Jul 7, 2026 · 34 min · 11 segments
Historian and Smith College professor Elizabeth Pryor has spent much of her career studying the history of the N-word. Her father, legendary comedian Richard Pryor, made the word central to his work…
Geoff BennettHostHe literally told me I had to punch somebody out if they ever call me [laughs] the N-word.
And I was like, had two little pigtails and those little bobbles on the end, you know? And I'm like, "No."
[music] Our guest today is historian and Smith College professor Elizabeth Storter Pryor.
And today we're talking about her new book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me.
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He literally told me I had to punch somebody out if they ever call me [laughs] the N-word.
And I was like, had two little pigtails and those little bobbles on the end, you know? And I'm like, "No."
[music] Our guest today is historian and Smith College professor Elizabeth Storter Pryor.
And today we're talking about her new book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me.
