARKETS, THE FINANCIAL MARKETS AND THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM DURING COVID.

AND IT CAUGHT OUR EYE BECAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS SO EXTRAORDINARY, THAT WAS SO UNDER COVERED.

SO MANY THINGS WHERE NEEDED COVERAGE.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE WE WERE LIKE, THAT MUST MEAN SOMETHING.

MUST BE SOME REASON WHY THEY NEEDED TO SPEND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO SHORE UP THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.

WE DID A FILM, IT WAS ONE HOUR FILL, THAT AIRED IN JULY OF 2021.

INTO IT WAS OUR INITIAL LOOK AT THINGS.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY, BECAUSE THAT FILM TO LOOK -- THAT FILM LOOKED AT THE EASY MONEY EXPERIMENT, AND WE WERE STILL IN A BOOM TIME.

BUT THEN WE HAVE HAD INFLATION, THE FED HAS HAD TO RAISE RATES.

WE REALLY NOW HAVE A FULL NARRATIVE ARC OF THIS 14 YEARS, AND THIS EXTRAORDINARY ECONOMIC EXPERIMENT THEY HAVE BEEN RUNNING.

EDGAR: 14 YEARS IS OBVIOUSLY A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME, AND OVER THE TWO HOURS OF THIS FILM, WE REALLY SEE HOW MANY AREAS OF OUR LIVES THIS, AS YOU CALL IT, EASY MONEY POLICY HAS IMPACTED.

A LOT OF TAKEAWAYS.

I WANT TO DRAW ON THE THINGS THAT STRUCK OUT -- STUCK OUT TO ME IN THE FILM.

ONE IS THAT THERE IS, RUNNING THROUGH THE WHOLE THING, THERE IS WHAT I THINK OF AS LIKE A CAT AND MOUSE GAME HAPPENING BETWEEN THE FED AND THE STOCK MARKET.

THERE IS ALL OF THESE POLICIES THAT HAPPEN, THE FED DOES SOMETHING BECAUSE THEY THINK THE STOCK MARKET IS GOING TO DO THIS THING IN RESPONSE, THEN SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS AND IT COMES BACK TO THE FED, AND THEY HAVE TO ADJUST.

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS CAT AND MOUSE GAME WITH THE FED AND STOCK MARKET?

JAMES: THAT IS A GOOD WAY OF PUTTING IT, AS A CAT AND MOUSE GAME.

WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT ALL OF THIS EASY MONEY, THIS FLOOD OF MONEY INTO THE SYSTEM AND LOW RATES, REALLY HAS STIMULATED THE STOCK MARKET.

THE STOCK MARKET AND BOND MARKET AND ALL MARKETS LOVE IT.

ASSET PRICES HAVE BEEN GOING UP AND UP FOR THE PAST 14 YEARS, UP UNTIL RECENTLY.

WHAT HAPPENED WAS THESE WERE INITIALLY EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES THAT WERE TAKEN, ALMOST EMERGENCY MEASURES THAT WERE TAKEN IN THE WAKE OF THE 2008 CRISIS, TO SHORE UP THE BANKING SYSTEM AND TO STOP A STOCK MARKET CRASH IN THE MAKING, AND EFFORT A CATASTROPHE.

OF COURSE, YOU DO THIS EMERGENCY MEASURE ONCE.

IT WORKS REALLY WELL.

THE MARKETS BECOME ADDICTED.

KIND OF THE CAT AND MOUSE GAME IS THAT THE FED HAS OVER THE YEARS TRIED TO PULL BACK ON THESE POLICIES, RAISE RATES A LITTLE BIT, PULL AWAY THESE EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.

IN THE MARKETS THROW WHAT IS CALLED A TANTRUM, A TAPER TANTRUM, AND THEY HAVE DONE IT A FEW TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THESE 14 YEARS WE HAVE DOMINANT -- WE HAVE DOCUMENTED A COUPLE TIMES IN THE FILM.

IT SPEAKS TO THIS ADDICTION OUR FINANCIAL MARKETS HAVE.

AND JUST OUR BROADER ECONOMY TO THESE VERY EASY MONEY POLICIES.

EDGAR: OVER THE LAST 14 PLUS YEARS, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN INCOME INEQUALITY.

THAT IS SOMETHING YOU ADDRESS IN THE FILM.

AT ONE POINT YOU VISITED A FOOD BANK IN PHOENIX.

AT THIS POINT, YOU TALK ABOUT THE EASY MONEY POLICY, AND NOW YOU ARE SAYING THEY STARTED TO RAISE INTEREST RATES BECAUSE THERE IS THIS INFLATION PROBLEM THAT HAS HAPPENED.

IT IS THE INFLATION PROBLEM IN PHOENIX THAT IS CAUSING MORE OF AN ISSUE THAN COVID DID IN TERMS OF THE NUMBERS THEY ARE SEEING, PEOPLE WHO ARE INCOME CHALLENGE TO HER USING THIS FOOD IN PHOENIX.

AT THE SAME TIME, THROUGH THE COURSE OF THIS FILM, YOU SAY EASY MONEY, I HEAR THESE ECONOMISTS SAYING THINGS LIKE, THERE IS TOO MUCH MONEY OUT THERE, SO MUCH MONEY SLOSHING AROUND.

THERE IS THIS DISCONNECT BETWEEN THIS IDEA WHERE THERE IS ALL THIS MONEY, AND WE HAVE THIS INCOME INEQUALITY.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?

JAMES: ONE OF THE MAIN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IS THESE POLICIES WERE WELL INTENDED.

THEY WERE INTENDED TO TRY TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH, TRY TO GROW THE -- TO GET WAGES UP FOR MIDDLE AND LOWER INCOME LEVEL AMERICANS.

AND WHAT WE HAVE SEEN INSTEAD, HOWEVER, IS WE HAVE THIS WIDENING GAP BETWEEN THE FINANCIAL ECONOMY AND THE REAL ECONOMY.

THAT DISPARITY IS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE VERY KEEN TO POINT OUT OVER AND OVER.

IN THESE YEARS WHERE WALL STREET HAS GONE GANGBUSTERS, THANKS TO THESE POLICIES, AND WE HAD SEEN ASSET PRICES, STOCK MARKET, HOUSING MARKET, ANYONE WHO OWNS ASSETS HAS SEEN THEIR WEALTH SOARE.

PEOPLE WITHOUT ASSETS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING BEHIND.

WAGES HAVE NOT BEEN RISING, ONLY VERY RECENTLY HAVE WAGES BEEN RISING FOR BASICALLY LOWER AND MEDICAL HIM -- MIDDLE INCOME PEOPLE.

THE IRONY IS THAT NOW THAT THE FED IS PULLING BACK ON EASING MONEY AND TRYING TO GET INFLATION UNDER CONTROL, WHILE OF COURSE THE PEOPLE HURT MOST BY THAT WILL BE THE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR SOCIETY.

IT IS GOING TO BE PEOPLE WHOSE JOBS ARE MORE PRECARIOUS AND LIVELIHOODS ARE MORE PRECARIOUS WHO WILL BE AFFECTED BY HIGHER RATES.

IT IS A REAL BIND.

EDGAR: HAVE COURSE, YOU CAN'’T DIVORCE ECONOMY FROM POLITICS.

YOU DON'’T IN THIS FILM.

THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS ARE WIDE-RANGING.

IT IS ALMOST EASY TO FORGET, ONE OF THE THINGS THIS FILM ADDRESSES IS THE FACT THAT HE HAVE BEEN IN THIS PERIOD OF POLITICAL DIVISIVENESS FOR SOME TIME.

RIGHT NOW, IT HAS CENTERED AROUND THESE CULTURE WARS.

TALK ABOUT HOW THE ROOTS OF THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE VERY MUCH FINANCIALLY DRIVEN.

IT HAD TO DO WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDED TO THE 2008 CRISIS.

THAT WAS A DRIVING -- DRIVER OF THE TEA PARTY AT THE BEGINNING.

THE SAME TIME, YOU POINT OUT THE FACT THAT POLITICAL INTRACTABILITY HAS SOMEWHAT ALTERED THE WAY THE FED IS BEHAVING, AND THEY ARE STARTING TO DO THINGS THAT MAY BE WERE OUTSIDE OF THEIR MANDATE, IF WE THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING 20 YEARS AGO.

EDGAR: THAT IS PERFECTLY PUT.

WE REALLY DO MAKE A LOT OF THE TEA PARTY MOMENT IN 2010.

THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS PROPELLING THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT.

WE REALLY FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMIC DRIVERS.

THERE WAS A GENUINE ANGER IN THIS COUNTRY, NOT JUST WITH THE TEA PARTY, BUT ALSO OCCUPY WALL STREET, ON THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT, ABOUT THE BANK BAILOUTS.

ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE WAS THIS COMPLETELY UNFAIR RESPONSE TO THE 2008 CRISIS, WHERE ORDINARY AMERICANS LOSE THEIR HOME, YOU HAVE BANKERS THAT ARE NOT HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR BRINGING THE ECONOMY TO THE BRINK.

THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT WAS A MOVEMENT OF NO.

THEY REALLY DID NOT LIKE THE $800 BILLION STIMULUS THAT OBAMA HAD PASSED IN THE WAKE OF THE CRISIS.

THEY SAW BIG GOVERNMENT AND BIG BAILOUTS AS A BIG PROBLEM.

THEY PROPELLED INTO POWER WITH THE REPUBLICANS IN 2010, REALLY THWART THE OBAMA AGENDA, AND WE HAVE ALWAYS -- THERE HAS BEEN A COUPLE OF DECADES OF INCREASING POLITICAL DYSFUNCTION AND PARTISAN POLITICS IN THIS COUNTRY.

BUT REALLY AT THAT POINT IN TIME, IT WENT INTO OVERDRIVE.

AND THE FED FILLED THE VOID WHEN IT CAME TO ECONOMIC POLICY.

BASICALLY, NO MAJOR ECONOMIC POLICY COULD GET DONE IN WASHINGTON AFTER THAT POINT.

EDGAR: 10 YEARS AFTER THIS DON OF THE AGE OF EASY MONEY, WE ARE 10 YEARS INTO AN ERA OF EASY MONEY AND THE COVID CRISIS HITS, AND WE HAVE THIS YET AGAIN, HUGE INFUSION OF MONEY INTO OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

WE HAVE A CUT FROM THE FILM WITH A COUPLE ECONOMISTS ADDRESSING WHAT HAPPENED AS COVID HIT.

>> PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF, LIKE LARRY SUMMERS AND OTHERS, SAW THAT MASSIVE STIMULUS -- IT WAS UNPRECEDENTED -- IN THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE GREATER THAN THE ONE WE HAD AFTER THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS.

IT LED TO EXCESSIVE DEMAND OVERHEATING, AND INFLATION.

>> SAW A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE CONSPIRING TO THE TWO HIGH PRICES.

MANY OF THOSE FACTORS WOULD FADE AWAY OVER TIME.

SUPPLY CHAINS WE SAW WERE GETTING GUMMED UP.

>> ANY RAT ABOUT NOT TAKING THE FOOT OFF THE PEDAL, SEEING WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS DOING AT THAT POINT?

>> KNOWING WHAT I KNOW NOW, ABSOLUTELY.

EDGAR: INTERESTING STUFF.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR HEAD AROUND THIS?

JAMES: WHAT HAPPENED WAS THERE WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSE BY THE FED AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE PANDEMIC.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DID THE CARES ACT, THE LARGEST ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL IN U.S. HISTORY.

$2.2 TRILLION OF AID FOR AMERICANS THAT WERE -- OBVIOUSLY, OUR ECONOMY IT WAS PUT INTO A COMA.

THE FED WAS DOING TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF STIMULUS INTO THE BANKING SYSTEM, QUANTITATIVE EASING, THIS TOOL THEY USED TO KEEP RATES DOWN AND KEEP MONEY FLOWING.

IT WAS ALL OF THIS MONEY GOING OUT THERE, AND THEN BIDEN COMES IN, DOES MORE STIMULUS.

AND WE ALL REMEMBER IT, BUT THERE WERE SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS, THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF THINGS AND WEIRD THINGS IN THE ECONOMY AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC.

YOU HAD ALL OF THIS MONEY FLOWING INTO THE SYSTEM, CREATING ECONOMIC DEMAND, WHICH IS GOOD.

HOWEVER, YOU HAVE ALL SORTS OF SUPPLY PROBLEMS AND THE ECONOMICS 101 IS TOO MUCH MONEY CHASING TOO FEW GOODS OR SERVICES, YOU GET PRICE HIKES, INFLATION.

WE GOT INFLATION.

THOSE EXCHANGES, NOURI ELA RIVER WAS ONE OF THE ECONOMISTS OUT THERE WITH LARRY SUMMERS FROM HARVARD, BASICALLY SAYING LOOK, WE HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS, BECAUSE INFLATION MAY BE A PROBLEM.

IT HAS NOT BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE THE 1970'’S AND EARLY 1980'’S, BUT MAY BE A PROBLEM AGAIN.

THE FED WAS CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED.

THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE WHAT THEY CALLED TRANSITORY.

THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS SORT OF A TEMPORARY BLIP.

BUT IT VERY QUICKLY PROVED NOT TO BE, AND THEY WERE LATE IN THE GAME IN TAKING THEIR FOOT OFF THE PEDAL.

EDGAR: AND OF COURSE, THAT LEADS US TO TODAY.

INFLATION HAPPENING FOR THOSE OF US ON THE GROUND, BUT A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO ANOTHER BANKING CRISIS THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH.

YOUR FILM ENDS, I DON'’T WANT TO SAY IT IS A CLIFFHANGER, BUT IT IS A SOMEWHAT OMINOUS NOTE.

THE FILM IS MORE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK THEN IT IS THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS.

THERE IS THIS LOOMING SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN BECAUSE WE HAVE TO CHANGE, OR WE ARE IN THE BEGINNINGS OF CHANGING THE WAY WE DO THINGS.

IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU WERE FAIRLY PRESCIENT AND?

HERE WE ARE LAST WEEK WITH SERIOUS BANKING THINGS HAPPENING.

JAMES: IT WAS A LITTLE BIT WILD, I HAVE TO SAY.

THERE IS SORT OF PHYSICS TO THIS.

THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS INTEREST RATES, WE DON'’T OFTEN THINK ABOUT IT, AND IT IS NOT SOMETHING I THINK ABOUT IT IN MY DAILY LIFE.

THEY ARE THE GRAVITY IN THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, IT IS THE PRICE OF BORROWING, THE PRICE OF MONEY.

IF INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN KEPT AT A LOW RATE FOR 14 YEARS, AND AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM CALIBRATES TO THAT, IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, OF COURSE THERE IS GOING TO BE A MASSIVE EFFECT WHEN YOU PULL BACK ON THAT.

AND YOU HIKE RATES.

WE DIDN'’T KNOW THE TIMING OF IT, BUT WE KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE RIPPLE EFFECTS AND LAG EFFECTS FROM THAT, AND IT JUST HAPPENED THAT 3, 4 DAYS BEFORE THE FILM WAS SET TO AIR, WE HAD A LOCKED CUT, WE HAD TO REOPEN IT BECAUSE, GUESS WHAT?

A BANK COLLAPSES BECAUSE IT HAD NOT MANAGED ITS INTEREST RATE RISKS.

AND SO, THEN THE FED STETSON, EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID THE BAR WOULD BE HIGH FOR STEPPING IN IN SUCH A CRISIS.

WE WERE ON THE NEWS WITH SOMETHING THAT WE HAD WORKED TWO YEARS ON.

WE DID NOT KNOW THE TIMING, OF COURSE.

BUT IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME.

AS I SAID ABOUT THE CLIFFHANGER ASPECT OF THIS, UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE SORT OF IN THE EARLY INNINGS OF THIS.

WHEN THE FED RAISES RATES, THESE ARE VERY BLUNT INSTRUMENTS.

IT TAKES TIME TO CYCLE THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

I THINK THERE IS MORE DISRUPTION TO COME.

I DON'’T WE ARE NECESSARILY IN A CRISIS, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO WATCH THIS VERY CAREFULLY.

AND THE FED, AND CERTAINLY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, ARE ALL DOING THAT.

EDGAR: THE DOCUMENTARY FROM FRONT LINE IS "AGE OF EASY MONE ."

JAMES JACOBY, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

JAMES: THANK YOU SO MUCH.

EDGAR: CONFINED THE FILM ONLINE AT PBS.ORG/FRONTLINE.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS BEHIND US, OR IS IT?

IT MIGHT BE 28 SHORT DAYS IN FEBRUARY FOR SOME, BUT FOR LOCAL YOUTUBER JAZZ DOTTIN ENTER THOUSANDS OF SUBSCRIBERS, EVERY MONTH IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

THE SELF-DECLARED HOBBY HISTORIAN TAKES HER VIEWERS ON TOURS OF LANDMARKS ACROSS THE STATE, SHARING WELL AND LESSER-KNOWN STORIES OF BLACK HISTORICAL FIGURES IN MASSACHUSETTS ON HER YOUTUBE PAGE BLACK GEMS ON EARTH.

JAZZ: TODAY, I AM BACK IN THE NORTH END, BUT THIS TIME, HANGING OUT WITH PAUL REVERE.

TODAY, MY SWEET TOOTH HAS BROUGHT ME BACK UP TO THE NORTH SHORE TO MARBLEHEAD.

ISN'’T IT BEAUTIFUL?

I CAME OUT HERE TO FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS OF COUGH WALKER.

THOSE WHO HAVE SPENT A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IN THE STATE HAVE LEFT THEIR MARKET -- MARK HERE AND BEYOND AS ACTIVISTS.

AS ARTISTS.

AS EDUCATORS.

AS INNOVATORS.

AND MORE.

EDGAR: JAZZ DOTTIN JOINS ME NOW.

WELCOME.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

JAZZ: THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

EDGAR: SELF-DESCRIBED HOBBY HISTORIAN.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

JAZZ: NO FORMAL TRAINING, I JUST ENJOY READING BOOKS, LEARNING ABOUT PEOPLE, THEIR HISTORY, THEIR CULTURE.

THAT IS WHY I ALWAYS HAVE MY SOURCES SO YOU CAN FACT CHECK.

EDGAR: DID THIS PROJECT GET STARTED?

THIS IS A FEW YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THIS.

WHAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THIS ENDEAVOR?

JAZZ: IN 2020, I HAD A LOT OF TIME ON MY HANDS.

AND I THOUGHT THAT PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE BLACK HISTORY, SEEING HOW GEORGE FLOYD WAS MURDERED AND PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO GET A GRASP ON THE INJUSTICE.

SINCE I HAD BEEN LEARNING BLACK HISTORY SINCE I MOVED BACK HOME TO MASSACHUSETTS, I HAD A LOT OF I DECIDED TO TAKE MY SMARTPHONE, GO OUTSIDE, AND FILM WHAT I KNOW.

EDGAR: WHERE DO YOU FIND THESE SUBJECTS TO TALK ABOUT?

WHERE DO YOU FIND THESE GEMS TO UNEARTH?

IS IT A LOT OF READING?

IS ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR STUFF?

HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR SUBJECTS?

JAZZ: I FIRST START WITH ABOUT.

IT LOOK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY AROUND MASSACHUSETTS.

THAT BOOK WAS AMAZING.

SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.

I STARTED WITH THAT BOOK, FOUND PEOPLE WHO WERE INTERESTING, LOOKED TO SEE WHAT I COULD FIND OUT THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND LOOKED TO SEE WHERE ELSE THEIR STORIES WERE IN PDFS ONLINE AND GOING TO THE LIBRARY.

EDGAR: ONCE YOU COME ACROSS A PERSON OR STORY OR AN EVENT THAT CATCHES YOUR EYE, WHAT HAPPENS THEN?

JAZZ: I GO DOWN A RABBIT HOLE.

[LAUGHTER] I GO DEEP IN THE INTERNET.

EDGAR: I RESPECT THAT SO MUCH.

FOR YOU, GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A RABBIT HOLE.

YOU ARE SEARCHING, SCOURING THE INTERNET,, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

JAZZ: THE RABBIT HOLE STARTS WITH FINDING A PERSON'’S NAME, GOING ON WIKIPEDIA AND GOING DOWN TO THE SOURCES AT THE BOTTOM, TO SEE WHERE THOSE LINKS LEAD.

THEN I MIGHT LIKE -- MIGHT LOOK AT THE LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BECAUSE THEY USUALLY HAVE A PLETHORA OF INFORMATION.

THEN I HAVE GONE ONTO THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE WEBSITE, AND LOOKED THROUGH THEIR INFORMATION ON HOUSE RECORDS IN ORDER TO SEE HOW I COULD TRACE BACK TO WHERE THAT PERSON ONCE LIVED OR SPENT TIME, SO I CAN STAND RIGHT THERE AND BE ROOTED IN THE HISTORY.

EDGAR: DO YOU EVER FIND IT A CHALLENGE TO GET ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS CAUGHT YOUR EYE?

AND YOU ARE LIKE, I REALLY WANT TO TELL THE STORY, BUT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH THERE.

JAZZ: I DON'’T KNOW IF I WOULD SAY NOT ENOUGH THERE, BUT I MIGHT WANT TO GET MORE DETAILS THAT I CAN'’T FIND ACCESS TO.

I HAVE NOT FIGURED MY WAY AROUND ARCHIVES.

I'’M HOPING THIS YEAR TO GO TO AN ARCHIVE JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS ARE LAID OUT, HOW TO ASK FOR THE INFORMATION.

IT IS A LITTLE INTIMIDATING.

I'’M NOT A HISTORIAN, SO I HAVE NOT GONE INSIDE ANY OF THESE PLACES.

EDGAR: WHY THESE YOUTUBE VIDEOS?

WHY THAT AS YOUR PREFERRED FORMAT FOR HOW TO GET THIS OUT THERE?

THERE IS A MILLION WAYS YOU COULD DO THIS.

YOU COULD WRITE A BLOG, PUT SMALL POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

BUT YOU HAVE THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND IT RANGES.

SOME OF THESE ARE FOUR OR FIVE MINUTES, SOME OF THEM ARE LIKE 20 MINUTES.

WHY THAT AS YOUR PREFERRED METHOD OF SHARING THESE THINGS YOU ARE LEARNING?

JAZZ: I FIND IT IS EASIER TO LEARN WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING A VIDEO OR LAISSEZ, AND ACTUALLY SEEING THE PLACE.

I THOUGHT ABOUT DOING BLOGS IN THE PAST.

BUT EVERY TIME I GO ONTO A BLOG, I READ THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

I DON'’T GET ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

I THINK VIDEOS ARE A MORE ENGAGING WAY TO CAPTURE PEOPLE'’S ATTENTION.

IT IS HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING UP A PERSON, LIKE THROUGH GOOGLE SEARCH, THEY ARE ABLE TO PULL STUFF FROM YOUTUBE TO GIVE PEOPLE VIDEOS ON THE STUFF THEY ARE LOOKING FOR.

EDGAR: IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING.

SOME OF THESE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VIEWS.

AND THE COMMENT SECTIONS ARE LIKE, THERE IS TONS OF COMMENTS ON A LOT OF THESE.

THAT PARTIALLY SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT AS YOU SAY, EVEN IN THE TITLE, "BLACK GEMS UNEARTHED " A LOT OF THESE ARE LIKE REALLY COMPELLING STORIES THAT ARE PRETTY UNDER TOLD.

THAT ARE NOT WIDELY KNOWN.

JAZZ: I'’M HOPING THAT THROUGH THE VIDEOS, PEOPLE WILL GO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND START TO BUILD THAT REPETITION, SO THEY DO BECOME WIDELY KNOWN.

I WOULD LIKE TO DROP THE UNEARTH AND JUST BE "BLACK GEMS."

JUST LET THEM BE KNOWN.

EDGAR: LET'’S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE BLACK GEMS YOU HAVE TAKEN ON.

PRINCE HALL, AN AMERICAN PATRIOT AND ABOLITIONIST, A FOUNDER OF BLACK FREEMASONRY.

TELL US ABOUT HIM.

JAZZ: I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE FREEMASONS AND ABOUT PRINCE HALL FREEMASONRY.

BUT THEY DID NOT NECESSARILY KNOW ABOUT THE PERSON.

FINDING OUT THAT HE WAS FROM MASSACHUSETTS AND FOUNDED FREEMASONRY RATE HERE IN BOSTON, RIGHT AT THE SAME TIME AS THE COUNTRY WAS GOING INTO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, I THOUGHT, WE NEED TO MAKE THIS INTO A VIDEO, AND I WILL SHOW THE PLACES WHERE THIS MAN WAS A LEATHER WORKER, ACTUALLY PROTESTED AND GOT HIS BROTHERS TO SIGN PETITIONS TO END SLAVERY.

TO END THE KIDNAPPING OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

AND ALSO TO GET SCHOOLS TO GET EDUCATION PAID FOR WITHIN BOSTON FOR BLACK CHILDREN.

I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND THE ORGANIZATION.

EDGAR: AND WHY DO YOU THINK -- YOU SAID PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT FREEMASONRY BUT MAYBE NOT ABOUT THIS VERY IMPORTANT FIGURE IN BOSTON HISTORY.

WHY DON'’T WE KNOW ABOUT HIM MORE?

JAZZ: I THINK PEOPLE HEAR THE MASONS AND THEY THINK, SECRET SOCIETY AND THAT IS IT.

THEY LEAVE IT ALONE.

EDGAR: JUST WENT TO STEP AWAY, LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

JAZZ: NOT GET INTO WHAT THEY DO AND THEIR ORGANIZING.

I THINK SOME OF THE SECRECY IS PART OF WHY.

WHEN PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT BOSTON AND THE STORIES THAT WE TELL, IT IS JUST SO WHITE FOCUSED.

PEOPLE HAVE NOT DECIDED TO EXPAND THE NARRATIVE ENOUGH.

IT IS ALWAYS AN AFTERTHOUGHT.

EDGAR: ANOTHER BLACK GEM, KATIE KNOX.

TELL ME ABOUT KATIE KNOX.

JAZZ: KATIE KNOX IS MY FAVORITE.

EDGAR: WHY?

JAZZ: I AM A CYCLIST, I RIDE A BICYCLE AROUND CAMBRIDGE.

I LIVED IN CAMBRIDGE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

I FOUND IT AMAZING TO LEARN THIS BIRACIAL WOMAN LIVED IN CAMBRIDGE, RODE THE SAME ROUTE I WOULD TAKE FROM CAMBRIDGE TO BOSTON EVERY DAY, AND THAT SHE BROKE THE COLOR BARRIER WHEN SHE WAS IN THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN WILLMAN, AND WENT TO THEIR ANNUAL MEET IN 1895 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SHE SHOWED UP WITH A BIKE THAT HAD A DROP BAR, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL FOR WOMEN TO BE WRITING BANK.

JUST HEARING HOW SHE LAYS HER OWN TRAIL, I HAD TO TELL THE STORY.

EDGAR: WHERE DID YOU COME ACROSS THAT?

WAS THAT IN THIS BOOK YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?

JAZZ: THIS WAS IN THE BOSTON CYCLING CRAZE BOOK, BY LARRY FINIS AND.

I FOUND HIS CONTACT INFORMATION AND WAS LIKE, LARRY, WANT TO BE IN MY VIDEO?

JOIN ME.

ALONG WITH ANOTHER GENTLEMAN.

EDGAR: DO YOU DO A FAIR AMOUNT OF REACHING OUT TO OTHER SOURCES, PEOPLE WHO HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THE SUBJECTS OR WHAT HAVE YOU AND INVITE THEM TO BE PART OF IT?

JAZZ: I DO HERE AND THERE.

I DON'’T USUALLY WANT TO TAKE AWAY PEOPLE'’S TIME.

BUT I WILL SEND AN EMAIL AND SEE IF THEY RESPOND AN AMOUNT.

EDGAR: ONE MORE, LET'’S TALK ABOUT JOSEPH AND LUCRETIA BROWN.

TELL ME ABOUT THEM.

JAZZ: UP IN MARBLEHEAD, I FOUND IT AMAZING THAT THERE WAS A BLACK COUPLE THAT OWNED AND OPERATED THEIR OWN TAVERN.

JOSEPH WAS A REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN, AND LUCRETIA WAS A WOMAN THAT WAS BORN FREE.

IN THE TWO OF THEM HAD THIS TAVERN THAT WAS UP ON THE GINGERBREAD HILL, WHERE THEY ENTERTAINED PEOPLE AND PROVIDED THEM WITH DELICIOUS FOOD, INCLUDING A COOKIE THAT LUCRETIA CREATED, CALLED THE JOE FROG OR, AFTER HER HUSBAND.

IT IS MADE WITH MOLASSES, RUM, SPICES, THAT PEOPLE COULD SMELL FROM FAR AWAY.

I LOVE FOOD.

SO I HAD TO TALK ABOUT THIS.

I LOVE COOKIES.

EDGAR: THAT IS EXCELLENT STUFF.

GIVE US A PREVIEW, WHAT?

IS COMING DOWN THE PIKE?

?

WHAT DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR RADAR WE MIGHT SEE ON YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS TO COME?

JAZZ: THIS SUMMER, I'’M HOPING TO SHARE MUSIC.

I HAVE REALLY BEEN ENJOYING PEOPLE THAT SPENT TIME IN MASSACHUSETTS FROM JAZZ ARTISTS TO DISCO TO HIP-HOP.

I'’M HOPING TO SHARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE BETTER KNOWN AND THAT ARE LESSER-KNOWN TOO.

EDGAR: JAZZ DOTTIN, "BLACK GEMS UNEARTHED."

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR WORK WITH US TODAY.

JAZZ: THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

EDGAR: FIND MORE OF HER WORK, HEADED TO BL ACKGEMSUNEARTHED.COM.

THAT IS IT FOR TONIGHT.

COME BACK TOMORROW.

BOSTON'’S ENVIRONMENT CHIEF WILL JOIN US ON AN URGENT NEW CLIMATE REPORT OUT OF THE U.N., AND THE NEED TO ACT FAST TO PROTECT THE PLANET AND ITS MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.

PLUS, THE PRESIDENT OF BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'’S HOSPITAL ON HIS FIRST YEAR ON THE JOB, AND HIS EXPERIENCE WITH RACIAL DISPARITIES IN MEDICINE.

THAT IN MORE TOMORROW AT 7:00.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

I AM EDGAR B. HERWICK III.

HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.