Episode notes
From The Asset team: Patriarchs. Subscribe hereThis first episode begins at the end, then rewinds to before the Revolutionary War, at the Continental Congress, where Adams and Jefferson clash, collaborate, and argue over independence, democracy, and the future of the nation. With powerful performances and historically grounded dialogue, Patriarchs explores the human cost of power, principle, and ambition.Patriarchs is a six-part audio drama about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the founding of the United States, and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence enacted in 1776.…
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The Asset
District Productive · News · English
In 2016, Donald Trump conspired with a foreign government to become President of the United States. On July 25, 2019, with the 2020 election around the corner, he decided to do it again. The first time around, it was collusion, aiding and abetting Russia’s attack on American democracy. The second t
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E23 · 23 Jul 2026 · 31 min
Chapter 6: Rapprochement
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson renew their correspondence after years of silence, beginning an extraordinary epistolary reunion that revives their friendship in old age. Built from real letters, speeches, and memoirs, the finale follows the renewed exchange between the two founders as they revisit the Revolution, the presidency, the meaning of republican government, and the contradictions of the nation they helped create.As Adams and Jefferson move from grievance to affection, the episode also reflects on Abigail Adams, Sally Hemings, John Quincy Adams, and the larger legacy of the founding…
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E22 · 13 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Chapter 5: The Jefferson Administration
John Adams hosts Thomas Jefferson one last time on his final night in the White House, and the two men confront the meaning of party, power, and the peaceful transfer of authority. Built from real historical language, the episode follows Jefferson’s inauguration, Adams’s departure from Washington, and the tensions that follow as Jefferson begins rolling back the Federalist program.As the episode continues, James Callender’s accusations against Jefferson and Sally Hemmings expose the hidden violence and contradiction at the center of the founding generation.With Adams, Jefferson, Abigail…
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E21 · 10 Jul 2026 · 29 min
Chapter 4: The Adams Administration
John Adams becomes President after narrowly defeating Thomas Jefferson in 1796, and the uneasy partnership between the two men is tested by cabinet politics, French aggression, and the rise of partisan warfare. Built from historical dialogue and source material, the episode follows Adams, Jefferson, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, and James Callender as public principle, private friendship, and political survival collide.As France seizes American ships, Adams calls for military readiness and a stronger navy, while Jefferson turns to the press and to Callender to attack Adams and his…
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E20 · 4 Jul 2026 · 22 min
Chapter 3: The Washington Administration
After The American Revolution, George Washington becomes the first President of the United States, John Adams is swept into the vice presidency, and Thomas Jefferson takes on a central role as Secretary of State. Built from real historical language and dramatized from the founders’ letters, speeches, and memoirs, the episode explores how the new nation begins to define power, duty, and the limits of government.As Adams and Jefferson argue over the presidency, federal power, the British Constitution, political parties, and the French Revolution, the story also turns to Jefferson’s alliance…
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E19 · 2 Jul 2026 · 27 min
Chapter 2: Oceans Apart
From the producers of The Asset. During the American Revolution, John Adams leaves Braintree for a dangerous crossing to France, while Thomas Jefferson retreats to Monticello, grief-stricken after the death of Martha Jefferson. Built from real letters, speeches, and memoirs, the episode follows Adams, Jefferson, Abigail Adams, and Sally Hemings as they move between war, diplomacy, family, and the moral contradictions of the founding era.From the Atlantic crossing and the French salons to London, Paris, and Monticello, the episode deepens the friendship between Adams and Jefferson while…
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E16 · 28 May 2026 · 26 min
Patriarchs
The Asset team is releasing a 6-part audio drama Patriarchs. As the United States approaches 250 years of independence, the nation is asking hard questions about how it began, who paid the price, and what kind of republic it has become. Patriarchs, a loaded but apt term in today’s vernacular, is a six-episode historical podcast drama that answers those questions by chronicling the most consequential relationship in early America: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, told in their own words. Subscribe hereWe begin with two former presidents looking back over a life together as friends, rivals,…
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E15 · 5 May 2025 · 44 min
Trump’s Historic Unpopularity: Majority See Him as a Dangerous Dictator
President Trump has unprecedented negative approval ratings within his first 100 days back in office.
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S3 · E2 · 28 Mar 2025 · 53 min
Courts Under Siege: Dahlia Lithwick on Trump's Judicial Threats & Democracy's Future
legal journalist Dahlia Lithwick (Slate’s Amicus podcast) exposes how Trump’s second-term agenda is testing judicial independence.
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S3 · E2 · 6 Mar 2025 · 41 min
Millions will Starve and Millions will Die
Rev. Jim Wallis speaks with Rev. Tim Costello an eyewitness to the desperation, devastation, and imminent death that is resulting from the Trump Administration’s vicious assault on people providing life-saving humanitarian aid around the world.
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S3 · E1 · 20 Feb 2025 · 40 min
Fighting Trump's Immigration Policies in Court
In this very special guest episode from Social Justice Warrior icon Rev. Jim Wallis, we examine one of Donald Trump's biggest legal battles regarding his alleged unconstitiutional efforts invading houses of worship. A historic lawsuit has been filed by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, in partnership with the Center on Faith and Justice, on the behalf of a broad coalition of 27 national church and organization plaintiffs, whose combined membership numbers in the millions, to defend the teachings of Jesus and the traditions of all Abrahamic religions. {Subscribe to…
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