THE REIGN OF THE EMPEROR AND THE PROBLEM OF SUCCESSION Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. In the final segment, Gaius and Germanicus analyze the New York Times characterizing the Trump presidency as a "reign," a term Gaius embraces as historically accurate for the current state of the American ex…

THE GILDED AGE, GROVER CLEVELAND, AND THE ASSERTION OF SOVEREIGNTY Colleagues Gaiusand Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. The second segment pivots to a historical comparison involving Grover Cleveland, the only American president prior to Trump to serve non-consecutive terms, using his presidency to illustrate paral…

THE ACTOR-EMPEROR AND THE SHIFT FROM DIGNITAS TO INTIMACY Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. In this session, set against the backdrop of a cold winter in Londinium, Gaius and Germanicus explore the evolution of the imperial persona, drawing sharp parallels between the Roman Emperor Nero and mode…

THE MUTINY PLOT AND THE DECISION TO EXECUTE Colleague Richard Snow. Spencer's "mutiny" plot is revealed to a steward, triggering Mackenzie's paranoia. Mackenzie arrests Spencer, Cromwell, and Small without concrete evidence of an uprising. An irregular council of officers, influenced by the captain's fear and the lack of a brig, decides the three m…

THE MUTINY PLOT AND THE DECISION TO EXECUTE Colleague Richard Snow. Spencer's "mutiny" plot is revealed to a steward, triggering Mackenzie's paranoia. Mackenzie arrests Spencer, Cromwell, and Small without concrete evidence of an uprising. An irregular council of officers, influenced by the captain's fear and the lack of a brig, decides the three m…

THE OVERCROWDED SOMERS AND SPENCER'S ISOLATION Colleague Richard Snow. Snow describes the Somers as a fast, overcrowded school ship filled with teenage midshipmen. He details Spencer's isolation due to his physical disability and surly demeanor. Spencer violated protocol by mingling with the crew, while Mackenzie's rigid discipline clashed with the…

THE SOMERS MUTINY: SPENCER AND CAPTAIN MACKENZIE Colleague Richard Snow. Snow introduces the Somers mutiny, focusing on midshipman Philip Spencer, a troubled youth obsessed with pirates, and Captain Mackenzie. Mackenzie, who changed his name for an inheritance, is described as a "flogging captain" with a literary reputation and a morbid fascination…

THE COCKPIT HUMILIATION AND FRANKLIN'S TRANSFORMATION Colleague Richard Munson. Munsondescribes the "Cockpit" humiliation in London, which transformed Franklin from a royalist mediator into a revolutionary. They discuss his founding of the American Philosophical Society to unify colonial science and his celebrity in France. Finally, Munson addresse…

ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS AND THE FRANKLIN STOVE Colleague Richard Munson. The discussion focuses on Franklin's electrical experiments, including the Leiden jar and conservation of charge. Munson explains that the kite experiment had practical origins for lightning protection. Additionally, Franklin's refusal to patent his stove invention highlights h…

FRANKLIN'S PRINTING SUCCESS AND SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS Colleague Richard Munson. Munson details Franklin's success in the "high-tech" printing industry, which generated the wealth necessary for his scientific pursuits. The segment covers his political battles with Thomas Penn regarding colonial governance and his transition into a full-time experiment…

DUELING MONUMENTS AND THE HEART OF DARKNESS THEME Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. The feud extends into the 20th century with "dueling monuments" in Ohio, where the Cresap Society and local residents erect competing memorials near the site of Logan's Elm to debate the history. Parkinson concludes by returning to the "Heart of Darkness" theme, using …

JEFFERSON, LUTHER MARTIN, AND THE CANONIZATION OF A FALSE ACCUSATION Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. Thomas Jefferson publishes "Logan's Lament" to argue against French theories of Americaninferiority, but in doing so, he canonizes the false accusation against the Cresap family. This sparks a bitter feud with Luther Martin, a Cresap in-law, who atta…

THE TRAGIC FATE OF LOGAN AND JEFFERSON'S DISCOVERY Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. The narrative reveals the tragic fate of the Mingo leader, Logan. In 1794, a surveyor encounters a Native American who admits to killing his uncle, Logan, near Lake Erie around 1780. The nephew explains that Logan had become too powerful and unpredictable a figure dur…

CRESAP'S RIFLEMEN, DEATH IN NEW YORK, AND A HERO'S FUNERAL Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. Michael Cresap leads his riflemen to Boston, fueled by press coverage depicting them as America's invincible "secret weapons" against the British. However, upon arrival, the troops prove undisciplined, leading George Washington to regret their presence. Suffer…

LORD DUNMORE'S WAR AND CRESAP'S PATRIOT TURN Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. Following the massacre, Logan abandons diplomacy for vengeance, killing nearly twenty people and provoking Lord Dunmore's War. Simultaneously, the Continental Congress calls for rifle companies to join the revolution in Boston, and Michael Cresap is surprisingly tapped to l…

THE YELLOW CREEK MASSACRE AND THE TRUE PERPETRATORS Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. This segment details the chaotic environment following the British withdrawal from Fort Pitt, which created a power vacuum and a border war between Pennsylvania and Virginia. Amidst this tension, the Yellow Creek massacre occurred on April 30, 1774, where settlers lu…

BEWILDERMENT, THE OHIO COMPANY, AND COLONIAL EXPANSION Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. Parkinson explains that "bewilderment" is the central theme of his book, drawing a thematic parallel to Joseph Conrad'sHeart of Darkness to describe the confusion and violence of the early American frontier. The conversation shifts to the Ohio Company, a massive l…

LOGAN'S LAMENT AND THE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY Colleague Robert G. Parkinson. Host John Batchelor introduces Professor Robert G. Parkinson and his book, Heart of American Darkness, which investigates the complex relationship between colonials and Native Americans in 1775. The discussion focuses on a famous document known as "Logan's Lament," publ…

THE SCANDAL'S LEGACY AND POST-CIVIL WAR DIVORCE Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisbergdiscusses the scandal's legacy, noting that divorce rates spiked significantly after the Civil War, though the guilty party was legally forbidden to remarry. She explains that this public trial shattered the privacy of the elite, proving to the public that the upper…

CONFESSION, DIVORCE, AND THE STRONG V. STRONG TRIAL Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisbergrecounts Mary's confession of her affair and pregnancy to Peter. Although divorce was taboo in their social circle, Petereventually sues to claim full custody of their daughters, asserting his patriarchal rights. The resulting "Strong v. Strong" trial becomes a …

THE UNRAVELING OF THE STRONG MARRIAGE Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisberg details the unraveling of the Strong marriage as Mary grows restless at the Waverly estate. Amidst the onset of the Civil War, Mary begins an affair with Peter's brother, Edward, who is grieving his own wife. The segment ends tragically with the death of Mary's young daughte…

THE MARRIAGE OF PETER STRONG AND MARY STEVENS Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisbergintroduces the marriage of Peter Strong and Mary Stevens, scions of wealthy New York families. Despite a storybook beginning, they move to Peter's mother's estate in Queens to secure his inheritance. This arrangement isolates Mary, who must live among her in-laws rath…

MANIFEST DESTINY, FEMINISM, AND RACIAL COMPLEXITIES Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor contrasts Jane McManus Cazneau, who coined "Manifest Destiny" and sought to expand slavery southward, with Jane Grey Swisshelm, a feminist abolitionist. He highlights the era's racial complexities, noting that while Swisshelm opposed slavery, she vehemently advocated …

MEXICO'S CIVIL WAR AND THE MCLANE-OCAMPO TREATY Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor describes the brutal civil war in Mexico between Conservatives and Liberals led by Melchor Ocampo, who sought to reduce Churchpower. To fund this war, Ocampo negotiated the McLane-Ocampo Treaty, offering the US transit corridors across Mexico for money, though the US Sena…

THE 1850s POLITICAL BREAKDOWN AND THE ROAD TO FORT SUMTER Colleague Alan Taylor. Tayloranalyzes the 1850s political breakdown, from John C. Calhoun's defense of states' rights to Stephen Douglas'sdisastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act. He explains that while radicals like John Brown embraced violence, the Northernmajority prioritized preserving the Union o…