John Brown Today
John Brown Today is a podcast devoted to historical and contemporary themes relating to the abolitionist John Brown (1800-59), the controversial antislavery and antiracist freedom fighter. John Brown Today is hosted by Louis A. DeCaro Jr., a Brown biographer and researcher, the most prolific author on the John Brown theme since the abolitionist's death in 1859. John Brown Today engages a range of themes from history and biography to popular culture and other contemporary themes.
Episodes
47 episodes
The Cat Who Went to Kansas (and Other John Brown Animals)
In this episode, Lou discusses the animals--pets, livestock, and others who are part of the John Brown story, from the dogs of Harper's Ferry to a cat who went to Kansas. Just when you thought you'd heard everything about John Brown, huh?...
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14:39
Sick of Bonhoeffer? Why the USA Can Celebrate a German Martyr, But Not John Brown
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906, and was a German Lutheran pastor, a figure noted in the theological world for his neo-orthodox views, and his most popular book, The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer is more widely remembered as an an...
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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11:45
Back Again!
After the better of two years, John Brown Today is going back in production. This is just a brief message to greet listeners and to update them a bit, and thank them for maintaining an interest in this podcast. John Brown Today is coming back a...
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Season 6
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Episode 1
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5:09
The Legend of John Brown's Baby Kiss Revisited
In this episode, Lou does a deep dive evaluation of the legend of John Brown kissing a black baby on the day of his execution, a story that has been enshrined in poetry and paintings. Sharing his research on the topic, Lou considers...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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38:54
"From John Brown to James Brown": A Conversation with Ed Maliskas
In this episode, Lou shares a conversation with author Ed Maliskas, a musician, clergyman, and researcher, the author of
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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46:41
The Sellout of Harper's Ferry Station: The Difficult Case of Heyward Shepherd
In this episode, Lou takes on the difficult theme of Heyward Shepherd, the black porter who was mortally wounded by John Brown's men during the Harper's Ferry raid, on the night of October 16, 1859. Reviewing the initial incidents of the ...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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44:09
Reaction & Reflection: David Blight on John Brown - - "John Brown Terrorist or Hero?"
After an extended hiatus, Lou returns with a reaction & reflection upon the YouTube video, "John Brown: Terrorist or Hero?" which features a short lecture by the eminent historian David Blight. John Brown Today features the audio vers...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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52:07
What Did Blacks Really Think of John Brown? Kudos & Conflicts (Part 1)
In Part 1 of "What Did Blacks Really Think of John Brown?" Lou reflects upon the question of white allies, particularly in the case of John Brown's story. What did black leaders and other associates really think of John Brown? Re...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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30:32
What Did Blacks Really Think of John Brown? The Question of "Sambo Mistakes" (Part 2)
In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Lou reflects upon the question of white allies, particularly in the case of John Brown's story. What did black leaders and other associates really think of John Brown? Recalling Brown's devotio...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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28:06
Questioning John Brown’s Sanity: A Historical Thread Considered
Many people in the United States, especially (but not exclusively) white people, tend to think of John Brown as someone who was "crazy." In this episode, Lou surveys what he calls a historical "thread" regarding the alleged insanity of Brown.&n...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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48:50
John Brown’s Trial: The “Lost” Narrative of George H. Hoyt
In this episode, Lou presents a narrative written by John Brown's young lawyer, George H. Hoyt, written only a few years after the abolitionist's hanging. Hoyt went to join John Brown in Charlestown, Virginia (today West Va.) and support ...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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57:11
Why John Brown? A Biographer's Reflections in Response to a Thoughtful Critic
In this episode, Lou responds to the comments of a thoughtful but critical podcast listener who has well-stated reasons for asking, "why John Brown?" The question is a good one and Lou starts with personal and scholarly reflections on a r...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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44:00
Good Boy with a Gun: The Tragic Story of Will Leeman, A Harper’s Ferry Raider
In this episode, Lou does a deep dive into the story of William Leeman, the youngest of John Brown's Harper's Ferry raiders. From his origins in Maine to Kansas and his enlistment in John Brown's army, we look at the story of a young man ...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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48:00
"John Brown Has Been Lost to His Own Church": An Interview with Louis DeCaro Jr. by Dr. Chris Dost, July 10, 2021
In this episode, Lou is interviewed by Dr. Chris Dost, biblical scholar and pastor of the Northville Baptist Church in New Milford, Connecticut. This audio is excer...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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54:45
Biography: The Ups and Downs of Mr. Brown, 1835-1851
In this episode, Lou provides a slice of biography, zooming in on John Brown's personal and economic challenges as a frontier entrepreneur and his often forgotten comeback in the early 1840s. While overlooked by unstudied and prejudiced scholar...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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27:38
A Disparate Legacy: Oswald Garrison Villard and the John Brown Biography
To begin the fourth cycle of John Brown Today, Lou reflects upon the life and contribution of Brown biographer, Oswald Garrison Villard, whose life of John Brown was first published in 1910. As Lou argues, Villard did a great favor to historica...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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39:45
Interrogating History: The Mayflower, “America,” and John Brown
In this episode, Lou reflects upon the critical thesis of the late Gabriel Moran (1935-2021), who indefatigably pointed out the distinction between "America" as a dream (and as a vast continental land mass) and The United States of Americ...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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37:01
Light vs. Lies: The Real History of the Harper's Ferry Raid (with a Jan. 6th epilogue!)
In this episode, Lou revisits the Harper's Ferry raid of October 16, 1859, presents some preliminary thoughts on the contemporary perspective and then addresses a number of key points, along with a "January 6th" epilogue. The key points a...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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51:59
My John Brown Holiday Notes
In this episode Lou tries to answer the question, "Did John Brown celebrate Christmas?" This leads us to consider both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the antebellum era, what they represented to the North and South, respectively, and their...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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23:22
A Text For the Nation: John Brown Beyond Biography
In this episode, Lou reflects upon the 1859 words of abolitionist orator Wendell Phillips, that the hanged John Brown had "given this nation a text." Lou considers how W.E.B. DuBois used the abolitionist as a text in writing his biography...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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30:26
John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Moral Core: A Juxtaposition for December 2
In this episode, Lou reflects upon the "moral core" of Brown and Lincoln in juxtaposition. Mainly considering how these men are viewed in terms of religion and in regard to their roles in human liberation, Lou argues that Lincoln is neither a p...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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49:17
Explaining John Brown Correctly: A Conversation with Dan Morrison
In this episode Lou talks with Dan Morrison, a journalist and artist who lives in Torrington, Connecticut, the birthplace of John Brown. The basis of the conversation is Dan's recent explainer video, "Was John Brown a Terrorist?" an Ex...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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32:41
Mary Ellen Pleasant and "The Rule of Credible Evidence"
In this episode, Lou discusses the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant, an African American woman who has been lauded for her civil rights activities in 19th century San Francisco, but--more important to this podcast--claimed to have been a confidant ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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26:24
The Voices of the Past: A Conversation with Ian Barford (Part 2)
In this episode, Lou continues his conversation with friend Ian Barford, the actor and Brown-Douglass researcher. In this episode we discuss Ian's project on John Brown's relationship with Frederick Douglass and other black leaders of tha...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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24:41
The Voices of the Past: A Conversation with Ian Barford (Part 1)
Welcome back to John Brown Today! In this episode, the first of two parts, I'm talking with my friend, Ian Barford, a Tony-nominated actor who is also a John Brown enthusiast and, in his own right, quite a scholar and researcher. For some years...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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35:20