What was it, exactly, about John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry that contributed to the abolition of slavery? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Jeff Stein and Rowley Amato

John Brown envisioned a mass slave uprising. So where were they? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Jeff Stein and Rowley Amato

John Brown envisioned a mass slave insurrection. So where were they? [Subscribers can get EARLY ACCESS to this full episode by throwing $3 our way at American Carnage on Patreon.] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Jeff Stein and Rowley Amato

As John Brown and his men swing their steel broadswords on a moon-lit night, we look at the fierce debate among historians over whether even the most righteous forms of political violence can be justified. [Subscribers can get EARLY ACCESS to Episode Four, "No Ghost of a Distinction" by throwing $3 our way at American Carnage on Patreon.] Learn mor…

What would you have been willing to do to free the slaves if you woke up tomorrow in early 19th Century America? Host and co-writer Jeff Stein is the White House economics reporter for The Washington Post. Co-writer Rowley Amato is an editor in New York City. Sophia Kurzius is our producer. Theme music by Ned Porter. “John Brown’s Body” performed b…

[Audio quality tends to be better on head phones; apologies for any imperfections] In a fight to the death on the cold, harsh Kansas prairie, John Brown finds himself at odds with his fellow antislavery settlers. Quick correction: We refer in this episode to the Ruffian leader as "Benjamin Frank Stringfellow." It is in fact Benjamin Franklin String…