The Woman King by Leonard Wachikon

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Leonard Wachikon is an economist he teaches at Princeton. He served as an advisor on The Woman King because he is originally from Benin where the kingdom of Dahome used to be. One of the training centers of Amazons was actually about one mile from my hometown. And I realized later on that someone from my extended family called Essay was actually a female warrior.

The historical epic The Woman King, in theaters today, is set in the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. The kingdom’s elite all-female fighting force was evidence of its enlightened attitude toward women, but its participation in the transatlantic slave trade is a stain on its history. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and economist Leonard Wantchekon, a descendent of the women fighters, explain.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Tori Dominguez, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Amina Al-Sadi and Noel King, who also hosted.

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