Part 5: A Fall from Grace

One fall from grace sparks Wilmot James’s reinvention and rise as a global health leader.

Wilmot James reflects on his one fall from grace. After Wilmot’s private letter about President Thabo Mbeki is leaked, Mbeki strikes back and derails Wilmot’s career. Mbeki, rejecting Mandela’s vision for nation building, sowed the seeds for a divided South Africa. One side rich and white, the other poor and black. Wilmot recounts an eye-opening story about the severe costs of speaking truth to power and the lessons he learned from his mistakes. With a courageous return to public life, he enters Parliament during Jacob Zuma’s presidency as the national stakes mount: he visits hospitals and laboratories on the front lines of public health, fights to contain corruption under South Africa’s president, and watches Ebola burn through West Africa. Wilmot discovers that the failure to lead is not a medical failure, but a moral one. Wanting to do more, Wilmot fights back and reinvents himself as a global health leader, dedicating his life to learning and public service.

REELBLUE AND COCOON AUDIO

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PANDEMIC CENTER AND THE BROWN POLITICAL REVIEW

PRESENT LISTENING TO SHADOWS

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE BENTLEY HOLT, ALICE IM AND CLARA BAISINGER-ROSEN

PRODUCTION SUPPORT JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER JR. LIBRARY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JENNIFER GALVIN AND BART WARSHAW

ILLUSTRATION BY ROKIA WHITEHOUSE, LYDIA SMITHEY AND ORLA MAXWELL

SOUND DESIGN AND AUDIO MIXING BY BART WARSHAW

EDITED BY JENNIFER GALVIN AND BART WARSHAW

WRITTEN BY WILMOT JAMES AND JENNIFER GALVIN

NARRATED BY WILMOT JAMES

DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY JENNIFER GALVIN

SPECIAL THANKS TO JENNIFER NUZZO AND JESSIE GRAHAM

MUSIC BY BLUEDOT AUDIO