Evolution on Trial | Monkeytown | 2

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On the sweltering morning of July 10, 1925, 200 newspaper reporters, newsreel film producers, and radio broadcasters flooded the county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Hot dog vendors, preachers, and trained chimpanzees jammed the streets. The sleepy hamlet had transformed into a national spectacle almost overnight.

The nation’s media had come to Dayton for the start of the trial of John Scopes, the local high school teacher accused of violating the state’s ban on teaching evolution. Crowds flocked to witness the famous orators William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow go to battle, in what was already being hailed as the “Trial of the Century.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Picture this. You're transported back in time, witnessing history unfold right before your eyes, without any modern day interruptions.
0:07.3	That's the magic of Wondery Plus.
0:09.2	Immerse yourself in the stories that shaped our nation with ad-free episodes, early access to new seasons, and exclusive bonus content.
0:16.1	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts and experience American history like never before.
0:35.6	Imagine it's late May, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.
0:40.2	You're the owner of a dry goods store on Market Street,
0:43.0	and you're standing in the window arranging a display of stuffed monkey dolls.
0:46.9	You look up to see a regular customer named Frank walk through the door.
0:50.6	He takes a long drag on his cigar as he eyes your display.
0:54.1	What, you're selling toy monkeys now?
0:56.1	Nah, just responding to the demands of the market.
0:58.8	Hey, would you mind giving me a hand with something?
1:01.2	Well, maybe what?
1:02.4	You reach behind you and pull out a large sign you've been working on.
1:06.2	Above a drawing of a monkey swinging from a coconut tree are words painted in bright red stop monking around and start shopping. Frank squints at the sign and shakes his head. What in the world's that? That's for the trial of Mr. Scopes, you know, the fellow that taught evolution over at the high school. Folks are going to be coming to Dayton from all over, and I've got to get ready. Well, I know about the trial, and I don't like it one bit. I'm glad they passed that law. I mean, imagine. Teaching kids that we came from apes, it's blasphemy. Well, what does it matter? Monkeys are no monkeys. Evolution's all in the past. You've got to think about the future is what I say. What matters to me? It's not like the law is going to get overturned, not with William Jennings Bryan on the prosecution. He's got
1:27.7	him licked. In the meantime, like the law's going to get overturned. Not with William Jennings Bryan on the
1:44.7	prosecution. He's got him licked. In the meantime, though, there's money to me made. People are going to
1:49.4	travel miles to see him thunder on about Genesis. You position a stool in front of a wooden beam and
1:54.9	climb up the steps. Hey, could you pass me that hammer on the shelf behind you? Come hold this up.
2:00.2	Frank rolls his eyes, but does as he's
2:02.2	told, and holds the sign against the beam where it will be visible to people passing by. You tilt your
2:07.8	head, eyeballing to make sure it's straight. Hey, push it up a little to the right. How's this? Ah,
	...

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