Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from

radio topia. My name is Jody Abergan. This day August 14, 1846, Henry David Thoreau leaves the cabin where he was

staying near Walden Pond. He'd been living there alone for about a year at

this point and he walks into the nearby town of Concord, Massachusetts.

There he runs into the town tax collector, a man named Sam Staples, who reminds Thoreau that

he hadn't paid his poll tax in about six years or so and

throw says yeah I'm not gonna pay that poll tax what are you gonna do throw me in

jail and that is what Sam Staples does he throws throw in jail

the row spends the night in jail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson comes and visits him that night.

And then Thoreau returns to his cabin.

About a year later, he leaves the woods, leaves Walden Pond,

and as we likely know he writes that book that he is most famous for

Waddon Pond also known as life in the woods it would become a touchstone for those looking for a simpler life, a connection to nature, but Throws Night in

Jail and his refusal to pay that poll tax also tell us about his political side.

He gave lectures and wrote several essays on civil disobedience at the

same time that he was talking about his time spent alone in the woods. So let's talk

about Henry David Thoreau, who we haven't really talked about on this

podcast, which I'm really kind of surprised to learn as I was researching this.

We'll get into the personal and political side of him and his legacy on both

friends. Here is always Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and

Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. Hello there. Hello Jody. Hey there.

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