You’re listening to What Rough Beast!

We are Virginia Heffernan and Stephen Metcalf, and today we’re talking with the great writer and reporter John Jeremiah Sullivan. We discuss:

* John’s forthcoming book "The Prime Minister of Paradise" about Christian Gottlieb Priber, a radical Enlightenment thinker who established a utopian experiment among the Cherokee in 1730s America

* How Priber's vision for "Paradise" included revolutionary principles that were ahead of their time: religious tolerance, racial equality, democratic governance, and rejection of slavery

* The forgotten history of radical Enlightenment ideas in early America and how they influenced (but weren't fully embraced by) the founding fathers

* The parallel between today's political threats to democracy and the tension between enlightenment and anti-enlightenment forces that has existed throughout American history

* The importance of identifying and defending the core enlightenment principles that make the American experiment worth fighting for

What Rough Beast is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe