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Podcasts The Frame
Revisiting the promise and the tragedy of Robert F. Kennedy
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Episode 18455
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Revisiting the promise and the tragedy of Robert F. Kennedy

On today's show: 50 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, filmmaker Dawn Porter talks about her Netflix docu-series, "Bobby Kennedy For President"; until recently, singer-guitarist Naia Izumi could barely survive by performing on the streets of L.A. Now, he’s on his very first national tour after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Song Contest.

From "Bobby Kennedy for President," a Netflix documentary series directed by Dawn Porter.
From "Bobby Kennedy for President," a Netflix documentary series directed by Dawn Porter.
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Netflix
)

Here's what we've got on today's episode:

Revisiting the promise and the tragedy of Robert F. Kennedy

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He died early the next morning. Now, 50 years later, filmmaker Dawn Porter has captured his life and legacy in the Netflix docuseries, "Bobby Kennedy For President." She talks with John Horn about RFK's commitment to social justice and how human rights activists including Dolores Huerta, John Lewis and Marian Wright influenced his thinking about income inequality, race relations and labor rights in America. To watch this series, which is compiled from hundreds of hours of footage, is to see a man shot down at the height of his personal evolution and causes you to wonder: What if he'd lived?

Guest: filmmaker Dawn Porter

From sidewalk busking to a national tour

Up until recently, singer-guitarist Naia Izumi was barely making enough money from performing on the streets of L.A. to pay for rent and food. Now, he’s in the midst of his very first tour of the U.S., playing a string of sold-out shows after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. The Frame contributor Steven Cuevas recently sat in on a rehearsal session with Izumi.