The newest episode of The Oprah Conversation is a two-parter that features Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Isabel Wilkerson’s book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Oprah sits down with Wilkerson and a virtual audience “for an illuminating discussion about the themes of the book and a deeper dive about truth, reflection and hope for humanity.”

In “Caste: Part 1,” Winfrey, Wilkerson, and a panel of readers discuss the concept that America is built on a caste system. “Caste: Part 2” continues the conversation as readers share stories of how the themes explored in Wilkerson’s book resonate with their lives and experiences.

Here’s the official description of the book: Drawing parallels between the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson outlines a revolutionary framework for understanding how caste plays out across civilizations, both historically and today. Backed by years of research, she identifies eight ideological pillars that underlie all caste systems. Using riveting stories from the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, an ordinary single father and his toddler son, and many others, Wilkerson shows how the insidious undertow of caste is experienced by each of us every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their debasement of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Watch an exclusive clip from the episode below:

Photo: Apple TV+