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.
Podcasting since 2020 • 50 episodes
John Brown Today
Latest Episodes
Echoes of Abolition: An Interview with Biographer and Cultural Historian David S. Reynolds
In this episode, Lou interviews the preeminent cultural historian of the 19th-century USA, David S. Reynolds. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of Reynolds...
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54:21
A "Secret Six" Tour: Discovering the Contemporary Origin of the Term
In this episode, I am inviting you on a peculiar historical tour of the term, "Secret Six." While John Brown students are accustomed to seeing this term used to speak of Brown's key supporters, this episode is about the origin of the term and i...
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24:46
Misusing John Brown: From Luigi Mangione to Christian Nationalism
In this episode, Lou discusses two recent online articles to illustrate how John Brown is often appropriated and misused by writers in discussing contemporary issues. The first article discussed is an effort to draw a parallel between Joh...
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36:09
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
Fan Mail
Professor! I am a new but huge fan, I recently discovered your podcast. I’m a veterinarian from CT and a Brownite to the core….made the pilgrimage from Torrington to North Elba and back again to Harper’s Ferry and I can’t get enough! Thanks for all the terrific content, looking forward to your books (just wrapping Oates, which I read after Horowitz). Happy Fourth, I like you I’m sure think of him today more than any of the other national heroes as the one we owe it all to!!! -James McNamara Redding, CT
Danbury, Connecticut