Camp Gagnon Podcast: The Hidden World of Ben Franklin

Host: Mark Gagnon
Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Camp Gagnon, host Mark Gagnon delves into the enigmatic and often contradictory life of Benjamin Franklin—exploring his transformation from a humble printer’s apprentice to Founding Father, celebrity scientist, spy master, and perhaps, double agent. The conversation peels back layers of Franklin’s personality and myth: from his creation of secret personas to his membership in shadowy societies, his entanglement in the occult, the controversial bones discovered under his London home, and the moral contradictions of his life, especially concerning slavery and family.

Key Points & Insights

1. Franklin’s Early Life & the Power of Words

• Large Family, Humble Origins: Born in 1706, Ben Franklin was the 15th of 17 children in Boston; his father Josiah was a twice-married candle maker (04:12).
• Early Apprenticeship: At 12, Ben became an apprentice to his brother James, learning the printing trade.
• The Silence Dogood Hoax: At 16, Franklin invented the pseudonym "Silence Dogood"—a witty, fictional widow whose letters lampooned Boston society, including Harvard students and religious leaders. The city was obsessed, and men even proposed marriage to the mysterious Silence Dogood (08:20).

  “He created Boston's first, like, influencer, but she didn’t exist at all. He was just a 16-year-old dude who was figuring out how to manipulate the entire city’s conversation by writing these clever letters as a fake identity.”
  —Mark Gagnon (09:05)

• Clash with His Brother: When Ben revealed himself as Dogood, sibling rivalry turned brutal; James began beating and humiliating Ben, leading him to flee to Philadelphia and break his apprenticeship contract—an act likened to becoming a fugitive (10:15).

2. Rise to Power: Media, Intelligence, and Networking

• Philadelphia and London: Franklin arrives penniless in Philly, quickly leveraging charm and wit to gain favor—eventually being sent to London, only to find the promised support a ruse (12:10). He treats setbacks as opportunities:

  “Never think about how the universe is doing something to you. Think, how is the universe doing something for me?”
  —Mark Gagnon (13:00)

• Building an Information Empire: After returning, Franklin bought a printing business and started Poor Richard’s Almanac (under another pseudonym) (13:35).
• Information as Power: Franklin’s shop becomes a hub for collecting secrets from politicians, merchants, and religious leaders—planting the seeds for his role as a master networker and proto-intelligence operative (14:20).

3. Franklin and Secret Societies

• Freemason Ascendance: By the early 1730s, Franklin joins and quickly rises to lead the local Pennsylvania Freemasons—a network of ambitious men who help each other climb the social and political ranks (15:04).

  “It’s basically a networking club or fraternity for super ambitious men who want to get ahead in life. It is the frat outside of college.”
  —Mark Gagnon (15:15)

• Making Connections: The Masonic network aids Franklin’s ambitions, connecting him with influential figures across the colonies and abroad.

4. The Scientist and Showman

• Retirement & Inventions: By the 1740s, Franklin had made his fortune and retired early, inventing practical items like the Franklin stove and bifocals—often giving designs away to boost his image (16:33).
• Electricity Experiments: He famously experimented with electricity, including the legendary kite-in-a-storm, and less famously, electrocuting turkeys (17:48).

  “Franklin wrote...that he had been using electricity to kill turkeys—partially curiosity, but partially he believed that, quote, ‘the birds killed in this manner eat uncommonly tender.’”
  —Mark Gagnon (18:21)

• Personal Risk: Franklin injured himself in these experiments, demonstrating a willingness to risk life to prove a point (18:55).

5. Contradictions: Enslavement and Enlightenment

• Slave Owner Turned Abolitionist: Despite championing liberty, Franklin owned at least six enslaved people and made earlier writings with racist, nativist undertones (20:21). Only much later in life did he become an abolitionist, head of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery (44:45, 49:23).

  “He talked about the importance of family and loyalty and forgiveness. But...Franklin said, ‘you know what? I’m choosing my legacy over my kid. Revolution over family forever.’”
  —Mark Gagnon (47:57)

6. London Years: Spy, Double Agent, and Bones in the Basement

• Diplomatic Move Turned Exile: In 1757, Franklin is sent to London as an agent for Pennsylvania but ends up in imperial politics for nearly 18 years (21:58).
• The Bones at Craven Street: In 1998, over 1,200 human bone fragments were found under the house Franklin lived in—evidence of dissections by his housemate, anatomist William Hewson (29:15).

  “Some people suspect that it was possible Ben Franklin knew about this and still sort of continued to cover it up, or at least not discuss it.”
  —Mark Gagnon (30:19)

• British Surveillance: The house was under heavy watch by British intelligence, who suspected Franklin’s involvement with colonial rebels (31:34).
• Alleged Double Agent: He possibly played both sides, maintaining loyalty with whoever came out on top (32:08).

7. Paris: Celebrity Diplomat and Mastermind of Espionage

• Mission to France (1776+): Franklin goes to France to secure crucial support for the revolution, outmaneuvering both the British and French by maximizing his public presence (35:10).

  “Rather than trying to hide or operate like a spy, Franklin made himself the most visible man in France.”
  —Mark Gagnon (35:50)

• Building a Spy Network: Franklin ran one of the most effective yet chaotic intelligence networks in Revolutionary America, operating like a proto-CIA (38:34).
• British Spy in His Midst: His secretary, Edward Bancroft, was a British mole. Some historians argue Franklin must have known and perhaps fed him false information (39:52).
• French Society and Secret Societies: Franklin’s participation in Masonic lodges and possible rumors of Hellfire Club attendance heightened his mysterious aura (42:40).
• Women in Franklin’s Life: He developed close, sometimes flirtatious relationships with French women, such as Mme. Brillon:

  “Saturday evening, I shall stay with you until you long for my departure. And I shall know the time to leave has arrived when you will refuse me a little kiss.”
  —Ben Franklin to Mme. Brillon (41:24)

8. Family Betrayal: The Fall of William Franklin

• Making His Son Governor: Franklin used all his influence to secure the royal governorship of New Jersey for his (illegitimate) son, William (46:59).
• Revolution Splinters Family: As father and son found themselves on opposing sides, Ben supported the arrest and imprisonment of William, ultimately cutting him off completely (49:00).

  “Franklin refused to see William when he was in London, made it clear that as far as he was concerned, he had no son. No son at all.”
  —Mark Gagnon (49:42)

• Legacy Over Blood: Franklin’s coldness (“I was not only your father, but your friend. You have forfeited both titles.”) suggests his commitment to public perception and revolutionary ideals far outweighed personal relationships (51:09).

9. Late-Life Transformation and Legacy Crafting

• Abolitionist Leadership: In the 1780s, Franklin becomes president of an anti-slavery society, penning powerful letters against the practice—but only after decades of participation (52:32).
• Motivations Questioned: Was this moral enlightenment, or a canny PR pivot anticipating the moral tides and how posterity would view him?

  “Franklin was always a master of public opinion...He may have been the greatest PR person ever.”
  —Mark Gagnon (53:57)

• Shaping the Narrative: Franklin’s death in 1790, just as his abolitionist reputation cemented, ensured difficult questions about his contradictions never had to be fully answered (54:37).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Silence Dogood Hoax:
  “Ultimate catfish. That would be fire. If you try to smash Silence Dogood and all of a sudden Ben Franklin shows up, you’re like, bam.” —Mark Gagnon (09:00)
• On Using Obstacles as Opportunity:
  “Never think about how the universe is doing something to you. Think, how is the universe doing something for me?” —Mark Gagnon (13:00)
• On Franklin’s Freemason Strategy:
  “The Freemasons aren’t some, you know, group that is doing satanic worship... It’s basically a networking club for super ambitious men... the frat outside of college.” —Mark Gagnon (15:15)
• On Electrocuting Turkeys:
  “He believed that, quote, ‘the birds killed in this manner eat uncommonly tender.’” —Mark Gagnon (18:21)
• On Playing Both Sides in London:
  “Franklin was making sure that he was going to be on the right side of history, no matter what happened.” —Mark Gagnon (32:25)
• On Franklin’s Espionage Tactics:
  “He was using a form of, like, psychological warfare. He was showing the French that Americans... were sophisticated and deserved respect.” —Mark Gagnon (36:05)
• On Franklin Accepting—and Possibly Using—British Spies:
  “Franklin knew exactly what Bancroft was doing and was actually using him to feed false information to the British. Think about that from Franklin’s perspective.” —Mark Gagnon (40:54)
• On Franklin's Ruthlessness with Family:
  “Ben Franklin, my man, stood on business. He said, nah, all that. He acted like his son didn’t exist. And to him, William was already dead.” —Mark Gagnon (49:34)
• On Franklin’s Mastery of Image:
  “He may have been the greatest PR person ever. I mean, he pulled off this insane transformation, going from a man that benefited from a bad institution to then being an abolitionist.” —Mark Gagnon (53:57)

Important Timestamps

• 00:02–01:17: Episode premise, intro skip
• 04:12: Franklin's family background
• 08:20–09:05: The Silence Dogood hoax and its impact
• 10:15: Escape to Philadelphia
• 12:10–13:35: London misadventures, building his media empire
• 14:20–15:35: The power of information and secret societies
• 16:33–18:55: Scientific innovations and risky experiments
• 20:21: Franklin’s slave ownership and racist writings
• 21:58–32:25: London years, bones at Craven Street, spy games
• 34:40–44:45: France, diplomatic intrigue, and the formation of modern spycraft
• 46:59–51:09: Estrangement with son William Franklin
• 52:32–54:37: Late-life abolitionism, calculated image management

Tone and Takeaways

Mark Gagnon approaches Franklin’s story with irreverence, honesty, and wry humor—balancing awe at Franklin’s brilliance with candid critiques of his ethical inconsistencies. Listeners get the full spectrum: a genius inventor, influencer, and networker; a ruthless manipulator and master of self-reinvention; a public champion for liberty who privately owned and sold slaves, before reshaping himself as an abolitionist.
Woven throughout are vivid anecdotes (bones in the basement!), speculative intrigue (double agency, secret societies), and a through-line of Franklin as perhaps the Founding Fathers' original PR mastermind.

Final Summary

This episode debunks the sanitized textbook myth of Benjamin Franklin, revealing the strange, brilliant, and often morally ambiguous real man beneath. Gagnon invites listeners to grapple with the legacies left by powerful figures—messy, multifaceted, and deeply human—and how, like Franklin, they also shape the stories history chooses to tell.