Cover Image: Josephine Baker in La Folie du Jour - January 1926
Image in the public domain

June 3, 2026 was the 120th anniversary of Josephine Baker's birth.

On the eve of this auspicious occasion, Courtney Traub of Paris Unlocked released a 1 hour 14 minute podcast that takes an unvarnished look at Baker's life.  Called "Josephine Baker: Performer, Spy, Civil Rights Hero, Enigma," it is the fourth part of the Website's series entitled Great French Icons of the 20th Century.

On RSS.com, the podcast is cited as being the fifth episode of the first season of The French Culture Podcast, which is also hosted by Paris Unlocked.

I had not seen a single episode English-language podcast about Josephine that was so detailed and thoroughly researched before, and I was inspired to see what else the Internet had to offer about The Black Pearl.

It turns out that there is no shortage of recordings about her.

But I was surprised to find only one additional podcast in English!

Queens Podcast produced a two-part episode in December 2022.

Josephine Baker Part 1

Josephine Baker Part 2

Everything else I found was in French.

Josephine Baker
1939 Harcourt
Image in public domain

Here is the listing in reverse chronological order: 

Africaines Queens - Le rêve arc-en-ciel de Joséphine Baker (Josephine Baker's Rainbow Dream) - RFI - 1 episode - 2026

Le journal intime de Joséphine Baker (Josephine Baker's Intimate Diary) - France Musique - Radio France  - 7 episodes - 2025

Joséphine Baker, un destin français (Josephine Baker, A French Destiny) - RTL - 1 episode - 2025

Joséphine Baker, héroine résistante et activiste, une icône des Années folles au Panthéon - RTBF Audio  - 9 episodes - 2024

The Secret Life of Josephine Baker - French language lessons based on Josephine's life - France Duolingo - 6 episodes - 2023

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-96-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-la-danseuse

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-97-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-licone

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-98-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-la-cible

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-99-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-lespionne

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-100-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-la-resistante

https://podcast.duolingo.com/episode-101-the-secret-life-of-josephine-baker-josephine-lheroine

Joséphine Baker, l'insoumise (Josephine Baker, the Rebel) - France Culture - Radio France - 5 episodes - 2022

Joséphine Baker, une artiste inclassable au Panthéon (Josephine Baker, an unclassifiable artist at the Pantheon) - Le Monde - 2021