Great Political Trials in History

Historic political trials offer a window into the issues of their day and also raise questions that still resonate today. Borrowing from the Politics on Trial season of David Runciman's Past, Present, Future podcast, this discussion course will tackle a different noteworthy court case each session. To be discussed in this series are the trial of Eugene Debs and the limits of free speech in time of war; the Scopes Monkey Trial concerning state regulation of school curriculum and the clash between religion and science; the trial of the Scottsboro Boys and systemic racism; and the Communist Party and the Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg involving atomic espionage during the Cold War; and two cases of dissent during the Vietnam Era: the trial of the Chicago Seven (1968) and the trial of the Harrisburg Seven (1972).