Episode overview

#1 American Historian on the UNTAPPED Secrets of the Revolution | H.W. Brands

Julian Dorey Daily · 5 July 2026 · 1h 0m · 4 Egleze moments

What happened in this episode?

Historian HW Brands, author of 42 books covering the entirety of American history, joins the podcast to discuss his latest biography of George Washington and share insights from decades studying America's founders. The University of Texas professor reveals a provocative theory that humanity is entering the end of the age of literacy, arguing that the 600-year period of mass reading that began with Gutenberg's printing press is being replaced by audio-visual information consumption. Brands points to university libraries removing books and students no longer consulting written materials as evidence of this shift. The conversation explores lesser-known aspects of Benjamin Franklin's genius, including how the 16-year-old created a convincing fictional persona of a middle-aged woman to write for his brother's newspaper, and how Franklin later weaponized rumors of romantic conquests in his 70s as a diplomatic strategy to charm French society into funding the American Revolution. Brands also discusses the fragility of historical records, revealing that Lyndon Johnson's telephone recordings were nearly lost forever due to obsolete dictaphone technology, and that the last functioning machine had to be retrieved from the Smithsonian. The episode examines George Washington's path to revolutionary leadership, suggesting his commitment was partly fueled by resentment after British commanders denied him promotion despite superior battlefield performance. Throughout, Brands reflects on the craft of biography, acknowledging moments where Franklin's talents left even his biographer feeling inadequate, and discussing how different founding fathers required different writing approaches based on their personalities and the available historical record.

What are the key points?

HW Brands predicts we are entering the end of the 600-year age of mass literacy, with information increasingly consumed through audio and video rather than reading
Lyndon Johnson's crucial telephone recordings were nearly lost permanently because they were stored on obsolete dictaphone technology, with the last machine found in the Smithsonian
Benjamin Franklin at age 16 created a convincing fictional persona of a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood to contribute to his brother's newspaper after being forbidden to write
Franklin deliberately spread exaggerated rumors about romantic affairs in his 70s in Paris as a diplomatic strategy to charm French society into funding the American Revolution
George Washington's revolutionary commitment was partly driven by British refusal to promote him despite superior battlefield performance in the French and Indian War
The British Empire's policy of allowing dissenters and criminals to emigrate to American colonies created an independent-minded population that eventually enabled the Revolution
Franklin's early success came from teaching himself across multiple disciplines at a time when science was less specialized and experimental equipment could be homemade

Which topics are covered?

Society Media & Journalism History

How is this page sourced?

Programme: Julian Dorey Daily
Published: 5 July 2026
Duration: 1h 0m
Original episode: Open the original source ↗

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4 moments from this episode

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Society

Historian HW Brands predicts we are at the beginning of the end of the age of literacy

at 1:48 · Attributed speaker claim

I've had this theory for about the last 20 years that we're at the beginning of the end of the age of literacy. And so the age of literacy really sort of general literacy began when Gutenberg invented his movable press and so for the first time books were something that ordinary people could hope to buy. But we're now at a stage where it's quite possible to get pretty much all the information you need about the world without reading much.

University of Texas historian HW Brands argues that the 600-year era of mass literacy that began with Gutenberg's printing press is ending. He points to declining library usage and students no longer consulting books as evidence that society is reverting to predominantly audio-visual information consumption. Brands suggests future book readers will be like scholars who wrote in Latin after Rome's fall—a small elite class.

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History

Lyndon Johnson's telephone recordings nearly lost forever due to obsolete dictaphone technology

at 7:43 · Attributed speaker claim

When they finally got around to opening it, they discovered that it was recorded on dictaphone. The technology had been surpassed and bypassed and it was gone. And so when the archivists tried to figure out how they could access these dictaphone tapes, they looked all around and there weren't any dictaphone machines around. Finally, they found the last one in the Smithsonian in Washington. It was in a museum of technology.

Historian HW Brands reveals that crucial recordings of President Lyndon Johnson's phone conversations were almost permanently lost because they were recorded on obsolete dictaphone technology. The last functioning dictaphone machine had to be retrieved from the Smithsonian's technology museum to access the tapes. All biographies of Johnson published before 2000 missed this critical primary source material.

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History

Benjamin Franklin's diplomatic success in France partly built on deliberately spreading romantic rumors about himself

at 19:15 · Attributed speaker claim

Franklin is in his mid-70s by the time he gets to France, early 70s and mid-70s during the time he's there. And so he's this charming guy and everybody thinks that Franklin has all these love affairs. And so this really appeals to French men who could imagine, well, when I'm 70, I can have the same luck with the ladies. And it appealed to the women of Paris because he is this world famous guy.

Historian HW Brands reveals that Benjamin Franklin deliberately cultivated and spread exaggerated stories about his romantic conquests in Paris as a PR strategy to charm French society and secure crucial financial support for the American Revolution. Franklin understood that his diplomatic success depended on social connections made at parties at 2 AM, not office work at 8 AM—a point his colleague John Adams failed to grasp.

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History

Benjamin Franklin created fictional middle-aged woman persona at age 16 to bypass brother's censorship

at 39:51 · Attributed speaker claim

When I got to Ben Franklin, who at the age of 16, this 16-year-old guy who creates this persona of this woman who's 40 years old and had all the tragic and melodramatic experiences that, you know, she lost a husband in a storm at sea, he was washed overboard and all this stuff. And I thought, if he could pull that off and make people believe it, I could never do that.

Franklin biographer HW Brands describes how teenage Benjamin Franklin invented the character 'Silence Dogood,' a middle-aged widow, to contribute to his brother's newspaper after being forbidden to write under his own name. The deception was so convincing that his brother James publicly praised the mysterious contributor, unaware it was his apprentice sweeping the floor. This early display of Franklin's creative genius left even his biographer in awe.

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