Podcast
Portraits of Liberty
Hosted by Libertarianism.org · EN
Portraits of Liberty investigates the lives and philosophies of thinkers throughout history who argued in favor of a freer world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
18episodes
Episodes
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A Martyr for Freedom of Speech: Helmuth Hübener
1w ago00:23:21Tap to summarizeAt just sixteen years old, Helmuth Hübener launched a secret anti-Nazi resistance campaign from inside Hitler’s Germany. He exposed Nazi lies by publishing underground pamphlets, knowing it could cost him his life. In this episode, Paul Meany tells the story of the youngest opponent of the Nazi regime. Hübener’s courageous actions reveal the senselessness of censorship and state propaganda, and the moral responsibility to speak the truth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →The Making of Modern Japan: Fukuzawa Yukichi
Apr 700:20:34Tap to summarizeFukuzawa Yukichi rose from a marginal samurai background in a rigid, hierarchical society to become one of the most important minds behind Japan’s transformation in the nineteenth century. Deeply influenced by his encounters with the West, he championed education, skepticism of authority, and personal independence as the foundations of a free society. Yukichi helped translate Enlightenment ideals into a distinctly Japanese context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Cato’s Letters: Against Tyranny and Corruption
Mar 1000:24:48Tap to summarizeLong before the American Revolution, in the 1720s, a series of newspaper essays known as Cato’s Letters warned readers that power corrupts and liberty survives only through constant vigilance. In this episode of Portraits of Liberty, we explore how John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon’s fiery writings helped shape the American tradition of free speech, self-defense, and resistance to tyranny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →A Son of the Forest: William Apess
Feb 1000:19:07Tap to summarizeBorn of Pequot descent, William Apess was the first Native American to publish a full-length autobiography. Apess became a Methodist minister and one of the most piercing moral critics of white Christian America’s hypocrisy. Drawing on the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the language of natural rights, Apess demanded that liberty, equality, and self-government apply to Native peoples as much as they were to anyone else. From his autobiography, A Son of the Forest, and his fiery essay “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” to his leadership in the Mashpee Revolt, Apess held the American republic accountable to its professed creed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →The Forgotten Polish Republican: Wawrzyniec Goślicki and the Rights of a Free Commonwealth
Dec 900:52:04Tap to summarizeIn the late sixteenth century, Wawrzyniec Goślicki authored De Optimo Senatore (The Accomplished Senator), a bold argument for a politics grounded in natural law, civic virtue, and the constitutional liberties of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Joined by Walker Haskins, our editor for intellectual history, Paul Meany, covers Goślicki’s career as a bishop, diplomat, and political theorist. They discuss Goślicki’s vision of checks on executive power and his rejection of arbitrary rule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →A Quiet Rebel: José Castellanos
Nov 1100:15:04Tap to summarizeThis episode explores the often overlooked classical liberal tradition of civil disobedience through the remarkable story of José Castellanos Contreras, a Salvadoran diplomat who, during World War II, defied orders and international law to save thousands of Jewish people from Nazi death camps. His story, forgotten for decades, embodies the liberal conviction that moral law supersedes state authority. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Japan's Ignored Anarchist: Andō Shōeki
Oct 1400:14:35Tap to summarizeThis episode explores the thought of Andō Shōeki, a Japanese philosopher who denounced feudal hierarchies, Confucian dogma, and the samurai class. Shōeki’s vision of a natural, egalitarian society based on voluntary cooperation challenges the notion that anarchist or libertarian thought is uniquely Western. His work is an early critique of state power, anticipating later theories by figures like Franz Oppenheimer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Benjamin Franklin: A Versatile Genius, with Guest Mark Skousen
Sep 900:39:51Tap to summarizeIn this episode, economist and historian Mark Skousen joins us to discuss his latest book, The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, The World's Most Versatile Genius. Skousen highlights Franklin’s remarkable range of life experiences from scientist and inventor to statesman, printer, and philosopher—showing why Franklin has long been considered by historians to be the most modern of the Founding Fathers. Skousen reflects on Franklin’s lessons on liberty, enterprise, and the pursuit of a flourishing life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Joseph Hiam Levy: A Forgotten Radical for Liberty, with guest Matt Zwolinski
Aug 1200:28:27Tap to summarizeJ.H. Levy was a prominent but now largely forgotten voice in the individualist intellectual circles of Victorian Britain, known for his passionate defense of self-ownership and voluntary social cooperation. Matt Zwolinski introduces listeners to Levy’s life, intellectual context, and the principles that drove his activism in organizations like the Personal Rights Association.This episode is also available to watch on Youtube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Liberty With an Asterisk: Black Americans In the Revolution Era
Jul 300:20:51Tap to summarizeIn this podcast, we revisit the lives of Elizabeth Freeman, Lemuel Haynes, and James Forten, three Black Americans who lived through the contradictions of the Revolutionary era and helped expand its ideals. These three did not passively await emancipation but seized the rhetoric of liberty and used it to reshape law, religion, and civil society. Their stories illuminate the untold Black contribution to the founding vision of the American Republic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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