The divisions that have taken hold of the country are playing out not only in our public lives, but also in some of our closest relationships.
What drives the tensions are our very different answers to that perennial question: What do you do when you believe your country is heading the wrong direction?
In this episode, we look to history — and the story of a man who has been called “one of the most troubling figures in American History”— for insight.
Note: The cover image of John Brown is from a painting called Tragic Prelude, a mural painted in 1937 by John Steuart Curry for the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka.
Portrayals of Brown have changed over time. "From 1890 to about 1970 John Brown was insane. Before 1890 he was perfectly sane, and after 1970 he has slowly been regaining his sanity." —from Lies My Teacher Told Me, Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, byJames W. Loewen
Theme music: Fragilistic by Ketsa; licensed under CC BY NC ND 4.0
The music at the end of the episode is
Battle Hymn of the Republic Medley by Marisa Anderson
Free Music Archive, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US
