Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: New Books in American Politics
Episode: Rob Edwards, "Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls" (Stranger Comics, 2025)
Description: At the height of the Civil War, on May 12, 1862, Robert Smalls—an enslaved harbor pilot in Charleston, South Carolina—carried out one of the most courageous and cunning acts in American history. He disguised himself as a captain and, in the dead of night, commandeered the ship he worked on and sailed it to freedom. By the time Confederate soldiers realized what was happening, it was too late: Smalls, along with seven other enslaved crew members and their families, had run the blockade. Smalls’ heroism, and material aid for the Union, made national headlines and influenced Lincoln’s decision to accept...