808 A Treacherous Secret Agent - How Literature Spoke Truth to Power During the Red Scare (with Marjorie Garber) | Arthur Miller on Writing "The Crucible"

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

Arts, History, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During the Cold War, hearings led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy soon turned into a witch hunt, as paranoia and political opportunism destroyed the careers (and lives) of actors, directors, singers, filmmakers, writers, and prominent scientists who were accused of disloyalty, subversion, and treason. But even as the accusers cited poems, plays, novels, and song lyrics to bolster their attack, literature mounted a counteroffensive, striking back at the powerful in what Marjorie Garber has termed "poetic revenge." In this episode, Jacke talks to Garber about her book A Treacherous Secret Agent: How Literature Spoke Truth to Power During the Red Scare about the long reach of authors like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, John Donne, and others, whose works exposed the lies and hypocrisies of one of America's darkest periods. PLUS Jacke takes a look at Arthur Miller's late-in-life reflections on his own work of poetic revenge, the great anti-McCarthyist play The Crucible. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.3	Hello, since America's founders first put ink to parchment, they were eager to preserve the freedom of speech, as codified in the First Amendment.
0:18.4	This is a right held by the people against the government.
0:22.3	The government cannot limit the speech of the people. Journalists, free thinkers, political
0:28.4	dissidents, and artists have benefited from this freedom, and hooray for that. But of course,
0:35.1	there have always been limits to free speech as well. Can you commit
0:38.3	fraud and claim the protections of the First Amendment against criminal prosecution? Well, no.
0:45.2	How about child pornography? No. Can you perjure yourself in court? Then say that this was protected?
0:52.5	No. How about inciting others to take some lawless action?
0:56.9	Well, gray area.
0:59.5	Hate speech?
1:00.6	Even grayer.
1:02.1	Can you lie?
1:03.5	Pretty much.
1:04.7	But can you lie about others?
1:07.0	Not if it's defamation.
1:08.6	Or can you lie to a government official during an investigation or commit
1:12.8	false advertising? No and no. You can see where the areas become gray. Enterprising artist slash
1:20.5	fraudsters once printed counterfeit money and tried to assert their First Amendment rights.
1:26.5	This is our art.
1:29.1	They also went to jail.
1:32.5	But standing alongside the individuals who have tested the boundaries of free speech
	...

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