Meet Spenser

Born on Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia,

Dr. Spenser Simrill Jr, is the creator of the Once Removed podcast and a TEDx speaker on racial healing. His research has informed reconciliation efforts in Northern Ireland, Liberia, and across the American South—culminating in the first historical marker in South Carolina to mention the Ku Klux Klan.

His work has appeared on CNN’s The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Audible Originals, The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and TEDx Asheville.

His students have won multiple international competitions, including two wins and an honorable mention in The New York Times Best Student Podcast Contest. Spenser lives with his family in Arden, North Carolina, and teaches at Christ School.


Meet Michael

Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, his ancestral home—

Michael Simril is an historical interpreter, community organizer, musician, and stylist. During the Revolutionary War, his enslaved forebears made cannonballs for the Patriot army. During Reconstruction, they testified against the Ku Klux Klan in federal court, then migrated to Liberia, West Africa.

Michael’s story has been featured on CNN’s The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, the Audible Original podcast Once Removed, and in a TEDx Asheville talk on racial healing. In his free time, he enjoys genealogy, fishing, meditation, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.