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In this episode, Lou speaks with Dan Morrison, the founder of the John Brown Project and a documentary filmmaker from Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown’s birthplace. Morrison details his work, including a community arts project that produced a 21st-century remix of the Civil War era song, "John Brown's Body" and his current musical documentary, "Pushing the Rock," which examines systemic racism in America and features interviews with historical figures’ descendants and scholars. The conversation heavily focuses on rehabilitating the historical reputation of abolitionist John Brown, countering common misconceptions that portray him as a terrorist, a failure, or insane, and advocating for white people to actively combat white supremacy as Brown did. They also discuss the recent conservative media backlash against Dr. Stacey Patton, a Howard University journalism professor who cited Brown as an example of a good white ally, further prompting their discussion about the ongoing struggle against misinformation and historical bias, especially relating to John Brown.

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In this episode, Lou breaks with the regular approach of this podcast to put a John Brown lens on pressing contemporary issues. He specifically addresses three main topics, arguing why John Brown would be an anti-Zionist due to the movement's oppressive colonial practices and its perceived anti-biblical, racialized nature; critiquing the notion that the recently murdered Charlie Kirk was a Christian martyr because of his white nationalist views and opposition to the Black civil rights tradition; and finally, condemning the Trump administration's attempts to revise history and minimize the violence and injustice of slavery. John Brown Today, Lou concludes, is a podcast devoted to the meaning of John Brown and therefore must serve as a platform to advocate for justice, truth-telling, and keeping his legacy alive in the face of modern political struggles.

To see an explainer video for this episode, check out the JOHN BROWN TODAY YouTube platform, and look for the short video entitled, "The John Brown Lens."

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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' landmark biography, John Brown Abolitionist. Reynolds opens by describing his most recent project, the forthcoming Two Ships (Penguin), and then revisits the writing of John Brown Abolitionist, rehearsing some key themes from the book as well as reflecting on his  background and methodology as a cultural historian. The interview finishes with a shift to Reynolds' 2020 opus, Abe, a cultural biography of Abraham Lincoln. 

There is also an AI-generated visual overview available based on this interview. See "John Brown Sparked a War" (https://youtu.be/OMEwfYZQ3hM).

Content Warning: This episode contains two direct quotes from historical sources that include a racial slur. The audio has been edited to reduce the volume of the word to minimize harm to listeners.

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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 its significance in the literature about Brown.  As you'll discover, while the "tour" of "Secret Six" is full of trivial and interesting cases where the term has been used since the nineteenth century, it was not really applied to Brown's story until the twentieth century.  While the term has its uses, students of Brown should know that in many respects, "Secret Six" has largely been used by the abolitionist's detractors more than his admirers.  The tour bus has arrived, so join me for the "Secret Six" tour. . .

Episode music: "Paradox" by Quincas Moreira (YouTube music)

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In this episode, Lou shares an extended reflection on Malcolm X that is attuned to the memory and legacy of John Brown. Going beyond easy, almost cliché use of Malcolm's words, Lou draws on his background as a Malcolm X biographer to reflect upon both the strategic and personal approach of the memorable black leader to John Brown's legacy.

This May 19, 2025 is the centennial of Malcolm X's birth.  With one foot in the antebellum era and another foot in the Civil Rights era, the stretch may be challenging, but it's well worth the effort.

Happy 225th Birthday, John Brown.  Happy 100th, Malcolm.

Music: "Blue Mood" by Robert Munzinger (YouTube)

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In this episode, Lou explores the appellation, "Secret Six," which is often associated with the so-called inner circle of John Brown's supporters. Taking you on this imaginary tour, Lou travels through time to find references to the "Secret Six," finding a lot of interesting and sometimes musing flotsam and jetsam and a couple of high-profile associations with "Secret Six." But what he doesn't find is a term that has any real association with John Brown, his followers, or their stories. Join Lou as he gets to the bottom of "Secret Six"--which, it turns out, isn't very deep at all.

Music: "Paradox" by Quincas Moreira (YouTube)

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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 John Brown and Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered a healthcare executive in cold blood last year. The second article presents John Brown as a Christian Nationalist. In both cases, Lou objects to the misuse of John Brown, showing how inaccurate these appropriations tend to be. 

Links to the articles, fyi:

Will Shetterly, "What you say about Luigi Mangione is what you would've said about John Brown," Medium (Dec. 14, 2024).

Shiv Parihar, "John Brown, Christian Nationalist," Providence Magazine (Dec. 13, 2024). 

Theme music: "Land of My Fathers" by The 126ers (YouTube)

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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?

Guest music: "Story of a Toy" by Freedom Trail Studio (Youtube)

Also available on the John Brown Today YouTube station

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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 anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church which opposed the Nazis.  In the 1940s, Bonhoeffer joined the German underground, but was arrested and incarcerated at Tegel Prison, where he remained for over a year. However, In 1945, documents were discovered that named Bonhoeffer among the dissidents and orders for his execution were made directly by Hitler himself.  Bonhoeffer received no fair trial and had no lawyer to defend him. To humiliate him, Bonhoeffer was marched in the nude to his gallows with a few other victims, although the time for execution may have been drawn out and all the more traumatic. According to one source, Nazis were known to interrupt a hanging, revive the victim, and then continue the process repeatedly before final execution. 

Today Dietrich Bonhoeffer is considered a hero. The question posed in this brief episode is, why is Bonhoeffer a hero for so many, but John Brown is not?

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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 and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.  So stay tuned.  

Please note that two episodes will be uploaded for December 2024.

Music: "Burden Laid Down" by The Westerlies (YouTube)