Episodes

  • John Adams, Part 3: Holland, the Presidency, and Jefferson

    John Adams, Part 3: Holland, the Presidency, and Jefferson
    23 Oct 2026
    In this final conversation with Charles Thomson, ninety-year-old John Adams reflects on securing vital Dutch loans, meeting King George III, and averting war with France. He also looks back on moving into an unfinished White House and mending his fractured friendship with Thomas Jefferson. Show Notes John Adams Above the Fray: The Original Foreign Policy President: https://allthingsliberty.com/2023/12/john-adams-above-the-fray-the-original-foreign-policy-president/ For Students: Jefferson and Adams - New American History: https://resources.newamericanhistory.org/jefferson-and-adams-1
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    11 min
  • John Adams, Part 2: The Colossus of Independence

    John Adams, Part 2: The Colossus of Independence
    21 Oct 2026
    Step inside the sweltering, fly-infested Pennsylvania State House in July 1776 as John Adams recounts the dramatic, high-stakes debates that forged American independence. From his extemporaneous rebuttal to John Dickinson to Caesar Rodney's legendary midnight ride, discover the behind-the-scenes mechanics of how the historic vote was truly won.
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    11 min
  • John Adams, Part 1: Defending the Enemy

    John Adams, Part 1: Defending the Enemy
    19 Oct 2026
    Ninety-year-old John Adams reflects on his decision to defend the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, risking his reputation to uphold the rule of law. He also discusses the courtroom strategy behind the historic verdicts and revisits Abigail Adams's famous plea to "remember the ladies."
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    10 min
  • Benjamin Franklin, Part 3: Chess, Spies, and the French Alliance

    Benjamin Franklin, Part 3: Chess, Spies, and the French Alliance
    13 Oct 2026
    Benjamin Franklin reflects on charming Paris, navigating espionage, and securing the crucial French alliance that turned the tide of the American Revolution. He also sets the record straight on his glass armonica and the enduring myth of the national turkey.
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    9 min
  • Benjamin Franklin, Part 2: Humiliation at the Cockpit

    Benjamin Franklin, Part 2: Humiliation at the Cockpit
    13 Oct 2026
    Benjamin Franklin recounts his public humiliation at the Cockpit in London, an event that shattered his hopes for imperial reconciliation and forged his path as a revolutionary. He also reflects on editing the Declaration of Independence and the permanent, heartbreaking estrangement from his Loyalist son, William.
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    10 min